A new approach to obesity and diabetes treatments

A new book produced by the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre has challenged existing approaches to diabetes and obesity treatments and presented a strategy with the potential to revolutionise the way our society approaches weight management.

In A Modern Epidemic - Expert Perspectives on Obesity and Diabetes, researchers and clinicians from across the University and elsewhere have joined forces to tackle these major health challenges from a more holistic perspective. They have offered expert strategies to help address the high social and economic costs to the community.

Charles Perkins Centre Academic Director, Professor Stephen Simpson said diabetes, obesity and their related diseases together made up one of the greatest challenges to human health in the 21st century.

"Obesity and diabetes are not just problems for the individual, they pose risks to the environmental, psychological and economic stability of the entire community," he said.

"The estimated financial cost of type 2 diabetes alone in Australia is A$10.3 billion per annum. Innovation of health and service delivery is critical to address the burgeoning problems of diabetes, obesity and related diseases as the population ages.

"The solutions, therefore, need to be equally wide-ranging, and accessible to all. Acknowledging this, our authors have written in an engaging and easy-to-read style about the causes and consequences of obesity and diabetes, as well as prevention and treatment: how to identify and mitigate the risk factors, deliver targeted and effective health care, and formulate global strategies to ultimately turn the tide on this century's most devastating diseases."

Contributors to the book are diverse and include endocrinologists, pharmacists, haematologists, biologists, paediatricians, psychologists, health policy experts, lawyers, nutritional scientists, nurses, health promotion experts, exercise and sports scientists, and dietitians.

Summary of key findings

We don't need to count kilojoules or weigh portion sizes in order to reduce weight just eat only if you feel comfortably and physically hungry, and stop when you feel genuinely satisfied, not over satisfied.Constant overconsumption of a high fat-high sugar diet triggers similar changes in the brain to those seen in drug addiction. These changes can override the biological weight-control systems, driving the development of compulsive overeating and excessive weight gain.Community pharmacists as a valuable resource of trained healthcare professionals can be utilised to provide prevention and care services as part of an integrated primary care sector approach.Obesity is linked to changes in the nutritional balance of our diet, with a primary role for protein appetite driving excess energy intake. Small changes in the percentage of protein in the diet can potentially yield big effects on intake, with consequences - both good and bad - for weight management.The link between epigenetic changes and obesity and the troubling possibility that obesogenic diets not only render individuals incapable of losing excess weight, but they may also affect ensuing generations with residual weight problems.Weight-loss approaches that recognise the individual struggle with gender and the influence of other social structures may be an alternative to current, largely unsuccessful treatments of obesity.There are a range of psychological problems associated with obesity, such as low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, depression and eating disorders. In fact the most prevalent recognised obesity-related complications in childhood and adolescent are psychosocial issues.Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), where the child has pauses in their breathing during sleep that may be severe enough to result in reduced oxygen to the brain, is up to 30 times more common in obese children and adolescents than in normal weight youngsters. Difficulties with concentration secondary to sleep deprivation from obstructive sleep apnoea may contribute to poor academic performance.The stigma associated with obesity is considerable and comparable to racial discrimination. Discrimination against obese individuals is evident in all areas of life including social life, parenting practices, education, employment and healthcare. Furthermore the stress which obese individuals are exposed to as a result of negative societal attitudes and behaviours can lead to further weight gain, and worse health outcomes.Promising societal and environmental responses to overweight and obesity include redesigning the built environment, providing active transport options, promoting the availability and accessibility of healthy food choices, restricting promotion of unhealthy foods, and implementing ongoing social marketing strategies to influence sustained healthy eating and physical activity behaviours. Government leadership, social planning and urban renewal that engage communities, businesses and other relevant stakeholders are fundamental to the process.

(Source: University of Sydney: A Modern Epidemic - Expert Perspectives on Obesity and Diabetes)

For more information on diabetes, including different types of diabetes, blood glucose and dietary control, and long-term complications, as well as some useful videos, see Diabetes. 
Article Date: 28/4/2012

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Aus, NZ fast food saltier than European counterparts

New Zealand’s fast foods on average contain 8 percent more sodium than comparable foods in the UK and a massive 18 percent more than those in France, as shown in an international study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

“This is a high risk to our population’s health and gives an urgent message about the need for change,” says Associate Professor Cliona Ni Mhurchu from The University of Auckland’s Clinical Trials Research Unit, one of ten researchers from six countries represented in the study. “If the UK and France have similar products with much lower salt levels, this shows that New Zealand could be – and should be – heading in the same direction.

