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Showing posts from September, 2017

Genes and the environment? Factors, patterns that lead to childhood obesity risk

One factor that has been linked to childhood obesity is restrictive feeding practices by primary caregivers, the implication being that it may interfere with a child's ability to learn to self-regulate food intake. Not surprisingly, when a child is overweight, parents tend to use more controlling, restrictive feeding practices, and parent-child communication about weight and restrictive feeding is often negative, another factor that increases obesity risk. A new study from the University of Illinois is showing that a child's genetics, related to emotion and cognition , may also play a role in this pattern. Finding a way to break the patterns that lead to childhood obesity is not about blaming parents, but encouraging parents to find new strategies in dealing with children's emotions, says Kelly Bost, a professor of child development in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the U of I. "Some of the things parents do, they may not think are re...

Poor adolescent diet may influence brain and behavior in adulthood

The structure and function of the brain continue to change throughout adolescence , at the same time that teenagers gain increasing independence and begin to make their own food choices. Since high-calorie, low-quality diets tend to be more affordable than healthy ones, teenagers may opt for foods that lack key nutrients important for brain health such as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), which cannot be produced by the human body and must be obtained from foods such as fish and vegetables. Oliver Manzoni and colleagues fed mice a balanced diet until early adolescence , when some mice were switched to a diet lacking n-3 PUFAs. Mice fed the poor diet during adolescence had reduced levels of n-3 PUFA in the medial prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens in adulthood compared to control mice. The low-quality diet impaired the brain's ability to fine-tune connections between neurons in these regions. for more information visit our product website: Buy H...

Science Newsfrom research organizations Diagnosing obesity by mathematically estimating abdominal fat

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This can be a simplified stomach picture from CT with 16 electrodes. Pink colour represents subcutaneous fats area, blue represents muscle area, white signify bone area, pink represents visceral area, and inexperienced represents belly organs. Credit score: SIAM Stomach weight problems, or fats that accumulates round one's abdomen and stomach, has lengthy been thought-about to pose a excessive well being danger in people. Therefore, measurement of "central weight problems" -- because it's usually referred to as -- helps predict propensity to problems attributable to extra weight within the belly space. In a paper publishing subsequent week within the  SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences , researchers from ETH Zurich and Yonsei College in Seoul suggest a brand new method to guage belly weight problems by estimating the thickness of subcutaneous fats. "Current research have proven that belly weight problems is linked with ailments equiva...

Screening for obesity in children and adolescents recommended

This is a B recommendation, indicating that there is high certainty that the net benefit is moderate , or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial. Approximately 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2 to19 years in the United States are obese, based on year 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts, and almost 32 percent are overweight. Obesity in children and adolescents is associated with mental health and psychological issues, asthma, obstructive sleep apnea, orthopedic problems, and adverse cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes such as high blood pressure, abnormal lipid levels, and insulin resistance. Children and adolescents also may experience teasing and bullying based on their weight. Obesity in childhood and adolescence may continue into adulthood and lead to adverse cardiovascular outcomes or other obesity-related issues, such as type 2 diabetes. To update its 2010 recommendation, the USPSTF reviewed the evi...

Internet-based weight-loss program for low-income women after child birth

Approximately 4 million women give birth in the United States each year and, between 2004 and 2008, an estimated 25 percent retained more than 10 pounds of their pregnancy weight and gained additional weight during the postpartum year. Postpartum weight retention increases lifetime risk of obesity and related health issues. Prevalence rates of postpartum weight retention are higher among low-income Hispanic women. Few effective interventions exist for multicultural, low-income women. Suzanne Phelan, Ph.D., of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and colleagues examined whether an internet-based weight loss program in addition to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC program) for low-income postpartum women could produce greater weight loss than the WIC program alone. Twelve clinics were randomized to the WIC program (standard care group) or the WIC program plus the 12-month primarily internet-based weight loss program ...

Fathers' involvement may help prevent childhood obesity

In the study, which used data from a survey conducted in a nationally representative sample of children in the United States, increases in fathers' participation in physical child care (such as bathing and dressing children) and the frequency that they took children outside for walks and playtime were linked with a decreased likelihood of obesity in their young children. The findings suggest that encouraging fathers to increase their involvement with raising children and including fathers in childhood obesity prevention efforts may help reduce obesity risk among young children. "There is growing evidence of the importance of fathers' involvement in raising children in other areas of children's development, and our study suggests that there may be benefits to child health as well," said Dr. Michelle Wong, lead author of the  Obesity  study. "While due to data limitations we could only consider the involvement of fathers, it is also important to understa...

Marriage makes men fatter, shows new research

The study shows that married men have a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) than their non-married counterparts , adding approximately three pounds or 1.4kg to the scales. There's no effect on male BMI if their wife becomes pregnant, but in the early years after childbirth men gain weight. It takes the period just before and after divorce to register a dip in male BMI. The findings clear up the confusion of competing theories put forward by social scientists linking BMI to marital status. It confirms the idea that people who are single but seeking marriage have more incentive to stay fit and make more effort than those who are married. It also supports the theory that marriage leads to more social occasions involving richer foods, or more regular meals for men; while putting paid to the idea that married couples have better physical health because of increased social support. The study of heterosexual couple in the United States, between 1999 and 2013, used data from the Panel S...

Changes to diet, physical activity, behaviour may reduce obesity in children, adolescents

Two  Cochrane Reviews  published today are the last in a series of related systematic reviews summarizing evidence on the effects of different interventions for treating obesity and overweight in childhood and adolescence. The reviews summarize the results of 114 studies which involved over 13,000 children and young people. They show that a combination of diet, physical activity and behavioural change interventions may reduce weight in children aged six to 11 years and in adolescents aged 12 to 17, but there are limitations in the studies and variation in the results. Childhood and adolescent obesity is one of the leading global public health concerns. Rapid weight gain in children as young as six years old has increased globally, and has significant mental and physical health consequences such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, sleep problems and low self-esteem. Obesity in childhood and adolescence can persist into adulthood, increasing the risk of poor health i...

Clinics cut pregnancy risks for obese women

Women who received the specialist care were eight times less likely to have a stillbirth. Health experts say the clinic helps them to spot signs of complications sooner, so that women can be given appropriate treatment. It also helps them to pinpoint those who need to be induced early or undergo an elective caesarean to avoid problems during labour. The team tracked more than 1000 pregnant women classed as being severely obese during pregnancy because they had a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above. Around half of the women attended a specialist obesity clinic while the others received standard antenatal care. Those that attended the obesity clinic were treated by a team that included obstetricians, specialist midwives, dieticians and other clinical experts. They were given tailored advice about healthy eating and weight management during pregnancy, and were tested for diseases such as gestational diabetes. Women who developed a complication could be treated in one vis...

High fat diet reduces gut bacteria, Crohn's disease symptoms

In the new study, a diet of plant-derived "good" fats, including coconut oil or cocoa butter, drastically reduced bacterial diversity in mice with Crohn's-like disease. Mice fed beneficial fatty diets had up to thirty percent fewer kinds of gut bacteria as those fed a normal diet, collectively resulting in a very different gut microbial composition. Some of the species changes showed up in feces, while others were different in cecum, a portion of the intestine commonly inflamed in Crohn's disease. Mice fed even low concentrations of coconut oil or cocoa butter also had less severe small intestine inflammation. "The finding is remarkable because it means that a Crohn's patient could also have a beneficial effect on their gut bacteria and inflammation by only switching the type of fat in their diet," said Alexander Rodriguez-Palacios, DVM, DVSc, PhD, first author on the study and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. ...