The Fat Problem

Scientists in the United States have come out and stated that diets and dieting as a whole simply do not work for overall successful weight loss. Many dieters put on more weight than they lose. Dieting is unlikely to lead to long-term weight loss and may put people at an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke. This alarming news comes from researchers from the University of California who did a series of studies for around 5 years on many different diets. The researchers stated that even though the diets do work for a short period of time, in the long term you almost always end up putting your weight back on. Reasons Dieting leads to overeating and weight gain. On the psychological level, diets set people up to eat the very foods they are supposed to avoid. Yo-yo dieting increases health risks. The common response to a failed diet is to begin yet another weight loss plan. This leads to weight cycling where weight yo-yos up and down. Along with the emotional toll of losing and regaining weight are physical risks. Diets lead to lower self-esteem and depression. Diets lead to an increased risk of eating disorders. Parents frequently express concern over how they can prevent their children, particularly daughters, from developing an eating disorder. The researcher Traci Mann stated, We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more. Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people. A very small number of people in the study were able to lose weight and keep it off. Between 40% and 60% of the people who lose weight during a diet regain it within the next 4 or 5 years. To keep the weight off, the researchers state that a balanced diet with lots of exercise is the way to go. The report is published in the journal American Psychologist. Via: Foxnews.com

It is nearly 9 percent of American children who are suffering from ‘attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder’, and its only increasing trend along with the ‘attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy’ is leaving parents with no other option than to drug their children with Ritalin – a methylphenidate — with weight loss as a potential side effect. Thus, it has a potential side effect of dampening adults’ taste for calories and fat intake. Though it may worry many, it also can bring relief to millions across the world, especially those fallen victim to the obesity epidemic – a breathtaking relief for scientists left worried of the increasing obesity cases and the global economic burden following it. With just a single Ritalin dose’s capability to dampen adults’ taste for calories and fat, the ADHD drug can prove a potential weight-loss medication. Though theoretically, Ritalin could help people with those worrisome extra pounds control their appetite, the ADHD drug’s use as an effective weapon to help fight the bulges out of the world has been little studied. Banking on the theoretical basis for Ritalin’s usage in reducing appetite, the medical fraternity seems to have kept its fingers crossed in its being the future weapon in the battle against the global obesity epidemic. Via: foxnews Image

Are you among those overweight people who resorts to dieting to shed the excess fat? This article may be of interest to you, especially if you are among those who go on binge eating when you feel sad or lonely or depressed. You maybe under risk of not being able to keep the lost weight lost. The next time you feel depressed you should try to engage in some activities rather than eating. Try constructive stuff like taking courses or learning languages. It has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that people who ate because of emotional reasons tend to lose less weight than others. A recent US research has discovered that people who resort to eating when they are emotionally down are the ones who find it most difficult to keep a diet and lose weight. The researchers feel that this study provides the anwer to why several people who lose weight gain it back soon. We found that the more people report eating in response to thoughts and feelings, the less weight they lost, said Heather Niemeier, obesity researcher at The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, speaking on the occasion of releasing the research findings. Amongst successful weight losers, those who report emotional eating are more likely to regain, added Niemeier, whose study appears in the journal Obesity. The researchers studied eating patterns of two groups. First a group of 286 overweight men and women who were participating in a behavioral weight loss program. And a second group comprising of over 3,300 adults who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year. Niemeier and her team analyzed responses to an eating inventory questionnaire. The focus of the questinonaire was on those who ate as a result of external influences, such as at parties, restaurants, social occasions etc and internal influences, such as feeling lonely or as a reward. The researchers discovered that the more a person ate for internal reasons, the less weight they lost over time. Our results suggest that we need to pay more attention to eating triggered by emotions or thoughts as they clearly play a significant role in weight loss, said Niemeier. The study was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health

Are you worried about over eating and associated weight gain? It will not be long when you will be able to control your diet with ease and lose weight rapidly as soon as the Mandometer is available in the market. What is a mandometer? It is a computer connected to a set of scales with a food plate, which the dieter fills with food. The computer then records and stores the weight loss from the plate as the eater devours and warns the dieter when he is having more than he should and when the eater is gulping down too fast. 120 volunteers testing the mandometer in the first trial of its kind by the Childhood Obesity Clinic at the Bristol Royal Hospital had lost weight rapidly. Mandometer is expected to bring new hope to people suffering from obesity by effectively monitoring their diet. Source: Daily Mail Picture

The severely obese are the quickest growing overweight group in the United States according to a new study by researchers to be published in the journal Public Health. Severe obesity is defined as being 100lbs overweight, and according to the researchers in 2005, the proportion of severely obese Americans was 50% higher than it was in 200. The proportion of people at the high end of the weight scale continues to increase at a brisk rate despite increased public attention on the risks of obesity and the increased use of drastic weight loss strategies such as bariatric surgery. Roland Sturm said, The explosion in the use of bariatric (weight-loss) surgery has made no noticeable dent in the trend of morbid obesity. The research team reported that the amount of Americans with a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30 rose by 24% and that the amount of people with a BMI greater than 40 rose by 50 percent. Furthermore, the amount of stomach surgeries related to obesity, rose to an estimated 200000 in 2006, from 13000 in 1998. The researchers estimated that 30% of Americans have a BMI over 25% which is putting a lot of people at an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancer and stroke. Via : YAHOO!NEWS.com

