Soft Drinks Linked to Weight Gain

12/03/07 Because they don't eat less, people who get extra "liquid calories" from soft drinks gain extra weight, an analysis of 88 soda studies suggests.

The finding comes from researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. Study co-author Marlene B. Schwartz, Ph.D., is research director of the Rudd Center.

"We found quite a clear association between soft-drink intake and taking in more calories," Schwartz tells WebMD. "The most compelling studies showed that, on days when people drink soft drinks, they consumed more calories than on the days when they did not have soft drinks."

Why? Schwartz says the simplest explanation is that people don't compensate for the extra calories in sodas. A person who has a hamburger and a soda, for example, doesn't eat less of his or her hamburger, or fewer fries, than a person who washes the burger down with water.

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

Weight loss surgery among teens

The use of surgery to treat obesity has increased greatly among US adolescents, with the number of operations tripling from 2000 to 2003, according to a new study.
The number of young Americans who are obese has skyrocketed in recent decades, and bariatric surgery for weight-loss has emerged as an alternative to diet and behavioural methods.
Researchers at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Brunswick, New Jersey, and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre in Ohio tracked the number of people age 10 to 19 who had bariatric surgery.
The figure stayed about the same from 1996 to 2000, but it increased more than three-fold by 2003, a year in which 771 of these operations were performed.
From 1996 to 2003, a total of 2,744 people age 10 to 19 had the surgery, researchers said.

Impact of maternal obesity on the NHS

A new study reveals the true costs of the increase in maternal obesity and how it is impinging on service delivery in the NHS. It was carried out by The Centre for Food, Physical Activity and Obesity Research at the University of Teesside with 33 healthcare professionals based in the North East of England recruited for the study. The results are published in this months BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Previous studies have concentrated on the effects of obesity on pregnant women and the subsequent public health risks. The findings of this study uncover five recurrent themes relating to maternal obesity: booking appointments, equipment, care requirements, complications and restrictions and current and future management of care. The main points are summarised below.
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Obesity Causes Breakdown In System Which Regulates Appetite And Weight

New research led by scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center demonstrates how obesity causes the breakdown of a brain system that regulates appetite. The research provides a clear picture of some factors involved in obesity. More than 60 percent of American adults are overweight and more than 30 percent are obese The study results may have also identified possible targets for new drug therapies aimed at assisting individuals in weight loss. The research is published in the March issue of Cell Metabolism. The research provides new understanding of leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone secreted by fat cells. It can suppress food intake by affecting brain cells that control appetite. However, high levels of leptin which can be found in severely overweight individuals, can lead to leptin resistance.

Trucking Magazine Helps Drivers Battle Obesity

Stress, time constraints and the ready availability of unhealthy food leave many Americans frustrated in their desire to lead fit, healthy lives. Nowhere is that frustration more prevalent than among over-the-road truck drivers, who can work up to 14 hours per day, drive more than 100,000 miles per year and face limited food choices combined with little opportunity for exercise. Recognizing the challenges its trucker readers face, Truckers News magazine launched Fit for the Road, a year-long program designed to help them take steps to lead healthier lives. More than 350 applicants completed a health form and wrote an essay about why they wanted to lose weight and adopt a healthier lifestyle. The essays highlighted long years of struggling with diet and exercise and the fear of losing their commercial driver's licenses because of high blood pressure or insulin-requiring diabetes.

Obesity Surgery Triples Among U.S. Teens

The number of U.S. children having obesity surgery has tripled in recent years, surging at a pace that could mean more than 1,000 such operations this year, new research suggests. While the procedure is still far more common in adults, it appears to be slightly less risky in teens, according to an analysis of data on 12- to 19-year-olds who had obesity surgery from 1996 through 2003.During that time, an estimated 2,744 youngsters nationwide had the operations. The pace tripled between 2000 and 2003, reaching 771 surgeries that year, the study found.Youngsters had slightly shorter hospital stays than adults and none died in the hospital during the study period. By contrast, there were 212 in-hospital deaths out of an estimated 104,702 adults who underwent obesity surgery in 2003, or a rate of 0.2 percent, the study found.Researchers at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J., and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center analyzed a database of U.S.

French government wants food warnings

Less fat, less sugar, less salt: Even the mostly svelte French are cracking down. Beginning Thursday, the government ordered food ads to carry cautions telling the French to stop snacking, exercise and eat more fruits and vegetables.
With processed snacks and fast food encroaching on France's tables and culinary traditions, health officials fear the nation's youth face a growing risk of obesity.
This from a nation where just slightly more than 9 percent of the 63.4 million citizens are obese and fewer than a third are overweight, according to government figures. In the United States, by comparison, one-third of adults are obese, about two-thirds are overweight. Several Mediterranean and Eastern European countries have similar statistics.
The ad restrictions fly in the face of the image of the trim and cuisine-conscious French, perpetuated by books like Mireille Guiliano's best seller "French Women Don't Get Fat." The book argues that the French can eat croissants and foie gras without ballooning because they take time to savor flavors and eat judiciously.

Schools Help Hold the Line Against Childhood Obesity

Schools do more to help prevent obesity among children than they do to cause it, new research suggests. A nationwide study found that one measure of obesity rose more than twice as fast when kindergarten and first-grade students were on summer vacation than when they were in school.

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Increasing number of morbidly obese teens turning to surgery

The increasing obesity trends in children and teenagers in the United States is causing a massive number of adolescents to seek weight loss surgery, according to a new paper published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The report says that the number of 10 to 19-year-olds having obesity surgery did not show significant movement between 1996 and 2000, but soared in the three years after that to 2003. The study said that although diet and modifying behavior is still the preferred weight-loss choice, obesity or Bariatric surgery is also being considered as an option. Lead researcher Wilson S. Tsai of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and colleagues examined the number of bariatric surgeries conducted at sample hospitals. During the study period around 566 such surgeries were conducted at the sample hospitals.