USA Today reports on the decline of standard meals and the rise of the eat-what-I-want-when-I-want-it meals abetted by food marketers. Eating Nonstop Crap All Day ‘The New Normal’ USA Today Video
Obesity Rates in Europe Spiral Upwards
November 25th, 2011 No comments »
Two reports from Europe show pervasive increases in obesity throughout Europe, even though rates of obesity vary significantly within the continent.
The European Union reports that rates varied between 8% and 23.9% for women and 7.6% and 24.7% for men. (The US rates are 26.8% for women and 27.6% for men.) The lowest rates for men and women were in Romania, Italy, Bulgaria and France. The highest rates for women were in the United Kingdom, Malta, Latvia and Estonia; for men, in Malta, the UK, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Rates of obesity increased with age and fell with higher educational levels. See, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-24112011-BP/EN/3-24112011-BP-EN.PDF
In the second report, the Organization for the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) looked at obesity among its 34 member countries worldwide.
Looking at their latest surveys, they found more than half of the adult population in the OECD report they are overweight or obese. Where height and weight were measured (as opposed to self-report) the rate was even grater, 55.8%. 19 of the 34 OECD countries had more than 50% of adults who were overweight or obese. Even in countries with low rates, e.g. Japan, Korea, France and Switzerland, rates were increasing. Throughout the OECD, 17% of adults were obese. The report notes, “The rise in obesity has affected all population groups, regardless of sex, age, race, income, or education level, but to varying extents.” http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/fulltext/8111101ec018.pdf?expires=1322264846&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=8D94E5CC3B86E6675810DE2CCB25CA83
Regarding childhood, the OECD notes “Rates of overweight among boys and girls are increasing across the OECD. In many developed countries, child obesity levels doubled between the 1960s and the 1980s, and have doubled since then. Even in emerging countries, the prevalence of obesity is rising, especially in urban areas where there is more sedentary behavior and a greater access to energy-dense food.” OECD iLibrary: Statistics / Health at a Glance / 2011 / Overweight and obesity among children
Normal Weight Persons Heaviest Snackers; Weight loss Mainteners Best on Physical Activity
November 22nd, 2011 No comments »Contrary to the assumptions of many, the group that snacks most frequently is the normal weight, followed by weight-loss maintainers and then persons who were overweight. Weight-loss maintainers had the highest level of self-reported physical activity, followed by normal-weight individuals and then overweight participants. Eating Frequency Is Higher in Weight Loss Maintainers and Normal-Weight Individuals than in Overweight Individuals Earlier research indicated that obese and overweight persons eat the same diet by macro-nutrients as normal weight persons.
What is the Supreme Court Up to?
November 20th, 2011 No comments »This week the Supreme Court agreed to hear a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Obama’s signature health care reform legislation. The issues around the “individual mandate” have been well discussed. Timothy Jost, professor of law at William and Mary University School of Law and an insightful thinker on health care law. In a new post, he points to two critical issues in the Supreme Court’s review which are now below the radar but could become extremely compelling. The first is that the Supreme Court added review of the ACA’s expansion of Medicaid. This is not only a key channel for expanding health care coverage but the theory of the challenge, namely that Congress can use its spending power to unconstitutionally coerce states into certain programs. Such use of the spending power is common throughout many government programs. Overturning or even questioning the use of the spending power in this way could raise challenges to a host of federal programs.
The other issue is a more technical, legal issue of severability. Briefly, severability raises the question that, if the individual mandate (or any specific provision) is declared unconstitutional, does the rest of the law remain in place or is the entire statute voided. The Supreme Court has reserved specific time for arguments on both issues. High Court To Review ACA’s Minimum Coverage Requirement, Medicaid Expansion – Health Affairs Blog
Is California’s Childhood Obesity Picture Really Improving?
November 19th, 2011 No comments »The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy recently released a report, “A Patchwork of Progress, Changes in Overweight and Obesity Among California 5th, 7th, and 9th Grades, 2005-2010. California making headway in battle against childhood obesity but successes are uneven | UCLA Center for Health Policy Research The lead was that the state prevalence rate had dropped between 2005 and 2010 by 1.1%. This was widely picked up by the media and indicating that California had turned the corner on childhood obesity. Childhood obesity rates level off in California and L.A. County – latimes.com
The report and some of the media report did indicate wide variations. 31 of 58 counties showed an increase in the rates of obesity and five had rates at least 10% higher in 2010 than in 2005. 26 counties experienced a decrease in rates of obesity with 7 have rates at least 10% lower in 2010 than in 2005.
