Research finds repeatedly regaining weight should be viewed as practice, not failure

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/966179

 

 News Release 27-Sep-2022
York U weight-loss study shows if at first you don't succeed, try, try again
Peer-Reviewed Publication
York University

 

 Gaining back pounds as soon as a diet is over is all too common for people attempting to lose weight (often characterized as a failure of the individual, indicative of a lack of willpower and discipline), but a new study from scholars in York University’s Faculty of Health, find such regressions are learning experiences – maybe even necessary steps toward sustained weight loss and improved overall health.“Our results suggest repeated bouts of weight loss and regain should not be viewed as failures, but as practice,” says Jennifer Kuk, a professor in York University’s School of Kinesiology and Health Science and the study’s lead author.

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New insights on how some individuals with obesity can lose weight – and keep it off

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/961605

 

 News Release 11-Aug-2022
The University of Ottawa-led team’s rigorous study has the potential to help reshape the science of weight-loss programs so they can be personalized for individual patients with difficult-to-treat obesity
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of Ottawa

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Now, compelling new research published in the journal eBioMedicine challenges the deeply ingrained idea that diet alone should be adequate for everyone seeking to shed pounds.

The important conclusions could significantly improve public health by guiding the advent of personalized treatment plans that will help individuals with difficult-to-treat obesity lose weight – and keep it off.

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Understanding distinct obesity phenotypes is key to teasing out insights into individual variations in weight loss. And for “diet-resistant” obesity— patients in the bottom 20% for rate of weight loss following a low-calorie diet—exercise training should be prioritized, as it decreases fat mass and boosts skeletal muscle metabolism.

The research team mined clinical data from over 5,000 records. Ultimately, 228 files were reviewed and a subset of 20 women with obesity were identified to undergo a closely supervised exercise program made up of 18 progressive sessions using treadmills and weights done three times per week for six weeks.

Using bioinformatics and machine learning approaches to analyze skeletal muscle, the results indicate that exercise preferentially improves skeletal muscle metabolism and enhances weight loss capacity for individuals with obesity who are deemed diet resistant.

These are the type of patients with difficult-to-treat obesity who have often been accused of non-adherence when they have not lost weight with diet restriction.

“For those individuals who have obesity and who've had enormous difficulty losing weight, the message for them is: You are in a group of individuals for whom exercise is particularly important. And that’s really going to help you lose weight,” says Dr. Ruth McPherson, a leader in cardiovascular genetics who is a professor at the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine and director of the Ruddy Canadian Cardiovascular Genetics Centre, Atherogenomics Laboratory and the Lipid Clinic at the Ottawa Heart Institute.

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High BMI in upper teens a risk factor for severe COVID-19

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/944079

 

 News Release 22-Feb-2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of Gothenburg

 

Men with a high body mass index (BMI) in their upper teens had an elevated risk of severe COVID-19, requiring hospitalization, later in life, University of Gothenburg researchers show in a register study.

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Getting more sleep reduces caloric intake, a game changer for weight loss programs

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/942359

 

 News Release 7-Feb-2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of Chicago Medical Center

 

 In a randomized clinical trial with 80 adults, published February 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Tasali and her colleagues at UChicago and the University of Wisconsin–Madison found that young, overweight adults who habitually slept fewer than 6.5 hours a night were able to increase their sleep duration by an average of 1.2 hours per night after a personalized sleep hygiene counseling session. The sleep intervention was intended to extend time in bed duration to 8.5 hours — and the increased sleep duration compared to controls also reduced participants’ overall caloric intake by an average of 270 kcal (calories) per day.

“Over the years, we and others have shown that sleep restriction has an effect on appetite regulation that leads to increased food intake, and thus puts you at risk for weight gain over time,” said Tasali. “More recently, the question that everyone was asking was, ‘Well, if this is what happens with sleep loss, can we extend sleep and reverse some of these adverse outcomes?”

