Excess weight linked to brain changes in memory, emotions, and appetite
February 11, 2014
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Science Daily/SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Being overweight appears related to reduced levels of a molecule that reflects brain cell health in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory, learning, and emotions, and likely also involved in appetite control, according to a new study.
The importance of the hippocampus -- a seahorse-shaped organ deep within the brain -- to the formation and preservation of memory and to emotional control is well known, Dr. Coplan notes, but its role in appetite control is less established.
"The relevance of the finding is that being overweight is associated with specific changes in a part of the brain that is crucial to memory formation and emotions, and probably to appetite," said Dr. Coplan. The study is believed to be the first human research documenting the association of NAA with body weight.
"Whether low NAA is a consequence of being overweight, causes being overweight, or a combination of both remains to be determined," Dr. Coplan added. "Future studies are planned to focus on whether weight loss leads to an increase in NAA."
"We also found that high worry also produced low levels of NAA in the hippocampus, but was not associated with a high body mass index (BMI)," Dr. Coplan said. Dr. Coplan and his team looked at persons with a BMI equal to or greater than 25. Normal weight is defined as a BMI of 18.5-24.9, overweight between 25 and 29.9, and obesity at a BMI of 30 or greater.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140211121829.htm
Using attention modification program to decrease overeating in obese children
February 14, 2014
Science Daily/University of California, San Diego Health Sciences
Attention modification programs, which train a person to ignore or disregard specific, problematic cues or triggers, have been used effectively to treat cases of anxiety and substance abuse. In a novel study published this week, a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry reports using a single session of attention modification to decrease overeating in obese children.
Boutelle and colleagues investigated whether attention modification training might be another way to treat problematic eating and obesity in children. In a novel pilot study, they recruited 24 overweight and obese children between the ages of 8 and 12 and split them into two groups.
One group underwent an attention modification program (AMP) in which they watched pairs of words quickly flash upon a computer screen. One was a food word, such as "cake;" the other was a non-food word, such as "desk." After the words had flashed and disappeared, a letter appeared on-screen in the place of either the food word or the non-food word. The viewing child was asked to immediately press the right or left button associated with the letter's location.
"This is called 'implicit training' as it happens so fast that some people might not realize what is happening," said Boutelle. "The AMP trained attention away from food words because the letter always appeared in the spot of the non-food word while in the other group, the condition trained attention was split with the letter appearing half of the time in the food word location and half in the non-food word location."
The two computer programs differentially affected eating in the overweight children after only one training session. "It's surprising to find differences in eating after just one training program," said Boutelle, "but it's encouraging because it suggests that a longer program might have greater effect."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140214203849.htm
Shorter sleepers are over-eaters, study in children shows
March 25, 2014
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Science Daily/University College London
Young children who sleep less eat more, which can lead to obesity and related health problems later in life, reports a new study. The study found that 16 month-old children who slept for less than 10 hours each day consumed on average 105kcal more per day than children who slept for more than 13 hours. This is an increase of around 10% from 982kcal to 1087kcal.
"We know that shorter sleep in early life increases the risk of obesity, so we wanted to understand whether shorter sleeping children consume more calories" explains Dr Abi Fisher of the Health Behaviour Research Centre at UCL. "Previous studies in adults and older children have shown that sleep loss causes people to eat more, but in early life parents make most of the decisions about when and how much their children eat, so young children cannot be assumed to show the same patterns.
"The key message here is that shorter sleeping children may prone to consume too many calories," says Dr Fisher. "Although more research is needed to understand why this might be, it is something parents should be made aware of."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140325100254.htm
Diet can predict cognitive decline
April 27, 2014
Science Daily/Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
Lower dietary consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) might be risk factors for cognitive decline, researchers say. There is growing evidence that very long chain omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for maintaining cognitive health.
"While more research is needed to determine whether intake of fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and trout can help prevent against cognitive decline, our preliminary data support previous research showing that intake of these types of fish have health benefits," one researcher said.
