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.

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via: dietblog

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.

Via: iht

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.

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via: Medical News Today

Source yahoo

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.

Source: Madelyn Fernstrom

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

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.

Source: Yahoo

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.

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Not just endless munching but also the evasive attitude of your kid not to hold off television-remote control could be one of the factors responsible for his plumpy looks. Obviously not because it (television) contains some obesity viruses, still it won’t be wrong to say that, certainly, television has something to do with your kids plumpy looks.

Actually, a new U.S. study covering around 546 children aged four to 17 found some clues, enough to re-establish the Television-Obesity alliance. As per the findings of this study:

• Viewing television 2 to 4 hours daily adds a kid’s vulnerability to obesity up to 2.5 times.

• Viewing television for 4 or more hours adds obesity risk up to 3.3 times.

In the beginning, obesity could be noticed as the only palpable side- effect over couch potatoes. However, it’s just a small part of the truth not the complete truth, as obesity never comes alone but flocks often with problems like hypertension, heart problems, asthma, diabetes, etc.

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The way television prompts obesity among kids is quite interesting. Television addiction, initially, snatches the leisure time of a kid’s daily life, slowly turning him into a couch potato – and the problem begins to move further. Moreover, the majority of advertisements beamed on television during children’s shows, advertise stuffs like fast foods, candy and pre-sweetened cereals. Won’t be wrong to say that such ads certainly have negative impact on malleable minds of kids.

The message is clear - sooner you start imposing some restrictions on your kids’ Television viewing, better it would be for their health, no matter it’s mental health or physical.

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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: knbc

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.

Obese people struggling with their weight loss problems are willing to try any treatments and diets that promise to shed pounds off their body. Most of the so called quick-fixes often come with a platter of side effects. Homeopathy is gaining popularity these days for effective treatment of obesity as there are no side-effects with it.

Homeopathic remedies are made of natural products like herbs, metals, plants and flowers. The basic principle behind homeopathy is to treat the symptoms of a disease with the cause that produces it. Ex: If you are suffering from food poisoning and stomach cramps due to arsenic, the cure is by giving the patient a diluted form of arsenic itself.

The treatment focuses on making a detailed study of the symptoms of the patient and treating patients accordingly. The history of patient including eating habits, physical activity, endocrinal causes, heredity, psychological factors are taken into consideration before beginning the treatment. The three basic treatments in reducing the weight are to correct digestive disorders, to improve metabolism and to help easy elimination.

So, if a patient is having a tough time controlling appetite and is eating to soothe his nerves, the treatment given will be different from a obese individual who craves for sweets. Similarly, treatment for lethargic obese people is different from that of the individual who eats due to anxiety and fear.

While the normal treatments have a common solution for all obese individuals, homeopathy offers a ‘tailor made’ solution to suit the individuals. The sweet little pills promise to end your problems once and for all!

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Obesity is turning out to be a weighty problem for the UK. Researchers predict that if the current obesity growth rates continue, some 60 percent of men, 50 percent of women and 25 percent of children in the country will be obese by 2050. In 2002, those who were overweight or obese cost nearly £7bn in treatment, state benefits and indirect costs such as loss of earnings and reduced productivity. This led the health department to commission the study involving some 250 experts.

The study pointed out that the government had taken steps to encourage a healthier lifestyle but more effort was required to counter the “obesogenic environment” by designing towns and cities to promote walking and cycling and encouraging people to buy healthier food. Sir David King, the government’s chief scientific adviser and head of the Foresight program says while personal responsibility is important, the study shows the problem is much more complicated and only change across many elements of society will help fight this menace.

Image: Healthinmotion

Via: BBC, News-Medical

According to WHO, globally there are 1 billion overweight adults; at least 300 million of them are clinically obese. This has been a major contributor to rapid rise in chronic diseases including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and certain forms of cancer.

The major reason for rise in ‘Globosity’ is increased consumption of high calorie, nutrient poor foods with high levels of sugar and saturated fats. The change in the diet pattern coupled with reduced physical activity, have increased the obesity rate over three-fold since 1980 in some areas of North America, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and China. The obesity epidemic has also reached the developing countries as well, where the rate of growth of the overweight population is often more than in the developed nations. What is most disturbing in the global obesity scenario is that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. According to WHO, an estimated 22 million children worldwide under five are overweight. According to the Surgeon General, in the USA, the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has trebled since 1980. This phenomenon has touched the developing world as well, for example, in Thailand the prevalence of obesity in children between 5 to 12 years old has rose from 12.2% to 15.6% in just two years.

The debilitating health problems associated with obesity include respiratory difficulty, chronic musculoskeletal problems, skin problems and infertility. The steep rise in Type 2 diabetes and hypertension is attributed to overweight. Approximately 90% of people suffering from Type 2 diabetes are overweight. Further, obesity increases the risk of the breast, colon, prostrate, endometrial, kidney and gall bladder cancer. According to the World Health Report 2002, approximately 58% of diabetes, 21% of ischemic heart disease and 8 to 42% of some cancers globally are attributable to a Body Mass Index above 21kg per square meter.

Obesity can be easily cured only if more attention is paid to the diet and lifestyle change. It is up to the global community to wake up to the dangers of this global problem before it becomes too late.

Via: Diet-Blog

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!

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