Healthy weight can cut cancer risk

Being obese or overweight raises the risk of cancers of the breast, bowel, pancreas, kidney, womb, oesophagus and gall bladder.

Researchers in the United Kingdom maintain that excess fat is the second biggest cause of cancer – next to, of course, smoking.

Researchers from the World Cancer Research Fund said that an alarming 63 per cent of the population in the United Kingdom is either obese or overweight – one of the highest levels in Europe.

However, they also claimed that 18 per cent of the 123,000 weight-related cases of cancer in the United Kingdom could be prevented every year if only people maintained a healthy weight.

They also claim that 22,000 Britons suffer from cancer every year because they are too fat, according to a report in the Daily Mail newspaper.

Anyone with a Body Mass Index of 30 and above is classified as obese while 25 and above falls in the overweight category.
Calculate your body mass index.

Professor Alan Jackson, chairman of the fund’s continuous update project panel and professor of human nutrition at the University of Southampton, said: “A significant number of cancer cases could be prevented by people maintaining a healthy body weight.”

The fund is carrying out a study of existing research to determine how many cancers are caused by people’s lifestyles.

“Through keeping levels of body fat low, a lot of people will avoid getting cancer in the first place – forestalling the pain and anguish associated with the disease.”

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Sugary drinks linked to obesity

Health experts the world over have long believed that the dramatic rise in the consumption of sugary drinks during the past few decades has paralleled the equally dramatic rise in obesity.

A new study in the U.S. now reinforces that notion, giving public health officials the much-needed evidence to consider clamping down on the consumption of sodas and other sweetened beverages that are high in calories but provide next to nil nutrition.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, follows research involving more than 33,000 American men and women, which proved that sweetened drinks raise the genetic risk of obesity, as they interact with genes that affect weight.

The researchers selected 32 variations of genes that are known to be associated with Body Mass Index to establish a genetic profile of the participants. They also determined the participants’ eating habits, their consumption of sweetened beverages and exercise habits.

Calculate your body mass index.

The decades-long research involved three long-running studies that separately and collectively reached the same conclusions.

In all the three studies, “the combined genetic effects on Body Mass Index and obesity risk among persons consuming one or more servings of sugar-sweetened beverages per day were approximately twice as large as those among persons consuming less than one serving per month”, the researchers said.

Obesity has today become a major threat to people’s health all over the world. So great is the threat that it has been classified as an epidemic.

Obesity and overweight are the fifth leading risk for global deaths. They are linked to more deaths than underweight.

The World Health Organisation defines obesity and overweight as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health.

The good news is that these conditions are preventable.

Experts believe that changes to our diet and lifestyle in the past three decades have contributed to the obesity epidemic.

Consumption of junk food and calorie-laded sugary drinks, a sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity are the three main causes of people piling on the pounds.

Of the three, the largest blame goes to sugar-sweetened beverages that are high in calories but low in nutrition but whose consumption has increased dramatically in the past few years.

In the U.S. diet, sugary drinks are the single biggest source of calories. They are blamed for the fact that a third of the U.S. children and teens and more than two-thirds of adults are obese or overweight.

A new damning report says that if the current trend continues then by 2030 more than half the population of the U.S. will be obese!

Obesity in the U.S.: A Burgeoning Crisis.

The new study vindicates what New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is trying to do in his city. In a trend-setting move, the city’s Board of Health has passed legislation banning the sale of super-sized colas in most public outlets.

Michael Bloomberg: A modern-day Don Quixote?

The ban does not come into effect until March 2013 but whether this limited clamp will have the desired result of reducing the consumption of colas and thereby bringing down the obesity rate remains to be seen but it seems a well-intentioned measure.

At least, well worth adopting in other cities in the U.S. and around the world where cola consumption is high.

Michael Bloomberg: A modern-day Don Quixote?

Love him or hate him, you just can't ignore him!

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been vilified and pilloried for steamrolling through legislation that clamps down on the sale of super-sized colas and sugary drinks in many large outlets in the city’s five boroughs.

His justification?

More than half of adult New Yorkers are obese or overweight and annually nearly 6,000 New Yorkers lose their lives to the burgeoning epidemic of obesity.

Bloomberg has made curbing obesity a top goal of his administration. Obesity increases the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension and other chronic illnesses.

"We cannot continue to have our kids come down with diabetes at age 6."

Rising obesity among children is of specific concern as it puts them at greater risk of serious health problems as they age. Doctors believe that children who are extremely obese may continue to be extremely obese as adults.

