Weight gain

Weight Gain Between Pregnancies May Affect Infant Survival

Weight gain after a first pregnancy might raise the risk of infant death and stillbirth in a second pregnancy, a new study suggests.

In mothers who were previously a healthy weight, even moderate weight gain between the two pregnancies was associated with increasing the odds for infant death, researchers reported Dec. 3 in The Lancet.

“The public health implications are profound,” study author Sven Cnattingius, a professor at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said in a journal news release.

“Around a fifth of women in our study gained enough weight between pregnancies to increase their risk of stillbirth by 30 to 50 percent, and their likelihood of giving birth to babies who die in infancy increased by 27 to 60 percent, if they had a healthy weight during their first pregnancy,” Cnattingius said.

But while the study detected an association between mother’s weight gain and infant death and stillbirth, it didn’t actually establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

The research team analyzed data from more than 450,000 Swedish women who gave birth to their first and second child between 1992 and 2012.

Overall, they found that women whose body mass index (BMI) rose more than four units (about 24 pounds for an average-height woman) between pregnancies had a 50 percent greater risk of their second baby dying within the first four weeks of life compared to women whose weight remained stable between pregnancies. BMI is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight.

Among mothers at a healthy weight during their first pregnancy, a BMI increase of two to four points (13 to 24 pounds in someone of average height) by their second pregnancy was linked to a 27 percent higher risk of infant death. Among those whose BMI rose four points or more, the risk was 60 percent higher, the study found.

The study authors suggested that BMI gains in healthy-weight women may reflect a greater increase of fat mass than in obese women, and therefore present a greater risk.

Causes of infant death in the study included birth defects, lack of oxygen during birth, infections and sudden infant death syndrome.

The researchers also found that the risk of infant death fell about 50 percent among overweight women who lost at least 13 pounds before their second pregnancy.

Still, “the prevalence of overweight and obesity in pregnant women has reached epidemic levels. More than half of women in the [United States] and one in three women in Sweden are either overweight or obese at the start of their pregnancy,” said study co-author Dr. Eduardo Villamor, professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

“Our findings highlight the importance of educating women about maintaining a healthy weight during pregnancy and reducing excess weight before becoming pregnant as a way to improve infant survival,” he said in the news release.

A woman 5 feet, 4 inches tall is deemed overweight (BMI of 25 to 29) if she weighs between 145 and 169 pounds. If she weighs 175 pounds (BMI of 30) or more, she is considered obese, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Source: medlineplus

5 ways gain weight, Fast and Easy

MD002335Being skinny is not healthy, not when it starts to affect your personal and professional life. I was always on the healthier side of the weight and BMI index recommended for the people my age and height by doctors and medical studies across the globe. Suddenly, I pushed myself to lose weight and then was facing many health problems as I became scrawny, underweight and coupled with my tendency to not gain weight easily, it only added to my health troubles and woes. I then tried the following ways to gain weight in a healthy controlled and easy manner:

Firstly, eating wrong foods is not to gain weight, they add to bulk, cholesterol and only add to couple of health problems you already are troubled with. So, fast food, street food or too much eating is not the answer. Eat fruits like bananas, and healthy fat foods every 4 hours though out the day and don’t skip meals.

Eat more foods that are packed with all nutrients, and add more kinds of food. Pick up full cream milk instead of a skimmed one, eat more salads, dairy products, fish, eggs, eat the soy, curd, pulses, lentils, and vegetables. Eat healthier and get all kinds of nutrients.

Eat foods that have more nutrients but come in small packaging like’s peanuts, all kinds of nuts, use desi ghee (clarified butter) instead of low fat oil for cooking food. Dress your salads with virgin olive oil to pack a punch and at the same time add extra nutrient to your diet to gain weight

Eat a heavy meal before you go to bed or get some sleep. Dinner is supposed to be light but heavy dinners right before sleep are a simple way to gain weight and add that extra spoon of butter. Heavy dinner followed by no or little activity will ensure that all nutrients and fats are simple stored in the body and not wasted or used in any physical activity.

