It‘s Only The Calories Count, Not Source!

There is undoubtedly that overweight and obesity can bring along many unwanted ailments including high cholesterol, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, stroke and even certain types of cancer. People who are overweight or obese will start to adopt different kinds of diet plan to help them reduce weight.

Different diet plan will have their own specified proportion of fat, carbohydrates and protein. It seems, however, that weight loss does not really depend on the source of the calories.

Researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana reported on January 18, 2012 in the ‘American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’ that there were no differences in weight loss or the reduction of fat between 4 diets with different proportions of fat, carbohydrates and protein. It is adherence that matters. Those participants who adhered better lost more weight than those who did not.

As shown in earlier research, certain diets like those with very low carbohydrates work better than others though there has been no consensus among researchers.

Participants were assigned to 1 of the 4 diets: Average protein, low fat and higher carbohydrates; High protein, low fat and higher carbohydrates; Average protein, high fat and lower carbohydrates; High protein, high fat and lower carbohydrates. All the diets were designed to reduce 750 calories a day.

Their weight, fat mass and lean mass were checked after 6 months and again at 2 years after starting the diets. At 6 months, participants lose more than 4.1 kilos of fat and approximately 2.3 kilos of lean mass, though they regained some of these at the 2-year mark. Nevertheless, people who managed to adhere to their diet were able to keep a weight loss of more than 3.6 kilos after 2 years including a nearly 1.4 kilos loss of abdominal fat, a drop of more than 7 percent.

During the 2-year period, many of the participants dropped out and those who completed it did not have the diets exactly the same as what had been assigned.

For instance, all the 4 diet groups ended up getting about 20 percent of their calories from protein after 2 years. This was quite different from what the researchers had hoped for: 2 diet groups get 25 percent of their calories from protein and the other 2 groups get 15 percent of their calories from protein.

The findings suggested that all diet plans can work and it is adherence that can help the weight loss success. People should choose the diet that is comfortable for them.

More Women Are Affected By Heart Disease!

It is thought that heart disease is more common among men. But as what NIH (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) has announced, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States and it is also a leading cause of disability among women.

Heart disease, rather than breast cancer, has become the number one killer for women in Malaysia. The statistics provided by the Heart Foundation Malaysia (HFM) showed that 1 in 3 women died of heart disease while only 1 in 8 women died of breast cancer. In fact, heart disease is the major cause of death in government hospitals, which accounted for about 25 percent of all deaths.

In Goa, a state in India, 10 to 11 percent of the population is being hit by heart diseases. While heart disease is spread across the genders, women seem to be leading and this is a situation that has never prevailed in Goa. Initially, heart disease was restricted to the age group above 50 years but now people between 30 and 40 are diagnosed with heart disease.

According to cardiac experts, more women die of heart disease especially after menopause when the oestrogen level in their body changes. When one grows older, the risk of getting heart disease also rises. However, the latest trend does show that those below the age of 40 have also developed heart disease due to their unhealthy eating habits, smoking and alcohol consumption. Other modifiable risk factors include high cholesterol level, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and stress.

It is important that the younger adults should adopt a healthy lifestyle by avoiding alcohol consumption and smoking, having a balanced diet, exercising at least 30 minutes or getting for a brisk walk everyday and learning how to handle stress.

People could lower their high cholesterol risk factor by consuming low cholesterol food items and avoiding food high in animal fat like dairy products, egg yolk, coconut milk and seafood except fish. People should also consume less salt, sugar and oily food to lower other risk factors such as hypertension (high blood pressure) and obesity.

How Can Mothers’ Work Status Be Linked To Childhood Obesity?

Childhood obesity epidemic has long been a headache for most countries around the world. Obese children are likely to be fat as they become adults and they are therefore facing a higher risk of developing Type-2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke and heart disease.

Many factors can lead to childhood obesity, and one of them is mothers’ work status. Researchers from Melbourne's Murdoch Children’s Research Institute together with the University of New England and the Australian National University carried out a study to find out whether the childhood obesity epidemic was linked to mothers' increased participation in the workforce. They published their findings on March 3, 2010 in the ‘Journal of Social Science and Medicine’.

