“I’m making this video because I don’t know what else to do. I’ve tried losing weight on my own, I’ve tried doing everything possible – been on diets, been hospitalized. And I’ve always done what needed to be done at the time, then i’d always just gain the weight back,” he said in March of 2012.
Soon after posting, the video went viral, racking up over a million views and prompting a Twitter trend. The video made its way to reddit, where it received even more attention.
Well, he’s just posted an update in the form of a live weigh-in. And he says he’s down over 300 pounds.
In his original plea, Robert said that he was somewhere between 600-700 pounds. He must have started at over 700 pounds, as being down 300+ still leaves him at over 460 pounds.
We all know that YouTube commenters can be a cruel lot sometimes, but in Robert’s case the top comments are nothing but encouragement.
Obesity has already been tied to a wide range of health problems, including cognitive decline. Now, a new study published recently in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that people who are severely obese are at a higher risk of death.
“Estimates of the relative mortality risks associated with normal weight, overweight, and obesity may help to inform decision making in the clinical setting,” said the study’s authors.
Researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), compiled the results of 97 studies that analyzed the affects of body mass index (BMI) on mortality. The studies included more than 2.88 million patients and more than 270,000 deaths from all over the world, but primarily from North America and Europe.
The patients were classified into four different categories based on their BMI. The overweight category included patients with a BMI of 25 to under 30, grade 1 obesity included those from 30 to under 35, and grades 2 and 3 obesity included patients with a BMI of 35 or greater.
The study found that patients who were classified as being the most obese (grades 2 and 3) had a 29% higher risk of death. Those with grade 1 obesity had a lower risk of death (5% lower), as did those classified as overweight (6% lower).
“Possible explanations have included earlier presentation of heavier patients, greater likelihood of receiving optimal medical treatment, cardioprotective metabolic effects of increased body fat, and benefits of higher metabolic reserves,” said the study’s authors.
A new study shows that aerobic exercises are more effective at burning fat than resistance training or a combination of resistance and aerobic training.
The study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, analyzed the body composition of overweight or obese adults without diabetes who took on one of three different exercise regimins. The researchers state that it is the largest randomized trial to have done so.
“Given that approximately two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight due to excess body fat, we want to offer clear, evidence-based exercise recommendations that will truly help people lose weight and body fat,” said Leslie Willis, lead author of the study and an exercise physiologist at the Duke University Medical Center.
234 overweight or obese adults were enrolled in the study. The participants were randomly assigned to either aerobic training, resistance training, or a combination of the two. Aerobic training consisted of approximately 12 miles per week of aerobic exercise, such as walking, running, or swimming. Resistance training consisted of lifting weights three days per week, lifting three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. Participants assigned to the combined training completed both the aerobic and resistance training goals.
The results show that the participants assigned to the aerobic and combined training groups lost more weight than those who did resistance training only. Unsurprisingly, participants assigned to the resistance training group actually gained weight, with a corresponding rise in lean body mass.
Aerobic exercise alone was shown to be a more efficient way to lose body fat. Even though the combination group participants spent more time exercising, they did not significantly reduce fat mass over those in the aerobic group. The combination group did, however, see the largest decrease in waist circumference. The resistance group also did not see significant decreases in fat mass.
“No one type of exercise will be best for every health benefit,” said Willis. “However, it might be time to reconsider the conventional wisdom that resistance training alone can induce changes in body mass or fat mass due to an increase in metabolism, as our study found no change.”
A new study has shown a correlation between kids who have TVs in their bedroom and childhood obesity.
Previous studies have shown that poor TV viewing habits during childhood carry on into adulthood, leading to obesity and elevated total cholesterol. According to the study’s authors, the average U.S. child from age 8 to 18 watched 4.5 hours of TV each day, and 70% of them have a TV in their bedroom. Around 1/3 of Americans from age 6 to 19 are considered obese.