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Weight loss reduces the risk of growths linked to colorectal cancer

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/941365

 

 News Release 1-Feb-2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Oxford University Press USA

 

A new paper in JNCI Cancer Spectrum, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that overweight and obese people who lose weight may reduce their chances of later developing colorectal adenoma – a type of benign growth or polyp in the colon or rectum that could lead to colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer among men and women in the United States.

Over the past 30 years, obesity has increased in the United States and worldwide, leading to increased development of many chronic diseases. Obesity is a known risk factor for colorectal adenoma and colorectal cancer.

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The investigators found that, compared to stable weight, weight loss in adulthood (defined as loss greater than or equal to 1.1 pounds per 5 years) was associated with a 46% reduced risk for colorectal adenoma. This was particularly true among adults who were initially overweight or obese. The investigators also reported that weight gain in adulthood was associated with an increased chance of adenoma, particularly for weight gain greater than 6.6 pounds over 5 years. Findings for weight loss and weight gain appeared stronger among men than women. The researchers believe that the findings suggest the importance of healthy weight maintenance throughout adulthood in preventing colorectal adenoma. Additionally, adults who are overweight or obese may be able to reduce their risk for developing colorectal adenoma by losing weight.

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Chemicals in plastic may contribute to weight gain

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/941142

 

  News Release 26-Jan-2022
Plastic consumer products contain chemicals that may promote the development of overweight and obesity
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Norwegian University of Science and Technology

 

Every day, we come into contact with plastic products. A lot of plastic is found in food packaging. Plastic packaging is common for practical reasons, because it is cheap and because it can increase a food’s shelf life.

But plastic contains thousands of different chemicals. Some of these can affect your metabolism, and thus perhaps also your weight.
Found 55 000 different chemicals

“Our experiments show that ordinary plastic products contain a mix of substances that can be a relevant and underestimated factor behind overweight and obesity,” says Martin Wagner, an associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Biology.

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  Wagner’s team has recently shown that plastic products leach a large number of chemicals under real world conditions, thus enabling them to enter the body. Previous research also suggests that some plastics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals that may affect our development and fertility. Now it appears that they may contribute to weight gain as well.

Chemicals from one third of the plastic products investigated in the new study were found to contribute to fat cell development in laboratory experiments. The substances in these products reprogramed precursor cells to become fat cells that proliferated more and accumulated more fat.

While some plastic products contained known metabolism-disrupting substances, others did not but nevertheless induced the development of fat cells. This means that plastics contain currently unidentified chemicals that interfere with how our body stores fat.

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Overweight and obesity contribute to some of the most common causes of death in the world, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. They can also increase our susceptibility to various infections, such as the effects of COVID-19.

Around two billion people in the world are overweight, and the problem is growing. Approximately 650 million of these fall into the obese category.

The reasons for this are of course complex, but plastic chemicals may well be a factor that we have not previously considered. These chemicals include phthalates and bisphenols, but the new study shows that there are many more substances that trigger these problematic effects.

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Granddaughters and great-granddaughters of men who start to smoke before puberty, have more body fat than expected, research shows

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/940526

 

 News Release 21-Jan-2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of Bristol

 

A new study, led by the University of Bristol and published in Scientific Reports today [21 January], has reported increased body fat in females whose grandfathers or great-grandfathers began smoking before puberty.

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 In earlier research from 2014, they found that if a father started smoking regularly before reaching puberty (before 11 years of age), then his sons, but not his daughters, had more body fat than expected. In the newly published study, they extended this analysis to earlier generations using recently collected data on the grandfathers and great-grandfathers of study participants obtained by questionnaires. They discovered higher body fat in females whose paternal grandfathers or great-grandfathers had started smoking before age 13 compared to those whose ancestors started smoking later in childhood (age 13 to 16). No effects were observed in male descendants. Further research will be needed to confirm these observations in other longitudinal studies and to expand the investigation into other transgenerational effects and ancestral exposures.

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one of the reasons why children become overweight may be not so much to do with their current diet and exercise, rather than the lifestyle of their ancestors or the persistence of associated factors over the years.

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Overweight children are developing heart complications

 

 https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937916

 

 News Release 14-Dec-2021
Youth with high BMI showed signs of artery stiffness, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of Georgia

 

The percentage of obese children and teens jumped from 19% pre-pandemic to 22%, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the rate at which body mass index (BMI) increased doubled.

