Tag Archives: Obesity

Obesity Study: “Late Night Snacking” Older Adults – Higher Fat Levels Than Early Eaters On Same Diet

April 2, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a PLOS Biology Journal study (Feb 20, 2020):

Snacking Before you sleep Keeps on the Fat PLOS Biology April 2020 — Schematic: Late-evening snacking interacts with the circadian rhythm of metabolism to inhibit LO.

The major finding of this study is that the timing of feeding over the day leads to significant differences in the metabolism of an equivalent 24-h nutritional intake. Daily timing of nutrient availability coupled with daily/circadian control of metabolism drives a switch in substrate preference such that the late-evening Snack Session resulted in significantly lower LO compared to the Breakfast Session.

Developed countries are experiencing an epidemic of obesity that leads to many serious health problems, foremost among which are increasing rates of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. While weight gain and obesity are primarily determined by diet and exercise, there is tremendous interest in the possibility that the daily timing of eating might have a significant impact upon weight management [1–3]. Many physiological processes display day/night rhythms, including feeding behavior, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, body temperature, and sleep.

These daily oscillations are controlled by the circadian clock, which is composed of an autoregulatory biochemical mechanism that is expressed in tissues throughout the body and is coordinated by a master pacemaker located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the brain (aka the SCN [1,4]). The circadian system globally controls gene expression patterns so that metabolic pathways are differentially regulated over the day, including switching between carbohydrate and lipid catabolism [1,3,5–9]. Therefore, ingestion of the same food at different times of day could lead to differential metabolic outcomes, e.g., lipid oxidation (LO) versus accumulation; however, whether this is true or not is unclear.

Study: Maintaining Weight Loss Tied To Healthier Eating Routines Formed Over Two-Year Period

March 16, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a New York Times online article (March 16, 2020):

“Maintaining weight loss can get easier over time. Over time, less intentional effort, though not no effort, is needed to be successful. After about two years, healthy eating habits become part of the routine. Healthy choices become more automatic the longer people continue to make them. They feel weird when they don’t.”

Among the useful strategies identified in the new study is to keep lower calorie foods like fruits and vegetables more accessible. “We eat what we see,” Dr. Phelan noted. The corollary is equally important: keep high-calorie, less nourishing foods relatively inaccessible and out of sight if not out of the house entirely.

The new study led by Dr. Phelan, professor of kinesiology and public health at California Polytechnic State University, identified habits and strategies that can be keys to success for millions. Yes, like most sensible weight-loss plans, they involve healthful eating and regular physical activity. But they also include important self-monitoring practices and nonpunitive coping measures that can be the crucial to long-term weight management.

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Diet, Health, News, Studies

Studies: “Ultra-Processed Foods” Are 58% Of All Calories In U.S., & Obesity Epidemic’s Major Cause

March 9, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a The Guardian online article (Feb 12, 2020):

What characterizes ultra-processed foods is that they are so altered that it can be hard to recognize the underlying ingredients. These are concoctions of concoctions, engineered from ingredients that are already highly refined, such as cheap vegetable oils, flours, whey proteins and sugars, which are then whipped up into something more appetizing with the help of industrial additives such as emulsifiers.

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From a MedPage Today online article (March 7, 2020):

The top ultra-processed foods by calorie intake were breads, beverages, cakes, cookies and pies, salty snacks, frozen and shelf-stable dishes, pizza, and breakfast cereals.

Altogether, ultra-processed foods accounted for 58% of all calories in the U.S. diet and nearly 90% of all added sugars.

They divided foods into four categories:

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Fresh, dry, or frozen fruits or vegetables, grains, legumes, meat, fish, and milk
Processed culinary ingredients: Table sugar, oils, fats, salt, and other substances extracted from foods or from nature and used in kitchens to make culinary preparations
Processed foods: Foods manufactured with the addition of salt, sugar, or other substances of culinary use to unprocessed or minimally-processed foods, such as canned food, simple breads, and cheese
Ultra-processed foods: Formulations of several ingredients that — besides salt, sugar, oils, and fats — include food substances not used in culinary preparations, in particular, flavors, colors, sweeteners, emulsifiers, and other additives used to imitate sensory qualities of unprocessed or minimally-processed foods and their culinary preparations or to disguise undesirable qualities of the final product

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Diet, Health, Reviews

Health: Growing Concern Over “The Obesity-Cancer Link” (The Lancet)

February 19, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a The Lancet online editorial (Feb 3, 2020):

Prevention represents the most cost-effective, long-term strategy for reducing the cancer burden and associated mortality. If provided with adequate information and support to adopt a healthy lifestyle, individuals can reduce their exposure to behavioural and dietary cancer risk factors by quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy BMI, cutting down on alcohol consumption, exercising more, and eating a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables.

Although smoking is currently the major cause of preventable cancer cases and accounts for 22% of cancer deaths, a 2018 report from Cancer Research UK estimated that high BMI (overweight and obesity) now causes more cases of four common cancers (bowel, kidney, ovarian, and liver) in the UK than does smoking, and could overtake smoking as the biggest cause of cancer in women in the UK by 2043. According to WHO, in 2016, 1·9 billion adults around the world were overweight, of whom 650 million had obesity—triple the number in 1975. State-level projections for the USA paint an even bleaker picture going forward: by 2030, 48·9% of adults will have obesity; 24·2% of adults will have severe obesity; and severe obesity will be the most common BMI category among women, non-Hispanic black adults, and low-income adults. With such shocking statistics, the knock-on effect of the obesity epidemic for cancer prevention and control cannot be underestimated.