“The established association between TV and obesity is predominantly based on BMI,” said Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, lead investigator on the study. “The association between TV and fat mass, adiposity stored in specific depots (including abdominal subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue), and cardiometabolic risk, is less well understood. It is hypothesized that higher levels of TV viewing and the presence of a TV in the bedroom are associated with depot-specific adiposity and cardiometabolic risk.”
The study looked at 369 Baton Rouge children aged 5 to 18 from 2010 to 2011. The kids’ waist circumference, resting blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, “bad” cholesterol, glucose, fat mass, and stomach fat were all measured.
The results showed not only that children with a TV in their bedroom were likely to watch more TV, but they also had more fat and a higher waist circumference than children who did not. Kids with a TV in the bedroom were three times more likely to have an elevated heart and metabolic risk; elevated waist circumference; and elevated triglycerides.
“There was a stronger association between having a TV in the bedroom versus TV viewing time, with the adiposity and health outcomes,” said Dr. Amanda Staiano, co-author of the study. “A bedroom TV may create additional disruptions to healthy habits, above and beyond regular TV viewing. For instance, having a bedroom TV is related to lower amounts of sleep and lower prevalence of regular family meals, independent of total TV viewing time. Both short sleep duration and lack of regular family meals have been related to weight gain and obesity.”
An team of scientists may have achieved a major milestone in the treatment of diabetes and obesity. The researchers engineered a method to deliver hormones to specific tissues in the body, while keeping them away from others.
The team, led by Dr. Matthias Tschöp, from the Technical University of Munich and the Helmholtz Center, and Richard DiMarchi, a chemist at Indiana University, was able to engineer natural gut peptides to carry small steroids known to act at the cell nucleus. Their hope was to deliver the steroid only inside cells.
The researchers started with a gut hormone that is known to act on pancreas and brain cells to improve insulin secretion, blood glucose, and body weight. They engineered the hormone to reversibly bind estrogen, which is known to provide metabolic benefits at the same target cells. The results show that the team was able to “multiply” the metabolic benefits to mice, without the side effects that large doses of estrogen normally have on reproductive organs, such as an increased cancer risk. Likewise, there was no evident impact on the growth of estrogen-sensitive tumors.
The effect on pancreas and brain tissue in the mice were evident, however. This suggests the researchers have succeeded in the targeted delivery of steroids to specific cells. With more development, the technique could be used to more accurately treat diabetes and metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and obesity). A study based on the results of the team’s experiments has been published in the journal Nature Medicine.
“Our novel GLP-1/estrogen molecules seem to outperform more traditional therapeutics in mouse models of obesity and type 2 diabetes” said Brian Finan, lead author of the study and researcher at the Helmholtz Center. “What we are even more excited about is the opportunity to use targeted steroid hormone for other diseases, where side effects had prevented therapeutic use in the past.”
(Image courtesy the Technical University of Munich)
A new study shows that metabolic factors – such as high blood pressure, blood sugar, blood lipids, and body mass index – are linked to an increased risk of death from prostate cancer. Such metabolic factors are often grouped together as metabolic syndrome and are known collectively to increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
The study, published this week in the journal Cancer, looked at 289,866 men enrolled in the Metabolic Syndrome and Cancer Project at Umeå University in Sweden. Researchers found that during an average follow-up time of 12 years, 961 men died from prostate cancer, out of 6,673 diagnosed with the disease. Of those men, those in the highest category of body mass index had a 36% higher risk of dying from their prostate cancer, and those in the highest category for blood pressure had a 62% higher risk of dying from their prostate cancer.
“These observations suggest that cardiovascular risk factors such as overweight and hypertension are involved in stimulating the progression of prostate cancer,” said Dr. Pär Stattin, lead author of the study and a Urologist at Umeå University.
The study does not link metabolic factors to a risk of developing prostate cancer, only a higher risk of dying from the disease.
