Jillian Michaels, the hardcore personal trainer from NBC’s Biggest Loser teaches TIME what to eat at the office while on a diet
Hey, all you smug skinny people, guess what? A new study has found that the people who are most likely to live longest are… drum roll please… People who are carrying a few extra pounds.As we know, extreme obesity or being underweight is unhealthy. This study is the first to realize that people of a “normal” weight are not the luckiest. This does not mean that people of a normal weight should add extra weight.
It was found that underweight people are 70 per cent more likely to die than normal weight, extremely obese people 36 per cent more likely. Overweight individuals, however, are 17 per cent LESS likely to die. Read more…
According to research by two British economists, obesity may be linked to the subconscious belief that “if my neighbor is fat, I can be fat too.” Apparently, people gauge their weight and BMI not only based on their own numbers, but also on the numbers of others around them. Read more…
LENOX, MA–(Marketwire - April 3, 2008) - That “diet” soda you are drinking could actually be “weight gain” soda. A new study in the Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience has conclusively shown that using artificial sweeteners does not prevent weight gain and actually induces a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that make you gain weight.
The study compared two different groups of rats; one group was given yogurt sweetened with sugar, the other, yogurt sweetened with saccharin. The researchers found the total amount of food eaten dramatically increased in the artificial sweetener group — meaning that the artificial sweetener stimulated their appetite. After 14 days the saccharin rats had gained weight, their body fat increased significantly, and their metabolism slowed down.
“The number of Americans who consume products that contain artificial sweeteners has grown from 70 million in 1987 to 160 million in 2000, and at the same time, the number of overweight Americans has increased from 30 percent to over 65 percent of the population,” said Mark Hyman, M.D. of UltraWellness. “These findings turn the conventional view that people will consume fewer calories by drinking artificially sweetened drinks, diet soda, or foods on its head.”
Any sweet taste will signal your body that calories are on the way and trigger hormonal and metabolic responses (i.e. hunger). When you consume non-nutritive or non-caloric sweeteners, like aspartame or saccharin, you are tricking your body and you will feel hungrier and eat more.
“Stop confusing your body. If you have a desire for something sweet, have a little sugar, but stay away from ‘fake’ foods,” said Hyman. “Avoid artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, acesulfame, sucralose, sugar alcohols such as malitol and xylitol (pretty much anything that ends in ‘ol’), as well as natural artificial sweeteners like stevia. Eating a whole-foods diet that has a low glycemic load and is rich in phytonutrients and indulging in a few real sweet treats once in a while is a better alternative.”
For more information on avoiding “fake” foods and eating the UltraWellness way, visit The UltraWellness Blog (www.ultrawellness.com/blog)
OAKLAND, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire/ — Findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the largest weight loss maintenance study to date reinforce Kaiser Permanente’s approach to obesity prevention. The combination of both personal contact and web-based support are identified as the key to successful, long-term weight management. Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., was the coordinating center for the Weight Loss Maintenance Trial of 1,032 overweight and obese adults and provided five of the study co-authors.
“The big discovery of this study is that losing weight and keeping it off is possible if you have ongoing, long-term support,” said study second author Victor J. Stevens, Ph.D. a senior researcher at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research. “Everyone in this country — men, women, and children of every racial group — is getting heavier because our society promotes eating too much and not getting enough exercise. We all need a personal health coach, and hopefully health care systems can provide that. That’s why Kaiser Permanente does research: to find successful programs that fit into routine medical care, and that’s what this study shows.”
The study, presented at the American Heart Association’s Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism Council Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., found that brief personal counseling and web-based intervention strategies offer the best hope in keeping weight off over three years. Of the study’s participants, 287 were from Kaiser Permanente’s Northwest region.
“The takeaway message of this study for people wanting to keep weight off long-term is: adopt a healthy diet; focus on lifestyle changes you can sustain; reduce calorie intake; keep notes daily on how much you eat and exercise; set specific, realistic goals you can meet; seek encouragement from family, friends and co-workers to support your healthy choices; and remind yourself again and again of your original motivation and the health benefits of weight loss,” said lead author Laura P. Svetkey, MD, a professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. “People need to remember that even a few pounds of weight loss can have a big impact on health.”
The model used in the study mirrors some of the techniques and resources offered to Kaiser Permanente members.
“We know that frequent follow-up is best, so we try to make that as easy as possible with a weight maintenance newsletter with tips, tools and techniques from clinical findings, research and patient sharing, online programs to keep people connected electronically and help them key an eye on portion size,” said Trina Histon, Ph.D., director of Kaiser Permanente’s Weight Management Initiative. The initiative provides Kaiser Permanente clinicians with weight loss tools for their patients. “We make it easy to get encouragement through the email your doctor tool and our online Balance Program at kp.org . We have to meet people where they are on the journey of weight loss and maintenance because people need different things at different times.”