Above all, stay hydrated and consume as much water as possible and other liquids. Above all, do some exercises in consultation with a trained and experienced trainer to focus on the right weight gain areas and ensure healthy weight gain.

Source: woeld factualy

Soon ‘therapeutic bacteria’ to help win ‘battle of bulge’

Researchers have discovered a probiotic that could help prevent obesity.Researchers have discovered a probiotic that could help prevent obesity.

Vanderbilt University investigators have found bacteria that produce a therapeutic compound in the gut inhibit weight gain, insulin resistance and other adverse effects of a high-fat diet in mice.

Sean Davies, Ph.D., said that although it’s hard to speculate from mouse to human but essentially, they have prevented most of the negative consequences of obesity in mice, even though they’re eating a high-fat diet.

He further explained that regulatory issues must be addressed before moving to human studies but the findings suggested that it might be possible to manipulate the bacterial residents of the gut, the gut microbiota, to treat obesity and other chronic diseases.

Other studies have demonstrated that the natural gut microbiota plays a role in obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The researchers also observed effects of the compounds in the liver, suggesting that it might be possible to use modified bacteria to deliver therapeutics beyond the gut.

The investigators are currently working on strategies to address regulatory issues related to containing the bacteria, for example by knocking out genes required for the bacteria to live outside the treated host.

The findings will be published in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation

Source: business standard

Stress eating could pack on 11 extra pounds a year

Stress eating could pack on 11 extra pounds a year

Researchers sure know how to take the “comfort” out of comfort food.

It seems that experiencing one or more stressful events the day prior to eating just one single high-fat meal — the kind we’re most likely to indulge in when frazzled — slows the body’s metabolism so much that women could potentially experience an 11-pound weight gain over the course of a year, according to a new study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Participants included 58 healthy women, 38 of whom were breast cancer survivors and 20 of whom were similar in terms of demographics.The average age of participants was 53. During two visits with the research team, participants received either a meal high in saturated fat, the so-called “bad fat,” or a meal high in sunflower oil, a monounsaturated fat that is associated with various health benefits. The meal itself was a whopper: 930 calories with 60 grams of fat — about the same as a double-deck burger and medium fries. The researchers used standardized clinical tools to rank stressors and to assess major depressive disorder.

After the participants indulged, metabolic rate, or how efficient these women were at burning calories and fat, was measured. Blood sugar levels, triglycerides, insulin and the stress hormone cortisol were also assessed.

Results showed that on average study participants who reported one or more stressors, such as arguments with co-workers or spouses, disagreements with friends, trouble with children or work-related pressures, during the previous 24 hours burned 104 fewer calories than non-stressed women in the seven hours after eating the high-fat meal.

That difference, say researchers, could result in an 11 pound weight gain in one year. And they also experienced less fat oxidation in which so-called large fat molecules are converted into smaller molecules used as fuel.

“The question we were asking is whether stress affects metabolism, and I was so surprised at the magnitude of the effect,” says Dr. Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University and lead author of the study.

It’s no secret that stress makes many of us turn to these high-fat-high-sugar comfort foods. And other studies do show that people who experience stress and other mood disruptions are at higher risk of obesity. The primary reason is overindulgence on high-fat, high-calorie comfort foods.

“We know from other data that we’re more likely to eat the wrong foods when we’re stressed, and our data say that when we eat the wrong foods, weight gain becomes more likely because we are burning fewer calories,” says Kiecolt-Glaser.

Researchers did find that a history of depression alone did not affect metabolic rate, but depression combined with previous stressors led to a steeper immediate rise in a form of fat called triglycerides. High triglyceride levels are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

How stress makes us pack on the pounds is indeed a complicated and still poorly understood process. “The relationship between stress and eating is really complex both from a biological view as well as from a psychosocial view, and there is no nice clear pathway that explains everything that is happening,” says Dr. Leslie Heinberg, Director of Behavioral Services for the Bariatric and Metabolic Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. “But what this study does is give us more information on other potential pathways.”

