Obesity
Difficult births in obese women due to uterus failure
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Liverpool scientists have uncovered the reason why overweight women have more Caesarean sections; they are at significant risk of their uterus contracting poorly in childbirth
In a study of 4,000 pregnant women, researchers found that almost 1 in 5 overweight women had to undergo an emergency Caesarean Section birth because the muscles in their uterus failed. The research suggests obesity impairs the ability of the uterus to contract sufficiently in order to dilate the cervix and deliver the baby.
The team from the University of Liverpool’s Physiology department found that obese women were 3.5 times more likely to require a Caesarean for slow labour than normal weight women.
Childhood Obesity Among Quebec Cree Raises Concerns
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Childhood obesity is increasing among the general population in Canada, but the statistics are even more alarming among First Nations, Inuit and Métis children. In a study published recently in the American Journal of Public Health, University of Alberta researchers found that up to 65 per cent of Cree preschoolers in northern Quebec communities were overweight or obese.
Dr. Noreen Willows, a community nutritionist at the University of Alberta, and her colleagues also studied obesity levels in Cree schoolchildren aged 9 to 12 living in two Cree Nations north of Montreal, Canada.
Major genetic study identifies clearest link yet to obesity risk
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Scientists have identified the most clear genetic link yet to obesity in the general population as part of a major study of diseases funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK’s largest medical research charity. People with two copies of a particular gene variant have a 70% higher risk of being obese than those with no copies.
Obesity is a major cause of disease, associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. It is typically measured using body mass index (BMI). As a result of reduced physical activity and increased food consumption, the prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide. According to the 2001 Health Survey for England, over a fifth of males and a similar proportion of females aged 16 and over in England were classified as obese. Half of men and a third of women were classified as overweight.
Severely obese fastest-growing US overweight group
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People who are 100 pounds (45 kg) or more overweight are the fastest-growing group of overweight people in the United States, researchers reported on Monday.
They found the proportion of the severely obese was 50 percent higher in 2005 than it had been in 2000—a startling rate of growth.
Obese patients ‘increasing back pain among nurses’
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A rise in the number of obese patients on wards could be causing thousands of NHS nurses to seek treatment for back pain, according to experts.
About 5,000 nurses are currently being treated for back pain following a surge in patients’ weights and the number of patients a nurse has to care for, according to the British Chiropractic Association.
Childhood obesity risk halved with just 15 minutes of exercise a day
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Just 15 minutes of exercise a day could be enough for children to keep their weight at healthy levels, a joint UK/US study has found.
The study, conducted by the Universities of Bristol and Bath and their colleagues in the US, found that short bursts of daily exercise seemed to be best at cutting obesity.
Dutch hope to invent foods that prevent obesity
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Scientists in the Netherlands are developing a new generation of foods that can help prevent obesity by making people eat less, a research institute said on Thursday.
The Top Institute Food and Nutrition (TIFN), funded by the Dutch government and food groups like CSM Anglo-Dutch Unilever, is also developing food ingredients which can stop an obese person from developing diabetes.
Incidence of Fatty Liver Disease rises as obesity in children increases
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Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are taking a closer look at a disease whose incidence is rising as obesity in children increases. Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, more popularly known as Fatty Liver Disease, occurs in approximately 15% of obese children. Fatty Liver Disease, in which fat accumulates in the liver, while not life threatening in children, can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, sometimes requiring transplantation by adulthood.
“Until now the only treatment for Fatty Liver Disease has been to offer diet and exercise counseling, but this is often not effective. As part of a national multicenter research network, we are now looking at Vitamin E and at metformin, a drug used to treat Type II diabetes, as possible therapies” said Jean Molleston, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics at IU School of Medicine and director of pediatric gastroenterology at Riley Hospital for Children. Dr. Molleston is the pediatric principal investigator for the IU School of Medicine site of TONIC, an eight-center Phase III study funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, which is investigating treatment options for Fatty Liver Disease in 8 to 17 year olds and is the largest study of its type to date.
Researchers show how obesity causes breakdown in system which regulates appetite and weight
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New research led by scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center demonstrates how obesity causes the breakdown of a brain system that regulates appetite. The research provides a clear picture of some factors involved in obesity. More than 60 percent of American adults are overweight and more than 30 percent are obese The study results may have also identified possible targets for new drug therapies aimed at assisting individuals in weight loss. The research is published in the March issue of Cell Metabolism.
The research provides new understanding of leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone secreted by fat cells. It can suppress food intake by affecting brain cells that control appetite. However, high levels of leptin which can be found in severely overweight individuals, can lead to leptin resistance. Leptin resistance means that the body no longer responds to the hormone’s weight suppressing effects.
Childhood obesity triggers early puberty
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Childhood obesity in the United States appears to be causing girls to reach puberty at an earlier age, for reasons that are not clear, a study said on Monday.
The report from the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital said a multiyear study following a group of 354 girls found that those who were fatter at age 3 and who gained weight during the next three years reached puberty, as defined by breast development, by age 9.
Kids who eat in large groups tend to eat more
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A new study shows that children consume more snack food - almost one third more than usual—when they eat in large groups.
“This observation makes sense in that people—and animals—perform behaviors ‘more’ or ‘more robustly’ when they are doing the behavior surrounded by others,” Dr. Julie Lumeng who led the study told Reuters Health.
Obesity poses larger diabetes risk than inactivity
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Although obesity and lack of physical activity both raise the risk of type 2 diabetes in women, obesity appears to be the more important factor, researchers report in the journal Diabetes Care.
Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues note that the relative contribution of obesity and inactivity to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes remains controversial.
‘Normal-weight obese’ syndrome may up heart risks
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People who are normal-weight but carry a good deal of body fat may be at increased risk of heart disease and stroke, a small study suggests.
Most people have by now heard of body mass index (BMI), a measure used to classify people as normal-weight, overweight or obese based on their weight and height.
However, there are people who are technically normal-weight based on their BMI yet have a substantial amount of excess fat, and some researchers say this is its own type of “syndrome.”
Major Link in Brain-Obesity Puzzle Found
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A single protein in brain cells may act as a linchpin in the body’s weight-regulating system, playing a key role in the flurry of signals that govern fat storage, sugar use, energy balance and weight, University of Michigan Medical School researchers report.
And although it’s far too early to say how this protein could be useful in new strategies to fight the world’s epidemic of obesity, the finding gives scientists an important system to target in future research and the development of anti-obesity medications.
In the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, U-M researcher Liangyou Rui, Ph.D. and his team report their findings on a protein called SH2B1, and specifically on its activity in brain cells.
Exercise helps stoke fat-burning fires
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It may be easier for active people to stay slim after a few days of eating too much fat, a new study shows.
Given that eating lots of fat over short stretches likely leads to accumulation of excess body fat over time, Dr. Kent C. Hansen of the University of Wisconsin in Madison and his colleagues write, regular exercise may help people maintain a healthy weight even if they do indulge occasionally.
While the body can adjust fairly rapidly to excess carbohydrate intake by boosting the rate at which it burns calories from carbs, it takes several days to adjust in a similar way to an increase in fat intake, Hansen and his team note in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. However, there is evidence that exercise can help the body adapt more quickly, they add.