The researchers examined the weight and lifestyle of some 2,500 children when they were 4 or 5 and again when they were 6 or 7. They revealed in their report that between 18 and 20 percent of children were either obese or overweight.

According to the findings, mothers who work part-time were more likely to have healthier children than those who worked full-time or who were not working at all. These children watched less television, ate fewer snacks and were more physically active. On the other hand, mothers with full-time jobs might not have enough time to encourage physically active play or prepare home-cooked meals.

Nevertheless, the researchers cautioned public that the findings might oversimplify actual situation. For example, stay-at-home mothers might be difficult to juggle family time when there is more than one young child at home.

While the study indicated that work status indirectly contributed to children’s lifestyle, some health experts argued that these things are controllable. Whether the mothers are working, they could still control how much television their child watches and what types of snacks they can eat. Others quoted parental distress, postpartum depression and lack of social support as variable that could account for children having less-healthy lifestyles.

More Pregnant Women Are Having Strokes!

It is unlikely that women would have stroke during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth. However, researchers from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia have spotted a big jump in such events over the past 12 years.

The findings, which were published on July 28, 2011 in ‘Stroke’ (Journal of the American Heart Association), showed that there was a total of 4,085 pregnancy related stroke hospitalizations in the United States during the period between 1994 and 1995, and that number rose 54 percent to 6,293 between 2006 and 2007. The data used in the study came from a large national database of 5 to 8 million discharges from 1,000 hospitals.

Some increase was expected, but the figures found in the findings indeed surprised the researchers. Overall incidence is still low as latest data indicated that just three-quarters of a percent of women in America had a stroke during pregnancy or within 3 months of giving birth.

One factor could be responsible for the rise is that more women are overweight when they become pregnant, which can raise the likelihood of complications from diabetes and high blood pressure. Nevertheless, it was wished that more research should be designed and carried out to find the cause of the rise.

Stroke risk is usually low for a relatively healthy person. As pregnancy by itself is a risk factor for stroke and more pregnant women already have some kind of risk factor for stroke like obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes or congenital heart disease, the overall risk will simply be doubled.

It was also observed that doctors do not have enough guidance on the best medication for pregnant women, especially for those with an increased risk for stroke. This is because norms on clinical studies usually exclude pregnant women in clinical trials as most drugs pose a hazard to the unborn fetus.

The researchers suggested developing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary plan that would enable doctors and patients to follow guidelines that could accurately monitor and provide care before, after and during childbirth.

Another Way To Control Weight

Overweight and obesity are big headache for health experts around the world as these 2 conditions will likely raise a person’s risk of getting diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension (high blood pressure), and eventually lead to heart disease or stroke. The medical cost involved can be a heavy burden for the governments.

In order to control body weight, one should watch the amount of food he or she eats. Numerous studies have looked at how the portion size can affect on the amount people eat. A new study, conducted by researchers from University of Utah, Salt Lake City, examined at how the bite size will influence the quantities ingested.

In their paper published in July 2011 in the ‘Journal of Consumer Research’, they argued that bigger bites lead to eating less, but only in restaurant settings.

The study was carried out in a popular Italian restaurant in the South-Western United States. 2 sizes of forks were used to manipulate bite sizes: a larger fork that held 20 percent more food than the fork usually used in the restaurant, and a smaller fork that held 20 percent less than the usual one. It was found that diners who used large forks ate less than those who used small forks.

Tables were furnished with either large fork or small fork over 2 lunches and 2 dinners in the restaurant. Servers, including one of the study's researchers, took customers' orders, and weighed the full plate of food that they had ordered before serving it to them.

Each plate was attached with a small sticky note written with details including weight and other information. At the end of the meal, every plate was brought back to the kitchen and weighed again. The results showed that diners who used the bigger fork ate less food than those who used the smaller fork.

Such theory, however, only worked in a restaurant setting. In another study conducted in the laboratory using also Italian food, researchers found that people who used big forks actually eat more. Hence, the study concluded that there are different motivations when people eat in a restaurant or a laboratory.