What is the takeaway from this research? There is growing evidence that very long chain omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for maintaining cognitive health, and many Americans do not have an adequate intake of these nutrients. "While more research is needed to determine whether intake of fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and trout can help prevent against cognitive decline, our preliminary data support previous research showing that intake of these types of fish have health benefits," Scott said.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140427121051.htm
Chronic stress heightens vulnerability to diet-related metabolic risk
April 29, 2014
Science Daily/University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
Highly stressed people who eat a lot of high-fat, high-sugar food are more prone to health risks than low-stress people who eat the same amount of unhealthy food, new research finds for the first time. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of abnormalities -- increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels -- that occur together, increasing a person's risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
"We found that more frequent high fat, high sugar consumption significantly predicted a larger waistline, more truncal fat, higher oxidative damage, and more insulin resistance, but only among the group of women exposed to chronic stress," said Aschbacher. "The chronically stressed women didn't report eating more high sugar, high fat foods than the low stressed women; however, they did have higher levels of a stress-related biomarker, peripheral Neuropeptide Y (NPY)."
Based on what is known from animal studies, stress triggers greater peripheral NPY which, in combination with junk food, creates larger abdominal fat cells, and these cells may be more prone to metabolic dysregulation.
"The medical community is starting to appreciate how important chronic stress is in promoting and worsening early disease processes," said Aschbacher. "But there are no guidelines for 'treating' chronic stress. We need treatment studies to understand whether increasing stress resilience could reduce the metabolic syndrome, obesity or diabetes."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140429142117.htm
Chronic insufficient sleep increases obesity, overall body fat in children
May 20, 2014
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Science Daily/Massachusetts General Hospital
One of the most comprehensive studies of the potential link between reduced sleep and childhood obesity finds compelling evidence that children who consistently received less than the recommended hours of sleep during infancy and early childhood had increases in both obesity and in adiposity or overall body fat at age 7.
"Our study found convincing evidence that getting less than recommended amounts of sleep across early childhood is an independent and strong risk factor for obesity and adiposity," says Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH, chief of General Pediatrics at MGHfC and lead author of the Pediatrics paper. "Contrary to some published studies, we did not find a particular 'critical period' for the influence of sleep duration on weight gain. Instead, insufficient sleep at any time in early childhood had adverse effects."
While several studies have found evidence of an association between sleep and obesity in young children, few have examined the effects of constant sleep deprivation across time or used measures other than body mass index (BMI), which determines obesity based solely on height and weight.
The current study analyzed data from Project Viva, a long-term investigation of the health impacts of several factors during pregnancy and after birth. Information used in this study was gathered from mothers at in-person interviews when their children were around 6 months, 3 years and 7 years old, and from questionnaires completed when the children were ages 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140520134338.htm
Teen sleeplessness piles on risk for obesity
August 20, 2014
Science Daily/Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Teenagers who don't get enough sleep may wake up to worse consequences than nodding off during chemistry class. According to new research, risk of being obese by age 21 was 20 percent higher among 16-year-olds who got less than six hours of sleep a night, compared with their peers who slumbered more than eight hours.
"Lack of sleep in your teenage years can stack the deck against you for obesity later in life," says Suglia. "Once you're an obese adult, it is much harder to lose weight and keep it off. And the longer you are obese, the greater your risk for health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer."
Daytime sleepiness and fatigue are known to affect what and how people eat, by altering appetite and stimulating cravings. Energy levels may also play a role. For the sleep-deprived, ordering calorie-dense fast food is easier than preparing a nutritious meal. Information on what the teens ate was not captured in the surveys, although it could play a role. Future research may look whether, for example, soda consumption is a factor in sleeplessness and, in turn, obesity. (A 2013 study by Suglia found young children who drink soda are more likely to have behavioral problems.)
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140820111958.htm
Early to mid-life obesity linked to heightened risk of dementia in later life
August 21, 2014
Science Daily/BMJ-British Medical Journal
Obesity is linked to a heightened risk of dementia in later life, reveals an observational study. But the age at which a person is obese seems to be a key factor, the findings show, with an apparent tripling in risk for people in their 30s. Estimates suggest that almost 66 million people around the globe will have dementia by 2030, with the numbers predicted to top 115 million by 2050.
Estimates suggest that almost 66 million people around the globe will have dementia by 2030, with the numbers predicted to top 115 million by 2050. There is growing evidence that obesity is linked to dementia, but the research indicates that risk may be heightened or lowered, depending on age. And as yet, no study has looked at the age related effect of obesity on dementia risk across the whole age range in the population of one country.
