Weight Loss News from 2009 | Medical-Weight-Loss-Guide.com

Archive of news and headlines in losing weight and getting rid of fat from the Medical Weight Loss Guide.

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Dec 15, 2009, Cut TV Time in Half and Knock Off a Few Pounds

In a study done on overweight or obese people, the amount of TV watching was measured for 3 weeks. In the next three weeks, that amount was cut in half for each person by using locks on the TV power cords that were programmed to monitor the amount of "on time" for the TV. On average, cutting TV time in half resulted in a daily calorie deficit of 244 calories. This came from increased activity and less eating. These people also lost about 1.5 lbs in those 3 weeks.

This was a small study, and the scientific statistics were not quite strong enough to prove that halving TV watching time will result in the numbers mentioned above. However, the statistical trend is encouraging. I believe that if this study was repeated with enough people, then there would be enough statistical power to prove there is an association.

Dec 3, 2009, Answer a Few Simple Questions and Predict Your Risk for Diabetes

A new study uses 6 easy questions to predict your risk of having diabetes. They ask your age, your sex, if family members have diabetes, about high blood pressure, your BMI, and physical activity. Click on the link below to find out more and calculate your score.

Nov 25, 2009, Sibutramine (Meridia) Linked to Increased Cardiovascular Events

The SCOUT study found that the number of combined heart attacks, strokes, resuscitated cardiac arrest, and death were greater for those taking sibutramine (brand name Meridia) than those taking a placebo sugar pill. There were about 10,000 people in the study. All were overweight or obese, over 55 years old, and had both type 2 diabetes and an underlying cardiovascular disease risk factor. People with recent heart attacks, recent strokes, or uncontrolled heart failure were not included in the study.

Diabetes itself places people at risk for cardiovascular diseases, and the people in this study had to also have another risk factor. My interpretation is that for overweight or obese diabetics with additional risk of cardiovascular disease, sibutramine can increase the chance of having a heart attack or stroke or dying.

Nov 18, 2009, Three New Weight Loss Drugs are Coming Down the Pipeline

Despite the difficulty several major drug companies have had in producing good obesity drugs, three companies have products that have been in phase III trials.

Lorcaserin by Arena Pharmaceuticals has some similarities of an older drug linked to heat-valve problems. However, it is supposed to be safer and not have the same heart-valve problems.

Orexigen Therapeutics has a drug called Contrave, and it is actually a combination of two already used drugs. One (naltrexone) is use to help with narcotic addiction and the other (bupropion) is an antidepressant.

Vivus has a product called Qnexa which is a combination of phentermine and topiramate.

For more information about weight loss drugs, including most of the ones in the combination medicines mentioned here, check out the Weight Loss Drug page.

Nov 11, 2009, Eat Less Fat to Feel Happier

In a study that compared a low calorie, a low carb, and a low fat diet, participants lost on average about 30 lbs after one year. Several psychological assessment tools were used to evaluate the moods of the study participatnts. Initally, everyone's mood improved. However, after one year, the moods of the low carb dieters returned to baseline while the moods of the low fat dieters seemed to improve somewhat.

Sep 28, 2009, The Bigger the Waistline, the Bigger the Wheeze

In a study of over 80,000 female schools teachers in California, researchers have found an association with the degree of obesity and a woman’s risk for asthma. The percent of women with asthma according to their BMIs is as follows: 11% (BMI 30-34.9), 13% (BMI 35-39.9), and 18% (BMI ≥ 40).

However, this study found that these women’s waist sizes correlated even better with their risk of asthma than their BMIs. Using a cutoff of 88 cm (35.2 in), more women with a larger waist size had asthma regardless of whether they had normal or higher BMIs.

Aug 9, 2009, Acai Berry | Medical-Weight-Loss-Guide.com

Acai is a species of palm tree from South America. The tree's scientific name is Euterpe oleracea Mart. There has been a lot of promotion about its weight loss potential. However, there is absolutly no scientific evidence to support this claim.

