3,000 Steps Five Days A Week Wards Off Diabetes

If you walk three thousand steps a day, five days each week, your chances of developing diabetes and becoming obese are significantly reduced, Australian researchers report in the BMJ (British Medical Journal). Increase your daily steps over a five year period to 10,000 steps a day, and the benefits skyrocket. This is the first study to assess the impact of doing a daily step count on insulin sensitivity, the authors claim.
Previous studies have demonstrated how physical activity can reduce insulin resistance and BMI (body mass index), both indicators of looming diabetes. However, none had clearly shown how adding a certain number of steps each day to your physical activity can significantly improve your chances of remaining obese- and diabetes-free.
Most experts advise people to walk 10,000 steps daily. However, doing 3,000 steps five times a week can also work. Also, you don't have to start off with the 10,000 steps - you can gradually build up over a five year period.
Scientists from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, gathered data on 592 adults, all of them middle-aged. They had taken part in a nationally representative study aimed at gauging diabetes rates throughout Australia between 2000 and 2005.
The participants underwent a comprehensive health check, and then completed a questionnaire that revealed details on their eating habits and lifestyle. Each adult was given a pedometer and shown how to use it.
A pedometer, also known as a step counter is a portable electronic device that counts each step you take by detecting the motion of your hips - you attach it to your side. It is usually worn on the belt and you keep it on all day - it records how many steps you have walked during the day.
The participants were followed-up again five years later. The researchers also took into account other lifestyle factors, such as smoking status and alcohol intake.
The investigators found that those with a higher daily step count over the five year period generally had a lower BMI, lower waist to hip ratio, and superior insulin sensitivity, compared to individuals with a low daily step count - regardless of what their dietary energy intake was. They added that the more active individuals enjoyed the above-mentioned benefits mainly because of a change in fatness (adiposity) over the five years.
The researchers worked out that sedentary individuals who gradually increased their daily step count to 10,000 over a five-year period would enjoy a threefold improvement in insulin sensitivity compared to those who managed to reach 3,000 steps a day (five days a week) at the end of five years.
It is important to remember that staying at 3,000 steps a day does have its benefits, compared to remaining completely sedentary.
The authors concluded:

"These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle aged adults."

According to the American Diabetes Association: 18 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes5.7 million Americans have diabetes but don't know it (undiagnosed)57 million individuals in the USA have pre-diabetes186,300 people under the age of 20 years have diabetes in the USA2 million US teenagers have pre-diabetes10.7% of Americans over the age of 20 have diabetes11.2% of American adult males have diabetes10.2% of American adult females have diabetesType 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease - the person's body has destroyed his/her own insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. A person with Type 2 Diabetes does not produce enough insulin, or suffers from 'insulin resistance' (the insulin is not working properly). Type 1 Diabetes is unavoidable and is not caused by lifestyle. Type 2 Diabetes is usually caused by being overweight and having a sedentary lifestyle.
"Association of change in daily step count over five years with insulin sensitivity and adiposity: population based cohort study"
T Dwyer, A-L Ponsonby, O C Ukoumunne, A Pezic, A Venn, D Dunstan, E Barr, S Blair, J Cochrane, P Zimmet, J Shaw
BMJ 2011; 342:c7249 doi: 10.1136/bmj.c7249
Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today


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posted by W D Clark on 13 Jan 2011 at 8:55 pm
How much trouble would it have been for you to just tell me approximately how far 10,000 steps is?
Now I have to go see if I can look it up somewhere.
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posted by Me on 14 Jan 2011 at 6:49 am
Average stride 2-3 feet.
Mile 5280 feet.
(3,000 steps * 3 foot stride) / 5,280 feet = approx 1.7 miles
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posted by anon on 14 Jan 2011 at 6:54 am
Stride length depends on height.
Note a starting spot, take 10 normal steps, measure the distance in feet with a tape measure or yardstick, and write it down. Do this several times during the day and several places, average the distances and divide by 10 and you will have a good estimate of your stride length in feet over the day. Or, if you regularly do one long walk, do it several times at the beginning and the end.
(No. Feet/step)*(Number steps/day)*(mi/5280 feet)= No. miles/day
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Stand Up, Move More, More Often: Study Finds More Breaks From Sitting Are Good For Waistlines And Hearts

It is becoming well accepted that, as well as too little exercise, too much sitting is bad for people's health. Now a new study has found that it is not just the length of time people spend sitting down that can make a difference, but also the number of breaks that they take while sitting at their desk or on their sofa. Plenty of breaks, even if they are as little as one minute, seem to be good for people's hearts and their waistlines.