Later analyses demonstrated that higher total testosterone level strongly correlated with more shallow sleep. This association, Van Cauter said, was independent from the presence of other factors known to decrease sleep quality, such as age, race/ethnicity and OSA severity.
Because doctors are increasingly prescribing testosterone replacement therapy for middle-aged and older men with low testosterone levels, Van Cauter said, "Further studies are needed to clarify the impact of testosterone replacement on sleep quality, especially sleep depth."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140821090649.htm
High testosterone may predict more shallow sleep in overweight or obese men
June 23, 2014
Science Daily/Endocrine Society
In overweight and obese men, higher testosterone levels are associated with poorer sleep quality, according to a new study.
"This finding could have clinical relevance in the context of the recent increase in testosterone prescriptions in middle-aged men, as poor sleep quality has been linked to increased risk of diabetes and hypertension," said Eve Van Cauter, PhD, the study's senior investigator. She is director of the University of Chicago Sleep, Metabolism and Health Center, where the study took place.
With three of four U.S. men now overweight or obese, the researchers wanted to determine which factors influence sleep quality in this population. Overweight and older age can contribute to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep and which disrupts sleep.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140623141730.htm
Sleep, mood improves after substantial weight loss
June 24, 2014
Science Daily/Endocrine Society
Obese adults who lose at least 5 percent of their body weight report that they sleep better and longer after six months of weight loss, according to a new study.
"This study confirms several studies reporting that weight loss is associated with increased sleep duration," said the study's lead investigator, Nasreen Alfaris, MD, MPH, a fellow in the Department of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
In addition, the study found that weight loss at 6 months improved sleep quality, as well as mood, regardless of how the individuals lost the weight.
Examining all three groups together, subjects who lost at least 5 percent of their weight at month 6 reported that they gained an average of 21.6 minutes of sleep a night, compared with only 1.2 minutes for those who lost less than 5 percent. Likewise, subjects who lost >5% of initial weight reported greater improvements on measures of sleep quality and mood (i.e., symptoms of depression), compared with subjects who lost <5%.
Only improvements in mood remained statistically significant at 24 months, according to Alfaris.
"Further studies are needed to examine the potential effects of weight regain in diminishing the short-term improvements of weight loss on sleep duration and sleep quality," she said.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140624135755.htm
Non-diet approach to weight management more effective in worksite wellness programs
July 7, 2014
Science Daily/University of Missouri-Columbia
Researchers have found that 'Eat for Life,' a new wellness approach that focuses on mindfulness and intuitive eating as a lifestyle, is more effective than traditional weight-loss programs in improving individuals' views of their bodies and decreasing problematic eating behaviors
Problematic eating behaviors and dissatisfaction with one's body are familiar struggles among women. To combat those behaviors, which have led to higher healthcare premiums and medical trends, employers have offered worksite wellness programs to employees and their families. However, the vast majority of wellness programs limit their approach to promoting diets, which may result in participants regaining the majority of their weight once the programs end.
Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that "Eat for Life," a new wellness approach that focuses on mindfulness and intuitive eating as a lifestyle, is more effective than traditional weight-loss programs in improving individuals' views of their bodies and decreasing problematic eating behaviors.
"Intuitive eating and mindfulness are two relatively new intervention approaches that have been effective in supporting healthy eating and body image," Rossy said. "Eat for Life encourages individuals to become more engaged with their internal body signals and not the numbers on the scales."
Rossy found that women who participated in Eat for Life reported higher levels of body appreciation and intuitive eating and lower levels of problematic eating behaviors such as binging, purging and fasting, as compared to women who did not participate in the program. Eat for Life participants' weights ranged from normal to morbidly obese, and some women displayed eating disorder behaviors. At the end of the program, participants in the Eat for Life program were significantly more likely not to exhibit disordered eating. Mindfulness was a major factor in all of the positive outcomes, Rossy said.
"Eat for Life is not just for individuals with eating disorders," said Rossy. "This type of intervention program is for a variety of individuals who want to have more knowledge on how to be healthy and how to appreciate their bodies' value."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140707134331.htm
Working night shift burns less energy, increases risk of weight gain
November 17, 2014
Science Daily/University of Colorado at Boulder
People who work the night shift are likely burning less energy during a 24-hour period than those on a normal schedule, increasing their risk for weight gain and obesity, according to a new study.