Aug 8, 2009, Being Overweight in Early Adulthood Increases Your Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

Researchers in Texas looked at data from patients with cancer of the pancreas and compared their weights to a sample of people without pancreatic cancer. (Most of the patients were white males and until further studies are done, this should be kept in mind when extrapolating it to women or other races.)

Having a BMI of 25-30 from age 14 to 39 or having a BMI of more than 30 from age 20 to 39 resulted in doubling of the risk for pancreatic cancer by the time these patients reached about 60 years old. There was also an association with an earlier onset of cancer and decreased survival after diagnosis.

Excessive amounts of fat tissue influences diseases like diabetes and affects the body's use of the hormones insulin and glucagon, both of which are made by the pancreas. Chronic alterations in the stimulation of the pancreas may play a role in increased pancreatic cancer.

Jul 26, 2009, Obesity May be Associated with an Increased Risk of Developing Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) from the Swine Flu (H1N1).

As of July 6, 2009, 33,902 cases of Swine Flu (H1N1) have been reported in the United States, and 170 of them have resulted in death. A serious complication of H1N1 flu is acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The University of Michigan Health System has reported 10 cases of ARDS related to H1N1. Nine of those ten people were obese (i.e. BMI of 30 or more) and seven of them were extremely obese (i.e. BMI of 40 or more). Three of the ARDS patients died. It appears that the more overweight one is, the prone he/she may be to developing ARDS from the H1N1 Swine flu.

Jun 28, 2009, Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery Decreases a Woman's Risk of Cancer

Swedish researchers followed over 2000 obese women (BMI > 38) for 11 years who had weight loss surgery. They lost an average of over 40 lbs each. Compared to obese women of the same BMIs who did not have surgery, those who did were at less risk of cancer. The decreased risk of developing cancer was not correlated with the amount of weight these women lost. Unfortunately, men in the study did not see the same benefits.

Jun 24, 2009, Fat Virus | Medical-Weight-Loss-Guide.com

The term infectobesity refers to the idea that infections cause people to be overweight. These infections can come from a fat virus. Only two have positive scientific evidence. They are SMAM-1 and Adenovirus 36 (Ad-36).

Jun 12, 2009, Infants Who Gain Weight Too Quickly Have Problems as Adults

It may seem like that initial baby fat will not make much difference when your child is 20 years old, but a new study found an association with rapid early weight gain and obesity in adulthood. The study examined 213 adults aged 18-24 years old and checked their medical records for weight gain in their first year of life. It included only full-term infants (i.e. no premature babies). Researchers found that infants who gained weight rapidly were more likely to have more body fat, have a larger waist size, and be more resistant to insulin.

Parents should not try to stave their babies, and appropriate weight gain needs to be monitored by your pediatrician. However, this study highlights the fact that early development affects our health later in life. Childhood obesity is on the rise and comes into play as early as the first three months of infancy. These adults are at greater risk for diabetes as well as heart and blood vessel disease. Your pediatrician can guide you on how much weight your child should gain. This is one of many reasons it is important to go to scheduled well-child visits.

May 31, 2009, Different Ethics Groups Adhere Better to Different Aspects of a Healthy Diet

The DASH diet is designed to be a heart healthy diet and decreases high blood pressure if one can stick to it. According to the plan, different nutrients and types of food should compose certain amount of total food intake.

A study called the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) looked at how well different ethnic groups adhered to different aspects of the diet. Sadly, only 30% of participants met any of the goals. Of these, it seemed that certain ethnic groups did better and worse at achieving specific nutrient targets.

Compared to whites, Chinese Americans did better with eating the goal amounts of cholesterol and protein, but they did worse with magnesium and potassium intake. African Americans and Latinos did better with fiber intake but worse with calcium.

May 2, 2009, Hydroxycut Recalled

There have been 23 cases of liver damage linked to Hydroxycut products. The company that makes it has agreed to withdraw their affects products from the market. The FDA is urging people to stop using Hydroxycut products that they have already purchased. As of now, the ingredients responsible for the liver damage have not been identified. Follow the link below for more information.

