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Turmeric may have benefit in diabetes and obesity
Wed. Jun 25, 2008
Curcumin, the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant ingredient in the Asian spice turmeric, appears to decrease insulin resistance and prevents Type 2 diabetes in obese mice. Researchers also found that turmeric-fed obese mice showed significantly reduced inflammation in fat tissue and liver compared to obese mice not fed turmeric. This was associated with a small but significant decline in body weight and fat content, despite high calorie consumption.
Obesity is associated with inflammation due in part to the presence of immune cells called macrophages in fat tissues throughout the body. These cells produce "cytokine" molecules that can cause inflammation in organs such as the heart, and islets of the pancreas, while also increasing insulin resistance in muscle and liver. Researchers hypothesized that by suppressing the number and activity of these cells, with turmeric or a drug with similar actions, it may be possible to reduce some of the adverse consequences of obesity.
"It's too early to tell whether increasing dietary curcumin [through turmeric] intake in obese people with diabetes will show a similar benefit," says Dr. Tortoriello, one of the study authors. "Although the daily intake of curcumin one might have to consume as a primary diabetes treatment is likely impractical, it is entirely possible that lower dosages of curcumin could nicely complement our traditional therapies as a natural and safe treatment."
SOURCE: Endocrine Society
Gastric bypass surgery improves immune response
Tue. Jun 24, 2008
Weight loss following gastric bypass surgery increased the defensive activity of natural killer cells by almost 80 percent in a research study conducted at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Natural killer cells play a critical role in controlling infections and cancer.
Patients in the study lost an average of 78.5 pounds at 6 months after having Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Researchers analyzed blood samples for natural killer cells and other immune response indicators. While the numbers of these cells did not increase in the surgery patients, the activity of the cells increased significantly indicating a greater capacity to kill infected cells or tumor cells
Study coauthor Alfredo Halpern, PhD comments," It [gastric bypass] may help protect against infections and cancer by improving the activity of certain immune cells." He also noted that the impaired natural killer cell function evident in extremely obese people may even explain their propensity to develop infections and cancer.
SOURCE: Endocrine Society
Exercise does not reduce hunger in obese women
Mon. Jun 23, 2008
Unlike normal weight woman, exercise does not reduce appetite in obese women. Levels of the hormone leptin, which has been shown to limit appetite in animals as body fat increases, are thought to be responsible for the differing appetite response to exercise. As people increase in weight, their levels of leptin rise, but they develop a resistance to the appetite suppressing effect of the hormone.
Researchers at the University of Michigan monitored leptin levels and reported hunger in women volunteers. They found that obese women claimed they were less hungry than lean women before meals and reported no appetite suppression during exercise.While obese women in the study had higher levels of leptin, intense exercise did not reduce hormone production in these women as it did in normal weight women. However, moderate-intensity exercise did lower leptin production in both normal weight and obese women.
According to Katarina Borer, PhD, a University of Michigan researcher, "Obesity interferes with leptin's detection of exercise energy expenditure and with appetite suppression. Obese women perhaps need to consciously watch their calories because some of the hormonal satiety signals don't seem to work as well."
Dr. Borer suggests that the information from the study was useful for helping therapists and physicians understand the limitations of exercise in appetite control for weight loss in obese people.
SOURCE: Endocrine Society
LAP-BAND improves health in obese teens
Mon. Jun 23, 2008
Health improvement is evident in obese teens at six months following laparoscopic gastric banding surgery. Weight loss of 20 pounds in six months shows significant improvement in abdominal fat, and blood fat and sugar levels. Liver function and immune response improvements are also noted.
According to Dr. Ilene Fennoy, a pediatric endocrinologist at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork, "Extremely obese teenagers have obesity-related health problems, particularly diabetes and increased cardiovascular risk. Laparoscopic gastric banding, which has been shown to be a safe and effective way to lose weight, now offers the possibility of reducing obesity's medical complications." Dr. Fennoy continues, "Until recently, these patients have had to rely primarily on non-surgical methods or higher-risk surgeries to lose weight, and few of these treatments have succeeded in achieving major weight loss or greatly improving their overall health."
LAP-BAND surgery is not approved for teenagers by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Three sites in the United States are currently investigating the LAP-BAND procedure to combat morbid obesity in teenagers.
SOURCE: Endocrine Society
Surgery more effective in controlling type 2 diabetes
Fri. Jun 20, 2008
Gastric bypass patients are significantly better able to get their blood sugar into a normal range than morbidly obese people treated with conventional medical interventions for type 2 diabetes such as insulin.
