Is lap banding the cure to obesity?

Obesity is killing Americans at an alarming rate and conventional dieting doesn't always work. In the last few years, "lap banding" has increased in popularity. Today is the first time lap banding has been done in Spokane.

Over 60 percent of people in the US are considered obese and the perception is unhealthy eating is the culprit. But for many - overeating is not the problem - it's genetics.

"Society would have us believing that all obese patients are lazy, dirty, eat a lot, don't exercise - that is absolutely not the case," says Dr. Lee Trotter, the first bariatric surgeon performing lap banding surgery in Spokane.

Dr. Lee Trotter is new to Spokane, but not new to the problem of obesity. As a bariatric surgeon - he's performed weight loss surgeries like gastric bypass and lap banding, which was approved by the FDA in 2001.

Looking in the brain for a clue to obesity

Obese people lose their ability to respond to a hormone that says "stop eating." A new study by Oregon researchers may explain how this happens and raises hopes that drugs could work around this communication breakdown.

The study identified what could be the broken link in a chain of biological signals connected to the hunger-limiting hormone leptin. An excess of a protein called SOCS-3 seems to drown out the messages leptin is sending like a noisy debater. Drugs that tap into this hunger-control system down the line from the disruptive protein may get the "lose weight" message moving again. Several companies are working on drugs that alter this hormone system, the melanocortin system.

This does not mean a super slimming drug is just around the corner. The drugs being developed could fail their tests and are years from the market at best.

Strong Evidence Links Soft Drink Consumption To Obesity, Diabetes

The case against swigging soda just got stronger. A large systematic review reveals clear associations between consumption of nondiet soft drinks and increased calorie intake and body weight.

Full-calorie soft drinks are also linked with reduced intake of milk and fruit and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. "Recommendations to reduce population soft drink consumption are strongly supported by the available science," concludes the review of 88 studies.

The American Beverage Association, however, presents a different view on its Web site. "It is not feasible to blame any one food product or beverage as being a sole contributor to obesity …. No science supports such a claim."

Carbonated soft drinks are the single largest source of calories in the American diet, according to a 2005 report called "Liquid Candy," produced by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

In Obesity, Brain Becomes 'Unaware' Of Fat

Critical portions of the brain in those who are obese don't really know they are overweight, researchers have reported in the March issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, published by Cell Press. These findings in obese mice show that a sensor in the brain that normally detects a critical fat hormone - causing a cascade of events that keeps energy balance in check - fails to engage. Meanwhile, the rest of the metabolic pathway remains ready to respond.

"Obesity is not a failure of will power, it is a biological failure," said Michael Cowley of Oregon Health & Science University of his group's findings in the mice. "The brain is not aware that the body is obese."

If the same is true in humans, he added, people may be consciously aware that they are overweight, but "that's different from the homeostatic circuitry being aware."

The new results also bolster evidence that a suppressor called SOCS-3 may be responsible for the loss of sensitivity to the fat hormone known as leptin.

British public call for obesity discrimination law

77% of British people want it to be illegal to discriminate against obese people in the workplace, provided they are able to carry out important elements of the job, according to new research published by law firm Vizards Wyeth today.

This news follows on from recent changes in the law after a House of Lords ruling which could make it easier for employees to bring claims of harassment in the workplace on grounds of weight, if as a result of inappropriate comments and/or conduct they were to suffer distress or anxiety. It is estimated there are over 9 million obese adults in the UK.

The research, which has been issued on the eve of National Obesity Week (11-17 March 2007), also shows that suspicions run high over bosses intentions when they ask for a photograph to be sent with job applications