Researchers have known that people who work, and therefore eat, at night when their bodies are biologically prepared to sleep are prone to put on pounds. But the reasons have not been clear.
For the new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, fourteen healthy adults spent six days at the University of Colorado Hospital's Clinical and Translational Research Center. For the first two days, the participants followed a normal schedule sleeping at night and staying awake during the day. They then transitioned to a three-day shift work schedule when their routines were reversed.
The researchers found that total daily energy used by participants decreased when they were put on a shift work schedule. The reduction is probably linked to the mismatch between the person's activities and their circadian clocks, Wright said. Humans have evolved to be awake--and eat--when it's light outside and sleep when it's dark. In large part, the human circadian clock is set by exposure to sunlight.
People's circadian clocks can shift over time--even radically--with the use of artificial lights if they aren't exposed to the sun. But because shift workers typically switch back to a daytime schedule on their days off, their biological clocks don't flip to fit their night shift schedules.
"Shift work goes against our fundamental biology," said Wright, also an associate professor of integrative physiology. "Shift work requires our biological day to occur at night and our biological night to occur during the day and that's very difficult to achieve because the sun is such a powerful cue. We can have some change in our clock--a couple of hours--but then on days off, it goes right back. Shift workers never adapt."
The research team was surprised to find that the study participants burned more fat when they slept during the day compared to when they slept at night. It's not clear why this happens, but Wright said it's possible the extra fat-burning is triggered by the transition day between a daytime schedule and a nighttime schedule.
On that day shift workers often take an afternoon nap to prepare for the first nightshift, but in total, they are typically awake more hours than usual and, therefore, burn more energy. The need to meet the extra demand for energy may cause the body to begin burning fat, Wright said.
Further research is needed to determine if the fat-burning phenomenon would happen among actual shift workers, whose diet is not being strictly controlled, Wright said. For example, shift workers may eat more calories on the transition day--an option not available to study participants--which could eliminate the need for the body to start burning fat. Still the findings suggest that shift workers may be prone not only to gaining weight, but also to a changing composition of fat and muscle mass in their bodies.
Wright cautions that even though participants initially burned more fat, this would not lead to weight loss because in total, the energy expenditure over the three days of shift work was lower.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141117164232.htm
Longer work hours for moms mean less sleep, higher BMIs for preschoolers
November 20, 2014
Science Daily/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
A link between moms' employment and overweight/obesity in preschoolers has been found by researchers. The study investigated links between mothers' employment status and their children's weight over time, exploring the impact of potential mediators, such as children's sleep and dietary habits, the amount of time they spent watching TV and family mealtime routines.
"The only factor of the four that we investigated that mediated the relationship between maternal employment status and child obesity was how much sleep the child was getting each night," said lead author Katherine E. Speirs, a postdoctoral research associate in human and community development at the University of Illinois.
Sixty-six percent of the mothers in the sample were employed full time, defined as working 35 hours or more per week. Another 18 percent of the women were employed part time, or 20 to 34 hours per week.
Children whose mothers worked full time got fewer hours of sleep than peers whose mothers worked less than 20 hours per week. The children of women who worked full time also tended to have higher BMIs at the second weigh-in.
Just 18 percent of the preschoolers in the sample were getting the 11 to 12 hours of nightly sleep recommended by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the researchers found.
On average, the children were getting about 9.6 hours of nighttime sleep. Each additional hour of nighttime sleep that a child obtained was associated with a 6.8 percent decrease in their BMI at the second weigh-in, the researchers found.
"We looked at nighttime sleep in particular, because studies show that the amount of nighttime sleep matters for regulating weight," said Liechty, a professor of medicine and of social work.
"We think that it might be the more hours that mothers are working, the less time they have, and there may be some sort of tradeoff going on, 'Do I spend quality time with my child or do we get to bed early?'" Speirs said. "And then in the morning, when mothers leave for work, their children also wake up early to get to day care."
Mothers whose children were enrolled in 32 licensed day care centers in Central Illinois were recruited for the study. Sixty-six percent of the women had college degrees; about a third had household incomes under $40,000 a year, and just over half the sample had household incomes under $70,000 a year. "The challenges of ensuring that children obtain adequate sleep may be even greater for low-income women, who often hold multiple jobs or work rotating shifts or nonstandard hours," Speirs said.