The study, which is published online today (Wednesday 12 January) in the European Heart Journal [1], is the first in a large, representative, multi-ethnic population to look at the links of the total amount of time spent sitting down and breaks in sedentary time, with various indicators of risk for heart disease, metabolic diseases such as diabetes, and inflammatory processes that can play a role in atherosclerosis (blocked arteries).

It found that prolonged periods of sedentary time, even in people who also spent some time in moderate-to-vigorous exercise, were associated with worse indicators of cardio-metabolic function and inflammation, such as larger waist circumferences, lower levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol, higher levels of C-reactive protein (an important marker of inflammation) and triglycerides (blood fats).

However, the study also found that, even in people who spent a long time sitting down, the more breaks they took during this time, the smaller their waists and the lower the levels of C-reactive protein.

There were some racial and ethnic differences. The most significant was that longer sedentary time had a marked adverse effect on waist circumference for non-Hispanic whites only, but made no difference to Mexican Americans and appeared to be beneficial for non-Hispanic blacks.

Dr Genevieve Healy, a research fellow [2] at the School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Australia, who led the study, said: "Overall, for length of sedentary time, the most clinically significant findings were for blood fats and markers of insulin resistance. For the number of breaks in sedentary time, the most significant differences were observed for waist circumference. The top 25% of people who took the most breaks had, on average, a 4.1cm smaller waist circumference than those in the lowest 25%."

Dr Healy and her colleagues analysed data from 4,757 people aged 20 and over, who took part in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2003 and 2006. The participants wore a small device called an accelerometer, which monitored the amount and intensity of walking or running activity. It was worn on the right hip during waking hours for seven days and it gave researchers information on sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time. Measurements were taken of waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and C-reactive protein concentrations, and they also measured levels of triglycerides, plasma glucose and insulin in a sub-sample of participants who were fasting when attending a morning examination. The researchers accounted statistically for socio-demographic differences between study participants, their medical histories and their lifestyles (smoking, alcohol intake, diet).

The least amount of sedentary time was 1.8 hours per day, the most 21.2 hours per day; the least number of breaks over the full seven days was 99, and the most was 1,258.

Dr Healy said: "The benefits of regular participation in moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise are well accepted scientifically and by the general public. However, the potential adverse health impact of prolonged sitting (which is something that we do on average for more than half of our day), is only just being realised. Our research highlights the importance of considering prolonged sedentary time as a distinct health risk behaviour that warrants explicit advice in future public health guidelines. In particular, the findings are likely to have implications for settings where prolonged sitting is widespread, such as in offices.

"Our research showed that even small changes, which could be as little as standing up for one minute, might help to lower this health risk. It is likely that regular breaks in prolonged sitting time could be readily incorporated into the working environment without any detrimental impact on productivity, although this still needs to be determined by further research. 'Stand up, move more, more often' could be used as a slogan to get this message across."

She said that existing occupational health and safety guidelines recommend regular changes in posture and a variety of work tasks, and that these would help to incorporate more breaks from sitting in the working day, and might lead to less sedentary time overall. Practical tips that might help to do this in an office-based workplace included:

- Standing up to take phone calls
- Walking to see a colleague rather than phoning or emailing
- Having standing meetings or encouraging regular breaks during meetings for people to stand up
- Going to a bathroom on a different level
- Centralising things such as rubbish bins and printers so that you need to walk to them
- Taking the stairs instead of the lift where possible.

Dr Healy said that the size of the differences in the various cardio-metabolic and inflammatory risk biomarkers between the top and bottom 25% of people in terms of their sedentary time was large enough to suggest that "in theory, population-wide reductions in sedentary time of between one to two hours a day could have a substantial impact on the prevention of cardiovascular disease."

