Posts Tagged ‘Obesity’

The type 2 diabetes stupid study will get $1.3 million in new funding from the National Institutes of Health. It is going to be used to continue with the world’s longest running study on obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Arizona Pima Indians

Obesity and diabetes have been described as the major public health concern of the 21st century says Leslie Schulz, executive dean of Northern Arizona University’s study’s principal investigator. “This study is taking those necessary steps toward finding a way to protect people against these pervasive diseases,” she said.

A related study has shown that Pima Indians in Arizona who have a diet and lifestyle similar to most Americans have a much higher rate of diabetes than the national average: 38 percent verses 8 percent nationally, giving them the distinction of being the most diabetes-prone group in the world.

The Arizona Pima Indians have been genetically linked to a village of Pima Indians living a more traditional lifestyle in a remote, mountainous region of Mexico. A 1995 study of the Mexican Pimas revealed only a rare occurrence of diabetes. Schulz explains that the genetic similarities between the two groups of Pima Indians, along with the contrast in their lifestyles, provides an ideal setting to study the relationship between environmental circumstances and diabetes.

The researchers returned in the fall after 15 years to the Mexican village to study the relationship between the Mexican Pima Indians’ increasingly “westernized” lifestyle and their genetic predisposition for obesity and diabetes.

“Since we were last there, the environmental circumstances of the village have changed,” Schulz says, explaining how the electrical supply to the region has increased, cars have become more prevalent and grocery stores have appeared.

She points out that this changing environment affects non-Pima Mexicans who also live in the village as much as it does the Mexican Pima Indians living there.

“These two groups of people have undergone the same lifestyle changes over the past 15 years but they have different genes,” Schulz explains. “Therefore, we hope to separate out the role genes play versus the role lifestyle plays.”

Question

The researchers are attempting to answer why a person who is genetically predisposed to develop diabetes does not develop it.

ANSWER: GENES AREN’T YOUR DESTINY

Just as genes provide the codes for producing proteins, various chemicals called epigenetic marks sit atop genes and offer basic instructions to them, telling them to switch on or off

Biologists offer this analogy as an explanation: if the genome is the hardware, then the epigenome is the software. “I can load Windows, if I want, on my Mac,” says Joseph Ecker, a Salk Institute biologist and leading epigenetic scientist. “You’re going to have the same chip in there, the same genome, but different software. And the outcome is a different cell type.”

At its most basic, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene activity that do not involve alterations to the genetic code but still get passed down to at least one successive generation. These patterns of gene expression are governed by the cellular material — the epigenome — that sits on top of the genome, just outside it (hence the prefix epi-, which means above). It is these epigenetic “marks” that tell your genes to switch on or off, to speak loudly or whisper. It is through epigenetic marks that environmental factors like diet, stress and prenatal nutrition can make an imprint on genes that is passed from one generation to the next.

Save The Money

Save the money, the studies already prove epigenetics is the main factor in gene expression.

While children are learning their alphabet, they are being beckoned by coco puffs, fruit loops, and a fleeing array of goodies. Childhood obesity is stemming from they are exposed to television commercials.

Safe Haven

Home is not a safe haven anymore. Childhood obesity starts in front of the TV. Those resourceful technically savvy advertisers converge in your living room. Childhood obesity is partly due to the time spent in front of the television viewing commercials.

The earnings outlook for most kid oriented products depends on their ability to reach children. Tots influence parents buying habits.

Branding

Children see an average of one food ad every five minutes during Saturday cartoons. Junk food boot camp for toddlers will produce a junk food junkie in the future. In a flash a young mind is captivated by the child likable advertisements.

Parents are lost in the confusion; these products have all kind of seals of approval. With a host of trusted slogans, reliable validation from other children who are still standing after consuming the faux food, parents are torn.

Branding comes from animation embellished with both visual and audio to effectively deliver its message.

Wild vivid colors, upbeat tone, and great designs produce high conversion rates.

Pitch

“Advertisers have been clever about building brand loyalty, making these foods seem attractive,’’ Dr. Zimmerman said. “I was talking with one of my graduate students who was saying, ‘When I was a kid, it was just a dorky rabbit talking about Trix.’ Now it’s about being cool, and what’s fun and exciting. It really grabs your emotions much more powerfully than it use to.”