New research from the University of Georgia suggests that could spell bad news for children’s cardiovascular systems both now and down the line. 

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 The researchers found significantly higher levels of visceral fat and arterial stiffness in the overweight youth, suggesting that abdominal fat likely contributes to cardiovascular problems in kids.

“The stiffer the artery, the faster blood is going to move through those blood vessels, and that can be detrimental and overstress our system,” said Joseph Kindler, corresponding author of the study and an assistant professor of nutritional sciences in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “As these issues build up, unfortunately, it’s sort of this game of dominoes. You tip one over, and the rest of the systems start being overtaxed. That’s when really pervasive health issues can occur.”

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One in five future thyroid cancers linked to excess weight

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937370

 

 News Release 8-Dec-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of New South Wales

 

Avoiding excess weight, especially obesity, should be a priority for thyroid cancer prevention, the first study to evaluate future thyroid cancer burden in Australia has found.

The world-first study published in the International Journal of Cancer and led by Dr Maarit Laaksonen from UNSW’s School of Mathematics and Statistics, found that one in five future thyroid cancers in Australia is attributable to current levels of overweight and obesity.

Dr Laaksonen, a senior lecturer in Data Science, says this is concerning as the prevalence of obesity in Australia has doubled during the last two decades, with 75 per cent of Australian men and 60 per cent of Australian women being overweight or obese.

“This finding translates to close to 10,000 thyroid cancers in the next 10 years,” Dr Laaksonen says. “Obesity explains 75 per cent of this burden in Australia.” 

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Glucose control is a key factor for reduced cancer risk in obesity and type 2 diabetes

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/936959

 

 News Release 6-Dec-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of Gothenburg

 

Good glucose control is important for reduction of cancer risk in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Large durable weight loss, as such, appears to afford protection against cancer, but with good glucose control the number of cancer cases also drops radically, a University of Gothenburg study shows.

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Study finds reduced risk of cataracts associated with obesity surgery

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/643328

 

 News Release 12-May-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
European Association for the Study of Obesity 

New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (held online 10-13 May) has found a reduced risk of eye cataracts occurring in patients who have lost weight through obesity (bariatric) surgery. The study is by Dr Theresa Burkard, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and colleagues from Sweden and Switzerland.

A cataract is a cloudy obstruction in the lens of the eye, and a chronic condition which is a leading cause of visual impairment and blindness. A previous meta-analysis reported that overweight and obesity were risk factors for cataract development.[1] In this new study, the authors hypothesized that weight loss in patients with obesity may be associated with a lower incidence of cataract potentially due to decreased oxidative stress, less systemic inflammation, and remission of diabetes and hypertension in patients with those conditions.

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In patients with fatty liver, bariatric surgery decreases risk of progression of liver disease, serious heart complications

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/934664

 

 News Release 11-Nov-2021
eer-Reviewed Publication
Cleveland Clinic

A Cleveland Clinic study shows that patients with obesity and advanced fatty liver disease who had bariatric weight loss surgery significantly lowered their future risk of liver disease complications and serious cardiovascular disease compared with patients who did not have surgery.

More specifically, at the end of the study period, bariatric surgery was associated with 88% lower risk of progression of fatty liver to cirrhosis, liver cancer, or liver-related death. Bariatric surgery also was associated with 70% lower risk of developing serious cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke in these patients. The results were published online in JAMA.

“There is currently no FDA-approved medication for fatty liver,” said Ali Aminian, M.D., director of Cleveland Clinic’s Bariatric & Metabolic Institute and lead investigator of the study. “The striking findings of this study provide strong evidence that bariatric surgery should be considered as an effective therapeutic option for patients with advanced fatty liver and obesity.”

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Looking to lose weight? Diet drinks might not be the sweet spot, according to new USC study

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929587

 News Release 28-Sep-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Keck School of Medicine of USC

A synthetic aftertaste might not be the only side effect of switching to diet soda, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.