She concluded: "Prolonged sedentary time is likely to increase with future technological and social innovations, and it is important to avoid prolonged periods of sitting and to move more throughout the day. Reducing and regularly breaking up sedentary time may be an important adjunct health message, alongside the well-established recommendation for regular participation in exercise. While further evidence of a causal nature is required, less sitting time would be unlikely to do harm. It would, at the very least, contribute to increased overall levels of daily energy expenditure and could help to prevent weight gain."

Notes:

[1] "Sedentary time and cardio-metabolic biomarkers in US adults: NHANES 2003-06". European Heart Journal. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehq451

[2] The study was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council/National Heart Foundation of Australia postdoctoral fellowship to Dr Healy; a Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Public Health Research Fellowship to David Dunstan; and a Queensland Health Core Research Infrastructure grant and NHMRC Program Grant funding to Elisabeth Winkler and Neville Owen.

Source:
European Society of Cardiology

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Taking More Steps Every Day Can Help Ward Off Diabetes

Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

While several studies have shown that physical activity reduces body mass index and insulin resistance - an early stage in the development of diabetes - this is the first study to estimate the effects of long-term changes in daily step count on insulin sensitivity.

A popular guideline is to do 10,000 steps every day, though a more recent recommendation is 3,000 steps, five days a week.

The research, by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, involved 592 middle aged adults who took part in a national study to map diabetes levels across Australia between 2000 and 2005.

At the start of the study, participants completed a detailed diet and lifestyle questionnaire and underwent a thorough health examination. They were also given a pedometer and instructed how to use it. Participants were monitored again five years later.

Other lifestyle factors, such as diet, alcohol and smoking were taken into account.

A higher daily step count over five years was associated with a lower body mass index, lower waist to hip ratio, and better insulin sensitivity.

These associations were independent of dietary energy intake and appeared to be largely due to a change in adiposity (fatness) over the five years, say the authors.

The authors estimate that, in their setting, a sedentary person who takes a very low number of daily steps but who was able to change behaviour over five years to meet the popular 10,000 daily step guideline would have a threefold improvement in insulin sensitivity compared with a similar person who increased his or her steps to meet the more recent recommendation of 3,000 steps for five days a week.

They conclude: "These findings, confirming an independent beneficial role of higher daily step count on body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and insulin sensitivity, provide further support to promote higher physical activity levels among middle aged adults."

Click here to view paper

Source: British Medical Journal

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Race Plays Role In Weight-Related Counseling Among Obese Patients

When it comes to advising obese patients, blacks receive less weight reduction and exercise counseling from physicians than their white counterparts. This is according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who examined the impact of patient and doctor race concordance on weight-related counseling. The results are featured in the January 2011 online issue of Obesity.

"Contrary to our expectations, we did not observe a positive association between patient-physician race concordance and weight-related counseling," said Sara Bleich, PhD, lead author of the study and an assistant professor with the Bloomberg School's Department of Health Policy and Management. "Rather, black obese patients seeing white doctors were less likely to receive exercise counseling than white obese patients seeing white doctors. We also found that black obese patients seeing black doctors were less likely to receive weight reduction counseling than white obese patients seeing black doctors. This suggests that regardless of the physician's race, black obese patients receive less weight-related counseling than white obese patients. Our findings could be due to a number of factors such as negative physician perspectives towards black patients or a lack of sensitivity to the underlying levels of obesity risk for black patients as compared to white patients."

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 and is an important risk factor for mortality and morbidity. In the U.S., blacks are disproportionately affected by obesity and are at an increased risk for a number of chronic diseases associated with obesity, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes.

Researchers analyzed National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys (NAMCS) from 2005-2007, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of physician office visits, among individuals ages 20 years and older. Using a sample size of 2,231 visits of black and white obese patients to their black and white physicians from the specialties of general/family practice and general internal medicine, Bleich and colleagues examined the relationship between doctor-patient race concordance and weight-related counseling (measured as weight reduction, diet/nutrition and exercise counseling). Logistic regression was used to model the outcome variables of interest. In addition, tests were used to statistically compare whether physicians of each race provided counseling at different rates for obese patients of different races.