Researchers from the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center reported levels of hemoglobin A1c, a measure of glucose in the blood, dropped by 21 percent within a year of gastric bypass and was maintained for at least three years. People receiving conventional medical treatment saw an 11 percent increase over the same time period.
Prior to surgery 84.3 percent of the study participants were on oral medications and/or insulin. One year after surgery, only 22.4 percent still required medication. In contrast, the conventional treatment group had an increase in amount of oral medications and/or insulin taken. The study showed the number of patients on diabetes medication grew from 66.7 percent to 82 percent in one year.
"The data continues to support the effectiveness of bariatric surgery in treating Type 2 diabetes in morbidly obese patients," said Shanu N. Kothari, MD, FACS, the study's co-author and the director of Minimally Invasive Bariatric Surgery at the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in Wisconsin. "Clearly, conventional medical treatment has an important role to play, but surgery should also be presented as an option to appropriate patients."
SOURCE: American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Health benefits begin before excess weight is off for gastric band patients
Fri. Jun 20, 2008
Dramatic improvements in type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea occur before half of expected weight loss has occurred in patients who have had gastric banding.
Researchers from the New York University School of Medicine followed patients after gastric band surgery and recorded decreases and discontinuation of medications prescribed for obesity related conditions. They found that a 20 to 30 percent loss of excess weight in the first year was enough to improve or resolve type 2 diabetes in 87.5 percent of patients. Losing about 50 percent of excess weight produced maximum improvement or resolution of obstructive sleep apnea in 87.5 percent of patients. Forty to 50 percent excess weight loss was enough for hypertension in 81.8 percent of patients and 30 to 40 percent was enough to produce maximum improvement or resolution of dyslipidemia or high cholesterol in 72.7 percent of patients.
SOURCE: American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Weight-loss surgery can cut cancer risk
Thu. Jun 19, 2008
Weight loss after Bariatric surgery may reduce the risk of developing beast cancer by up to 85 percent and colon and pancreatic cancers by 70 percent according to research from McGill University
"The relationship between obesity and many forms of cancer is well established," said the lead researcher Dr. Nicolas Christou. "This is one of the first studies to suggest that bariatric surgery might prevent the risk of cancer for a significant percentage of morbidly obese people."
Bariatric surgery can result in loss of up to 70 percent of an obese person's excess weight. The excess fat is believed to be responsible for increased hormone production which contributes to breast and colon cancer development. It is thought that lowering hormone metabolism by losing weight may be responsible for the reduction in cancer risk.
SOURCE: American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Motivating people to walk
Thu. Jun 19, 2008
The positive effect of walking on health and wellness is well understood. People who begin walking programs as a method of increasing physical activity often require specific interventions to help them stay motivated. Researchers interested in which interventions were the most effective, reviewed 14 studies designed to test interventions specifically targeting walking behavior
Interventions in the reviewed studies ranged from personalized face to face meetings through to electronic communications such as email and telephone calls.
The researchers found the most positive motivating effect came from:
- Frequent short telephone reminders for walkers
- Encouraging five to seven walking sessions weekly instead of three to five sessions
- Moderate intensity walking plans as opposed to high intensity walking.
- Using pedometers
The researchers also found that promoting a single walking session or multiple short sessions to achieve a specific walking duration were equally effective
SOURCE: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Cervical cancer screening affected by obesity in Canadian women
Tue. Jun 17, 2008
Recent research in the USA showed that obese women are less likely to be screened for breast, colon, and cervical cancer than normal weight women. In an attempt to ascertain if this trend was true in other countries, researchers surveyed 38,000 Canadian women and found that breast and colon screening was identical in both obese and normal weight women. However, obese women were 30 to 40 percent less likely to undergo screening for cervical cancer.
Obese women said that fear of pain, embarrassment or of finding something wrong was the reason they did not have a pap smear.
SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine
New thought on protein recommendations
Tue. Jun 17, 2008
Many adults in the USA, such as those who are overweight or obese and older Americans may benefit from eating up to 35 percent of their calories from protein say leading scientists in protein research.
Higher protein diets have been linked with a lower risk for many health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis as well as sarcopenia, the degenerative loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength.
The current U.S. recommendation according to the Institute of Medicine is that adults should consume between ten and 35 percent of their calories from protein. Since most Americans are consuming protein in the lower end of this range (about 13-16 percent), there is room for adding more high-quality protein to their diets while still being in the recommended range outlined as safe.
SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition