The Fat Problem

Keeping excess weight away requires more than diet control. A study led by Dr. Denise E. Wilfley at Washington University in St. Louis has found that rebound weight gain is lessened when children are given social facilitation training. 150 healthy, overweight children, between 7 and 12 years of age, with at least one overweight parent were given a 5 month weight loss treatment and then randomly assigned to one of two family-based approaches — a behavioral skills maintenance intervention, a social facilitation maintenance intervention, or to no ongoing contact after the initial weight loss program. The behavioral skills maintenance intervention was based on a cognitive behavioral approach, focusing on self-regulation and behavioral strategies to prevent relapse. In the social facilitation intervention, the focus was on the child’s developmental context. The parents were taught to support child peer networks that encourage healthy eating and physical activity. During the initial 5 month treatment, all the children lost weight. Thereafter,of the three groups, it was found that those in the social facilitation maintenance group were better able to cope with teasing and to engender support from their friends for both healthy eating and physical activity. Long-term follow-up suggested that social facilitation maintenance was better than behavioral skills maintenance at preventing future weight gain.

It is common knowledge that in North Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi etc have a highly negative trend of gender ratio. Though this clearly indicates the preference of male children it doesn’t say that female children who are born are ill treated. In a recent research study it was found that in these very states where female foeticide is common, obesity among women is on the rise and there are very few malnourished women. An alarming trend which might increase the risk of heart attack among women in this regions. The National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) recently released a report, Women in India, 2007, based on the research findings of International Institute of Population Studies, Mumbai. According to the Women in India report Delhi and Punjab host the largest population of obese women in the country. While 34 percent of Delhi women were found overweight, 37.5 percent in Punjab were found to be grossly obese. These figures are based on a study on health trends of women by te International Institute of Population Studies in 2006. The report further revealed that gender ratios in Delhi in 2001 was 865 for 1,000 boys and 820 in Punjab. But, according to the Women and Child Development Ministry, it is an indication that if the girl is born, the families normally take good care of them. This clearly indicates that girl children though unpreferred, are given good food and cared for. In the third place is the southern 100 percent literate state of Kerala where 30 percent women are obese. Oficials of the department of women and child development feel that in states which are prosperous and education levels are higher, women are taken care of better. This report they feel is an indicator that there is a changing trend in the attitude towards women and their healthcare. Considering the national statistics, only 14 percent women are obese. In economically backward states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh the percentages of healthy and obese women is abysmally low at 5.3 percent, 5.6 percent, 8.6 percent and 6.7 percent respectively. The same trend holds good when the number of malnutrished women are considered in various regions of the country. Delhi and Punjab hosts only about 11 percent malnourished women, while 43 percent of women in Bihar, 42 percent in Jharkhand and 40 percent in Orissa are malnourished. The NIPCD report also reported that the government-run public distribution system, which is supposed to provide nutritious food at subsidised rates to the poor has failed to achieve its purpose. The data also gives an insight in the gender preference of childrens among Indian women. About 38 percent having two girls want another child, preferably male, while only 17 percent with two boys want another child. Only 11 percent women who already have a son and a daughter, want another child.