Drinks that contain the artificial sweetener sucralose may increase food cravings and appetite in woman and people who are obese, according to a new study by led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Just published in JAMA Network Open, the study is one of the largest to-date to examine the effects of an artificial sweetener, also called a nonnutritive sweetener (NNS), on brain activity and appetite responses in different segments of the population.

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Major weight loss may reverse heart disease risks associated with obesity, US study finds

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929493

 

News Release 27-Sep-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Diabetologia

 

Major weight loss appears to reverse most of the cardiovascular risks linked with obesity, according to a cross-sectional analysis of the US adult population being presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year (27 Sept-1 Oct).

The findings indicate that the risk of high blood pressure and dyslipidemia (unhealthy levels of cholesterol or other fats in the blood) were similar in Americans who used to have obesity (but were now a healthy weight) and those who had always maintained a healthy weight. However, although the risk of current type 2 diabetes lessened with weight loss, it remained elevated in people who formerly had obesity compared to those who had never had obesity.

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Study of nearly 3 million people finds ‘healthy’ obese people more likely to develop heart failure than those of normal weight—but are not at greater risk of heart attack or stroke

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929491

 News Release 27-Sep-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Diabetologia

 

Adults who are obese but appear healthy (without common metabolic abnormalities such as high blood pressure, abnormal blood fats, or diabetes) are not at greater risk of heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death than healthy individuals of normal weight, but they are around 33% more likely to develop heart failure and the heart rhythm condition, atrial fibrillation, according to a nationwide study from France that followed nearly 3 million hospital patients (aged 18 and older) for at least 5 years.

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 Our findings also highlight the importance of preventing poor metabolic health, and suggest that even normal weight individuals may benefit from early behavioural and medical management to improve their diet and increase physical activity in order to guard against stroke.”

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Importantly, the analysis also showed that men face higher risks than women—compared to normal weight men with no metabolic abnormalities, men with metabolically healthy obesity had a 61% higher risk of cardiovascular events; while women with metabolically healthy obesity were 50% less likely to suffer heart attack than those of normal weight.

The authors acknowledge that their findings show observational associations rather than cause and effect. They note some limitations, including that the study included people taken from one country with a predominately white Caucasian population, so the findings cannot be generalised to all ethnic groups in other countries. They also note that they were unable to account for some potential confounders such as socioeconomic status, physical activity, diet, and metabolic control (eg, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, BMI), that may have influenced the results.

Stronger regulations needed on common obesity-promoting chemicals

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/928964

 

 News Release 24-Sep-2021
conference abstract, systematic review, people
Reports and Proceedings
European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology

 

Everyday exposure to obesity-promoting chemicals (obesogens) represents a significant risk to public health, and needs stronger regulation to minimise exposure and protect people’s health, according to evidence presented today at the 59th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting. Dr Leonardo Trasande is an internationally renowned leader in environmental health, who will draw together the amassing evidence for the serious impact of these chemicals on childhood and adult obesity, as well as the global economy. He will make recommendations for simple policies that safely reduce people’s exposure, whilst having economic benefit.

The long-held mindset that diet and physical activity are the sole determinants of body weight has now been overturned, and it is understood that genetics and environmental factors also have an important role. However, the damaging influence of hormone-disrupting chemicals on the increasing incidence of obesity has been greatly underappreciated. A rapidly growing body of evidence indicates that these chemicals can scramble our normal metabolism and undermine our natural processes for using calories, predisposing us to weight gain. 

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In his presentation, he will present compelling evidence from these and other studies on the seriousness of exposure to obesogens, including the dangers of three very common chemicals that we often encounter in our everyday lives.

    Bisphenols, found in aluminium can lining and thermal receipts, make fat cells larger and predispose us to store fat.

    Phthalates, found in personal care products and food packaging, can reprogramme how our bodies metabolise protein, pushing it to store fat, regardless of our physical activity level or diet.

    PFOS, found on non-stick cookware and water-resistant clothing, have been shown to misprogramme the body to store fat, even when external conditions indicate you should burn fat calories, such as in cold temperatures. In adults that lost weight following a healthy diet with physical activity, higher PFOS levels were associated with more regain of weight later.

