Category: Obesity

Health

Will Moving Out of a Poor Neighborhood Bring Down the Levels of Obesity and Diabetes?

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Evidently so, according to a new study.

Helping people move out of poor neighborhoods into those that are better off may help reduce levels of obesity and diabetes, researchers found.

In a large social experiment, people who used vouchers to move to an area with better socioeconomic conditions were significantly less likely to have a high body mass index (BMI) and elevated glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels than those who remained in poor neighborhoods, Jens Ludwig, PhD, of the University of Chicago, and colleagues reported in the Oct. 20 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Moving from high-poverty to low-poverty areas is associated “with modest but potentially important reductions in the prevalence of extreme obesity and diabetes,” Ludwig and colleagues wrote.

Researchers have long questioned whether a person’s neighborhood directly contributes to the development of obesity and diabetes. Observational studies have shown that neighborhood factors such as poverty or racial separation are associated with greater risks of these conditions.

To look more closely at the association, Ludwig and colleagues looked at data from a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program conducted between 1994 and 1998.

The department randomly assigned 4,498 women with children who were living in public housing in high-poverty urban areas to one of three groups:

    1,788 received rent-subsidy housing vouchers earmarked for a move to a low-poverty area, as well as counseling ‘to help with their housing search’
    1,312 got rent-subsidy vouchers with no requirement as to where they could live and no special counseling
    1,398 were assigned to a control group that wasn’t offered either opportunity

The researchers then looked at participants’ health outcomes — including height, weight, and HbA1c levels — between 2008 and 2010.

Overall, 48% of the families given the vouchers to move to a low-poverty area used them; 63% used the no-restriction vouchers.

Ludwig and colleagues found that using a voucher to move to a low-poverty area was associated with a decreased risk of extreme obesity and diabetes among the female heads-of-households.

Well, we are the product of our genes and our environment.

Will public health physicians be able to identify the specific factors which affect obesity and diabetes and devise interventions for those who cannot or will not move?

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Health

Obesity Worse for Teenage Girls’ Blood Pressure Than Teenage Boys

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According to a new study.

Obesity has a greater impact on the blood pressure of teenage girls than on teenage boys, a US study has suggested.

High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke in later life.

The study of 1,700 teenagers, presented to the American Physiological Society conference, found girls had three times the risk of higher blood pressure.

The teenagers, aged between 13 and 17 had their blood pressure measured as part of school district health surveys and health checks. Their body mass index (BMI) – a measure of weight/height ratio – was also recorded.

There are two types of blood pressure which are measured. Diastolic pressure – the lower number in a reading – measures the force on the arteries between heartbeats. Systolic blood pressure, represented by the top number in a blood pressure reading, is the amount of force that blood exerts on blood vessel walls when the heart beats.

High systolic measurements indicate risk for heart disease and stroke.

It was found obese boys were 3.5 times more likely to develop elevated systolic blood pressure than non-obese boys.

But similarly obese girls were nine times more likely to develop elevated systolic blood pressure than their non-obese peers.

Obesity is a real crisis for young people today.

More education and awareness is needed for students to develop a more healthy lifestyle. Healthy eating and physical exercise will pay dividends for a long and healthy life for these teens.

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Diet

Poll Watch: More Americans a Normal Weight Than Overweight

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According to the latest Gallup Poll.

The percentage of Americans who are overweight or obese declined slightly in the third quarter of 2011, while the percentage who are a normal weight increased. For the first time in more than three years, more Americans are a normal weight (36.6%) than are overweight (35.8%).

The overweight and normal weight trend lines have tracked closely together since Gallup and Healthways started monitoring Americans’ weight situation daily in January 2008. Though it is noteworthy that more adults are now a normal weight than overweight, it is too early to tell if this shift is temporary or permanent.

The recent slight decline in the nation’s obesity rate is a positive contrast to the rising levels found in 2009 and throughout most of 2010. However, the majority of Americans are still at an unhealthy weight — either overweight or obese (61.6%).

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index uses respondents’ self-reports of their height and weight to calculate body mass index (BMI) scores. Individual BMI values of 30 or higher are classified as “obese,” 25.0 to 29.9 are “overweight,” 18.5 to 24.9 are “normal weight,” and 18.4 or less are “underweight.”

Good news, but there is still more weight to lose.

Obesity Rates Down Across Demographic Groups

Black Americans, the middle-aged, and those with low incomes remain the most likely to be obese across major demographic subgroups in an aggregate of the data collected in all three quarters of 2011 — as generally has been the case historically.

However, obesity rates for each of those groups and all others included in this analysis are either trending down or are statistically unchanged so far in 2011.

The chart:

So, what does this all mean?

Although a majority of Americans remain overweight or obese, it is a good sign that the obesity rates are trending downward. Perhaps Americans are learning more about adopting a healthy diet and exercise program. Perhaps it is the economic recession and folks are eating out less at fast-food restaurants that have menus that are high in caloric and fat content?

It is hard to say.

But, let’s hope that the trend continues in a downward direction = for better health.

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Health

Do Mother and Baby Risk Factors Predict a Child’s Obesity?

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The answer is YES, according to a new study.

Targeting four modifiable maternal and infant risk factors may make a large impact on reducing childhood obesity, researchers found.

The four factors were maternal smoking during pregnancy, gestational weight gain, breastfeeding duration, and infant sleep duration, according to Matthew Gillman, MD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston.

At age 7, children with adverse levels of all four risk factors had a substantially greater risk of obesity than those with healthy levels of all four (28% versus 4%). Gillman reported those findings at the Obesity Society meeting here.

“These four factors, which are potentially modifiable, explain a large proportion of obesity in childhood, and the implication is that, if we can mount interventions to change these things, we can go a long way toward preventing childhood obesity,” Gillman said.

If we can modify these four factors, then it will be a worthwhile attempt for better baby health. Of course, more study is required.

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Dentistry

Is There an Association Between Body Mass Index and Periodontal Disease?

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Yes, according to a new study.

This study evaluated the association between body mass index (BMI) and periodontal condition in a population of Brazilian women. A hospital convenience sample of 594 eligible women was recruited from a women’s health reference center of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Four groups were formed considering BMI levels: BMI normal group (n = 352), overweight (n = 54), obesity level I (n = 48), obesity level II (n = 56), and obesity level III (n = 74). Full-mouth periodontal examination was performed and biological, demographic, and behavioral risk variables were evaluated. Obese and overweight women showed statistically significant differences in bleeding on probing, probing depth and clinical attachment level ≥4 mm, and frequency of periodontitis (p < 0.05) compared to women showing normal BMI. The final multivariate model for the occurrence of periodontitis revealed that obesity groups were significantly associated with periodontitis. In addition, age (25-45), smoking, diabetes, and hypertension remained significantly associated with the occurrence of periodontitis (p < 0.05). Periodontitis was positively associated with obesity, and this association was more evident as obesity levels increases. These findings indicate the need for early diagnosis and the inclusion of periodontal care in health care programs for obese women.

Periodontal disease is looking like another complication related to obesity.

So, please, watch your diet and exercise regularly.

Your body will really thank you for your diligence.

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