"Previous studies have shown disparities in the proportion of black obese adults informed by physicians that they were overweight compared to white obese adults," said Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH, senior author of the study and a professor in the Bloomberg School's Department's of Epidemiology and Health, Policy and Management. "We now also see that black patients are receiving different medical counseling as well. Further research is needed to understand how to improve obese patient counseling, particularly among the black population." "Impact of Patient-Doctor Race Concordance on Rates of Weight-Related Counseling in Visits by Black and White Obese Individuals" was written by Sara N. Bleich, Alan E. Simon and Lisa A. Cooper.

Source:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

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Healthy Habits For New Hampshire Children

As part of an ongoing effort to instill healthy habits for New Hampshire children, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire is pleased to announce a multi-year grant to the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF). The grant of $167,446 will be used to support New Hampshire Fellows from Dartmouth College who will implement ASF's 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown, a childhood obesity prevention program, in the granite state.

ASF was selected for the grant because its Schweitzer Fellows exceptional graduate and professional school students who dedicate themselves to addressing health disparities have served youth and families in underserved communities for nearly two decades. Specifically, ASF's New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program will use the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation grant to support stipends for New Hampshire Fellows and participating community-based organizations, 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown initiative training, leadership development training, and the purchase of equipment and other materials needed to support the Schweitzer Fellows' 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown programming in community-based organizations.

The Fellows will address childhood obesity in underserved communities head-on and will work to help make the 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown habits a part of children's lives through a comprehensive approach, including:

-- Integrating 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown activities into community health fairs;

-- Featuring 5-2-1-0 messaging and programming in individual Schweitzer projects; and

-- Providing children and their families with 5-2-1-0 resources, such as weekly log sheets and colorful posters that reinforce healthy lifestyle messages

A total of $167,446 in grant funds will be directed to ASF for the New Hampshire program over the course of three years, beginning with $47,446 in 2010. Subsequent grants of $60,000 will be disbursed in 2011 and 2012, provided each year's grant terms are successfully met.

The 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown program seeks to help kids live a healthy lifestyle by asking them to do four simple things:

-- Eat five fruits or vegetables per day

-- Limit screen time (TVs, computers) to two hours or less per day

-- Get one hour or more of physical activity per day, and

-- Drink zero sugar-sweetened beverages per day.

Developed in 2003, the 5-2-1-0 metric has since been recommended by the American Academy of Pediatricians and adopted by wellness programs across the country.

"Good habits at an early age can help New Hampshire's children avoid chronic health conditions such as obesity and heart disease throughout their lifetimes," said Lisa Guertin, president and general manager, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire. "Childhood obesity in our state and across the country has reached epidemic proportions, and it is a problem that impacts all of us in a number of ways including health care costs. This unique approach helps get at the crux of the issue."

Three years ago, Anthem launched its State Health Index, a program that incorporates public health data to identify and help address major health issues in New Hampshire. As part of the initiative, Anthem assembled a dedicated team to collaborate with local and state officials, as well as community organizations, to research the reasons behind the prevalent health deficiencies and to design policy solutions and implement or enhance programs aimed at helping to improve overall health in the state. "High up on the project list is child fitness, so this partnership is in wonderful alignment with that work," noted Guertin.

She added that Anthem also provides major support to the Foundation for Healthy Communities and its HEAL initiative (Healthy Eating, Active Living); both programs also champion the 5-2-1-0 movement in New Hampshire.

Obesity is a serious health issue for America's families and their children. Nearly one in three children are overweight or obese, and it is estimated that one-third of all children born in or after the year 2000 will suffer from diabetes. Additionally, research indicates that obesity and the resulting chronic health conditions associated with being overweight disproportionately impact people living in underserved communities, where fresh food sources are scarce and social factors make healthy lifestyles difficult to attain.

"Our hope is that through the 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown, we will have an immediate impact on the health of underserved children and families but that also, in the long-term, we will have equipped future health professionals and community leaders with the tools to address childhood obesity in an empowering way that emphasizes individual choices," said ASF Executive Director Sylvia Stevens-Edouard, who played a key role in developing 5-2-1-0 during her time as the senior director of Children's Health Initiatives at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

Since the launch of its U.S. Fellows Program in 1991, ASF has selected and supported over 2,000 Schweitzer Fellows who have delivered more than 400,000 hours of health-focused community service. From launching a Hepatitis B initiative that has since been replicated across the country, to creating a mobile legal assistance program for rural domestic abuse victims, Fellows from many disciplines partner with community agencies to create and carry out yearlong service projects that address the social determinants of health all on top of their regular academic responsibilities.

