Tag: obesity (Page 6 of 16)

The FDA Set To Approve Qnexa Weight Loss Drug

March 29, 2012 / Staff

The advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration voted 20 to 2 to recommend approval of Qnexa, a “new” obesity drug that is simply the combination of two older medications, phentermine (the “phen” of phen-fen”) and topiramate (Topamax).

The old diet drug (phentermine), combined with an older anti-seizure medication (Topamax) have concerning side effects, including increased heart rate, heart attacks, and birth defects such as cleft lip.

Every year the average American consumes 24 pounds of French fries, 23 pounds of pizza, 24 pounds of ice cream, 53 gallons of soda (or a gallon each week), 24 pounds of artificial sweeteners, 2.7 pounds of salt, 90,700 mg of caffeine, and about 2,700 calories a day.

Does a pill really address this behavior?

By 2020, over 50% of the US adult population will have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, with annual costs approaching $500 billion. By 2030, total annual economic costs of cardiovascular disease in the US are predicted to exceed $1 trillion. By 2030, globally we will spend $47 trillion; yes trillion, to address the effects of chronic lifestyle-driven disease.
Prescription medication for lifestyle disease has failed to bend the obesity and disease curve. Statins have been recently found to increase the risk of diabetes in women by 48%. And large data reviews by independent international scientists from the Cochrane Collaborative found that statins only work to prevent second heart attacks, not first heart attacks, which means they are not helpful and most likely harmful for 75% of those who take them.

Medication and surgery are not the answer to the growing obesity epidemic.

Lifestyle change is the safest, cost effective and most efficient way to address this national crisis.

Quality Control, Wellness

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Is Coffee An Effective Weight Loss Aid?

March 23, 2012 / Staff

Coffee may offer more than just your morning jolt.

A recent study shows that coffee not only helps to reduce weight but also shows promise in reducing he risk of adult-onset diabetes.

Coffee, one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, contains a plethora of naturally-occurring compounds, including several classes of antioxidants. Coffee is already known to be a preventive factor against mild depression, Parkinson’s disease, and colon and rectal cancers. Now it appears that compounds in coffee also help to regulate blood glucose, reduce fat production, and enable steady weight loss.
The compounds responsible for the weight-controlling effects of coffee are antioxidants known collectively as the chlorogenic acids. These acids appear to slow the production of glucose in the body after a meal, by modifying the activity of certain enzymes in the liver. Additionally, the chlorogenic acids cause a more slow and sustained release of glucose into the body after eating, thereby reducing the production of new fat cells.

The takeaway is that black coffee, espresso, coffee with a small amount of milk, or a green coffee bean supplement all appear to support weight reduction and lower rates of diabetes.

In the studies cited, decaffeinated coffee and caffeinated coffee alike worked equally well.

Nutrition, Research

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Change You Genes, Get Up And Move!

March 15, 2012 / Staff

The good news is that walking can cut obesity gene effect in half.

Something as accessible and simple as walking has been shown effective in mitigating the genetic tendency toward obesity.

To explore the interaction between behavior and genes, Harvard researchers analyzed data on more than 12,000 men and women participating in two large studies of health professionals.
The researchers measured the participants’ genetic risk by identifying how many of the 32 known variants of the so-called obesity geneeach person had. (The gene is officially known as the fat mass and obesity associated, or FTO, gene.)
Roughly half of the general population has some genetic risk for obesity, says lead author Qibin Qi, Ph.D., a research fellow in nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston

It is amazing to think that we can actually change our genes by doing something as simple as walking more and sitting less.

We really can take control of our health.

Research, Wellness

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Just Say, “No” To Soda

March 13, 2012 / Staff

Now there are even more reasons to kick your soda habit.

From caramel coloring to aluminum cans lined with BPA , these are just a 2 reasons to cut soda out of your diet.

Phosphoric acid which has been linked to accelerated aging and bone loss, excessive sugar, harsh chemicals and water pollution round out the list of reasons to eliminate nutritionally void beverages.

The artificial sweeteners used in diet sodas don’t break down in our bodies, nor do wastewater-treatment plants catch them before they enter waterways, researchers have found. In 2009, Swiss scientists tested water samples from wastewater-treatment plants, rivers and lakes in Switzerland and detected levels of acesulfame K, sucralose, and saccharin, all of which are, or have been, used in diet sodas.

Nutrition, Quality Control, Wellness

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And The Fattest Cities Are…

March 7, 2012 / Staff

The fattest and fittest cities in the U.S. have been listed and ranked.

Follow the link to see how your city compares.
The results come from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index and are based on interviews with more than 350,000 American adults between Jan. 2 and Dec. 29, 2011. Participants reported their height and weight, which was used to calculate body mass index, or BMI, a measure of a person’s fatness. BMI scores of 30 or greater are considered obese. (For example, a 5-foot-4-inch woman who weighs 174 pounds or more, or a 5-foot-10-inch man who weighs 209 pounds or more would have a BMI of 30.)

Quality Control, Research, Wellness

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