A new study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that children and adolescents who had higher concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) in their urine also had significantly increased odds of being obese. The study looked at a nationally representative sample of around 3,000 children and adolescents of ages 6 to 19.
BPA is a manufactured chemical found in consumer products. The study’s authors stated that, to their knowledge, this is the first report, in a nationally representative sample, of an association of childhood obesity with an environmental chemical exposure.
“In the U.S. population, exposure [to BPA] is nearly ubiquitous, with 92.6 percent of persons 6 years or older identified in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) as having detectable BPA levels in their urine,” said Dr. Leonardo Trasande, associate professor at New York University School of Medecine. “A comprehensive, cross-sectional study of dust, indoor and outdoor air, and solid and liquid food in preschool-aged children suggested that dietary sources constitute 99 percent of BPA exposure. In experimental studies, BPA exposure has been shown to disrupt multiple metabolic mechanisms, suggesting that it may increase body mass in environmentally relevant doses and therefore contribute to obesity in humans.”
The researchers stopped short of saying BPA causes obesity in children, saying only that a link is plausible. When the children in the study were separated into quartiles based on their urinary BPA levels, 10.3% of the children in the quartile with the lowest concentrations of BPA were obese, compared to 22.3% in the highest quartile. Oddly, further analysis showed that the results were only statistically significant for white children and white adolescents.
“We note the recent FDA ban of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups, yet our findings raise questions about exposure to BPA in consumer products used by older children,” said researchers. “Last year, the FDA declined to ban BPA in aluminum cans and other food packaging, announcing ‘reasonable steps to reduce human exposure to BPA in the human food supply’ and noting that it will continue to consider evidence on the safety of the chemical. Carefully conducted longitudinal studies that assess the associations identified here will yield evidence many years in the future.”
A report released today predicts that by the year 2030, 13 U.S. states could have obesity rates above 60% and 39 could have rates above 50%.
The report, titled F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2012, was released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The TFAH is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting citizens’ health and preventing disease. The RWJF is a philanthropic organization dedicated to public health.
According to the report, all 50 states could have obesity rates above 44% by 2030. A CDC report released last month indicates that the current fattest state in America, Mississippi, has an obesity rate of 35%. In the report released today, it is predicted that a full two-thirds (66.7%) of Mississippians could be obese by 2030.
“This study shows us two futures for America’s health,” said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, RWJF CEO. “At every level of government, we must pursue policies that preserve health, prevent disease and reduce health care costs. Nothing less is acceptable.”
As a consequence of the predicted weight gains, the report also anticipates huge rises in the medical costs associated with obesity. It predicts that in 2030 medical costs due to obesity-related diseases could increase $48 billion to $66 billion per year in the U.S., up from the $147 billion to $210 billion the report estimates it already costs the U.S. today. It also estimates that loss-of-productivity costs due to obesity could rise to $390 billion to $580 billion yearly.
“We know a lot more about how to prevent obesity than we did 10 years ago,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of TFAH. “This report outlines how policies like increasing physical activity time in schools and making fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable can help make healthier choices easier. Small changes can add up to a big difference. Policy changes can help make healthier choices easier for Americans in their daily lives.”
In addition to more physical activity, fruit, and vegetables, the report also recommends that public policy be implemented to curb the rise in obesity. It suggests updating nutrition standards for snack food and beverages in schools and raising school meal standards by implementing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act . It also recommends investing in evidence-based obesity-prevention programs, making physical activity a priority for Elementary and Secondary education, and implementing other legislation related to nutrition, public health, and marketing food to children.
The report based its projections on a model published in The Lancet in 2011, using data from the CDC. Adults are currently considered obese if their body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher.
Neurologists have found that even people with blood sugar that is within the “normal” range can sustain blood sugar-related brain damage. According to the study, which was published this week in the journal American Academy of Neurology, people with blood sugar levels on the high end of the “normal” range could be at risk for brain shrinkage and dementia as they grow older.