Despite his good, some call it misguided, intention Bloomberg is being seen in some quarters as a modern-day Don Quixote tilting at windmills represented, in this case, by large fast-food chain restaurants!

Up in arms are those who will be badly hit by the 16-ounce limit on sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, delis and theaters – the soft drinks and restaurant industries and the large movie chains.

Backing them are 60 per cent of New Yorkers who oppose the restrictions, according to a New York Times poll.

They believe the measure is:

• An assault on personal liberty. At the best of times New Yorkers don’t like to be told what to do. Bloomberg has been accused of being overbearing, over-reacting and turning New York into a 'nanny’ state.
• Self-defeating. According to the ban refills are permitted. Even by Bloomberg's admission "restaurant customers can still buy as much soda as they want, as long as they are willing to carry it in multiple containers".
• The regulation has its limits. The restrictions do not apply to supermarkets or most convenience stores since they are not subject to New York City Board of Health regulations.

However, let’s count the calories.

A 20-ounce Coke has 24o calories and a 16-ounce Coke 200 calories.

If you drink a Coke a day, choosing a 16-ounce bottle over the 20-ounce would say you 14,600 calories over a year. That is enough to add about 1.8 kilograms of fat to your body!

New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley believes that if New Yorkers reduced their cola consumption from 20 ounces to 16 ounces every other week, it would help them avoid gaining some 2.3 million pounds a year.

Bloomberg has been instrumental in introducing a number of health measures in New York, including:

• A ban on smoking in public places;
• Forcing chain restaurants to post calories on their menus;
• A ban on artificial trans fats in french fries and other restaurant food;
• Promoting breast-feeding over formula.

Though the ban on super-sized cola does not take effect until March 2013, the big corporations have already declared their intention to fight the regulation.

"This is a political solution and not a health solution," said Eliot Hoff, a spokesman for an industry-sponsored group called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, which claims to have gathered more than 250,000 signatures on petitions against the plan.

“This is not the end,” said Eliot Hoff, a spokesman for the group, after the vote. “We are exploring legal options, and all other avenues available to us.”

Only time will tell whether the initiative will bear the desired results and help New Yorkers lead healthier lives.

For sure, city officials, health experts around the nation, and beverage and restaurant industries will be closely how this pans out.

Do you think Michael Bloomberg is on the right track? Please leave your comments below.

Migraines do not lead to weight gain

It's long been thought that women who have migraines run a greater risk of becoming overweight as compared to women who are not afflicted by this debilitating illness.

Migraines are recurring and severe headaches that may also include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, eyesight changes and and sensitivity to light and noise.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

They are widespread among women and severe migraine attacks have been classified by the World Health Organization as among the most disabling illnesses, comparable to dementia, quadriplegia and active psychosis.

Up to now, it was thought that migraines could contribute to weight gain indirectly – with, for instance, frequent or severe headaches keeping a person from exercising regularly.

However, an international study has now found "no consistent association between migraine and incident overweight, obesity or relevant weight gain".

The current study, published in the journal Cephalalgia, looked at data from 19,162 participants in the Women's Health Study who were aged 45 or older, and of normal weight, when the research began. A total of 3,483 women reported incidences of migraines.

"After 12.9 years of follow-up, 7,916 incident overweight and 730 incident obesity cases occurred," says the study.

But the likelihood of becoming obese was no greater among women with a history of migraines, and the risk of being overweight was only slightly higher.

Researchers also found that women who had migraines daily to weekly were at no greater risk of becoming overweight or obese that those who had migraine attacks only a few times a year.

However, the study did not look at the opposite scenario – whether overweight or obese women are at increased risk of migraines or severe headaches.

Several studies have indicated a strong association between obesity and increased migraine frequency with some even suggesting that weight contributed to developing migraines in the first place.

Will Belviq help US' 'war on obesity' ?

The battle of the bulge in the United States is getting more earnest with federal authorities now opening a new frontier in their fight against a burgeoning crisis.

The Food and Drug Administration has given its nod to Arena Pharmaceutical’s Belviq, generically known as lorcaserin.

It is the first new prescription drug for long-term weight loss approved in 13 years, after Roche’s Xenical in 1999.

Belviq ... new weapon against obesity

Belviq is meant for adults who are obese (with a body mass index of 30 or greater) or overweight (with a BMI of 27 or greater) and have at least one medical complication, like diabetes or high cholesterol.

Arena and its partner Eisai Inc. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey expect to launch the drug early next year.

Belviq acts on chemicals in the brain and reduces appetite thereby boosting feelings of satiety and fullness.