Mar 27, 2009, More Caution on Weight Loss Supplements

In December 2008, the FDA issued a warning that some weight loss supplements actually contained amounts of weight loss drugs mixed into their products. (You can check out our blog and news archive for more.) The FDA has now added some more supplements and drugs to that list.

"The FDA has identified additional weight loss products (Herbal Xenicol, Slimbionic, and Xsvelten) and new undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients (fenproporex, fluoxetine, furosemide, and cetilistat)."

Mar 20, 2009, Live and Die by Your BMI

Often studies are published that confirm what we already know, but having more solid evidence allows us to put more faith in scientific data. One of these studies was published in Lancet. It looked at 57 studies that comprised a total of nearly 1 million people. When looking at deaths after the first five years of follow-up, researchers found that people with BMIs of 22.5 to 25 seemed to have the lowest death rates.

For every 5 points increase in BMI past 25, there was a 30% increase in the risk of dying. People with BMIs of 30-35 lost 2 to 4 years of life, and people with BMIs between 40 and 45 lost 8 to 10 years of life.

Having a BMI less than 22.5 was also associated with an increase in the risk of dying. However, many people with these lower BMIs were also smokers, and it was felt that smoking was a large contributor to their risk of dying.

Mar 8, 2009, Different Combos of Fat and Protien Diets Produce The Same Results

Researchers compared four different types of diets: 1) High fat & high protein 2) High fat & average protein 3) Low fat & high protein, and 4) Low fat & average protein. People prepared meals at home from a designated menu and were offered weight loss counseling.

At the end of 2 years, changes in weight and waist size were all the same. However, based on food journals and lab tests for protein, it seems that the study subjects actually ended up eating more similar diets than was originally planned.

Feb 7, 2009, Cutting Calories Improves Memory

Some animal research has suggested that calorie restriction improves memory. Scientists conducted a study that compared calorie restriction to using omega-3 fatty acid (i.e. fish oil) supplements and placebo. At the end of three months, the calorie restriction group had an improvement in their memory scores, while the omega-3 fatty acid and placebo groups had no change. The low calorie group also ended up with lower insulin and inflammation levels. This may be what helped with memory function. However, this was a small study on only 50 women. The results will need to be replicated on a larger scale and include both sexes.

Feb 1, 2009, Losing Weight Improves Urinary Incontinence

There are two types of urinary incontinence. There is urge incontinence, which is also called overactive bladder. The bladder spasms and causes unwanted urination. The other type is stress incontinence. When there is increased pressure in the pelvis and abdomen (like with a cough), the pressure pushes on the bladder and causes urine to leak. A study on the effects of weight loss on both types was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

After 6 months, women who participated in a weight loss program lost an average of about 17 lbs. The number of episodes of stress incontinence dropped by 57.6%. Women in a control group lost only about 3 lbs, and their stress incontinence dropped by only 32.7%. The group that lost weight also had a greater decrease in urge incontinence, but after statistical analysis, this result did not show a difference between the two groups.

In summary, losing weight helps stress incontinence, and it may have a small benefit for urge incontinence.

Jan 24, 2009, Agouti Gene | Medical-Weight-Loss-Guide.com

The agouti - related protein seems to play a role in the regulation of appetite. There are elevated levels in obese individuals. It most likely interacts with the MC4R receptor.

Jan 8, 2009, FTO Gene | Medical-Weight-Loss-Guide.com

The FTO gene has been shown to be associated with obesity in white European populations and their decedents.

Jan 1, 2009, Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all the readers of the Medical Weight Loss Blog. People are making their new year's resolutions. Once again, losing weight is at the top of the list (see link below).

For scientifically accurate information about weight loss, refer to www.medical-weight-loss-guide.com when embarking on new weight loss plans.

It is important you discuss any weight loss or exercise plan with your doctor. Only you and your physician can decide what is best for you. Some people have certain conditions that prevent them from doing all exercises, and goal body weights may be different for different people. You need to discuss all these things with your physician before starting any weight loss or exercise program.

Weight Loss News for 2009