"There are lots of characteristics about mothers' employment that are really important to help us better understand the relationship between mothers' employment status and child obesity, such as whether women are working part time voluntarily or involuntarily, or scheduled or nonscheduled hours," said Wu, a professor of social work. The authors are exploring some of these characteristics and possible links with child obesity in a related study, which is currently underway.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141120153950.htm
Obese children burdened by more than weight
November 24, 2014
Science Daily/University of California, San Diego Health Sciences
High blood pressure and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are two emerging health problems related to the epidemic of childhood obesity. In a recent study, researchers sought to determine the prevalence of high blood pressure in children with NAFLD, which places them at risk for premature cardiovascular disease.
"As a result of our study, we recommend that blood pressure evaluation, control and monitoring should be included as an integral component of the clinical management of children with NAFLD, especially because this patient population is at greater risk for heart attacks and strokes," said Jeffrey Schwimmer, MD, in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study. "Hypertension is a main cause of preventable death and disability in the United States in adults, but much of the origin occurs in childhood."
"Along with being at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, we found that children with NAFLD who had high blood pressure were significantly more likely to have more fat in their liver than children without high blood pressure. This could lead to a more serious form of liver disease," said Schwimmer.
"There are some reasons to believe that blood pressure control could be beneficial for NAFLD. Thus, we may be able to decrease the risk of premature cardiovascular disease in these children, and also help their liver," said Schwimmer. "Parents and doctors need to be aware of the health risks of children who have NAFLD. The sooner high blood pressure is identified and treated in this patient population, the healthier they will be as they transition into adulthood."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141124143330.htm
Another case against the midnight snack
December 2, 2014
Science Daily/Salk Institute for Biological Studies
These days, with the abundance of artificial light, TV, tablets and smartphones, adults and children alike are burning the midnight oil. What they are not burning is calories: with later bedtimes comes the tendency to eat.
A new study cautions against an extended period of snacking, suggesting instead that confining caloric consumption to an 8- to 12-hour period-as people did just a century ago-might stave off high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.
Researchers gave some of the time-restricted mice a respite on weekends, allowing them free access to high-fat meals for these two days. These mice had less fat mass and gained less weight than the mice given a freely available, high-fat diet the whole time. In fact, the mice that were freely fed just on weekends looked much the same as mice given access to food 9 or 12 hours a day for seven days a week, suggesting that the diet can withstand some temporary interruptions.
"The fact that it worked no matter what the diet, and the fact that it worked over the weekend and weekdays, was a very nice surprise," says the study's first author Amandine Chaix, a postdoctoral researcher in Panda's lab.
More importantly, for the mice that had already become obese by eating a freely available high-fat diet, researchers restricted their food access to a nine-hour window. Although the mice continued to consume the same number of calories, they dropped body weight by five percent within a few days. Importantly, eating this way prevented the mice from further weight gain (by about 25 percent by the end of the 38-week study) compared to the group kept on the freely available high-fat diet.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141202123735.htm
Skipping meals increases children's obesity, cardio metabolic risk
December 15, 2014
Science Daily/University of Eastern Finland
Children who skip main meals are more likely to have excess body fat and an increased cardiometabolic risk already at the age of 6 to 8 years, according to a study. A higher consumption of sugary drinks, red meat and low-fat margarine and a lower consumption of vegetable oil are also related to a higher cardiometabolic risk. “The more of these factors are present, the higher the risk,” says a researcher.
The dietary habits, eating behaviour and dietary determinants of excess body adiposity and cardiometabolic risk were investigated in a population sample of 512 Finnish girls and boys 6 to 8 years of age participating in the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) Study. Cardiometabolic risk was assessed by a continuous metabolic risk score computed using Z-scores of waist circumference, fasting serum insulin, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the mean of systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Children who skipped meals and ate more protein were more likely to have excess body fat. Uncontrolled eating behaviour, such as eating fast, emotional overeating and a lower satiety responsiveness were also associated with higher body adiposity.
The study also showed that most children's diet was far from ideal. Less than half of the children ate all three main meals -- breakfast, lunch and dinner -- every day. Instead, snacks were a major source of energy and sucrose. A minority of the children consumed vegetables, fruit and berries as recommended. As many as a quarter of the children consumed sugary drinks daily.. The intakes of saturated fat, sucrose and salt were higher and the intakes of dietary fibre, vitamin D and iron were lower than recommended among the children.