If you wish to control the amount you eat, perhaps you should ask for or simply bring along a big fork the next time you visit an Italian restaurant!

Is Video Game Really Bad For Children?

Video game, together with other screen-based entertainments like TV and DVD watching, as well as leisure time computer use, has long been accused as one of the culprits that cause children obesity.

Does this mean that children should be totally banned from playing video games? Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine might have a different perspective, as they believed video games could be used to encourage kids to eat healthier foods.

Their study, which was conducted in the United States, found that children who played certain video games increased the amount of fruit and vegetables they ate each day by around one serving. In the United States, nearly one in five 6- to 19-year-olds is obese. The findings were published on December 7, 2010 in the ‘American Journal of Preventive Medicine’.

The 2 video games used in the study were "Escape from Diab” and “Nanoswarm" designed by Archimage to change diet and physical activity behaviors to reduce the risk of becoming obese and diabetic. Archimage is a Houston-based visual arts studio using its experience in computer-based architecture to specialize in serious video game development for the medial research community.

“Escape from Diab” and “Nanoswarm” were designed as epic video game adventures that are comparable to commercial quality video games. A broad diversity of behavior change procedures was incorporated into the games, which can really motivate players to substantially improve diet behaviors.

Obese children are more likely to grow up to be obese adults, to suffer from many chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke and fatty liver disease, and to die prematurely of any cause, as shown by numerous studies.

The finding is definitely a useful step towards fighting childhood obesity because increasing intake of fruit and vegetables could reduce the risk of obesity.

But, researchers also pointed out that while there was increased intake of health foods, children still failed to consume the minimum daily amount of fruit and vegetables recommended by doctors. What worrying them most is that children did not get enough physical exercise. According to health professionals, children should eat 5 servings a day of fruit or vegetables and get an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise.

Though serious video games hold promise, the researchers still felt that their effectiveness and mechanisms of change among youth need to be more thoroughly investigated.

Weight Loss Could Help Ward Off Diabetes!

Insulin resistance sometimes combined with absolute insulin deficiency cause Type-2 diabetes to develop. Insulin resistance is a condition in which cells cannot use insulin properly. Type-1 and gestational diabetes are the other two main types of diabetes.

Of the many risk factors identified for Type-2 diabetes, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits are somewhat associated with weight gain. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, family history and genetics, and increased age can also raise the likelihood of getting Type-2 diabetes.

A study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that Type-2 diabetes could possibly be reversed if obese diabetics go for a weight-loss surgery. Their findings published on August 16, 2010 in the medical journal, ‘Archives of Surgery’ indicated that 75 percent of obese diabetics who had undergone weight-loss surgery (bariatric surgery) could actually stop taking diabetes medications within 6 months of their operation.

Researchers carried out one of the few studies examining how surgery can affect health cost in Type-2 diabetics by analyzing insurance claims data from 2,235 patients who underwent bariatric surgery during a 4-year period.

The results showed that among the diabetic patients who had bariatric surgery, only one quarter were still taking diabetes drugs 6 months later. In fact, the number kept falling: 12 months after the surgery, less than 20 percent of patients were taking medications and 24 months after surgery, only 15 percent were still been prescribed with medications.

It has long been known that diabetes and obesity can rarely be reversed once they are developed. This is definitely good news for obese Type-2 diabetics since the need for chronic medications can be eliminated and the overall medical cost could be reduced too. More importantly, this can greatly reduce the risk of developing heart considering the fact that diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease.

Nevertheless, it seems that bariatric surgery would be the only solution that most of the obese diabetics can opt for in order to substantially reverse both obesity and Type-2 diabetes, at least for the time being until experts can find a successful non-surgical methods.

Why Mango Should Be In Your Diet List?

Who wants to be overweight? If this question is asked, it is quite sure that no one would raise the hand and say yes. The reason is simple. Overweight and obesity would bring along many undesired medical disorders including heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), stroke and Type-2 diabetes.

Overweight people, with a few exceptions, would try every means to lose the extra weight they have. They will either adopt weight management program that incorporates exercise and diet or take some products that could help lose weight.

