Obesity

According to an article in ScienceDaily, the obesity-rate in the US and the UK is rising. This indicates that the attention being given to obesity isn't working. The article said obesity is "leading to millions of additional cases of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The findings suggest that medical costs associated with treatment of these preventable diseases in the U.S. alone will increase by $48-66 billion per year." Similar results are predicted for the UK. Another article indicated that 70% of the adults in Ontario, Canada are obese. These results are serious and surprising, because in 2007, obesity rates for adults in the US appeared to have leveled off.

As a general statement, think of some people being apple-shaped while others are pear-shaped. Apple-shaped people have fat stored around their torso (especially the stomach) while pear-shaped people have fat stored around their hips. Fat stored around the torso is considered unhealthy, because it "can cause harm locally to tissues and affect the whole organism, promoting diabetes". Fat stored around the hips is considered healthy and is used by the body as a source of energy. Body cells contain certain amounts of energy, and when that energy is consumed, as in running a marathon, body fat is burned for energy.

Apple-shaped people may be at risk for diabetes, heart disease and other disorders, because inflammation is a serious factor in disease, and "fat in the belly may be an important promoter of that inflammation". However, other researchers discount the idea that apple-shaped people are at more risk than pear-shaped people.

Scientists are learning that "a certain form of body fat inflammation is necessary for fat cell turnover in the lean, healthy state." I guess the adage to have moderation in all things is applicable to body fat.

Following are some of the recent results of scientific research into fat-gain and obesity.

According to the World Health Organization, 360 million people have disabling hearing loss, a condition that is often considered to be an unavoidable side effect of aging. New research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) published online in The American Journal of Medicine, finds that a higher body mass index (BMI) and larger waist circumference are each associated with higher risk of hearing loss, while a higher level of physical activity is associated with lower risk of hearing loss in women.

Being overweight or obese are risk factors for myocardial infarction (heart attack) and ischemic heart disease (IHD) regardless of whether individuals also have the cluster of cardiovascular risk factors known as metabolic syndrome, which includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

Youth obesity is associated with receptiveness to TV fast food advertising, Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) researchers found in a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

A new study published in the December issue of The American Journal of Medicine shows a significant association between low dietary fiber intake and cardiometabolic risks including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular inflammation, and obesity. Surveillance data from 23,168 subjects in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2010 was used to examine the role dietary fiber plays in heart health.

Obese children quadruple their risk and overweight children double their risk of developing high blood pressure in adulthood, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013.

Millions of people who are obese and smoke tobacco may face additional health problems -- including their responses to common prescription medicines -- that extend beyond the well-known links with cancer, heart attacks and stroke, according to a new report.

While there is never a bad time to address one's own obesity, if you're hoping to lose weight before conception for the sake of your child, here's some bad news: Some of the epigenetic damage might have already been done, even if you lose the weight just before conception.

Obesity is a lot more deadly than previously thought. Across recent decades, obesity accounted for 18 percent of deaths among Black and White Americans between the ages of 40 and 85, according to scientists. This finding challenges the prevailing wisdom among scientists, which puts that portion at around 5%.

Children of obese and overweight women have a higher risk of early cardiovascular death as adults, finds a new study.

Among middle-school children, the behaviors most often linked with obesity are school lunch consumption and two hours or more of daily TV viewing, according to a new look at the dramatic increase in childhood obesity.

Genes linked to chronic inflammation in asthma may be more active in people who are obese, according to new research that uncovers several biological ties between obesity and asthma.

Excess fat around the belly has recently been identified as a risk factor for bone loss. Now, a new study has determined that excess liver and muscle fat also may be detrimental to bone.

Death and disease risk associated with excess body weight can vary among individuals with similar BMI. Ectopic fat, or fat located where it is not supposed to be, in this case being visible in the abdominal area, could be the cause of this difference in risk. It's widely known that abdominal fat can be more dangerous than fat in other areas, but this study is the first to use CT scan to study specifically located fat depots for direct associations with disease risk.