The study is small and there are limitations. “This was a very controlled, one-time thing, and I do think the 11 pounds a year goes beyond the data,” she says, since people may compensate for their indulgences at later meals in the real world. And self-reported stressors can be squishy, despite efforts to control the differences between say the angst of having to give a speech or having a fight with a co-worker. Another complication was the fact that most study participants were breast cancer survivors, which can add even more stress.

Obesity is still at crisis levels both here in the U.S. and globally. It doesn’t help that humans “. . . are biologically set to put on weight and keep on weight and even with diets, exercise or surgery, we are fighting a big biological tide,” says Heinberg.

“What this (study) and other lab studies show is that there’s more to obesity than a lack of willpower, it’s a complex biological problem.”

If you’re looking for a bright side, TODAY Diet and Nutrition Editor Madelyn Fernstrom notes that the impact of stress is a small fraction of the picture: Most weight gain is caused by overeating, plain and simple.

“The good news is that the 100 calories a day extra can be offset by a 30 minute walk,” she says. “This can mean the difference between weight stability and weight gain.”

Source: today

Revealed — 12 shocking reasons why you are gaining weight!

12 shocking reasons why you are gaining weight

You are not eating more than usual, maybe you are consuming even less calories. You have not stopped exercising. Then why do you find yourself gaining weight?

About 5 years ago I started putting on weight after being slim my whole life. 115 – 120 lbs was my consistent, no effort required weight. The gain coincided with first year university. I gained up to about 130-135 before saying, enough, I have to change. I ate a bit healthier, dropped back to 115 in short order and felt good, maintained that for two years no issue. The last 2 or three months though, I’ve started putting weight on again. The funny thing is, my eating habits didn’t change – or if they did, I was eating less than before. Does anyone have experience with this?

This is Jess’s cry for help regarding unexplained weight gain. She then indicates that ‘there is a lot of new stress’ in her life.

Consuming less calories than usual?

Sometimes, consuming less calories than usual can cause weight gain. Strange but true. This is mainly because your body considers not getting sufficient food (nutrients) as ‘famine’ and starts stocking up in the form of fat, especially in the belly region, for later use as energy. Well, after some time you get back to your usual portions of diet, the ‘stocked’ fat is not used and you gain weight.

Pregnant and eating for two?

Your attitude during pregnancy can also cause you to gain weight that might prove difficult to shed. Overweight pregnant women who ‘eat for two’ are likely to experience excessive weight gain, according to researchers from Penn State College of Medicine. Normal weight pregnant women need only 300 extra calories per day and 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. The researchers found women who gained weight ate more unhealthy food, that too, as a result of craving, and exercised less than usual when pregnant.

There can also be a number of underlying health issues that is causing you to gain weight.

Food sensitivity / food intolerance

Do you think you are eating the ‘right’ foods, but still seem to gain weight? Your favourite food may be the culprit. Although you may have intolerance to any food, scientists have found that 40 percent of offenders are milk or dairy products and 25 percent is wheat. Eggs, yeast and nuts follow closely.

Food sensitivities can arise when you eat the same foods with too little variety. This causes your body to become sensitized to that particular food/s. Food sensitivities involve immune system antibodies IgG (not IgE that cause true food allergies) that create a reaction that raises insulin and cortisol, both of which make you better at storing fat, especially around the midsection. This immune reaction also makes you crave the very foods that are hurting you, and the vicious cycle goes on, and you gain weight.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a disorder in which the thyroid gland doesn’t make enough of its hormone and is one of the commonest reasons for unexplained weight gain. Other symptoms include dry skin, low energy, and constipation.

There is a complex relationship between thyroid hormone and body metabolism. Metabolism is the amount of oxygen used by the body over a specific amount of time. When the body is at rest, the measurement of metabolism is the basal metabolic rate (BMR). Thyroid hormone regulates metabolism by helping the body use energy, stay warm, and keep the brain, heart and other organs working properly.

