Obesity

In the wake of bulging weight-related problems across the globe, a ray of hope is offered by a group of Indian doctors. It is suggested that an injection can come handy for obese or overweight people with diabetes. Already we have weight loss pills such as Xenical to treat people who are obese and diabetic at the same time.

Spearheaded by eminent endocrinologist Dr. Shashank Joshi, the new study was conducted by the All India Association of Advanced Research in Obesity. The proposed injection will deliver a hormone called Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) to the pancreas to ensure that the insulin-glucose ratio in the body stays in favour of insulin. Experts believe that a high level of insulin can readjust the controlling mechanism of glucose and help an obese-cum-diabetic individual gain better control of his/her health.

Xenical orlistat is already doing great in the drug market, thanks to its efficacy in treating obesity in people with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart conditions. Orlistat slimming pills can help an individual with a body mass index score equal to or higher than 27 lose some extra pounds in about a month. Regular exercise and controlled diet can be supplementary weight loss tools with Xenical.

The study should open up a new window of opportunity to people who are less tolerant to other slimming pills. The hormonal injection is meant to be taken either on a regular or on a weekly basis. The best part of this new discovery is that it can address a twin problem at the same time.

Obesity is in many ways a modern health hazard. So modern science had arduously tried to establish something beyond the common perception that unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical exercise are the only factors that cause obesity. Hard work and perseverance of researchers from the Peninsula Medical School and Oxford University finally paid off in 2007. A gene called FTO was found to have connection with obesity. It was an important discovery because it showed that conventional weight loss treatment might not be helpful in treating genetic obesity.

A recent study has revealed that not everyone having the FTO gene variant that causes obesity may end up having a high body mass index. According to the new findings, what you eat is just as much important in effective weight loss treatment as your metabolic rate or levels of physical activity.

The new study also hinted that the FTO gene, which is believed to cause obesity is not the only gene variant capable of adding fat to your frame. Some other gene variants may also be responsible for an overweight condition. But this conclusion is only hypothetical as of now.

The study included about 2,700 elementary school children, a majority of them weighed more than normal because of fat mass. The heaviest kids had the exact FTO gene variant which was first linked to obesity in 2007.

According to the study, the FTO gene can ramp up calorie consumption, urging an individual to eat more than what he/she needs for producing energy. So in a way, this gene is not responsible for slow metabolism.

Let’s hope that this new study will soon bring some good news for the obese.

Morbid obesity is a serious medical condition wherein your BMI is above 40. Bariatric surgery, also known as ‘stomach stapling’, ‘gastric bypass’ or ‘lap-band’ surgery, can lead to substantial weight loss in morbidly obese people This weight loss operation is designed to restrict your amount of food intake. Although people are sure what it’s for, they rarely realize that this surgery could be life altering and that one needs to be prepared for the life changes that will follow.

Read More Here

• Weight gain or obesity is known to be a risk factor in the development of certain diseases. Many psychological conditions, too, can be treated or prevented with proper weight management and weight loss. Maintaining a healthy body weight is key for preventing serious health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

• While it is possible to lower the risk of some diseases by achieving or sustaining a healthy body weight, there are some conditions whose symptoms can be greatly improved after weight loss, even if you have been diagnosed with them. These conditions include – breathing problems, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, heart disease, high blood cholesterol and heart disease.

• Maintaining your ideal body weight is a difficult balancing act. If it is long term weight management you are looking for, fad diets that promise the moon but deliver little may not work.

• The old weight loss standbys – exercise and dieting are your best bets for healthy obesity treatment.  And they are guaranteed not to backfire, unlike yo-yo diets or over the counter pills. But the most important factor in successful obesity management is your level of commitment and how motivated you are to make permanent changes in your lifestyle.

• You can burn more fat if you do interval exercises twice a week. Interval training consists of a strenuous workout followed by a relatively easy one. For instance, you can run for a minute and walk the next, or you can do a fast freestyle swim for a lap and follow it up with an easy backstroke. Interval training boosts your metabolism for hours after the workout and is great for people looking for quick weight loss.

• Many life threatening diseases can only be treated with weight loss supplements. These conditions include obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. These drugs stimulate your bodily systems and allow your body to function effectively. They help to lower mortality rates and improve your quality of life.

• But the bottom line is that obesity treatment drugs need to be taken with caution. Make sure you follow your doctor’s instructions carefully while taking them. Do not adjust the dosage arbitrarily. Increasing the dosage will not make them more effective, and lowering it will make them ineffective. The dosing schedule needs to be followed closely for best results.

• Proper storage of obesity treatment drugs is mandatory. Always store them in a cool dry place and keep them out of the reach of children. Your health care provider needs to monitor your usage and make necessary changes if required. This is particularly true if you need to take medications for chronic conditions.

Source: Obesity Facts

The first place where fat accumulates for most of the people is the belly and it is also the last place from where it leaves. While most of people look to loss their belly fat for aesthetic reasons, critical health problems like diabetes and heart diseases are often linked with excess of fat around the belly region. Howerver, with correct combination of regular workout exercise and diet plan the belly fat can be burnt relatively quickly and easily.

Eat More Fiber
Eating fiber is an effective fat-burning mechanism that doesn’t require you to sweat. Eating significant amounts of fiber also helps to alleviate the constipation and bloating you may have. Consume 25g to 30g of fiber a day, and for best fat-burning results eat raw and not cooked.

Running
Running is an excellent cardio workout that will burn the fat from your core. Running works well when trying to lose belly fat is because it requires your knees to come above or level to your lower waistline. That motion forces your lower abdominals to contract, burning the fat from your stomach.

Fat Burning Foods
A diet filled with fat, sugar and salt will not only make your heavier, but will increase constipation, gas and bloating, which will give you an even bigger belly. Adding more fat-burning foods to your diet will quickly melt the belly fat away. Outside of fiber, lean protein, whole grains and legumes are good for jump-starting the body’s fat-burning process.

Power Walking
Brisk walking is a superb way of burning belly fat. Add hills or an incline on the treadmill to your walking routine and you will burn even more fat, particularly around your middle. Power walking, especially when it is done on an incline, requires the use of your core muscles, not just your lower body. So if you walk six times a week for six weeks, you will notice a dramatically slimmer waist and overall figure.

Eat More Meals
Eat several, smaller meals throughout the day. Ideally you want to aim for six small meals eaten at three-hour intervals. The frequent meals train your body to burn excess fat since it knows it has another meal coming.

Youngsters MUST Take More Steps For Their Health

A health emergency timebomb is ticking away in London’s East End. New figures reveal over a third of 11 and 12 year olds in Tower Hamlets, east London are overweight or obese – 11 per cent higher than the national average. According to pilot research, boys in the borough walk or run just 12,620 steps a day when the recommended number of steps for them is 15,000. Girls walk or run 10,150 steps a day when their recommended daily steps are 12,000.

The steps survey looked into body composition and activity levels of Tower Hamlets children who wore pedometers to measure the number of steps taken in an average week.

Clinicians say if parents can’t persuade their children to go out and take regular exercise they face a catalogue of health problems possibly lasting a lifetime. Poor diets, chip shops, too much TV, playing computer games for hours could all be to blame for the children’s inactivity.

Now the person behind the steps survey says youngsters need to take up exercise urgently as a form of medicine to beat the problem.