"In a given program year, around 80 percent of our Schweitzer Fellows across the country create and carry out service projects related to nutrition, physical health, and obesity," says ASF President Lachlan Forrow, MD. "Through our 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown initiative, we're providing our Fellows and the communities they serve with an exciting variation on a proven resource for effective health promotion."

Source: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire

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Arrowhead Starts New Subsidiary, Ablaris Therapeutics, To Commercialize Anti-Obesity Technology

Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR) ("Arrowhead" or the "Company") announced that it has executed an exclusive world-wide license on technology developed by Drs. Wadih Arap and Renata Pasqualini at MD Anderson Cancer Center for use in weight loss and obesity-related metabolic conditions, and that it has launched a new company, Ablaris Therapeutics Inc., to commercialize this platform. Development of the technology is relatively advanced, and management expects that an initial drug candidate will be in the clinic in 2011. Under the license agreement, Ablaris is not responsible for any direct costs associated with preparing for an initial Phase 1 clinical trial or running the trial.

Ablaris has secured commitments for more than $3 million of outside capital to cover the upfront license payments and to launch operations. Arrowhead plans to invest an additional $500,000 in the new company. After the financing, Arrowhead will own approximately 55% of Ablaris, control the Board of Directors, and operate the subsidiary. This represents the accomplishment of three more goals the Company set for achievement by year's end: specifically, Arrowhead completed a license with MD Anderson for the anti-obesity technology; Arrowhead started a new nanomedicine subsidiary; and founders of Ablaris have worked closely with the FDA to move the technology toward the clinic.

"This is a very big opportunity for us and it combines all the components we look for when building a subsidiary," said Arrowhead President and CEO Dr. Chris Anzalone. "First, it addresses a large underserved market with world-class science at an advanced stage of development that is expected to move rapidly into the clinic. Second, it is based on platform technology rather than a single compound, providing Ablaris with multiple shots on goal and the ability to generate follow-on products. Third, it is extraordinarily capital efficient with Ablaris avoiding the direct costs associated with preparing for and running the initial Phase 1 clinical trial. Fourth, Ablaris has attracted sufficient outside capital to cover upfront license payments and initial operating expenses such that Arrowhead may conserve its capital. Finally, Ablaris fits well within our broader strategy as a nanomedicine company. I am very excited about working with Drs. Arap and Pasqualini on this exciting technology and compelling market opportunity."

Healthcare costs attributable to obesity have been estimated to be as high as $147 billion per year in the U.S. alone, and this has been forecast to grow to $344 billion by 2018. This is clearly a large and growing unmet medical need, as it has been over a decade since the FDA has approved a new weight loss drug. For this reason, Arrowhead has been keenly interested in the obesity market but also cautious about finding a platform that could deliver a balance of high efficacy and low side effects that would be acceptable by the FDA.

The Ablaris technology is designed to specifically kill blood vessels feeding white fat tissue, and substantial data have been generated in rodents and three different species of non-human primates. This platform is broad and could lead to a large number of potential compounds, hence Ablaris is expected to have great flexibility in follow-on drug candidates. The compounds are administered via simple subcutaneous injection and have led to the destruction and absorption of fat, or adipose tissue, in study animals. Importantly, the primary mode of action is believed to be at the site of the fat tissue rather the central nervous system. Many obesity drug candidates have targeted the brain and, therefore, have had difficult regulatory paths due to the complexity of altering brain chemistry and off target effects. Data using Ablaris's lead candidate have already been reported in well-respected, peer-reviewed scientific journals and further publications are expected throughout 2011. Reports have shown significant and rapid reductions in body weight in the form of reduced body fat. For instance, published data include reports that obese study animals lost nearly one-third of their body weight after one month of daily subcutaneous injections. Weight loss was due to a combination of destruction of fat and a decrease in appetite and resulting food intake. It is believed that the latter is caused by natural chemical interactions between the diminishing fat and the central nervous system rather than a direct action of the compound on the brain.