"Based on the findings, sticking to regular meals seems to be crucial for preventing overweight and cardiometabolic diseases already in childhood," Ms Eloranta says. In addition, parents need to provide their children with better dietary choices: regular-fat vegetable-oil margarines and vegetable oils instead of low-fat margarines, fat-free milk and water instead of sugary drinks, and more fish instead of red meat at meals.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141215084420.htm
Weigh-in once a week or you'll gain weight
December 17, 2014
Science Daily/Cornell Food & Brand Lab
Stepping on the scale is common among dieters but how does the frequency of weigh-ins impact weight?
A new study showed that the more frequently dieters weighed themselves the more weight they lost, and if participants went more than a week without weighing themselves, they gained weight.
The researchers analyzed 2,838 weight measurements (up to a years' worth of weigh-ins) from 40 overweight individuals (with a body mass index of 25 and over) who indicated that weight loss was a personal goal or concern. The researchers found that weight loss was related to how often individuals weighed themselves.
"The more often you weigh yourself the more weight you lose," says to lead author Elina Helander from Tempere Univeristy of Technology in Finland. This observational study cannot prove causation -- it may be that less serious dieters weight themselves less or that dieters who stop losing weight stop weighting themselves. The average time that participants could go between weighting without gaining weight was 5.8 days or about a weekly weigh-in.
Previous Findings by the Research Team
Weigh yourself at least once a week if you wish to lose weight, and weighing yourself everyday may help you stay on track. A previous study by the same research team found that your weight naturally fluctuates throughout the week and that most people weigh the least on Wednesday. To summarize both studies Brian Wansink, PhD, Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and author of Slim by Design: Mind Eating Solutions for Everyday Life advises,
"The bottom line is: If you want to lose weight, it's best to weigh yourself every day. But if you weigh yourself only once a week, do it on Wednesday because that will give you the most accurate reading."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141217171430.htm
Want pizza, chocolate, French fries? Highly processed foods linked to addictive eating
February 20, 2015
Science Daily/University of Michigan
http://images.sciencedaily.com/2015/02/150220110126-large.jpg
A new study confirms what has long been suspected: highly processed foods like chocolate, pizza and French fries are among the most addictive.
This is one of the first studies to examine specifically which foods may be implicated in "food addiction," which has become of growing interest to scientists and consumers in light of the obesity epidemic.
Previous studies in animals conclude that highly processed foods, or foods with added fat or refined carbohydrates (like white flour and sugar), may be capable of triggering addictive-like eating behavior. Clinical studies in humans have observed that some individuals meet the criteria for substance dependence when the substance is food.
Despite highly processed foods generally known to be highly tasty and preferred, it is unknown whether these types of foods can elicit addiction-like responses in humans, nor is it known which specific foods produce these responses, said Ashley Gearhardt, U-M assistant professor of psychology.
Unprocessed foods, with no added fat or refined carbohydrates like brown rice and salmon, were not associated with addictive-like eating behavior.
Individuals with symptoms of food addiction or with higher body mass indexes reported greater problems with highly processed foods, suggesting some may be particularly sensitive to the possible "rewarding" properties of these foods, said Erica Schulte, a U-M psychology doctoral student and the study's lead author.
"If properties of some foods are associated with addictive eating for some people, this may impact nutrition guidelines, as well as public policy initiatives such as marketing these foods to children," Schulte said.
Nicole Avena, assistant professor of pharmacology and systems therapeutics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and a co-author on the study, explained the significance of the findings.
"This is a first step towards identifying specific foods, and properties of foods, which can trigger this addictive response," she said. "This could help change the way we approach obesity treatment. It may not be a simple matter of 'cutting back' on certain foods, but rather, adopting methods used to curtail smoking, drinking and drug use."
Future research should examine whether addictive foods are capable of triggering changes in brain circuitry and behavior like drugs of abuse, the researchers said.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150220110126.htm
Fast-food ban in L.A. fails to improve diets or cut obesity
March 19, 2015
Science Daily/RAND Corporation
In 2008, the city of Los Angeles passed a law restricting the opening or expansion of any 'stand-alone fast-food restaurant' in low-income neighborhoods where obesity was a problem. A new study finds the measure has failed to reduce fast-food consumption or reduce obesity rates in the targeted neighborhoods.