“Numerous studies have shown a link between type 2 diabetes and brain shrinkage and dementia, but we haven’t known much about whether people with blood sugar on the high end of normal experience these same effects,” said Dr. Nicolas Cherbuin, author of the study and director of the neuroimaging and brain lab at Australian National University.
The study looked at 249 people of age 60 to 64 whose blood sugar was within “normal” levels as defined by the World Health Organization. Brain scans at an average interval of four years showed that those with higher blood sugar levels were more likely to have a loss of brain volume. Researchers controlled for blood pressure, smoking, alcohol, and other factors. They estimate that blood sugar on the high end of normal accounts for 6%-10% of the brain shrinkage.
“These findings suggest that even for people who do not have diabetes, blood sugar levels could have an impact on brain health,” Cherbuin said. “More research is needed, but these findings may lead us to re-evaluate the concept of normal blood sugar levels and the definition of diabetes.”
A study published today in the journal Neruology has found that people who are both obese and metabolically abnormal can expect to have their metal capabilities degrade at a faster rate than those who don’t suffer similar health issues.
The study, a Whitehall cohort study, looked at 6,401 adults between the ages of 39 and 63 years old. Those labeled obese for the purposes of the study had a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 kg/m^2. A metabolic abnormality was defined as having 2 or more of the following conditions: high blood pressure, diabetes, high colesterol, or high triglycerides. Cognitive tests measuring the test subjects’ memory, reasoning, semantic, and phonemic fluency abilities were given at 5-year intervals.
The fastest cognitive decline was seen in subjects who had both obesity and metabolic abnormalities. For test subjects who were metabolically normal, whether obese or not, cognitive decline was similar. It is only the combination of the two factors that the researchers found to increase cognitive decline.
The Whitehall studies are large British studies which investigate the health of humans throughout their life. The first Whitehall study examined mortality rates for male British Civil Servants. The current Whitehall study is ongoing, and investigates occupational and social influences on health.
Though this study was performed on British citizens, obesity is on the rise in the U.S. Given that obesity has been linked to some of the metabolic abnormality factors listed in the study (such as diabetes), those with a high BMI but little muscle may want to begin worrying about their mental health as well as physical.
It’s common knowledge that Americans are getting fatter, but the statistics paint a bleak picture of just how large we are, as well as how disparate different regions of the U.S. are in terms of the size of their people.
This week the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention released its latest map showing adult obesity rates in individual states. According to the CDC’s annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) report, Mississippi is America’s most obese state for the sixth year in a row. The report shows that over one-third of Mississippians, 34.9%, are obese. Louisiana comes closest to Mississippi with 33.4% of its citizens classified as obese, and West Virginia rounds out the top three with a 32.4% obesity rate.
On the other side of the spectrum, Colorado is the least obese (though not exactly trim) state with only one-fifth, 20.7%, of its population being obese. Hawaii (21.8%) and Massachusetts (22.7%) round out the top three least-obese states.
The Southern states topping the most obese list and the western states topping the least obese list are no anomalies. The South had the highest precentage of adult obesity with 29.5%, while Western states had fewer obese people, with a 24.3% rate. The Midwestern states do rival the south’s size, though, with a 29% obesity rate. In fact, around a dozen Southern and Midwestern states are heavily tipping these rates higher with extremely high obesity rates. According to the CDC, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia all have obesity rates above 30%. The Northeastern states are closer to Western states, with a 25.3% obesity rate.
A full list of states and the prevalence of obesity for the people who live in them can be found on the CDC website.
When considering what these statistics say about the size of Americans, remember that these averages only include Americans who are obese. It does not include the number of Americans who are simply overweight. The CDC considers an adult who has a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 to be obese. Adults with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight.
Obesity drug Qsymia, which is manufactured by California pharmaceutical company Vivus, has been cleared for consumption by the masses. This marks the second weight-loss drug to get the stamp of approval from the Food and Drug Administration in just under two months. Although the pills are supposed to be an effective way for people to shed pounds, some doctors have instructed their patients to play the waiting game before offering up prescriptions.