When the thyroid hormone is present in low levels, the BMR also decreases, causing your body to excessively accumulate salt and water, leading to weight gain. This is just one of the ways thyroid hormone causes weight gain. Actually, there are many other hormones, proteins, and other chemicals that control energy expenditure, food intake, and body weight and all these substances interact on brain centers in different ways to increase body weight.

Cushing’s syndrome

Cushing’s syndrome is a group of signs and symptoms that involves exposure to high levels of hormone cortisol for a long time. The hallmark signs of the syndrome are a fatty hump between your shoulders and a rounded face caused by weight gain and fatty tissue deposits on the face (moon face) and between the shoulders (like a buffalo hump), and pink or purple stretch marks on your skin.

Slow healing of cuts and infection, acne, a fragile skin that bruises easily, and irregular periods in women are other symptoms of the syndrome.

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and it has a number of functions –

  • It helps regulate your blood pressure and keeps the cardiovascular system working properly.
  • It helps your body respond to stress.
  • It metabolizes proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into fast usable energy.
  • It also stimulates insulin release and maintains blood sugar levels.
  • The last two functions are possibly the reason for increase in appetite, as more the cortisol, faster the metabolic rate, and greater your appetite that consequently makes you gain weight.

Stress

Eating habits can be difficult to maintain when you are under stress. Excess cortisol is secreted during times of physical or psychological stress. Actually, cortisol has been nicknamed ‘stress hormone’. So, what is the link between stress, cortisol and appetite? Studies have shown that cortisol directly influences food consumption by binding to receptors in the brain region called hypothalamus. This can stimulate an individual to eat food that is high in fat and sugar. Cortisol also increases the levels of CRH (corticotrophin releasing hormone) and neuropeptide-Y, and decreases the levels of leptin, all of which are released during stress and also known to stimulate appetite.

The same reasoning applies to anxiety disorders and depression.

Cortisol concentrations are controlled by specific enzyme that converts inactive cortisone into active cortisol. Scientists have found that more of this enzyme is present in the middle region than anywhere else in the body. Thus, higher the enzyme, greater the cortisol levels in the tissues. That’s why you tend to put on more fat in the belly region.

Lack of sleep

Your weight gain could be the result of sleep deprivation, that is, if you don’t get enough sleep at night, say 7 – 8 hours a day.

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology indicated that lack of sleep could affect metabolism, which in turn causes weight gain. In the long-term study, women who slept five hours or less a night gained an average of about 2.5 lbs more than those who slept seven hours.

Sleep deprivation decreases leptin levels, a hormone responsible for regulating appetite and metabolism. On the other hand, it increases hormone ghrelin levels that tend to stimulate appetite.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS is a disease of the endocrine system where the ovaries don’t make enough hormones for the eggs to mature fully. Instead the ovaries develop many fluid-filled sacs called cysts because of high levels of male hormone androgens that are found in women with PCOS.

PCOS makes it more difficult for the body to use the hormone insulin resulting in insulin resistance. This causes insulin and sugar to build up in the bloodstream. High insulin levels increase the production of male hormones called androgens. And androgen is known to trigger weight gain, especially abdominal obesity.

Cancer and cancer treatment

Women with cancers like breast cancer and ovarian cancer undergoing treatment tend to gain weight which is difficult to shed.

This weight gain may be because of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL), which is controlled by insulin. LPL is attached to the surface of the fat cells. The enzyme pulls out fat from the blood stream and passes it on to the cells making them fatter. Estrogen suppresses LPL activity on fat cells. But breast cancer treatment, ovarian cancer treatment viz. chemo and steroids, dramatically decreases estrogen levels. This causes the weight gain.

Apart from these medical conditions, the following factors too could make you gain weight.

Menopause: Estrogen helps regulate body weight. Low estrogen levels means you will eat more and exercise less – a perfect equation for weight gain. Estrogen levels reduce drastically with menopause. Lack of estrogen also causes insulin resistance which increases fat storage and induces weight gain.

Medications: Tricyclic antidepressants, antihistamines (cetirizine, Allegra), antipsychotics, beta-blockers (high blood pressure drugs), oral corticosteroids, oral medication for type2 diabetes, anti-seizure drugs for epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraine prevention.