Since the fast-food restrictions were passed in 2008, overweight and obesity rates in South Los Angeles and other neighborhoods targeted by the law have increased faster than in other parts of the city or other parts of the county, according to findings published online by the journal Social Science & Medicine.
"The South Los Angeles fast food ban may have symbolic value, but it has had no measurable impact in improving diets or reducing obesity," said Roland Sturm, lead author of the study and a senior economist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "This should not come as a surprise: Most food outlets in the area are small food stores or small restaurants with limited seating that are not affected by the policy."
The policy is a zoning regulation that restricts the opening or expansion of any "stand-alone fast-food restaurant" in Baldwin Hills, Leimert Park, and portions of South Los Angeles and Southeast Los Angeles. The areas subject to the rule have about 700,000 residents. While the rule was not the nation's first local regulation limiting fast-food outlets, it was the first one presented as a public health measure by advocates.
Sturm and co-author Aiko Hattori of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, examined the fast-food ban by analyzing information from two sources. They tracked the opening of new food outlets across the city by reviewing permits issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which licenses and inspects all food outlets.
Information about neighborhood eating habits and weight came from three different waves of the California Health Interview Survey, which polls residents across the state about an array of health issues. Participants from South Los Angeles and other neighborhoods targeted by the ordinance were compared to residents from other parts of Los Angeles.
Examining weight trends across the city, researchers found that both obesity and being overweight increased in all areas from 2007 to 2012, with the increase being significantly greater in areas covered by the fast-food ordinance. In addition, fast-food consumption increased in all areas since the ban was passed, but was statistically similar across all areas.
Before the ban was passed as well as three years later, the average body mass index (a ratio of weight to height) and the proportion of people who were obese or overweight were higher in South Los Angeles than in other areas of the city. That gap continued to widen from 2008 to 2012.
"The one bright spot we found is that soft drink consumption dropped, but the decrease was similar in all areas across Los Angeles," Hattori said. "Unfortunately, the rates of overweight and obesity increased and they increased fastest in the area subject to the fast-food ban."
Researchers found that about 10 percent of food outlets in Los Angeles are new since the regulation was approved, but there was no evidence that the composition of those establishments has changed as a result of the ordinance.
New food outlets in South Los Angeles were most likely to be small food stores while new food outlets in other parts of the city were most likely to be larger independent restaurants.
There were 17 new permits for outlets belonging to larger fast-food chains in South Los Angeles from 2008 to 2012, just slightly more than in other parts of the city, but none of them were stand-alone restaurants. The findings show the ordinance has done little to reshape the retail food landscape in the targeted neighborhoods.
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150319080354.htm
Stress and obesity: Your family can make your fat
April 6, 2015
Science Daily/University of Houston
Adolescent obesity is a national public health concern and, unchecked, places young people on a trajectory for a variety of health issues as they grow older. A new study from the University of Houston Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) and Texas Obesity Research Center (TORC) suggests there is a relationship between long-term exposure to three specific types of family stressors and children becoming obese by the time they turn 18 years old.
Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, Assistant Professor Daphne Hernandez examined three family stress points - family disruption, financial stress and maternal poor health -- and applied those to data of more than 4,700 adolescents born between 1975 and 1990.
"Experiencing family stress -- specifically family disruption and financial stress -- repeatedly throughout childhood was associated with overweight or obesity by the time adolescent girls turned 18," Hernandez said.
Interestingly, only one chronic family stress point -maternal poor health -was related to boys becoming overweight or obese by the time they turned 18.
"Overall, the findings suggest that female and male adolescents respond differently to stress. This study extends our knowledge of stress and obesity by focusing on the family environment over time. By knowing the types of stressors that influence female and male adolescent weight gain, we can tailor specific social services to be included in obesity prevention programs," she said.
Hernandez says the findings are important particularly to school-based obesity prevention programs that currently focus on dietary intake and physical activity, which she says yield only short-term benefits.
"These programs need to take a broader approach to combatting obesity by helping families experiencing these kinds of stressors find access to mental health programs, financial assistance or family counseling," she said. "Developing strategies to help with family stressors during childhood may help children maintain healthy weight into adulthood."
Science Daily/SOURCE :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150406133621.htm