The Fat Problem

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

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

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

If you feel guilty about eating too much of junk food, then here is some news that should make you feel better. Brian Wansink, author of "Mindless Eating" and head of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab found that people tend to eat more when food is conveniently available. In an experiment, Wansink placed candy jars of chocolate in office workers’ cubicles for a month. Then, he moved the candy six feet away. Simply having the candy closer meant the office workers ate five more candies a day. This is probably the reason why people who work in plush offices with wonderful canteens tend to put on more weight, than those who do not have such luxuriant canteens. According to Wansink, we can say no about 27 times, before we finally give into the temptation of junk food that might be sitting in front of us. But that’s not all, because Wansink found that we tend to eat more of what food is easily available, so if a fruit is within our reach, but we really crave a nice lasagna, chances are that we will settle for the fruit, because it is ready-to-eat! Other interesting facts that influence our eating are: � "family style" with the serving bowls on the table. � directly from the bag or carton. � on a bigger plate or from a bigger container. � in front of the television, in the car, with friends. So, if you are trying to kick the habit of eating junk food, try keeping some healthy food handy. You could try some roasted crunchy nuts, some juicy fruits, and appetizing vegetables in a prominent and easy to locate place in your kitchen. In other words, store your healthy food like you would store candy – if it works to stimulate your appetite for candy, it will surely help you eat more healthy foods.

Being underweight or overweight is a problem for all age groups, but overweight children are most likely to suffer from cardiac problems in their teens and thereafter if weight is not corrected. Children do not know, which food is good for health so they are likely to consume junk food because it is readily available and tastes better than bland food which is supposed to be healthy. Junk food leads to overweight. This weight disorder ushers children into other hosts of problems as they grow with their weight unchecked. Studies published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition say that overweight children were found to suffer heart problems once they were in their teens and the disease progressed with age. However, the measure of the waist tells of the chances of heart problems that may occur in the adults. In children, the weight proportionate to the height is an indication whether a child will suffer from heart problem in future

If you are like me who just can’t resist the temptation to grab a piece of the dessert or a cookie the minute you eye it, then you know the trouble you are headed for. Why do we do this? In spite of knowing that you have just had a meal and knowing that the little piece of cake is directly reaching your hips and waist instead of your tummy? Didn’t you wish your brains give you some strong signals to stop you before you grab the junk food? It’s good news for all those who are waging the war with your senses; UK-based scientists claim to have identified the brain circuits that control the amount of food we stuff ourselves. An appetite-regulating hormone peptide PYY targets all your urges from eating to binging. This hormone is releases into the bloodstream from the gut signaling that you are full once you have consumed a meal. This hormone has more activities up to its sleeve. It also seems to control cortico-limbic regions that are associated with pleasure sensations. So, when normal-weight men who took part in the study were given a drip of PYY or a placebo and were offered unlimited meal, the volunteers ate 25 percent less than their normal calorific value. Also, during this time the brains of these men showed different activities on the MRI scans. Now, that you know that PYY is the main reason behind your binging, stop feeling guilty if you go overboard with your food. Now, what’s the good news? Since PYY regulates the appetite, a nasal spray containing this hormone has been developed. So, when you spray this hormone, you get a sensation of being full and resist the urge to head towards the fridge less often. Isn’t that great? Should this trial be a success, we may see slimmer people and a lighter world soon

Are your loved ones battling with obesity unsuccessfully? Then, here is a sure fire way of seeing their pounds shed off. Instead of nagging them to get off the couch and exercise, motivate them by bribing with cash incentives for every pound they lose and this should do the trick! Yes, if the latest study is to be believed, people are willing to go to push themselves and work towards weight loss when you offer cash incentives. No, the incentives need not be a high amount; even a small amount of $7 per pound is enough to get them going. A group of over two hundred overweight employees in North Carolina were involved in the study. The employees were divided into three groups, of which, one group was not offered incentives, and the other two groups were offered incentives of $7 or $14 for each percentage of weight lost. What’s more, they were offered no help with diet or fitness tips. At the end of three months, those who were offered $14 lost the highest percentage of weight, followed by those who were offered $7 and the least weight loss occurred in the group who were offered no incentives at all. The study is still an ongoing one with the scientists following them up to check if they maintained the weight loss once the incentives were stopped. The idea is a great one especially for employers who have bear the health care costs of obesity related diseases of the employees. In fact, the over all cost of the incentives could be far less than the health care costs they have to shell out. What’s more, slimmer employees mean less sick leaves and better productivity! So, do we see the employees laughing all the way to the banks? Or is it the employers?

