Another Flawed Diet Pill’’
In today’s issue, the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine
Noted that the latest study showed weight loss with Meridia was minimal, it didn’t improve cardiovascular health, and those with heart disease fared worse. “It is difficult to discern a credible rationale for keeping this medication on the market,’’ they wrote.
The prescription drug, has already been pulled in Europe.
In January, US drug regulators strengthened existing warnings that the appetite suppressant should not be used by those with a history of heart trouble.
Later this month, an FDA expert advisory panel will meet to decide whether Meridia should remain on sale in the U.S.
Are Fat People The Norm?
Are Fat People The Norm?
For many Americans fat is the new “norm.” More and more people are unable to accurately describe themselves using their height-to-weight ratio – known as body mass index – the scale that determines levels of overweight and obesity, a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll found. 
The poll revealed that 30 percent of overweight people think they’re actually normal size, 70 percent of obese people feel they are merely overweight, and 39 percent of morbidly obese people think they are overweight but not obese.
That means fat may be becoming the new normal, raising the specter of increasing rates of health threats such as diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
“While there are some people who have body images in line with their actual BMI [body mass index], for many people they are not, and this may be where part of the problem lies,” said Regina Corso, vice president of Harris Poll Solutions. “If they do not recognize the problem or don’t recognize the severity of the problem, they are less likely to do something about it.”
Among other findings of the poll, conducted online Aug. 17-19 with 2,418 adults ages 18 and older:
Most respondents who felt they were heavier than they should be blamed lack of exercise as the main cause, with 52 percent of overweight people, 75 percent of obese people and 75 percent of morbidly obese people saying they didn’t exercise enough.
Too little sleep bad for teenagers’ diets
Too little sleep bad for teenagers’ diets: study
A study in the , journal Sleep shows that teens who slept less than eight hours per weeknight ate higher proportions of fatty foods and snacks than adolescents who slept eight hours or more. The results suggest that short sleep duration may increase obesity risk by causing small changes in eating patterns that cumulatively alter energy balance, especially in girls.
The sleep study involved 240 Cleveland teens ages 16 to 19.
Teens who slept less than eight hours on weeknights consumed 2.2 percentage points more calories from fats and 3.0 percentage points fewer calories from carbohydrates than teens who slept eight hours or more, after taking factors like age and sex into account, researchers said in Wednesday’s issue of the journal Sleep.
The changes in diet patterns offer insight into why less sleep has been linked with obesity in previous studies, said the study’s senior author, Dr. Susan Redline, a professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
For each one-hour increase in sleep, the odds of consuming a high number of calories from snacks also decreased by an average of 21 per cent, the researchers found.
Trained staff conducted two dietary intake interviews to collect details about food and portion sizes, as well as the timing, location, type and preparation of meals and snacks.
In the study, average weeknight sleep duration was calculated using at least three nights of data.
The average weeknight sleep duration was 7.55 hours. About a third of the teens slept for an average of eight hours or more.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teens get at least nine hours of sleep each night to feel alert and well rested during the day.
The study cannot show whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship, but Redline said physiology studies have revealed several ways in which sleep loss may promote weight gain.
For example, getting less sleep is thought to change one’s metabolic rate and affect the production of leptin and ghrelin, two hormones that regulate appetite.
Redline said sleep might be the missing link in the fight against obesity — which has focused solely on diet and exercise.
Novo Nordisk To Test Obesity Drug
The world’s biggest insulin producer, Novo Nordisk, is eyeing a move into preventative treatment with plans to test whether Victoza, its diabetes drug, could be used to tackle severe obesity.
Severe obesity is often associated with diabetes , one of a new class of injectible medications used to treat the early stages of type 2 – or “adult onset” diabetes, has been on the market in Europe since last year.
Lars Sorensen, chief executive of the Danish drug giant, said that it has been so successful in reducing patients’ weight that the company is considering testing whether Victoza could be used to treat severe obesity – a condition often associated with diabetes.
Regular Exercise Could Cut The Risk Of Obesity By 40%
Taking regular exercise could cut the risk of obesity by 40% in people predisposed to the condition, experts said.
Although most cases of obesity are due to lifestyle factors such as an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise, some cases are linked to genetics.
Experts have now found that even those people who are the most genetically programmed to become obese can reduce their risk by taking daily exercise, including moderate activity such gardening.
Researchers looked at 20,430 people in Norwich and focused on genetic variants known to increase the risk of obesity. Most people had inherited 10 to 13 of these variants from their parents, but some had more than 17 while others had fewer than six.
The participants also provided information about their levels of physical activity.
Overall, each additional obesity-related genetic variant was associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) equivalent to 445 grams (0.98 pounds) for a person 1.70 meters (5 feet, 6 inches) tall. BMI is a measurement that takes into account a person’s height and weight
However, this effect was greater in sedentary people than in active people, the researchers found. For those with a physically active lifestyle the increase was 379 grams (0.84 pounds) per genetic variant. That’s 36 percent less than the increase of 592 grams (1.3 pounds) per genetic variant for inactive people.
The researchers also found that each additional obesity susceptibility variant increased the odds of obesity by 1.1-fold. But this risk was 40 percent lower for active people compared to inactive people, the findings revealed.
The study shows that adopting a healthy lifestyle can benefit people at increased genetic risk of obesity, the authors explained.
“Our findings further emphasize the importance of physical activity in the prevention of obesity,” Dr. Ruth Loos, of the Medical Research Council’s epidemiology unit in Cambridge and colleagues wrote in the article published online this week in PLoS Medicine.
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