Why an obesity operation must be the last resort

It’s sad that we’re resorting increasingly to surgery to tackle obesity. The NHS carried out more than 4,000 weight-loss operations last year – nine times as many as in 2004.

Now a report by research body the Office of Health Economics argues for even more, claiming that more than £1billion could be saved in three years if a quarter of eligible patients were treated.

There may be some argument for being more cost-effective, reducing demands on the NHS, but I take these claims with a pinch of salt.

Government advisory body NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) states that weight-loss ops such as gastric bands and bypasses should only be used as a last resort. I agree.

To argue just for cost-effectiveness misses the point. This is a surgical remedy for something that should be tackled much earlier in a risk-free, low-cost way.

All operations carry risks, more so when patients are obese. Although relatively low, risks for a band can be serious, including a tear in the stomach wall, blockage, leakage or erosion of the band, plus potentially serious complications from nausea and vomiting if you overeat after the op.

For bypasses, complications may include leaks from the intestine or bowel, bowel obstruction, internal bleeding and clots. Then there are the usual risks of infection and a reaction to the anaesthetic. After both ops, eating a normal range of foods and portion sizes is no longer possible.

Yet, when people are given the right information, help and support, they can lose weight through lifestyle. A study of 20,000 people by the Medical Research Council concluded that, regardless of genes, lifestyle changes can shift a lot of excess weight.

I’m not suggesting losing weight is easy. There are many reasons people struggle, ranging from a lack of guidance and poor childhood habits to emotional issues.

But I think far more needs to be done to address obesity earlier. We need to start with better education about healthy eating in schools and more exercise in the curriculum.

More primary care trusts should issue prescriptions for exercise and weight-loss groups such as WeightWatchers and Slimming World. These clubs tackle the cause of obesity, educating their members and giving them the support they need to change their behaviour.

The Medical Research Council has found that people referred to WeightWatchers lost 15lb in a year compared with 9lb for those who had just seen their doctor.

People see celebs who’ve lost lots of weight with a band and think it’s a magic bullet. It’s not. We need to tackle why people overeat in the first place – something surgery doesn’t do.

Via : mirror.co.uk

Sleep Deprivation Increases Risk of Teenage Obesity

A new study has found that teenagers who don’t get enough sleep on weeknights are more likely to eat fatty foods that put them at risk for obesity and other health related problems.

The sleep study, published in the September issue of Sleep, involved 240 American teenagers ages 16 to 19. It suggest that teenagers who sleep for less than eight hours a night eat more fatty foods snacks compared with those who get more than eight hours. The new study also revealed that getting too little sleep can result in chronic changes in the diet that can increase the risk of obesity, especially in girls.

“There’s been a lot of research over the last five years implicating insufficient sleep with obesity. Some experimental studies on sleep deprivation in controlled laboratory environments show a craving for fatty foods among the participants who got less sleep”, said study author Dr. Susan Redline, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

The researchers explained that lack of sleep can affect metabolism by changing the level of appetite which over time can alter energy balance and increase the risk of obesity. They also concluded that sleep might be the missing link in the fight against obesity, which has focused solely on diet and exercise.

Via : dailyrosetta.com

BC Developing Better Ovarian Cancer Treatment

The agency of Oncology, British Columbia suggested including the removal or ligation of fallopian tubes
in hysterectomy to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer
.

The gynecologic oncologist Sarah Finlayson Vancouver General Hospital said that research done in the province show that in half of cases of fatal ovarian cancer, the tumor developed in the tubes. By changing the procedures during hysterectomy, she believes that the number of deaths could be reduced by 30-50% in 20 years.

Each year, nearly 50,000 surgical removal of the uterus are made in the country.

Recent studies have shown that 18% of women with ovarian cancer in British Columbia had undergone a hysterectomy who had left their fallopian tubes intact. The researchers believe that their removal would have prevented the disease.

In addition, researchers in the province have discovered that in 20% of cases, ovarian cancer was caused by a genetic mutation. According to them, tests by members of the family of a patient would identify women at risk of developing this type of cancer.

Via : eontarionow.com

Nearly three-quarters of Ontario adults are obese or overweight

Nearly three-quarters of adults in Ontario are overweight or obese and have a strong occurrence of high blood pressure, according to new research that adds to the evidence linking weight and heath. 