Among the many weight-loss products available, researchers from Cameroon's University of Yaounde found a product, originated from West Africa, which could help overweight or obese people lose weight and stabilize cholesterol levels. It is a fruit called irvingia gabonensis, also known as African mango. Their findings were published on March 25, 2009 in ‘Lipids in Health and Disease’.

In the study, a test group of 102 overweight adults was given either extracts of the fruit or a placebo 2 times a day over a period of 10 weeks. The individuals’ diet and levels of activity were not changed.

At the end of 10 weeks, people who consumed fruit extract had a significant weight loss, a total of 12.5 kilos (or 28 pounds), while those who were in the placebo group showed no change in their weight. Participants taking the extract also had reduction in LDL (bad) cholesterol and nominal improvements in their blood sugar levels.

According to the researchers, the fruit extract helps bodies become more sensitive to lepitin, which is a hormone excreted by the body to control fat storage, especially in the midsection. As many overweight or obese people are resistant to lepitin, the fruit extract helps their bodies to overcome such resistance thus resulting in weight loss.

While some side effects like excess gas, sleep problems and headaches were reported among some participants in the fruit extract group, such side effects were also reported similarly in rate among participants in the placebo group.

Though scientists have suspected that Africa mango has the ability to help trim excess weight, this was the very first clinical study showing its true effects. It is hoped that the new findings would inspire some larger clinical studies to be implemented to further confirm the benefits derived.

How Fast Can Stroke Cause Brain Damage?

A stroke, sometimes also known as brain attack, occurs when there is an interruption of blood supply to any part of the brain because of blockage or burst in one of the blood vessels in the brain. If the brain cannot get blood and oxygen, the brain cells could die and permanent damage would be caused within a relatively short period.

Stroke is one of the top killer s in the developed countries. In Canada, stroke ranks the fourth leading cause of death, affecting as many as 50,000 people and killing 16,000 every year. Risk factors for stroke include alcoholism, diabetes, high cholesterol, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and stress.

So how fast can stroke damage the brain?

Common public perception believes that all strokes can be medically treated within 3 hours, but scientists from the University of British Columbia in this Western Canadian city reported otherwise. Their study, which was funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, found that stroke could cause brain damage within 3 minutes.

Generally, stroke can be categorized into 2 types: ischemic and hemorrhagic. Ischemic strokes are those caused by interruption of the blood supply, while hemorrhagic strokes are those that result from rupture of a blood vessel or an abnormal vascular structure.

About 80 percent of stroke patients suffer ischemic stroke, which can usually be treated by clot-busting medications, provided if they could be admitted to the hospital within 3 hours. In reality, not every stroke patient is a candidate for clot-busting drugs.

Based on the results obtained from animal experiments performed, the scientists declared that brain could be damaged within 3 minutes. Such 3-minute window does not give people sufficient time to even call for help.

Preventive measures, therefore, are urgently required to tackle structural changes that happen very early on. People just need to manage risk factors and change their lifestyle to prevent getting a stroke, instead of relying on treatment when stroke strikes them.

Should Obese Be Called Fat?

Obesity epidemic has been a worldwide issue not only in developed and wealthy countries but also among many developing countries. For example, the United Kingdom (UK) has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe, with the level steadily increased over the last 10 years. According to the Department of Health in UK, almost 25 percent of adults and 14 percent of children were classified as obese in 2008.

An obese is a highly possible victim of many chronic diseases including Type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), heart cholesterol, heart disease, atherosclerosis, stroke and certain types of cancer.

Authorities and health community have utilized all ways and means to curb the growing obesity epidemic. Recently, a government official in Europe has even suggested to call people who are obese as “fat” to motivate them to lose weight. The reason quoted by this official is that calling an obese “fat” could encourage this person to take personal responsibility for his or her lifestyles.

Most doctors and health workers tend not to use the word “fat” as they feel this will stigmatize people who are overweight or obese. However, this official believes that people will only start paying attention when they are called “fat”, and not “obese”. Patients will start doing losing weight only when they have true information about themselves.