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Food, Health, News, Nutrition, Obesity

Health Infographics: “Hidden Sugars” In What We Eat & Drink Add Up Fast

Image February 14, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Diet, Health, Medicine, Nutrition, Obesity, Videos

Mayo Clinic Health: “Obesity Epidemic And Popular Diet Trends”

Video February 9, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

On the Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Donald Hensrud, director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program, discusses the obesity epidemic and talks about popular diet trends, including intermittent fasting.

This interview originally aired Feb. 8, 2020.

Learn more about intermittent fasting: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li…

Health, Lectures, Medicine, Obesity, Videos

Obesity Risks: “Fatty Liver Disease – The Silent Epidemic” (UCSF Video)

Video February 7, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs when fat is deposited in the liver, without other causes of fatty liver identified. Dr. Danielle Brandman explores who is at risk, diagnosis, staging, complications and management.

More from: Organ Failure and Replacement: Why Organs Fail and What Therapies are Available for Organ Replacement (https://www.uctv.tv/organ-failure-rep…)

Diet, Health, News, Sleep, Studies

Studies: Disrupted Sleep Cycles & Dopamine Linked; Craving “High-Calorie Food” & Obesity Are Result

January 4, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a NeuroscienceNews.com online release article (01/02/20):

During the years 1976 through 1980, 15% of U.S. adults were obese. Today, about 40%of adults are obese. Another 33% are overweight.

“But, of course, food is now abundant, and our next meal is as close as the kitchen, or the nearest fast-food drive-through, or right here on our desk. Often, these foods are high in fats, sugars, and therefore calories, and that’s why they taste good. It’s easy to overconsume, and, over time, this takes a toll on our health.”

Current Biology Journal Dopamine Signaling and Weight Gain January 2 2020 — Dopamine Signaling in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Enables Weight Gain Associated with Hedonic Feeding – Current Biology January 2, 2020

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In a study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, Güler and his colleagues demonstrate that the pleasure center of the brain that produces the chemical dopamine, and the brain’s separate biological clock that regulates daily physiological rhythms, are linked, and that high-calorie foods – which bring pleasure – disrupt normal feeding schedules, resulting in overconsumption. Using mice as study models, the researchers mimicked the 24/7 availability of a high-fat diet, and showed that anytime snacking eventually results in obesity and related health problems.

Health, Reviews, Science

Health Research: Type 2 Diabetes Caused By “Overflow Of Fat” From Liver To Pancreas

December 26, 2019 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a Newcastle University news release:

“When fat cannot be safely stored under the skin, it is then stored inside the liver, and over-spills to the rest of the body including the pancreas. This ‘clogs up’ the pancreas, switching off the genes which direct how insulin should effectively be produced, and this causes Type 2 diabetes.”

This latest paper builds on previous Newcastle studies supported by Diabetes UK showing exactly why Type 2 diabetes can be reversed back to normal glucose control. Those studies led to the large DiRECT trial which showed that Primary Care staff can achieve remission of Type 2 diabetes by using a low calorie diet with support to maintain the weight loss.

A quarter of participants achieved a staggering 15 kg or more weight loss, and of these, almost nine out of 10 people put their Type 2 diabetes into remission. After two years, more than one third of the group had been free of diabetes and off all diabetes medication for at least two years.

In 2020, this approach to management of short duration Type 2 diabetes is to be piloted in the NHS in up to 5,000 people across England, and a similar programme is being rolled out in Scotland.

Health, News, Studies

New Study: Nearly 50% Of Americans Will Have Obesity By 2030, 25% Severely Obese (NEJM)

December 19, 2019 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a New England Journal of Medicine online study release:

The findings from our approach suggest with high predictive accuracy that by 2030 nearly 1 in 2 adults will have obesity (48.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 47.7 to 50.1), and the prevalence will be higher than 50% in 29 states and not below 35% in any state.

Nearly 1 in 4 adults is projected to have severe obesity by 2030 (24.2%; 95% CI, 22.9 to 25.5), and the prevalence will be higher than 25% in 25 states. We predict that, nationally, severe obesity is likely to become the most common BMI category among women (27.6%; 95% CI, 26.1 to 29.2), non-Hispanic black adults (31.7%; 95% CI, 29.9 to 33.4), and low-income adults (31.7%; 95% CI, 30.2 to 33.2).

Although severe obesity was once a rare condition, our findings suggest that it will soon be the most common BMI category in the patient populations of many health care providers. Given that health professionals are often poorly prepared to treat obesity,²⁷ this impending burden of severe obesity and associated medical complications has implications for medical practice and education.

In addition to the profound health effects, such as increased rates of chronic disease and negative consequences on life expectancy,^25,28 the effect of weight stigma²⁹ may have far-reaching implications for socioeconomic disparities as severe obesity becomes the most common BMI category among low-income adults in nearly every state.