Family history: If your parents are overweight, you are more likely to carry the genes for obesity. But health practitioners believe that weight gain can be countered by modifying your faulty lifestyle choices.
Basically, it is the hormonal imbalance that is causing your weight gain – excess cortisol levels, increased insulin release, low levels of leptin, low estrogen levels, high androgen levels, and so on. So, see an endocrinologist first, who can then refer you to the concerned specialist if required.

Source: the health site

10 Easy Ways to Slash Sugar from Your Diet

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You may not be eating Oreos by the roll or guzzling cans of Coke, but that doesn’t mean sugar’s absent from your diet. You’re likely eating sugar throughout the day without even realizing it, says Amari Thomsen, RD, owner of Chicago-based nutrition consulting practice Eat Chic Chicago. Sugar is added to foods that don’t even taste all that sweet, like breads, condiments, and sauces. And it adds up: although the American Heart Association recommends women consume no more than six teaspoons of added sugar per day (or about 100 calories), most of us take in double that. (One note: we’re talking about added sugar, not the naturally occurring sugars found in dairy and fruit.) A high-sugar diet boosts your odds of tooth decay, heart disease, and diabetes, not to mention weight gain. Slash your sugar intake now with these 10 expert tips.

Learn sugar’s aliases

When you read food labels, you’ll need to look for more than just the word “sugar.” Sugar hides under several sneaky names, including high fructose corn syrup, dried cane syrup, invert sugar, molasses, sucrose (or any word ending in “-ose”), brown rice syrup, honey, and maple syrup. These can be listed separately on ingredients lists, so many foods, even seemingly healthy ones like yogurt and cereal, may contain three or four different types of sweetener. If several sugars appear on the label, it’s an indication that the food is less healthy than you may think.

Buy unsweetened

Once you know where sugar hides, you can start making changes. One strategy: buy foods labeled “no added sugar” or “unsweetened.” You’ll find unsweetened versions of these common foods in most grocery stories: non-dairy milk like almond and soy, nut butters (look for those made with only nuts and salt), applesauce, oatmeal, and canned fruit (they should be packed in juice—not syrup).

Don’t go cold turkey

Going cold turkey on sugar isn’t realistic for most people. Thomsen suggests cutting back slowly. If you normally put two packets of sugar in your coffee, for instance, try one for a week, then half, and finally add only a splash of milk. For your yogurt, mix half a serving of sweetened yogurt with half a serving of plain, and eventually move on to adding natural sweetness with fresh fruit.

Think protein and fat

Unhealthy carbs loaded with sugar can cause blood sugar to rise rapidly (and dive just as quickly, leaving you hungry again). To minimize this rapid rise and fall, pair protein, healthy fats, and fiber with your meal, all of which can slow down the release of blood sugar in your body and keep you full for longer. (At breakfast, that means adding almonds to your usual oatmeal or pairing eggs with your morning toast, and for your midday snack, a slice of turkey breast or cheese along with your apple, suggests Thomsen.) Fats are a key player because they help keep you fuller for longer, thus helping to decrease your desire for sugar, adds Sanfilippo. Focus on fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, and heart-healthy oils like olive oil, walnut oil, and coconut oil.

Never go fake

When you’re reducing your sugar intake, you may be tempted to switch to artificial sugars for your sweet fix. But resist reaching for the diet soda, sugar-free candy, and packets of fake sugar in your latte. “These can mess up your taste for sweet,” says Sanfilippo. “When you eat something sweet, your body expects calories and nutrition, but artificial sugars don’t give your body those things.” That may be why fake sugars are associated with weight gain—not loss, according to a 2010 review in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.

Add more flavor

Sanfilippo loves using vanilla bean and vanilla extract, spices, and citrus zests to add sweetness to foods without having to use sugar—and for zero calories. Order an unsweetened latte and add flavor with cocoa or vanilla powder. Skip the flavored oatmeal and add a sweet kick with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. One bonus for sprinkling on the cinnamon: according to a meta-analysis in the Journal of Medicinal Food, the spice has been shown to naturally regulate blood sugar, which helps control your appetite.