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It is estimated that endocrine-disrupting chemicals cost Europe €163 billion a year, around 1.2% of its gross domestic product, obesogens are a large part of that.

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Healthy changes in diet, activity improved treatment-resistant high blood pressure

 

For me, gaining 5 pounds can mean an increase of 30 points in my systolic blood pressure.

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929045

 

 News Release 27-Sep-2021
Circulation Journal Report
Peer-Reviewed Publication
American Heart Association

 

People with treatment-resistant hypertension successfully reduced their blood pressure by adopting the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan, losing weight and improving their aerobic fitness by participating in a structured diet and exercise program at a certified cardiac rehabilitation facility, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure (130/80 mm Hg or higher) despite the use of three or more medications of different classes including a diuretic to reduce blood pressure is a condition known as resistant hypertension. Although estimates vary, resistant hypertension likely affects about 5% of the general global population and may affect 20% to 30% of adults with high blood pressure. Resistant hypertension is also associated with end-organ damage and a 50% greater risk of adverse cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart attack and death.

Diet and exercise are well-established treatments for high blood pressure. In June 2021, the American Heart Association advised that physical activity is the optimal first treatment choice for adults with mild to moderately elevated blood pressure and blood cholesterol who otherwise have low heart disease risk.

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 Researchers found:

    The participants in the supervised program had about a 12-point drop in systolic blood pressure, compared to 7 points in the self-guided group. Systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading) indicates how much pressure blood is exerting against artery walls when the heart beats and is recognized as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease for adults ages 50 and older.

    Blood pressure measures captured through 24 hours of ambulatory monitoring during a typical day revealed that the group in the supervised lifestyle program had a 7-point reduction in systolic blood pressure, while the self-guided group had no change in blood pressure.

    Participants in the supervised program also had greater improvements in other key indicators of heart health, suggesting that they had a lower risk of a heart event in the future.

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Parental income has long-term consequences for children’s health

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929581

 News Release 27-Sep-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

A family’s socioeconomic status affects children’s health long into adulthood. Individuals growing up in low-income families have much higher risk of obesity and obesity-related diseases later in life. That’s especially true for permanent low-income families, a University of Illinois study shows.

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Permanent income is associated with parents’ general socioeconomic conditions in the long term, while transitory income refers to temporary income peaks or valleys. For example, a peak might occur when a parent receives a bonus at work or gets an inheritance. Peaks and valleys might also be related to macroeconomic conditions. Many families experienced a temporary setback due to the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Xu and her co-author Tansel Yilmazer, Ohio State University, analyzed data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), which followed thousands of families and children over a 47-year period. PSID began collecting parental income information in 1968, and from 1999 included health information about the now-adult children.

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The researchers find the correlation between income and health is strongest for those with lower socioeconomic status, and the likelihood of adult obesity and obesity-related outcomes decreases as parents’ permanent income goes up. Transitory income peaks during adolescence can promote better health, while no other transitory peaks or valleys had a significant effect.

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Future fertility of obese boys may be protected by early weight loss

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/928960

 

 News Release 23-Sep-2021
Reports and Proceedings
European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology

 

Reproductive function in boys with obesity may be improved through weight loss, which could protect their fertility in adulthood, according to research presented today at the 59th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting. The study suggests that even after short-term weight loss, alterations in reproductive function could be partially reversed in young boys with obesity. This indicates that early management of obesity in childhood could help prevent future fertility problems in men.

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Strength training can burn fat too, myth-busting study finds

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/929164

 

 News Release 22-Sep-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of New South Wales

 

It’s basic exercise knowledge that to gain muscles, you strength train, and to lose fat, you do cardio – right?

Not necessarily, a new UNSW study published this week in Sports Medicine suggests.

In fact, the study – a systematic review and meta-analysis that reviewed and analysed existing evidence – shows we can lose around 1.4 per cent of our entire body fat through strength training alone, which is similar to how much we might lose through cardio or aerobics. 

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