Dr. .Fred Zimmerman,  author and chairman of University of California Los Angeles’s Department of Health Services, said “television commercials for sweetened cereals, junk food and fast food chains probably has an insidious influence over a child’s food preferences. The more television commercials a child is exposed to, the more likely he or she will be to try those foods and want to continue eating them, which then increases risk for weight gain.”

Reasoning

This is a different look at the role of TV in a household. It seems that children are not couch potatoes. Young children will stand, jump and wiggle while watching a show.

Now, the reasoning is that some TV time is not the reason for obesity. This takes into account the fact that most children are successful at moving about. There was a study that suggests that the culprit in weight gain was the growing array of commercials aimed at children.

This study was by the University of California, Los Angeles, compared children’s viewing habits. They found no association with obesity in the children who watched videos or commercial-free programming.

For Profit

The difference is that commercial television is a for profit enterprise. The market value of a show is how many commercial sponsors it can pick up. What TV does is integrate entertainment with strategic advertising.The advertisers wants a reliable audience. That is one that is vulnerable and trusting. Who better fits this description that a wide eyed hungry toddler.

The Right Diet for You

The right diet for you will address the important aspects of human health.  Most diet plans look at a fragment of the whole picture. They have a poor understanding of the benefits and risks of  finding the right eating plan for you. The thinking is by regulating your portions and recommending low calorie foods you will regain a youthful slim body.

There is major health risk if you are morbidity over weight. To look at one piece, weight, implies it should be the only motivating factor when dieting. Even if dieting seems the only logical way it is the basics for failure. The right lifestyle changes will produce permanent weight loss.

 Overweight

If you are overweight your mission in life is not just to shed pounds.  You need to see where your health is declining. As fat accumulates, especially in the abdominal area, insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance worsen. Scientific findings reveal that excess serum insulin is a major health problem. This can lead to type two diabetes, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. This is known as metabolic syndrome.

 Insulin Resistance

One of the most effective ways to fight insulin resistance and obesity is to eat the right foods in the right proportion. The greatest obstacle to following this as a way of life is the sensation of feeling hungry. Most people give in to this craving and thus miss the opportunity for greater health weight loss. Food satisfaction and a feeling of fullness are two things that are achievable on a good eating plan. You should not have to control your appetite to eat a healthy diet.

Refined Carbohydrates

The desire to eat and perceived hunger are the crucial factors when trying to change your eating pattern. The highly refined carbohydrates that are prevalent in the western diet are associated with appetite stimulation.  Many overweight adults are sabotaging their weight-loss efforts by thinking low fat and higher carbohydrates. Chronic consumption of high-carb foods makes the body’s cells less reactive to insulin. This resistance to insulin leads to increased levels of triglycerides, high insulin levels and low HDL (good) cholesterol. Processed carbohydrates include bread, pastries, crackers, pasta, and anything containing refined flour.

Low Fat myth

The low fat myth is supported by well meaning health professionals. The typical low fat fare diet is filled with all kinds of high-tech low fat “delights” such as ice cream, chips, pastry and cookies. They are all nutritionally lacking and implicated in a host of health problems. Low-fat diets are dramatically low in fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, F, and K the very nutrients you need for healthy heart function. Low-fat diets lack the necessary fat for your body to absorb some of the nutrients from plant food.

All the low-fat, zero-fat inventions are unhealthy and are the culprits in poor health and weight gain, Now you know some of the reasons your extraordinary weight loss efforts are counter productive.  Millions are spend on diet regiments that have obvious weaknesses and may even hamper true weight loss. The right diet (lifestyle) for you will promote a healthy body weight and composition while supporting optimal health.

The Answer:  Metabolic Balance

Healthy weight loss from Metabolic Balance means pursuing a healthy lifestyle. Thought their trained coaches you will discover what real weight management is about. This is the place to get your big questions answered. Why can’t I lose weight and keep it off? They will provide you with a healthier lifestyle, which couldn’t happen at a better time.