Don’t drink it

Avoiding soda is a good idea, but that’s not the only sugar-packed drink out there. Even drinks that are considered healthy can contain more of the sweet stuff than you’re supposed to have in an entire day. Case in point: “enhanced” waters (eight teaspoons per bottle), bottled iced teas (more than nine teaspoons per bottle), energy drinks (almost seven teaspoons per can), bottled coffee drinks (eight teaspoons per bottle), and store-bought smoothies (more than a dozen teaspoons—for a small).

Enjoy dessert

You can still indulge in an occasional sweet treat after you resolve to slash sugar. The idea is to avoid wasting your daily sugar quota on non-dessert foods like cereals, ketchup, and bread. To avoid overdoing it, set specific rules about when you may enjoy dessert: only after dinner on the weekends or at restaurants as a special treat, Thomsen suggests.

Stick with it!

At first, cutting down on sugar can feel like an impossible task. Eventually, though, your taste buds will adjust. Super-sweet foods like ice cream and candy will start to taste too sweet. When you could have a whole slice of cake before, now a couple bites will be enough. You’ll notice the natural sweetness in fruits and vegetables—and yep, they’ll taste better, too.

Source: Time

People in desk jobs gain weight for sure

desk job

If you have gained extra waistline, do not get enough sunlight for your bones and strain your eyes in front of a computer screen, you have all reasons to complain about your desk job.

Over 50 per cent of employees who are deskbound said in a latest survey that they do not get enough physical activity.

Also, staring at a computer screen for most of the day and being stuck inside are the biggest disadvantages of having a desk job. Nearly half of employees surveyed gained weight in their current position compared to 30 per cent of workers in non-desk jobs.

“Overall, 58 per cent of workers in desk jobs categorise themselves as overweight compared to 51 per cent of their peers in non-desk jobs,” said the survey from a leading job portal CareerBuilder.

The study was based on a survey of 2,095 employees who typically work behind a desk and 1,102 people who do not work behind a desk. Additionally, 24 per cent said they do not like working at a desk because there is not enough variety in their work.

While 23 percent said there are too many distractions like disruptions from co-workers. There are some positive sides too.

Employees who work in desk jobs reported earning higher salaries. Desk employees also have access to technology and opportunity to communicate with bosses easily, the survey added.

For someone in non-desk job, not being informed about new company developments, having less chance for upward mobility and fewer face-to-face interactions with company leaders and peers are the disadvantages.

Source: Times of India

Yale student claims university threatened to suspend her if she didn’t gain weight

Chan Final

A student at Yale University said she was faced with an unusual college dilemma for the past few months: gain weight or leave school.

According to a report in the New Haven Register, Frances Chan said she has been stuffing herself with ice cream and Cheetos, after doctors at Yale’s health center allegedly said she was too thin and needed to gain weight. At 5’2”, Chan weighs just 92 lbs, but she argued that she’s always been very skinny – just like her parents and grandparents were at her age.

Chan, a 20-year-old history major, said she has been fighting with the university for months over her weight, claiming Yale threatened to put her on a medical leave of absence if she didn’t put on enough pounds.

“It felt really bad to be this powerless,” Chan told the New Haven Register. “I ate ice cream twice a day. I ate cookies. I used elevators instead of walking up stairs. But I don’t really gain any weight.”

The entire ordeal reportedly began in September, when Chan went to Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven to have a breast lump checked. While the lump was benign, the visit ultimately led to a follow-up appointment, in which she said doctors told her she was dangerously underweight.

Since then, Chan said she has undergone weekly mandatory weigh-ins and has met with a nutritionist and a mental health professional to determine if she had an eating disorder. Chan claims one nurse even told her that her low weight would eventually kill her.

When asked by the New Haven Register about Chan’s case, Yale spokesman Tom Conroy said the university could not discuss the individual medical treatment of its students. However, he noted that, “Yale has a strong system of mental health care for students.”