Ottawa researchers found that about one in four adults were obese and almost half of them overweight, with high blood pressure affecting one-third of both obese men and women. 

The findings come a day after the Canadian Diabetes Association indicated that the prevalence of diabetes had risen sharply over the past 10 years and, if action isn’t taken, it could cost Ontario $7-billion by 2020.

Frans Leenen, lead author of the study from Ottawa, said Thursday that a similar price tag could be attached to high blood pressure. Overweight adults are often ignored because they have become the norm in society, but Dr. Leenen said this will burden the health-care system. 

“Some changes are happening of course … but it will probably have to be a little more intense and a little bit faster,” said Dr. Leenen, a professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa and director of the hypertension unit at the university’s Heart Institute. 

The study, published in the American Journal of Hypertension, examined more than 2,500 Ontarians between the ages of 20 and 79. The researchers measured weight and height to calculate BMI (an approximation of body fat), and they assessed blood pressure. 

They found that only 14 per cent of men with a normal BMI had high blood pressure, compared with 19 per cent of those who were overweight and 36 per cent who were obese. The figures were similar among women, and Dr. Leenen said the pattern is likely comparable across Canada. 

“More strategies are needed to deal with the overweight-obesity epidemic,” he said. 

Via : theglobeandmail.com

Long-term weight loss may be risky to health

Long–term weight loss may be harmful to health as it can be linked to illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension and diabetes, researchers said on Tuesday.

Blood industrial pollutants compounds can be normally originated in fatty tissues, but during weight loss, when fat breaks down, it can go to the blood stream, according to lead researcher Duk-Hee Lee who conducted the study at the Kyungpook National University in Daegu in South Korea.

Moreover, she wrote in an e-mail that we are living with a strong belief that losing weight is always advantageous, and that weight gain is always harmful to our health. She also added that we think that increased levels of pollutants in blood because ofweight loss can influence our health in different kind of ways.

In addition, Lee and her team of international colleagues examined 1,099 contributors in the United States and focus on the seven such compounds found in their blood, according to what they said in an article available in the International Journal of Obesity.

Likewise, the researchers said in a statement that once the pollutants are discharged into the bloodstream, these can be able to reach vital organs.

Also, those people who lost most of their weight for more than ten years had the top concentrations of the compounds, dubbed as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), in comparison to those who maintained a stable weight.

Lee said that there is materializing proof that POPs are not safe. POPs are associated to periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, coronary heart disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

Several factors were seen including age, gender and race to clarify the distinction on concentrations of these pollutants, but history of weight stayed a statistically essential feature.

Furthermore, Lee said that more studies were required to ascertain if such hazard overshadowed the benefits to be attained from weight loss.

Via : seedol.com

Is Losing Weight Toxic? New Study Says Fat Releases Industrial Chemicals

Now for the completely contradictory news of the day.

According to a new study, losing weight can be bad for you, and the longer you lose weight, the worse it is.

An international team of scientists found that toxic pollutants, which are stored in fat, release themselves into the bloodstream when fat dissipates.

The chemicals, called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are linked to degenerative diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes, the study's lead author Duk-Hee Le told Reuters Health.

Lee's team followed 1,099 American participants, tested their blood, and found concentrations of seven potentially harmful POPs.

Subjects who lost significant weight over the course of ten years were compared to those who gained or maintained a steady weight. The "Biggest Losers" had the highest concentrations of POP's.

More studies are needed to establish if such harm outweighs the benefits from weight loss, Lee, who hails from the Kyungpook National University in Daegu in South Korea told Reuters.

Via : cbsnews.com

Unfit men working long hours 'twice as likely' to die of heart problems

Men who work more than 45 hours a week are more than twice as likely to die from heart disease if they are unfit, research has found, although exercising can counteract the effects. 

Researchers found that men who were physically fit coped better with their long working hours than those who were unfit. 

The findings, based on 5,000 Danish men aged between 40 and 59, found that overall men who worked between 41 and 45 hours were almost 60 per cent more likely to die of heart disease than those working fewer hours. 

The effect was more pronounced when physical fitness was taken into account, as measured by their lung capacity, with unfit men twice as likely to die as men working less than 40 hours.

The findings were published in the journal Heart. 

 

Lead author Dr Andreas Holtermann, National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark, wrote in the journal: "These findings suggest that men working long hours should be physically fit."

Via : telegraph.co.uk