“In the UK there is a long-standing programme where agreements between government and industry on salt targets have driven down the salt levels of processed food. The study demonstrates there is still clear room for improvement in the UK, and even more so in New Zealand. The research refutes the standard industry protest, since it shows there is no technical reason why salt content of our food can’t be reduced.”

The research project, which involved Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, the UK and the US, looked at sodium content in fast food from Burger King (Hungry Jack’s in Australia), Domino’s, KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Subway. The data on sodium content were collected in April 2010.

The overall results for New Zealand’s fast foods were similar to those of Australia, with the sodium content amounting to an average of 1.3 grams per 100 grams (comparing unfavourably with 1.2 in the UK and 1.1 in France). The figures for Canada and the US were even higher than those in New Zealand, with sodium levels in Canada averaging 27 percent more than in France (at 1.4 grams per 100 grams) and US levels at a whopping 36% more than France (1.5 grams per 100 grams).

Individual products are itemised in the study. For example a consumer of a McDonald’s Big Mac will ingest 30 percent more sodium per 100 grams in New Zealand than in either France or the UK.

The study also measured and compared serving sizes and found that serving sizes of fast food items vary considerably between countries, which is a key reason for some of the differences seen in the sodium content per serve.

A diet high in sodium leads to higher blood pressure, and to a greater risk of heart disease and stroke. Fast foods such as pizza and burgers are a leading source of excess dietary sodium.

New Zealanders have an average salt intake of 9 grams a day, compared with the recommended maximum of 5-6 grams a day. One third of the food we buy is from restaurants and fast food outlets.

(Source: University of Auckland: Canadian Medical Association Journal)

For more information on nutrition, including information on types and composition of food, nutrition and people, conditions related to nutrition, and diets and recipes, as well as some useful videos and tools, see Nutrition. 
Article Date: 25/4/2012

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Liver important for fat intake, weight loss

Dr Barbara Fam from the University’s Molecular Obesity Laboratory group at Austin Health with Associate Professor Sof Andrikopoulos have discovered that the liver can directly talk to the brain to control the amount of food we eat.

The results have demonstrated that the liver, which has never been classed as an important organ in controlling body weight before, is in fact a major player and should be considered a target for treatment of weight gain.

Test on mice showed that over-expression of a specific enzyme in the liver resulted in 50% less fat and the subjects ate less food than mice without the extra enzyme. Needed in the production of glucose, the enzyme called FBPase previously led to speculation that too much FBPase was bad for you. 

‘We actually thought that the mouse with the over-expressed enzyme would show signs of becoming diabetic since the enzyme is important in producing more glucose from the liver. However when we studied our mice in more depth, we were very surprised to see that this enzyme triggered a number of hormones that influence the control of appetite,” said Dr Fam.

“The really striking result was that the genes in the brain, important in making us increase our food intake were actually reduced.  

”The results suggest that consumption of a diet high in fat, causes an increase in liver FBPase that was likely put in place as a negative feedback mechanism to limit further weight gain. Importantly, FBPase does not function to control body weight under normal physiological circumstances but acts only when the system is exposed to excess nutrients such as fat. 

”When people eat diets loaded with fat and sugars particularly over the long term, it can have a number of different effects on the body but it appears that we actually have in place an innate system that protects us from any further weight gain that could happen while eating these type of diets.” 

More needs to be investigated to verify this in further trials, however this study has demonstrated that liver FBPase should be viewed not only as a mediator of glucose metabolism but also as an important regulator of appetite and fat. It also gives us great insight into why the liver is a very important organ.

(Source: University of Melbourne)

For more information on measures of weight and nutrition, including GI, GL, BMI, WC and WHR, as well as some useful tools, see Measures of Nutrition and Weight. 
Article Date: 26/4/2012

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.