“I’ll probably take a wait-and-see attitude myself,” explained Greg Anderson, an assistant professor of family medicine at the Mayo Clinic. “The track record has not been particularly good for diet medications.” Although some doctors have expressed similar concerns regarding the Qsymia and its like-minded cohort, Belviq, some physicians believe these medications can help people get started by providing immediate results.
“Once the patient has learned how to control the appetite and has lost a good amount of weight, she or he is stimulated to continue to lose weight without the medications,” said Dr. Albert Levy, who is an assistant professor of medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Qsymia, which is a combination of phentermine and the anti-seizure drug topiramate, is designed specifically to help obese and overweight patients lose a few pounds while they attempt to get other aspects of their lifestyle under control. However, some physicians are wary of the pills as they contain some potentially serious side effects. In addition to increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, Qsymia has been known to cause birth defects. The FDA rejected the pill two years ago for these very reasons, and it currently remains unclear as to why, exactly, they’ve decided to approve the drug considering the potential risks are still present.
Dr. Patrick O’Neil, president of The Obesity Society, feels the approval is good news for those struggling to lose weight. “By approving another medication that will help healthcare professionals treat this disease more effectively, the FDA continues to show us that they are treating obesity seriously,” he explained. “Since obesity can arise from many causes, no single medication will work for everyone. This is a great step in the right direction, but, we must maintain our focus of developing even more treatments that are safe, effective, and accessible.”
Since there is money to made with these products — analysts estimate sales of Belviq and Qsymia will bring in around $1 billion per year — it’s not surprisingly that investors are getting behind the pills. However, Qsymia will only be available through certain pharmacies under a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which is put in place to inform doctors and patients of the drug’s potential side effects. For some, this is the equivalent of putting the cart before the horse.
“Such a study may very well result in preventable mortality and morbidity, a high price to pay in exchange for a few pounds of flesh,” explained Marvin Lipman, M.D., chief medical adviser for Consumer Reports.
Diabetes, whether you’re ready to admit it or not, is a serious problem in this country. At present, there are reportedly over 23 million individuals currently living with the disease in the United States alone, compared to the 366 million who are affected worldwide. By 2030, it’s expected that 29 million Americans will be combating some form of diabetes, and unless something is done on an individual level, these numbers will continue to grow.
In a new international survey, it was revealed that 82 percent of Americans are aware that being overweight could lead to diabetes down the road. Of those surveyed, 58 percent had a body mass index of over 25, which tosses them directly into the overweight or obese category. Strangely, those who qualified as obese — 29 percent of respondents had a body mass index of at least 30 — 51 percent thought they were in relatively good health. Here’s where things get interesting: 74% of surveyed Americans felt that obesity, diet, and poor physical activity were among the nation’s most alarming health issues. If that’s the case, why aren’t these individuals taking steps to improve their lives?
Dr. Peter Goldbach, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dialog, believes there’s a disconnect between knowing what the risks are and actually taking steps to make a change. “Given their knowledge, people now need to realize that even small steps can make a big difference when it comes to eating better, exercising more regularly, or shedding a few pounds,” he explained. “At Health Dialog we understand the importance of wellness programs that fit easily into people’s lives and are more like fun than like a chore. It’s not about checking a box. It’s about integrating new behaviors little by little into everyday life.”
Although countries such as Great Britain, New Zealand, and Australia understood that obesity could lead to diabetes, those surveyed in China, India, Egypt, Spain, and Hong Kong were less likely to make the connection.
Obesity drug approved: Belviq, the first weight-loss drug to be approved by the FDA is over 13 years, will soon find its way into the bloodstream of America’s obese and overweight. According to the Associated Press, the pill, which was rejected in 2010 due to the appearance of tumors in lab animals, has finally been given the green light, which means that doctors could begin prescribing the medication to their patients as early as next year.
