health fine blog 30

With people consuming more calories and being less physically active, the world has witnessed an obesity epidemic, but not everyone is gaining weight. Previous studies suggest that a person's susceptibility to becoming obese can be reduced by physical activity. To see how physical activity and genetic variants related to obesity interact to affect weight gain, Graff and colleagues performed genome-wide interaction meta-analyses using more than 200,000 individuals. They categorized individuals as active or inactive, screened them for about 2.5 million genetic variants and correlated that data with physical indicators of obesity, including body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio. The study finds that physical activity can reduce the weight-gaining effects of the strongest known genetic risk factor for obesity, the FTO gene, by about 30%. Accounting for physical activity also enabled the researchers to identify 11 novel genetic variants linked to obesity, suggest...

The research conducted by Dr Sunjung Yoon and Dr In Kyoon Lyoo (Ewha Brain Institute, Ewha Womens University, Seoul, South Korea), Hanbyul Cho (The Brain Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA), and colleagues in Korea and the USA looked into the effects of being overweight or obese on the brains and cognitive functions of people with early stage T2D. Chronic T2D is already known to increase the risk of a range of health problems in multiple organs throughout the body. Complications in the brain caused by the disease may accelerate cognitive dysfunction, and even increase the risk of dementia. While the exact mechanism underlying how T2D alters the brain is not fully understood, several metabolic side effects including insulin resistance, poor blood sugar control, and inflammation have been suggested as playing a role. Obesity is linked to an increased risk of T2D and can often precede its onset. Additionally, being overweight has been linked to metabolic dysfunct...

The discovery of NPGL by Professor Kazuyoshi Ukena of Hiroshima University shows that hunger and energy consumption mechanisms are even more complex than we realized -- and that NPGL plays a central role in what were thought to be well-understood processes. Professor Ukena first discovered NPGL in chickens after noticing that growing birds grew larger irrespective of diet -- suggesting there was more to energy metabolism than meets the eye. Intrigued, the researchers at HU performed a DNA database search to see if mammals might also possess this elusive substance. They found that it exists in all vertebrates -- including humans. In order to investigate its role, if any, in mammals, Professor Ukena's team fed three groups of mice, on three distinct diets, to see how NPGL levels are altered. The first set of mice was fed on a low-calorie diet for 24 hours. The second group was fed on a high-fat diet for 5 weeks -- and the third lucky group was fed on a high-fat diet, but for an...

Predicted chances of remission for every therapy at completely different ranges of physique mass index (BMI). Credit score: Customized Drugs in Psychiatry Deciding on the antidepressant that will likely be simplest for a particular affected person affected by despair is usually a "try to strive once more" course of. Analyzing new customized and precision psychiatry approaches, a brand new research in  Customized Drugs in Psychiatry  reveals that physique mass index (BMI), intercourse of the affected person, and symptom profile can be utilized to find out a personalised therapy that guides antidepressant alternative and considerably improves affected person end result. "We're within the midst of a paradigm shift within the area of psychiatry, to seek out particular medical and organic alerts that assist clinicians and sufferers resolve what's the greatest therapy," defined lead investigator Leanne Williams,...

A new article published by  JAMA Internal Medicine   reports on a randomized clinical trial that compared the effects of alternate-day fasting with daily calorie restriction on weight loss, weight maintenance and indicators of cardiovascular disease risk. Krista A. Varady, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and coauthors included 100 obese adults in the single-center trial, which was conducted between October 2011 and January 2015. Patients were assigned to 1 of 3 groups for one year: alternate-day fasting (25 percent of calorie needs on fast days; 125 percent of calorie needs on alternating "feast" days); daily calorie restriction (75 percent of calorie needs every day); or no intervention. After one year, weight loss in the alternate-day fasting group (6.0 percent) was not significantly different from the daily calorie restriction group (5.3 percent), according to the results. "The results of this randomized clinical trial demonstrated that alter...

The findings, published May 1 in  Health Affairs , suggest that just a small increase in the frequency of exercise among children ages eight through 11 would also result in 340,000 fewer obese and overweight youth, a reduction of more than four percent. If all current eight- through 11-year-olds in the United States exercised 25 minutes a day, three times a week, the researchers suggest that $62.3 billion in medical costs and lost wages over the course of their lifetimes could be avoided and in 1.2 million fewer youths would be overweight or obese. These numbers represent cost savings for one cohort of eight-to-11 year olds, so every year that children in this age group reach those levels of physical activity, over $60 billion more will be saved. "Physical activity not only makes kids feel better and helps them develop healthy habits, it's also good for the nation's bottom line," says study leader Bruce Y. Lee, MD, MBA, executive director of the Global Obesity ...