Some doctors agreed with the official as they felt doctors need to be honest with their patients rather than telling them what they love to hear. To some doctors, the term “obese” seems to medicalize the state, and makes it a third person issue. Sometimes, for the sake of patients, doctors just need to be more brutal and honest.

Nevertheless, there were objection from other medical professionals against what the official advocated. They felt that people just do not want to be offensive. Calling a person “fat” will more likely to disgrace and harm that person. They also pointed out that obesity is something that happens to people rather than something they are. As such, they suggested using the term “obesity” to encourage patients to think about the condition in a different way.

While the approach might be different, the aim is still the same: to encourage the patient to lose weight so that he or she can be healthy. The best approach, perhaps, still depends on the relationship the doctor has with the patient and the doctor should make their judgment on a patient-by-patient basis.

Which Weight Loss Method Is Most Effective In the Long Run?

More and more people are aware of the negative consequences that overweight and obesity will bring to them. Therefore, people who are overweight and obese will use whatever weight loss methods and tactics to help them getting rid of the extra weight they have. Unfortunately, not many of them would succeed in keeping their weight off in the long run.

Some health experts believe that losing lot of weight quickly at the outset would make the dieters gain most of the weight back. Hence, overweight and obese patients have often been encouraged losing weight in small increments. But others found this more of a myth. In fact, scientists have found that no matter how much weight people initially lose, they seem to gain back a similar percentage of that weight over the next year.

According to a new study published online in ‘Obesity Reviews’ in March 2010, people should lose a high amount of weight initially if they were concerned about the long-term weight. The findings were also presented on July 12, 2010 at the International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm, Sweden.

Researchers from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands analyzed data from 12 different weight-loss studies covering almost 1,000 overweight and obese participants, who went through an intensive weight-loss program comprising of exercise and nutrition guidance. Duration of all the weight-loss programs differed; each lasted between 10 weeks and one and a half years.

Each participant was weighed at the start and end of the weight-loss program, and again at least one year after completing the program. On average, participant who began at 209 pounds lost about 20 pounds over the duration of the program. One year later, participants were found to gain back an average of about half of the weight initially lost. This indicated that the participants who had initially lost the most weight also ended up with the best long-term results.

Nevertheless, the researchers cautioned people not to drop their weights at unsafe levels. 1 or 2 pounds a week should still be desirable for people wishing to lose weight. Meanwhile, they also suggested that future studies should follow participants for longer than one year after their initial weight loss to better understand the long-term effect of that initial weight loss.

What Cause The Diabetes Epidemic in Southeast Asia?

Junk food refers to food that is high in calories but low in nutritional content, according to the definition by Merriam-Webster. For decades, health experts have blamed junk food for causing obesity epidemic, especially among the youngsters.

On July 7, 2010, Australian and Vietnamese researchers from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research warned that the growing popularity of Western junk food is the culprit responding for the diabetes boom across Southeast Asia.

The study showed that about 11 percent of men and 12 percent of women in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City had Type-2 diabetes without even realizing it, in addition to the 4 percent of people who had already been diagnosed with diabetes. Their findings were based on testing a random sample of more than 2,000 people including 721 men and 1,421 women.

Being the most common form of diabetes, Type-2 diabetes is a medical disorder that is caused by high level of sugar and fat in the diet and inadequate exercise. If a patient with Type-2 diabetes were not getting timely treatment, he or she would face a higher risk of developing many complications including heart disease, kidney failure, limb amputation and vision loss.

In recent years, dietary patterns have been altered dramatically in Vietnam, particularly in cities that have become more westernized. Fast food outlets are available everywhere. This is rather sad because while developing countries are facing hunger and poverty, they are also affected by Western lifestyle diseases without adequate health resources to deal with.

Since similar study carried out in Thailand supported the link, the researchers are confident that their findings could be extrapolated to other parts of Southeast Asia including Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore.

Meanwhile, the researchers have also developed a simple risk assessment for diabetes, using blood pressure and waist-to-hip ratio. Hopefully, this can help doctors detect those who are most likely to have diabetes.