Despite the troublesome laboratory tests just two years ago, the FDA has approved the drug for the American population, 35 percent of which is currently overweight or obese. However, those who are hoping for a “get thin quick” miracle pill will no doubt be extremely disappointed, as Belviq is to be taken alongside a proper diet and adequate exercise. The approval comes in the wake of doctors demanding new weight-loss treatment options.
Of course, like just about every drug on the market, users can expect to experience some side-effects, which include depression, migraine, and memory lapse. The FDA also stated that patients should stop using the drug after three months if they have not lost at least five percent of their body weight. Extended usage of the drug after that period of time will not increase the likelihood of weight loss.
“This is good news because it tells us that the FDA is indeed treating obesity seriously,” Obesity Society President Patrick O’Neil explained to the AP. “On the other hand, it’s not the answer to the problem — or even a big part of the answer.”
Weight loss pills have a storied history of safety concerns. Fen-phen, for example, was linked to heart-valve damage back in 1997. However, doctors readily prescribed this medication to their overweight patients despite the fact that it wasn’t approved by the FDA.
Qnexa, another drug that’s been pushing for approval, is considered to be one of the more promising weight-loss drugs currently vying for attention. The FDA is expected to rule on it this July. Belviq, meanwhile, will likely launch sometime next year.
Obesity in adults and children has been linked to a number of foods and beverages over the years. According to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, sugary drinks such as Coca-Cola are to blame, as well. So concerned is he about the expanding waistline of his citizens that Bloomberg is attempting to impose a ban on these 16-ounce liquid calorie bombs. What about going back for refills, you ask? I’m sure he’s working on that problem right now.
In an attempt to separate themselves from such negative press, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent recently sat down with the Wall Street Journal for an interview, which was published on Monday. During the chat, Kent spoke frankly about Bloomberg’s plan to rid the city of their extra pounds by limiting their intake of sugary beverages.
According to Kent, the company doesn’t feel they are responsible for the increasing number of obese individuals who are currently living — and dying — in our country. So ridiculously overweight are we that the United States recently ranked as one of the heaviest nations in the world. In case you were wondering, that’s not an accolade to be particularly proud of. Unless, of course, unchecked gluttony is your reason for living.
“We’ve gone from being a single-beverage, single-brand company to now 500-plus brands, 3,000 products. Eight hundred of these products we’ve introduced in the last four or five years are calorie-free or low-calorie,” Kent said in defense of his products. “It is, I believe, incorrect and unjust to put the blame on any single ingredient, any single product, any single category of food.”
If Bloomberg has his way, Coca-Cola, along with other carbonated beverage manufacturers, will see their products dispensed in limited quantities at restaurants, delis, and various entertainment venues. The ban, oddly enough, does not include diet, fruit, dairy or alcoholic drinks, the latter of which are notoriously high in calories.
The weight of the world may sound like an impossible equation to calculate, but researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have determined that the weight of the human species totals roughly 3.5 million tons, or, if you prefer, 3.9 million metric tons.
Unfortunately for those of us living in the United States, we’re once again considered to be the heaviest country on the entire planet. According to the study, we make up nearly 34 percent of that astronomical weight despite the fact that the U.S. only represents 6 percent of the planet’s population. By comparison, the Asia comprises nearly 61 percent of the global population, yet they contribute only 13 percent to the weight of the world. Yikes.
After pouring over data from the World Health Organization, scientists determined that the average global body weight is around 137lbs. However, this number does vary greatly by region. For instance, the average weight in North America is about 178lbs, while those living in Asia are averaging about 127lbs.
What does all of this weight mean to us as a species? According to scientists, the increasing bloat of the human race could ultimately have “the same implications for world food energy demands as an extra half a billion people living on the earth.” That is a pretty scary thought.
