In The News
Bariatric surgery cuts heart attack risk for years
Source: WebMD
Researchers looked at numerous heart (cardiac) risk factors before and after gastric bypass surgery and found all improved.
Improvements in heart risk factors included:- Total cholesterol declined from 184 before surgery to 174 after. (Below 200 is recommended.)
- HDL or “good” cholesterol rose 40%.
- LDL or “bad” cholesterol improved.
- Triglycerides (blood fats) declined by about 55%.
Kidney cancers: Major rise ‘linked to obesity’
Source: BBCNews
Obesity is fuelling a major increase in the number of cases of kidney cancers diagnosed in Britain, experts say.
Obesity increases kidney cancer risk by about 70%, compared with smoking which increases it by about 50%.
The experts say that being overweight increases the risk of this cancer, as well as others including breast, bowel and womb cancer, because it causes the higher levels of certain hormones to be produced, compared with those seen in healthy people.
Weight loss procedures help improve overall health
Source – WRAL
For the 90 million Americans impacted by obesity, bariatric surgery is becoming an increasingly popular option to jump start weight loss.
The procedures are life-saving in many instances, but not just because of the drastic weight loss. Doctors are quickly discovering that weight-loss surgeries can help improve symptoms associated with hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Genes found to increase childhood obesity risk
Source: CNN
Researchers have identified two genetic variations that appear to increase the risk of childhood obesity.
The study authors took data from North American, Australian and European meta-analysis of 14 studies consisting of 5,530 obese children and 8,318 non-obese kids. The team compared the genetic data.
Surgery for Diabetes May Be Better Than Standard Treatment
Source: The New York Times
Two studies have found that weight-loss operations worked much better than the standard therapies for Type 2 diabetes in obese and overweight people whose blood sugar was out of control. Those who had surgery, which stapled the stomach and rerouted the small intestine, were much more likely to have a complete remission of diabetes, or to need less medicine, than people who were given the typical regimen of drugs, diet and exercise.
The surgery also helped many to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol.
Manitoba man’s life changed by weight-loss surgery
Source: CBCnews
A Manitoba man says his life has been transformed since he underwent a weight-loss surgical procedure that he paid for himself, as he did not qualify for a provincial pilot program.
Keith Doerksen of Morden, Man., says he has lost about 150 pounds since he underwent vertical sleeve gastrectomy in January 2011.
Obesity and pain linked, study of one million Americans shows
Source: Science Daily
A clear association between obesity and pain — with higher rates of pain identified in the heaviest individuals — was found in a study of more than one million Americans published January 19 in the online edition of Obesity. In “Obesity and Pain Are Associated in the United States,” Stony Brook University researchers Arthur A. Stone, PhD., and Joan E. Broderick, Ph.D. report this finding based on their analysis of 1,010,762 respondents surveyed via telephone interview by the Gallop Organization between 2008 and 2010
.”We wanted to explore this relationship further by checking to see if it was due to painful diseases that cause reduced activity, which in turn causes increased weight,” says Joan E. Broderick, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and School of Public Health at Stony Brook University, and lead investigator of a National Institutes of Health-funded study on how arthritis patients manage their own pain.
Is Economy Class Air Travel Linked To Blood Clot Risk?
Source — Medical News Today
“Economy Class Syndrome” is a myth, your risk of developing a blood clot during a long-distance economy trip by plane is not higher than in first class, researchers report in an article published in Chest. The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has issued new evidence-based guidelines which address some of the risk factors linked to DVT (deep vein thrombosis) – it says that there is no compelling evidence linking economy class air travel to the development of DVT.
CDC: Bread beats out chips as biggest salt source
Source — USA Today
Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food like potato chips.
That surprising finding comes in a government report released Tuesday that includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium. Salty snacks actually came in at the bottom of the list compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A Gut Check for Many Ailments
Source — The Wall Streeet Journal
What you think is going on in your head may be caused in part by what’s happening in your gut.
A growing body of research shows the gut affects bodily functions far beyond digestion. Studies have shown intriguing links from the gut’s health to bone formation, learning and memory and even conditions including Parkinson’s disease. Recent research found disruptions to the stomach or intestinal bacteria can prompt depression and anxiety—at least in lab rats.
