DIY Health

Can lifestyle behavior be linked to health outcomes? To map out exactly this, the researchers from Staffordshire University plan this. It would be a groundbreaking research in the UK. The research team would be looking at physical activity level and obesity and how this is related to people’s proximity to food outlets, accessibility to green spaces and recreational/leisure facilities, Principal investigator, Dr Rachel Davey from the Centre for Sport and Exercise Research said. “It’s the first project we’re aware of in the UK that focuses on a socio-environmental approach to disease prevention,” Dr Davey said. Via: Food Navigator

Fears about the crises of obesity and diet-related illnesses are growing. And to bring things under control, health labels are to be put on some of the biggest-selling food brands in the UK. To place labels on the front of all their products, five of Britain’s largest food manufacturers are supposed to announce an agreement today. It includes brands like, Walkers crisps, Dairylea, Shredded Wheat and Kit Kat. Companies like Danone, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Nestle and PepsiCo, have been under pressure to be more open about the nutritional values of their wares. Via: The Guardian

A drug claims to help obese patients lose weight. Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the drug maker. The drug pramlintide appeared to help obese patients in a 16-week, mid-stage trial, in which patients who took Amylin’s experimental drug lost an average of 8.4 pounds to 13.4 pounds as compared with an average loss of 6.2 pounds for those on a placebo. Patients on pramlintide saw progressive weight loss over the 16 weeks, Amylin said. In after-hours electronic trading, The Company’s shares rose 89 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $38.99 from their Nasdaq close of $38.10. 408 obese patients were included in the study. All of them also participated in a program involving diet, exercise and behavioral counseling. Results were similar for those taking the drug twice a day or three times a day, the company said. Via: Business Week

A long known cause of type II diabetes – Obesity may accelerate, in turn, the onset of type 1 diabetes! But, according to research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and six clinical sites nationally, this happens in some and not all groups of younger patients. “The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity may substantially account for the younger age at onset of type 1 diabetes observed in various populations,” said the research team, writing in the February issue of Diabetes Care. But, it is only in those patients in which the production of insulin by beta cells in the pancreas already had been severely compromised — the connection to obesity was observed. This is said by Ralph B. D’Agostino Jr., Ph.D., professor of public health sciences-biostatistics at the medical school, and a co-author of the paper. Via: Medical News Today

Food “insecurity” in lower-income families can contribute to excessive weight gain. Women who lack the money and resources for enough nutritious food are more likely than other women to be overweight, studies found. And according to the researchers, there are several potential reasons for this. When food is less scarce, such as the point in the month when families receive food stamps, it is possible that people tend to “overcompensate” and eat excessively. Many high-calories, nutritionally sparse processed foods are relatively cheap. And it thus may become staple foods for some low-income families. This is another important reason for the claim. But, that doesn’t mean food insecurity is no health threat to children’! Via: Reuters

Just a few days back, a study revealed that obesity could be caused by certain viruses, and might therefore be tackled with a vaccine. But, a research, published in the recent issue of Cell Metabolism talk of something else. According to it, it is an abnormal brain hormone that may increase the risk of obesity! This finding could lead to the development of a drug to treat certain cases of obesity, the scientists say. A single change in a particular brain hormone could increase a person’s risk of obesity, the research found. So, it has been speculated that obese children are more likely to carry a rare variant of so-called b-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (b-MSH) than children of normal weight, according to scientists at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research in the United Kingdom, and the Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany. Via: Food USA

With the rising number of people overweight both nationwide and locally, doctors across the globe are getting concerned with the rising trend of obesity in children. The rise is alarming. A family physician with Ministry Medical Group, Dr. Jonathon Cotter says, “so for a person who’s a little bit overweight… fitness maybe a more important issue that for a person who’s gone down that road for a ways and is profoundly obese than that’s some serious catch up.” The alarming phenomenon suggests, children need to learn at a young age the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. People should understand that obesity is a family issue, Dr. Jonathon further opined. By the time many children become overweight, they have already been in that sort of a lifestyle pattern for a number of years. So, living a healthy life style as Dr. Cotter calls it — a philosophy of well being. Via: WAOW

Northeast seems to get innovative in reducing obesity and its risks in children. A growing number of schools in the region are retooling their phys-ed programs to add snowshoeing. Snowshoeing can burn up to 1,000 calories an hour, even at an easy walking pace. They have chosen this game as they feel it to be effective measure as they hope it to be easily successful. This is because, snowshoeing is an enticement to the video game generation to get outside and make the most of the region’s long, cold winters. The best of the climate is been made use of, as winter can mean months of fitness-quashing frigid temperatures and snow — and also endless hours in front of the tube. Via: Sun Times

To fight childhood obesity with better school meals and more exercise, former President Bill Clinton and officials from a health foundation unveiled a plan on Monday. To back the Clinton-backed Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation put up an $8 million grant. I will also work with teachers to encourage them to be healthier role models for kids. During the past three decades, obesity rates tripled among U.S. children aged 6 to 11. And now, more than 9 million U.S. children over the age of 6 are considered obese. This data is provided by the Johnson Foundation. “If the present trends continue, this generation could be the first to have shorter expected life spans than their parents’ We want to help to change the economics that are keeping schools from providing better meal options and greater access to physical activity,” Clinton told a news conference at a Manhattan elementary school that will participate in the program. Via: Reuters

The third new chemical entity from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd is expected to be filed for phase I trial in May. It’s an obesity drug. It is to evaluate the drug’s safety profile and safe dosage range, the phase I trials involve the exposure of the drug on 50-100 healthy human volunteers. Targeting obesity and associated disorders, the highly selective drug candidate — Glenmark’s molecule is named GRC 10389. For its primary indication, obesity, pre-clinical studies are being done on this long acting compound. The company told the Bombay Stock Exchange that this is expected to result in a once-daily dose regimen in humans. It is by January 2007, this phase of trial will be followed by phase II trials. Provided the clinical trials go through, Glenmark expects to launch the product for primary indication in the first geography by 2011, the company further informed. Via: sify.com