Below you’ll find a list of the heaviest and lightest nations on the planet. Once again, the United States takes the top spot. If that doesn’t leave you feeling a little thick around the midsection this morning, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked the U.S. as having the most overweight and obese adults. Insert audible sigh here.
The 10 Heaviest Nations
1. United States
2. Kuwait
3. Croatia
4. Qatar
5. Egypt
6. United Arab Emirates
7. Trinidad and Tobago
8. Argentina
9. Greece
10. Bahrain
The 10 Lightest Nations
1. North Korea
2. Cambodia
3. Burundi
4. Nepal
5. Democ. Rep. of the Congo
6. Bangladesh
7. Sri Lanka
8. Ethiopia
9. Vietnam
10. Eritrea
Depression and obesity, in addition to good, old-fashioned poor sleeping habits, have been linked to the daytime sleepiness “epidemic” that is currently sweeping across the United States. In a recent study by the National Sleep Foundation, a shocking 20 percent of Americans experience drowsiness at some point during the day, particularly in the afternoon.
So how does one go about solving this problem if they are, in fact, depressed and obese? According to Alexandros Vgontzas, MD, you might consider losing some weight. “If you lose weight, you are going to be less tired and sleepy,” he explained.
Of course, that kind of goes without saying.
Out of the 1,173 adults studied over the span of seven years, 138 participants developed excessive sleepiness during the daylight hours. For those who are obese and/or suffering from sleep apnea, the likelihood of becoming prematurely tired was twice as high. However, for those individuals suffering from depression, the risk of becoming drowsy during the day was three times higher. Additionally, those who experienced daytime sleepiness are also likely to gain weight.
Here’s the triple threat: If you’re depressed, obese, and suffering from sleep apnea, there’s a very strong possibility that you’re asleep right now.
Alon Y. Avidan, MD, MPH, associate professor of neurology and director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, admitted that the findings offer nothing doctors didn’t already know about excessive drowsiness. However, the study did find a strong link between BMI and being unusually tired.
The solution to the problem, of course, relies on the individual losing weight, getting treatment for their depression, and talking to their physicians about sleep apnea.
One study titled “Microstructure Abnormalities in Adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder” from PLoS One concluded that adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder:
Had multiple structural changes in the brain. The gray matter atrophy and white matter FA changes of some brain regions were significantly correlated with the duration of internet addiction. These results may be interpreted, at least partially, as the functional impairment of cognitive control in IAD. The prefrontal cortex abnormalities were consistent with previous substance abuse studies, hence we suggested that there may exist partially overlapping mechanisms in IAD and substance use. We hoped that our results will enhance our understanding of IAD and aid in improving the diagnosis and prevention of IAD.
The following infographic also reports that individuals with IAD can experience 10% to 20% surface area brain shrinkage similar to damage found in cocaine and alcohol addicts.
According to this source there are five warning signs that indicate that someone might be afflicted by IAD. They include the deterioration of social, work and home life, feelings of anger, restlessness or depression when not online and an increase in happiness while interfacing, and lying about the amount of time that you spend on the internet.
Apparently it is so powerful that a sizable proportion of those surveyed said they were willing to give up vices like alcohol, coffee, and chocolate before they gave up the internet. But people still continue to eat junk food while surfing the net.
The fact remains that playing on the internet is a sedentary activity and does not lead to a healthy balanced lifestyle if carried out in excess.
A study titled “Associations of Leisure-Time Internet and Computer Use With Overweight and Obesity, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors: Cross-Sectional Study” from the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that: “Adults with high leisure-time Internet and computer use were more likely to be overweight or obese even if they were highly active in their leisure time as compared to participants who did not use the Internet or computer.”
Greek Sage and philosopher, Epictetus, says it best, “If one oversteps the bounds of moderation, the greatest pleasures cease to please.”
If you or someone you know is suffering from IAD you can find help here.