Doctors believe that diet and exercise are either not religiously adhered to, not producing the expected results or are not enough to treat obesity.

Obesity Society President Patrick O’Neil welcomes Belviq’s approval. He should – he was the lead researcher on several studies of the drug!

But will Belviq bear expected results? Consider the following:

• Belviq was rejected in 2010 after scientists voiced concerns after the drug formed breast tumors in rats;

• Clinical trials show Belviq only achieving modest weight loss – an average patient lost just 3 to 3.7 per cent of the starting body weight over a year;

• Vivus Inc.’s Qnexa, on the other hand, is thought to lead to an average weight loss of 11 per cent – so why Belviq first?

• Side effects of Belviq include depression, migraine and memory lapses;

• FDA-approved Xenical is seldom prescribed today because of unpleasant digestive side effects and modest weight loss;

• Analysts are also skeptical that Belviq will also go down the same road as other unpopular anti-obesity and diet pills.

The approval of Belviq comes close on the heels of a recommendation by the US Preventive Services Task Force that doctors should screen the weight and height for all patients to check for obesity.

The federal health advisory panel also suggests that patients considered obese should be referred to intensive diet and exercise programs, if necessary.

Courtesy: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to latest available statistics more than a third of adults in the United States are obese with the past couple of decades witnessing a dramatic rise in the obesity rate.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already taken up the cudgels by proposing to ban super-sized coals in restaurants, theatres and public places as part of a drive to fight obesity.

Desperate times call for desperate measures but one wonders if, instead of such radical steps, wouldn’t a greater emphasis on education and awareness about the issue bear better results?

The world is getting fatter!

Obesity is a worldwide problem with a study suggesting that pressure on dwindling resources will increase as more and more people keep getting fatter.

According to the World Health Organization’s World Health Statistics 2012, one in six adults is obese.

Key findings from the report:

• Worldwide, 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being either overweight or obese

• By 2008, 10 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women (half a billion people) in the world were obese, compared with 5 per cent of men and 8 per cent of women in 1980.

• WHO’s Region of the Americas has the highest percentage of overweight and obese people (62 per cent overweight in both sexes, and 26 per cent obese) and the South-East Asia Region has the lowest (14 per cent overweight in both sexes and 3 per cent obese).

No wonder governments have started considering measures to regulate high-fat or high-calorie foods.

In fact, some have already begun to embrace taxes and other regulation on foods that contribute to weight gain.

• Denmark imposed a tax in 2011 on foods containing more than 2.3 per cent saturated fats – lifting the costs of butter by 30 per cent and a bag of chips by 8 per cent. In 2010, the country had raised excise taxes on chocolate, ice cream, sugary drinks and candy by 25 per cent.

• Hungary, in 2011, started taxing prepackaged foods high in sugar, salt or caffeine – including carbonated sugary drinks, cookies, jams and instant soups.

• Finland, in 2011, introduced a tax on sweets, chocolates and ice cream, and raised its existing excise tax on soft drinks.

• Belgium, Ireland, Romania, Italy and the United Kingdom have considered similar measures as obesity rates among their citizens surge.

The nations' burden - obesity

This from BMC Public Health:

"Increasing population fatness could have the same implications for world food energy demands as an extra half a billion people living on the earth."

This is the conclusion of a group of researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who say that people’s weight – not just population size – should be taken into account when planning how to deal with increasing pressure on the planet’s dwindling resources.

Key findings:

•               In 2005, global adult human biomass was approximately 287 million tonnes, of which 15 million tonnes were due to overweight (BMI > 25), a mass equivalent to that of 242 million people of average body mass (5% of global human biomass).

•               Biomass due to obesity was 3.5 million tonnes, the mass equivalent of 56 million people of average body mass (1.2% of human biomass).

•               North America has 6% of the world population but 34% of biomass due to obesity.

•               Asia has 61% of the world population but 13% of biomass due to obesity.

•               One tonne of human biomass corresponds to approximately 12 adults in North America and 17 adults in Asia.

•               If all countries had the BMI distribution of the United States, the increase in human biomass of 58 million tonnes would be equivalent in mass to an extra 935 million people of average body mass, and have energy requirements equivalent to that of 473 million adults.

Key facts from the World Health Organisation:

•               a BMI greater than or equal to 25 is overweight

•               a BMI greater than or equal to 30 is obesity.

More key facts:

•               Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980.

•               In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight. Of these over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese.

•               65% of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.

•               More than 40 million children under the age of five were overweight in 2010.

Obesity is preventable.