Commonsense seems to convey that the tastier a food the more you consume it and consequently the more weight you gain. But an interesting study conducted by Alan Hirsh, MD, founder and neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, seems to have turned this concept topsy- turvy. He found that when the health food garnished with calorie-free sweeteners and seasonings were given to obese people, they lost weight in significant amounts than those who were given the food without the taste enhancers. The experiment was conducted on 2436 overweight people. Some were given sweet or neutral tasting food with a topping of sugar-free crystals in flavors of cocoa, spearmint, banana, strawberry, raspberry and malt. The others were given salty food topped with salt-free savory tastants in cheddar cheese, onion, horseradish, ranch dressing, taco or parmesan. A third group of volunteers comprising of the control group were given the same food without the tastants. All three groups were allowed to diet and exercise if they were already under the habit of doing so without any restrictions for a period of 6 months. At the beginning of the experiment it was found that the members of the experimental group on an average weighed 208 pounds and had a BMI of 34. At the end of the experiment they were found to weigh 30.5 pounds less on an average compared to those in the control group who weighed only 2 pounds less on an average. The BMI decrease for the obese group fell by 5 promoting them from the obese category to the overweight category, while there was only a 0.3 drop in BMI on an average for the members of the control group. Hirsch concluded that the tastants sprinkled on the diet of the obese people made them feel fuller leading them to consume less amount of the food. The amount of food consumed by the experimental group was not observed. He also opined that since no restrictions were imposed the diet would work. Going in line with the conclusions of the experiment, adding taste to bland health food increases the chances of the obese people surviving on only those diets without looking for other stuff hence helping them in strictly sticking to low calorie diet and hence, loosing weight. But is this study true with only flavoring agents, the composition of which has not been revealed or is it going to work with some natural tastemakers like spices?Moreover, the number of members of the control group seems to be far less than those in the experimental group

Putting on extra flab especially in your later life can be one of the factors behind your diabetes and cardiovascular wreck. However, you can hope that it won’t affect your cognitive health! This newly propounded theory sweeps away the previous assumptions, according to which obesity in middle age paves the way either for cognitive decline or for Alzheimer. As per the new study, tracking around 3,800 people over the age of 65, obese or overweight people didn’t report noticeable cognitive decline. However, the phenomenon of cognitive decline was prominently noticed among seniors who were underweight. In the present situation, it is quite difficult to decide which theory one should rely on: one that strictly links obesity to cognitive decline or the other that refutes the first one. No matter which theory is right, as still it may take more time to let true-one surface. However, if you are planning to let obesity intrude into your life, using the latest finding as pretext, so beware because by doing so you would be inviting trouble to your health, one-way of the other because we all know that obesity paves the way for several health hazards. Image Source

The country of Japan can be categorized as one of the most fitness conscious and healthy city. Taking a step further in making it more so, Japanese officials have taken a path breaking initiative. The government has launched a campaign to slim down the increasing waistlines of its citizenry to a standard measure. The initiative has been flagged off in the city of Amagasaki in Japan and all citizens are summoned to line up for a waistline measurement. This initiative was planned after a local law, regulating the measurement of waistlines by companies and government of people above 40 and 74, came into effect. The government has set standard sizes for both male and female waistlines the male waist size limit being 33.5 inches while that for females being 35.4 inches which are the recommended sizes prescribed by the International Diabetes Federation. These sizes will help assess the health risk and will help the government counsel those above the stipulated size to reduce weight. This, according to the Japanese government, will increase the mortality rate of a country always on a manpower crisis. To reach their goal of keeping the waist size of their population under control, the government will impose financial penalties on companies who fail to achieve the targets. This initiative, as the government claims, will keep the spread of diseases like stroke and diabetes in check along with reducing the health care costs. Critics however strongly ridicule the act by saying that such an initiative for a country like Japan is unnecessary where the entire population is almost fit and healthy.

To be an owner of an attractive figure not only adds confidence in one’s personality but also gives him every reason to cheer in life. There are many ways of obtaining a great physique. One such process is to have a full proof surgery. This is of course the absolute solution to all sorts of obesity. However there needs to be some kind of preparation before anybody opts for it. Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, Maryland gives some effective tips for the same. There are risks too in the process, and to get that mental preparation is the foremost thing for all those who really want to have a changed lifestyle. Sometimes these risks turn up to be nothing in front of the daily hurdles that an obese personality faces. There are both physical and psychological stresses in them. In a way an option to surgery is a better choice to get rid of all the daily traumas. The second most important thing is to have a balanced diet for a successful surgery. As food is the basic ingredient in the structural metabolism of human health, it needs to be given the equal importance. A determined mind can always have all these solutions ready and can have the right decision for a changed lifestyle. After all, it is all a matter of choice and living.