Kaiser Permanente also helps promote obesity prevention in the community by supporting 30 farmers markets at Kaiser Permanente medical centers in six states, a Healthy Picks Vending Machine Initiative and TV Turnoff Week, as well as a Healthy Eating Active Living program in 27 communities across the US that makes it easier for people to choose healthy foods and get more active.
“Kaiser Permanente recognizes that good health requires more than exceptional health care at the doctor’s office or hospital. Health research like this benefits not only our members but the community at large — that’s why we extend our care by sharing our research to improve the health and well-being of our members and our communities,” said Raymond J. Baxter, Ph.D., senior vice president, Community Benefit.
Given that two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, these study findings are especially relevant.
“When your weight goes up, so does your blood pressure, risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease, and wear and tear on your joints, back, hips and knees. Weight gain isn’t an aesthetics issue — it’s a health issue,” said co-author Stevens, a member of Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute’s Weight Management Initiative (http://www.kpcmi.org/weight-management/index.html).
FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Heart disease, high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries - conditions that are usually associated with the senior population - are creeping into young adulthood. According to new research conducted by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS - News), prescription drug use by younger adults for heart disease- related conditions is increasing at a rapid rate, far outpacing older adults and offering a glimpse into the forthcoming clinical and financial challenges facing the nation’s health care system.
The analysis shows that between 2001 and 2006, the number of 20-44 year olds taking prescription medications to treat high cholesterol increased 68 percent, and use of antihypertensives jumped 21 percent.
Based on this new analysis, the estimated number of 20-44 year olds nationwide on lipid-lowering drugs surged from 2.5 million in 2001 to 4.2 million in 2006, while the number of people of that age taking antihypertensives spiked from 7 million to 8.5 million in the six-year period.
“This may be both a good news, bad news story,” said Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer. “The good news is that younger patients are taking medications that control conditions that, if left untreated, could lead to heart attacks and strokes - indicating that physicians are screening patients more regularly and treating these precursors more aggressively than in the past. The bad news is that these conditions are showing up in patients at younger ages, which could be the result of the growing obesity epidemic and various lifestyle factors.”
Not only were the increases among 20-44 year olds significant, but so too were the rates of increase when compared to age groups more traditionally associated with these categories of medications. The increase in the number of 20-44 year-olds on lipid-lowering medications was 37 percent higher than it was for 45 to 64 year olds; the growth in prevalence of those on antihypertensives was 52 percent greater. When compared with patients 65 years or older, the increase in usage of lipid-lowering medications was 31 percent higher in the 20-44 group, and among those on antihypertensives it was more than double.
Decline Seen in Age of Patients on Drug Treatment
The analysis also found a significant shift downward in the age of patients using these drug treatments. In 2006, half of all patients on lipid- lowering drugs were 61 years old or younger; the median age of women fell more sharply than men, dropping from 67 to 62 in the six-year span, as compared to 62 to 59 for men.
The median age of those using antihypertensives declined four years over the six-year period, with half of all patients on these drugs being 60 years or younger in 2006; again women had the greatest decline, dropping from 65 to 60 versus men whose median age fell from 63 to 60.
“There is a history of women being under-diagnosed and under-treated for heart conditions,” said Epstein. “The fact that more women at a younger age are receiving medication treatment for high cholesterol and hypertension is a sign that the medical community is recognizing that heart disease is a serious threat to women as well as men.”
Heart Disease Risks
High cholesterol and high blood pressure are two of the leading risk factors for heart disease, heart attack and stroke. High LDL cholesterol can cause atherosclerosis, a narrowing and hardening of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. High blood pressure, or hypertension, can weaken the arterial walls and make them more prone to atherosclerosis. Both conditions can lead to blood clots that can block blood flow and result in a heart attack or stroke.
For some people with high cholesterol and hypertension, lifestyle changes such as weight loss, dietary changes and exercise can control the conditions. For others, medications may be needed. The most common medications used to treat high cholesterol are statins. To treat hypertension, diuretics, beta- blockers and ACE inhibitors are often prescribed.
Medco’s Specialist Pharmacists
Medco has developed an innovative approach to help improve and advance pharmacy care through condition-specific resource centers that are staffed with hundreds of pharmacists who receive training and certification in specific chronic conditions and have expertise in the drugs used to treat them. With this training and concentrated practice, Medco’s specialist pharmacists can offer deeper, more specific guidance when a medication safety issue arises.
Medco’s specialist pharmacists focus on some of the most common chronic conditions Americans face including heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Aided by advanced, integrated databases that provide real- time prescription medication history, and medical diagnoses (when available), specialist pharmacists can collaborate with doctors and their patients on drug safety issues. Specialist pharmacists may also consult with physicians to help ensure that members receive the most affordable medications.
Medco is the highest-ranked independent pharmacy benefit manager on the 2007 Fortune 500 list. On the Net: http://www.medco.com.
A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore examined 20 studies published in journals and looked at national surveys of weight and behavior for their analysis, published in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews.
“Obesity is a public health crisis. If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese,” Dr. Youfa Wang, who led the study, said in a statement.
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