After trying desperately to bulk up, Chan said she only managed to gain two pounds between September to April. Fed up with the whole process

She detailed her entire struggle with the Yale health center and vowed to stop her weight-gain diet. She argued the university places too much emphasis on body mass index (BMI), which she says is not always a proper indicator of overall health.

Chan said she and her parents have since met with a new doctor at Yale, who allegedly told the family the university made a mistake.

“She apologized repeatedly for the ‘months of anguish’ I went through and admitted that BMI is not the end all be all,” Chan wrote on her Facebook page.

Chan said she no longer has to undergo weekly weigh-ins, but since she has gone public with her story, other students have come to her with similar weight-gain struggles at their own universities. Chan said she has written to Yale President Peter Salovey to notify him of the issue.

“At Yale, you’re taught to be the change that you want to see in the world,” Chan said. “Well, this seems like an easy thing to change.”

Source: Fox news

Scientists discover new obesity gene

Researchers have discovered that the obesity-associated elements within the gene FTO interact with IRX3, a distant gene on the genome that appears to be the functional obesity gene.

Senior study author Marcelo Nobrega, PhD, associate professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, said that their data strongly suggest that IRX3 controls body mass and regulates body composition, asserting that any association between FTO and obesity appears due to the influence of IRX3.

Hoping to explain these observations, Nobrega and his team mapped the behavior of promoters-regions of DNA that activate gene expression-located within one million base pairs on either side of the FTO gene. In adult mice brains, where FTO was thought to affect metabolic function, they discovered that the promoter that turns on FTO did not interact with obesity-associated FTO introns.

Co-author Jose Luis Gomez-Skarmeta, PhD, a geneticist at the Andalusian Center of Developmental Biology in Sevilla, Spain, said that instead they found that the promoter for IRX3, a gene several hundred thousand base pairs away, did interact with these introns, as well as a large number of other elements across the vast genetic distance we studied. The researchers found a similar pattern of interactions in humans after analyzing data from the ENCODE project , which they confirmed with experiments on human cells.

Using data from 153 brain samples from individuals of European ancestry, they discovered that the mutations to FTO introns that affected body weight are associated with IRX3 expression, but not FTO. Obesity-related FTO introns enhanced the expression of IRX3, functioning as regulatory elements. The FTO gene itself did not appear to play a role in this interaction.

To verify the role of IRX3, the researchers engineered mice without the IRX3 gene. These mice were significantly leaner than their normal counterparts. They weighed about 30 percent less, primarily through reduced fat.

The study has been published online in journal Nature.

Source: ANI

 

Low-sugar vs. low-fat: Twin doctors experiment to see which diet works best

In the quest to lose weight, is cutting out sugar or cutting out fat the solution?

To find the answer, 35-year-old identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken, who are both doctors, conducted a month-long experiment. While Chris, a physician at University College Hospital, London went on a low-fat, high-carb regime, Xand, director of the Institute of Humanitarian Affairs at Fordham University in New York, chose a high-fat, low-carb diet.

The brothers both lost weight. Xand lost the most– nine pounds in one month.

In conclusion, the brothers found that eliminating a single macro-nutrient like fat or sugar is not a solution to weight loss, nor are fad diets.

“It is about building an environment in your life where you could easily eat a cheap and healthy diet and get enough exercise. It is amazing that we are not all fat and I come away with a sense that I know enough about diet and nutrition and I should be reducing the calories and building an environment where I can do that rather than looking for one toxic ingredient,” Chris said.

After the experiment ended, the British twins also concluded that the real villains when it comes to weight gain are processed foods that contained a combination of high fat and high sugar.

Susan Jebb, professor of diet and population health at the University of Oxford, agreed with their conclusion.

“Processed foods pack calories in and are unbelievably attractive and delicious,” she told the Daily Express. “They are temptations for all of us and it is astonishing that any of us stay slim.”

The brothers’ experiment will be featured in the UK on BBC Two’s Horizon program tonight.

Source: met4love