So you have been dieting like crazy but the scales refuse to budge? Or you think you have exercised enough to afford a sinful chocolate pastry? Most of us substitute olive oil for butter, nut for candies and honey for sugar thinking that the healthy alteration will save us the extra calories. Though olive oil and nuts contain ‘good fats’ but there is one thing we fail to remember- these are still fats! Any kind of fat delivers the same amount of calories though there may be some that do not block arteries. Similarly, sweetening agents like honey and jaggery may be a preferred option over white processed sugar, the amount of calories remains the same. It is important to reduce the quantity of fats and sugars if desired weight loss effects are to be seen. Apart from our diet, many other factors like our physical activity, sleep patterns, behaviors and biological characteristics go a long way in determining the efficacy of our weight loss and fitness programs. Vigorous physical work, depression, fatigue, stress and lack of consistency may cause us to eat more than our body’s requirement and more than makes up for all the “dieting”. Problems like thyroid misbalance, mood disorders, medications and insulin intake may also interfere with the body’s metabolic process and effect weight loss. Therefore a balanced exercise program coupled with a careful and measured calorie intake is the mantra for effective weight loss.

As more studies are focusing on childhood health, obesity in kids can be a risk factor to consider especially in cases of heart attacks and strokes at an early age. Earlier notion that heart problems begin in early 20′s, think gain. Two studies have been made available pointing fingers to the potential risks of childhood obesity worldwide. One study examined the fate of 250,000 obese children since 1930 until they reached adult life. The other research looked into the trend using the digital crystal ball of computer modeling to determine the number of deaths caused by heart diseases. It said its increase rate is alarming with 19 percent of obese individuals who are 35 years old up are dying early. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California-San Francisco said, the age and the magnitude are striking as more early obese deaths are posted based on the studies. The results appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine. Doctors said the recent findings provided a greater caution of letting go excess weight even for children as it may be a long-term risk of heart diseases and as a way to lengthen their lifespan toward adult life. Although other studies contested such findings, Dr. David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital in Boston said such conflicting findings may be irrelevant when the early signs of heart problems are seen in obese children. Two years ago, he already shared his studies on obesity taking away two to five years of the normal person’s lifespan caused by heart ailments and other risk factors for having too much weight. Although there are better treatments present in the market, according to Lee Goldman of Columbia University, still the complexities of diseases such as heart problems, kidney problems and diabetes are at hand. The old-time adage, ‘prevention is better than cure,’ remains as a powerful reminder in the fight against diseases and healthy lifestyle. Kids with excess weight should be guided in their food intake. They need to be taught on how to keep their bodies healthy. USA Today

With physicians and other medical personnel writing an average of 72 million prescriptions in the U.S. each year, chances are good that at one point or another, you will purchase prescription medications. It’s no secret that prescription drugs can be very expensive. In fact, in 2007, Americans spent a staggering $287 billion on prescriptions. You may not know that prices for prescriptions vary from pharmacy to pharmacy, even with insurance. For those looking to save money on their prescription drugs, there are several options for receiving medicine for less money. A few tips include: • Call around to different pharmacies to compare prices. Because prescription prices can vary so much, it’s a good idea to shop around and find out prices for your medicine from a variety of drugstores and pharmacies in your area. • Ask your doctor about vouchers. Drug companies are continually offering savings vouchers, coupons, rebates, and free samples of their prescriptions. Ask your doctor if there are any vouchers or rebates that you could have, and then take advantage of them. Regardless of where you fill the prescription, these coupons will still save you money. • Check online. There are many reputable online pharmacies, and when you don’t need your medication immediately, these can actually be where you will save the most money. Do your research and find a reputable online pharmacy, and then have your prescriptions filled there and shipped to your home. If you do end up buying your prescriptions online, be aware that safety is important. Some of these websites are scams that will sell you counterfeit drugs, which end up being useless at best and dangerous at worst. Any pharmacy you choose, whether online or not, should be properly licensed, and they should have a valid customer service number and pharmacy address. Buying prescriptions can be expensive, but there are many ways that you can save money on your medication.