Smoking is injurious to health and reduces your life expectancy by an average of ten years but the new study reports that obesity turns out to be more injurious to heath in comparison as the life expectancy of obese people is cut by 13 years. Cheap food, lack of exercise, over-indulgence and easy lifestyle creates obese citizens, adding to the woes of the government to handle the pressures of the growing epidemic. The issue is becoming grave over the years and the National Health Service is predicted to go bankrupt with obesity related projects eating away a major chunk of its finances. The Foresight report, that studied the rising obesity in Briton unveiled shocking statistics. Consider this: � It will take at least 30 years to reverse the current obesity crisis in Briton. � 60% of men, 50% of women and 25% of children will be declared clinically obese by 2050. � Type2 diabetes will rise by 70%, strokes by 30% and coronary diseases by 20%. � 10% of cancers among non-smokers linked to obesity. � 85% of blood pressure is associated with a BMI >25. Obese people who used to ‘stand out’ of the crowds now have become a norm and are no more frowned upon. While the government’s finances are getting drained out of the coffers, it’s the food companies and the pharmaceuticals that are laughing all the way to the banks! On the serious note, there is no point in waiting for the government to handle such issues, instead it’s the obese that have to manage their life, after all, they have worked hard to ‘pile up the pounds’ and they should do the same to shed them! Image

Living with kids could be the reason why you are growing obese. A survey was conducted and was found that adults living with kids consumed 5gms of fat more than those in kids-free households. Kids demand a lot of snacks like pizzas, chocolates, burgers, chips, cakes and cookies. All these snacks are rich in calories and are loaded with saturated fats and sugar. When you buy these snacks for your kids, it’s natural for the adults to be tempted to have a bite too. Each time the adults go for a bite, they are increasing their calorie intake and in the process put on weight along with their kids. When these fatty foods are in the house, adults tend to eat them too. The solution: health foods and snacks for everyone. says Delia Hammock, R.D., nutritionist, Good Housekeeping Institute Of course, you can’t send your kids anywhere to solve this problem. The solution is to make healthy snacks at home which both your kids and you can enjoy without feeling guilty. You can find a number of recipes for healthy snacks here. That doesn’t mean that adults without kids are slim; there are over weight adults in such households too. Moral of the story: Kids or no kids, you put on weight when you eat junk food. Image Source

Television could play a major role in the growing obesity among children. A study shows that most of the ads shown during the children’s program promote junk foods that tempt the kids into eating them. The University of Sydney studied the number of ads for high-fat and high-sugar foods during the popular programs for kids aged between 5 and twelve, teenagers between 13 and 17 and adult programs. It was found the junk foods made up about sixty seven percent of the food ads shown in programs for children when compared to thirty nine percent of the junk food ads during adult programs. This means, even if the kids watched television for even one hour, they were exposed to an average of nine junk food ads an hour. The actual average time the kids spend in front of the tube is two hours a day meaning the number of junk food ads they watched could be a lot higher. When kids watch these ads, they are likely to demand the products they see more often on the tube. Parents have little choice and have to give in to their demands. Since these products are calorie rich and nutrient deficient, the kids grow fat when they consume them. The researchers say that there must be strict regulations for the ads shown during the children’s programs. But the government or the television channels are unlikely to take any action as it will cut down the moolah they earn from these ads. The only option left is for the parents to take action by educating kids about healthy eating habits. Image Source

While on one hand, scientists are zooming in to the consequences of obesity and their rising epidemic across the globe, on the other researchers are up with arms in search for a solution to it. And eventually, here is a great breakthrough against the epidemic. Now, controlling hunger is literally in your hands! The Australian scientists have discovered a brain-targeting molecule — MIC-1 — that eventually can switch hunger on and off! Produced by common cancers and targets receptors in the brain, the molecule is responsible for switching off appetite. But, by using antibodies against it, the appetite can be switched back on. Herbert Herzog, director of neuroscience research at the Garvan Institute in Sydney said, This work has given us a better understanding of the part of the brain that regulates appetite. Our bodies send complex chemical signals to our brains, which interpret them and send back responses, in this case eat or don’t eat. Our research indicated that MIC-1 is a previously unrecognized molecule sending a don’t eat signal to the brain. Ah! It is really a good news for the morbidly obese who are desperate about losing weight, but know not where to start from! Not just that, this new finding would help doctors answer many terminally ill patients’ continuous and uncontrollable weight loss. Image

On health front, it seems that toughest challenge for Europe would be the rising tide of obesity, especially among the kids, as more and more European kids are putting on flab fast. This rising trend called, childhood obesity, is pointing to a serious threat, because it may hit the entire Europe hard, not only from health point of view but from economic point of view too because obesity, by turning people prone to several mental as well physical problems, would certainly effect people’s working skills. Experts believe that majority of kids who are overweight would remain obese when they grow into adults. On seeing the facts, given below, this sounds grimmer: � One in every five children is overweight or obese. � 18% of French children are overweight and 4% of them are obese. � In Europe, 10-20 percent of men are obese and almost half the population is overweight. May be that the threat of childhood obesity is somewhat grimmer in Europe but to say that other countries are not facing this crisis on health fronts, would be wrong as childhood obesity is emerging as a threat to not few countries but to the entire world, which could be cited through the following points: � Obesity Raising Its Head in Africa! � Obesity at Its Peak in England! � Obesity rates rise throughout USA � Canadian obesity rates rise dramatically in 25 years One more thing that comes to the fore in this regard, is the fact that the brunt of obesity is being faced not only by the countries that are rich but poorer countries are also seeing a steep rise in obesity cases. This much of rise in childhood obesity is quite disturbing because it is bound to introduce them with several life threatening health problems. In this regard, it is quite worrying that people are relying on artificial methods like ‘bariatric surgery’ to get rid of their extra flab and still are not recognizing the importance of physical workouts. This shows the fact according to which the number of US children going for obesity surgery has in the recent years. Every one of us will have to understand that bariatric surgery may help just in the short run but in order to stave off obesity in the long run we shall have to stoop towards the long-term solution, which is sufficient physical workout and good eating habits. Image Via: Alert Net