So, does this look like progress? Consider this: the number of children who are overweight or obesity actually increased from 2010 to 2005. Reason: school enrollment increased from 1,137,122 in 2005 to 1,214,061 in 2010. So, while the prevalence figured may have dropped during this 5 year period, the number of children considered overweight or obesity increased by 16, 729 or 3.7%.
A study by this group last year indicated that income disparities in obesity prevalence was significantly increasing, principally affecting low income male adolescents. Income disparities in obesity trends amon… [Am J Public Health. 2010] – PubMed – NCBI
Effects of Childhood Obesity Can be Reversed
November 17th, 2011 No comments »An analysis (published today in the New England Journal of Medicine) of over 6,000 subjects followed for 23 years found persons who were obese in childhood had high risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, elevated low-density and high-density cholesterol, triglyceride levels as well as carotid-artery atherosclerosis compared to persons who were never obese. However, persons who were obese as children but normal weight as adults had risk similar to those with a normal BMI consistently from childhood to adulthood. The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on Disease & Clinical Practice
Time Magazine blogger calls for abusing persons with obesity
November 15th, 2011 No comments »Time magazine blogger, Shannon Brownlee wants us to get serious about obesity with a ‘novel’ idea:
Shannon Brownlee
Shannon Brownlee
insulting, discriminating and penalizing persons with obesity. Boy, bet that will help. Shannon Brownlee: Let’s Stop Being Passive About Obesity | TIME Ideas | TIME.com
(Ever notice that the folks who espouse the most mean-spirited attacks on persons with obesity always think it is a novel idea? Why is that?)
What’s New in Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan-stan or the serious picture of global obesity
November 6th, 2011 No comments »Americans tend to think that obesity is a home-grown phenomenon, a reflection of our consumer-oriented society. Yet, obesity is a global phenomenon and not only in other Western industrialized countries. In fact, obesity is occurring throughout the world at a rapid pace and in a lot of countries you might not expect. Here’s a sample of some recent studies.
Obesity prevalence in male school children in Saudi Arabia was found to be 9.7% and 14.2% for overweight, approaching levels in developed countries. It was noted in the study that mothers of obese and overweight children had less education and worked more. The children also missed breakfast more, had frequent consumption of fast food and low daily consumption of fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Overweight and Obesity and their Association with Dietary Habits, and Sociodemographic Characteristics Among Male Primary School Children in Al-Hassa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
We have previously looked at increases of obesity in China. Now, there is a review article of the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome The emerging epidemic of obesity, diabetes… [Cardiol Res Pract. 2012] – PubMed – NCBI Here’s a number of staggering proportions: the number of overweight or obese Chinese: 401 Million, a prevalence of 29.9%.
Greenland sees changes in physical activity among the native Inuit people who are experiencing rapid social transition. Compared to traditional hunters and fishermen, women in the latest stage of change engage in less domestic physical activity; men in less occupational physical activity. Physical activity patterns in Greenlan… [Scand J Public Health. 2011] – PubMed – NCBI
A study from western Iran found the incidence of type 2 diabetes was increased by obesity at all ages and by extreme leanness in childhood. Being obese throughout life doubled type 2 diabetes prevalence in women. And here’s something you don’t find in many studies: prevalence was increased by green tea and opium consumption. Diabetes mellitus and its correlates in an Iranian … [PLoS One. 2011] – PubMed – NCBI
A study of 14,425 subjects in Nepal found that 32% were obese, 28% were overweight, 6.3% were diabetic and 34% had hypertension. Prevalence was higher in the less educated, those working at home and women. Prevalence of hypertension, obesity, diabete… [Int J Hypertens. 2011] – PubMed – NCBI Nepal is one of the low and middle income countries hit with both infectious disease burden as well as rising incidence of non-communicable diseases frequently characterized by obesity. Low health literacy rates complicate strategies to address the challenges. Obesity prevalence in Nepal:… [Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010] – PubMed – NCBI
An obesity rate of 53.9% is reported in Sudan The state of heart disease in Sudan. [Cardiovasc J Afr. 2011 Jul-Aug] – PubMed – NCBI
If you are wondering about Ubeki-beki-beki-stan-stan-stan, there is news there too. A national survey has found a strong association between obesity and hypertension in Uzbekistan. Epidemiology of obesity and hypertension and… [Eur J Clin Nutr. 2006] – PubMed – NCBI