While trying to fish out reasons behind your plumpy look, don’t wink at your job, as may be reason lies there! Actually, a new study comes up with concrete evidences proving higher psychological stress accompanied by lack of social support at work, paves the way for obesity. In other words, higher the stress levels, higher were the chances of turning obese. This conclusion is the result of an intensive study that lasted up to 19 years, while studying around 3,413 women and 6,895 men. All the participants were between the ages 35 to 55. According to an estimate, more than half of workers say they work under a great deal of stress and 77 percent say they feel burnout on the job. Primary causes for stress at work include: • Difficult co-workers (16%) • Unrealistic workload (15%) • Tight deadlines (11%) • Last minute projects (10%) • Overbearing or interfering boss (9%) The way stress stirs up obesity, could be understood to some extent from the facts mentioned below: • During stress, we tend to consume more calories in particular and more food in general • Stress is often followed by fatigue, generally leading to decreased level of physical activity. • Higher level of stress is often followed by imbalance in hormone system. All these factors either directly or indirectly stir up obesity. Therefore, in order to curb obesity level, it is too important to bridle the stress level, first. Here it must be mentioned that stress in workplace poses risk of not only obesity and other health problems, but comes as a threat to the world economy too, by prompting depression among workers, which is confirmed by a survey, according to which 45% of the office workers are depressed. Therefore, this will have to be ensured that stress doesn’t tide over the employees in working place, as it would hit not only employees’ health but health of global economy too

It can be a bit alarming for the normal Canadian to know that it has been established by research that obesity and inactivity stand almost on the same scale between cancer survivors of Canada and the rest of Canadians. According to the research findings of Dr. Kerry Courneya, Professor and Canada Research Chairperson at University of Alberta in Edmonton, and affiliated scientist of the Centre for Behavioral Research and Program Evaluation, based on studies of 114,000 adults in a 2005 Community Health Survey, the following facts were established. It was seen that, 21% of cancer survivors and 25% of general population of Canada were physically active, 18% of the cancer-recovered were obese while 15% of the general population was obese, an extra 34% of the cancer survivors were overweight, while the number of overweight general population was a 37%, almost half of the cancer survivors (about 53%) were overweight while again half (about 52%) of the Canadian population was overweight. The statistics show a striking comparison between the cancer affected and the general Canadians in terms of obesity and inactivity. This is not to alarm a non-cancerous Canadian that he/she runs a very high (lets say 100%) risk of being affected with cancer. It is just to caution Canadians and the rest of the global population in general that obesity and inactivity play havoc on one’s health. The normal people become vulnerable to a lot of deadly diseases – like hypertension, diabetes, coronary complications – other than cancer. Those who are lucky enough to survive cancer run a high risk of developing it once again if they do not take care of their physical activity levels. According to Dr. Kerry Courneya, the lifestyle of a person is a very important factor. One should always eat a healthy diet and exercise well to metabolize the diet and derive optimum energy from it. Heather Chappell, a Senior Manager of Cancer Control Policy at the Canadian Cancer Society opines that cancer has a profound negative effect on the patients as well as their families and this can be avoided by taking small steps in the direction of a healthy lifestyle. According to the researchers, a ‘physically active’ person is one who does an hour of walking a day, a ‘moderately active person’ is one who does about half an hour of walking a day and an ‘inactive person’ is one who walks for a lesser time than that. The research defined an obese person as having a BMI (body mass index) of a minimum of 30 and an overweight person having a BMI between 25 and 30. Image via: Medical News Today

If you want to enjoy a happy and secure relation then hunting for a fat woman won’t be a wrong idea, perhaps. No doubt, bizarre it may sound. Well, this is the truth. Actually, this notion came to its fruition after a study came out slamming the common assumption – fat and large women are not favored for courtships. This study, conducted over 4,000 women, showed that oversized women are more satisfied and keep a sense of security about their relationships if compared to their slimmer counterparts. Moreover, the majority of such heavy-sized women was found having no pressure to slim down their sizes. From one point of view, this news might give fat women a good reason to gloat over. However, its other side, which dubs obesity as the mother of different kinds of health problems isn’t very canorous. So, more you are far from it (obesity), better it is.