Danish researchers have recently announced a new theory as to why people all over the world are getting fatter – rising carbon dioxide levels are causing weight gain.
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The study began years ago, when Danish post-doctoral researcher Lars-Georg Hersoug noticed some trends while going over MONICA (Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardio-vascular Disease) statistics in Denmark. Hersoug found that both fat and thin people gained weight, with the same proportional increase, over the span of the 22-year study. Hersoug, of the Research Centre for Prevention and Health at Glostrup University Hospital, went on to point out that “the normal theory is that fat people get fatter because they don’t move as much as they should. But the study showed that thin people also get fatter, and this happened over the whole of the 22-year period of the study.”
Hersoug’s studies show that obesity development was highest in the east coast area of the U.S. between 1986-2010, where C02 concentrations were the highest. Another study from 2010 showed that 20,000 animals including dogs, cats, mice and monkeys from various labs put on weight, regardless of a controlled diet. “The probability that all animals of eight different species put on weight from random causes is one in 10,000,000,” states Hersoug. And the most compelling evidence supporting the CO2 theory came in 2007, when a study revealed that the pH value of blood, its acidity, affects nerve cells called orexins.
Orexins, which are neuropeptide hormones, exist in the brain and stimulate wakefulness and energy expenditure. These hormones may be affected by CO2, and this can cause a person to go to bed later, which in turn affects metabolism, making it easier to put on weight. But orexins are also involved in the stimulation of apetite.
One might wonder what the point of exercise might be if the air is making us fat anyway, but Hersoug says that physical activity is still worthwhile. “If you’re out running, you get your blood circulating and you can pump much of the CO2 out of your body, so our hypothesis is really further evidence that exercise is healthy. And exercise may be even more necessary in the future, when we can expect even higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.” Hersoug adds that eating fruits and vegetables also brings down the pH levels in the blood, so a healthy diet is still a good idea.
Interestingly, Hersoug suggests that living in the mountains might also help one to lose weight, as CO2 levels are lower in higher elevation. One might consider using this lung-powered iPhone charger while running in the mountains, to shave off some extra pounds.
Tel Aviv University researchers have released research results that suggest eating some sweets after breakfast may help you lose weight over the long term. The study involved about 200 non-diabetic patients which were all considered obese by clinical definition. Each was randomly assigned to a group who either consumed a 300 calorie breakfast or a 600 calorie breakfast which always included cookies, cake, or some chocolate.
Essentially, both groups lost an average of 33 pounds in the first 16 weeks. The difference came in the second 16 weeks. By the end of the 32 weeks, those who skipped the dessert regained an average of 22 pounds. Those who were in the dessert-eating group continued weight loss and shed an average 15 pounds more. In the end, the dessert group lost an average of 40 more pounds more than the others.
The layman’s explanation is simple. The people who abstained from sweets experienced more cravings throughout the day and gave into the cravings more often. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it is also when our appetite is smallest. So if you get your metabolism jump started early and eat that snack first, you have all day to burn it and you won’t be distracted by your cravings.
Keeping extra weight off long term is one of the biggest challenges. This finding could be a key component to helping people eat a steady balanced diet. If you combine this type of strategy with some moderate exercise, weight loss doesn’t have to be a mystery equation. Eat light at night and have sweets early in the day.
It sounds like people are happy with the idea so far. Speaking of Twitter, I just read an article where a man had the idea to use Twitter to track his diet progress. The main gist is that, at first he was inspired by his idea, but he quickly became embarrassed by his late-night fatty food feasts and long periods of inactivity on Twitter do to his shameful diet.
As his tweets will reveal, he persisted and did lose weight. One thing that struck me about his story is how others began to tweet their diets to him. They would share tales of high calorie meals and compare weight loss secrets.
Here’s a brief chronology of his work with the Twitter diet:
Last nite: asparagus sted of fries, but too much alcohol. Today: fruit; then sushi, little bit of soy sauce, 1 cookie sted of usual 3.