"The technology that Ablaris is developing takes a completely different approach to weight loss," said noted obesity expert Dr. Randy Seeley, Professor of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati and Executive Director of the Cincinnati Diabetes and Obesity Center. "This technology limits the blood vessels that support adipose tissue. In my research lab, we have validated that this approach results in profound weight loss in several pre-clinical models. Moreover, the weight loss was due to animals eating less. Consequently, this unique approach produces appetite suppression but does so by acting at adipose tissue rather than by acting directly on the brain."

While positive animal data do not ensure positive and safe results in humans, the Ablaris technology has generated over 6 years of animal data across 5 species and multiple different and independent laboratories. Drs. Arap and Pasqualini and their team have had substantial interactions with the FDA, and management believes that in 2011 patients will begin receiving the Ablaris lead compound in a Phase I clinical trial. The expensive and time consuming process of manufacturing and packaging sufficient quantities of drug candidate for a Phase I clinical trial has been completed and Ablaris is not responsible for these costs. FDA required pre-clinical toxicity studies are nearly complete and Ablaris will not assume any of these costs. The initial Phase 1 clinical trial has been planned and the site has been secured. Importantly, Ablaris is not responsible for any of the direct costs associated with this trial. With these significant costs already covered, Ablaris plans to allocate the outside capital it raised to cover upfront costs of the license agreement and initial development of follow-on drug candidates.

Source:
Arrowhead Research Corporation

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USDA Breaking News: Combat Obesity, School Lunches To Change Drastically

Sorry kids, say goodbye to chips, tater tots and chocolate milk. In a move to change the practices of school lunch services that have helped drive the United States into a state of obesity emergency, the USDA made public new recommendations to overhaul the 15 year old methods being used in our children's schools that affect more than 32 million American students.

Salt content would be cut by more than half, reduced fat milk products would be the norm and all grains would be whole, and even though veggies are good for you, kids don't need the starch that is contained in potatoes for example, so those would be limited to a cup serving a week.

Health professionals have described child obesity as a national epidemic. About nine million kids are affected. That amounts to 15% of American children, aged 6 to 11 years, who are considerably overweight and according to 2008 statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 17% of children and adolescents 2 to 19 years old are obese.

This number has actually tripled in the past 30 years. And the rates for obesity are actually greater for minority children. Over 25% of Black and Hispanic kids are overweight.

Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%.

Thirty-three states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; nine of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%.

Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack states:

"The United States is facing an obesity epidemic and the crisis of poor diets threatens the future of our children and our nation. With many children consuming as many as half their daily calories at school, strengthening nutritional standards is an important step in the Obama administration's effort to combat childhood obesity and improve the health and wellbeing of all our kids. If we don't contain obesity in this country, it's going to eat us alive in terms of health care costs."

The announcement comes after President Barack Obama signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act on December 13, 2010 that will help schools pay for the healthier foods, which often are more expensive. This new law is meant to encourage better eating habits in part by giving the federal government more authority to set standards for food sold in vending machines and elsewhere on school grounds.

Mr. Vilsack said he understood that the new standards may pose some challenges for school districts but said they were necessary. Among other things, the $4.5 billion measure provides more money to poor areas to subsidize free meals and requires schools to abide by health guidelines drafted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To help offset the higher cost of including more fruits and vegetables, the bill increases the reimbursement rate for school lunches.

That new law also will extend similar nutrition standards to foods sold in schools that are not subsidized by the government, including snacks in vending machines.

Today's announcement is a proposal and it could be several years before the USDA issues a final rule on the standards and schools are required to make changes. The Agriculture Department also is planning to release new dietary guidelines for the general public, possibly as soon as this month. Those guidelines, revised every five years, are similarly expected to encourage less sodium consumption and more grains, fruits and vegetables.

Source: USDA

Written by Sy Kraft, B.A.
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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posted by Tom Clark on 13 Jan 2011 at 1:36 pm

Kids need to eat healthier foods. Their obesity stems from poor nutrition, at home and school. The obesity in turn will have a huge impact on our country's health services. Better to start the remedies now.

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Life Expectancy For Today's Youth Cut Short By Obesity

For the first time in history, the next generation will not live longer, or even as long, as their parents.

"Diseases such as Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, heart conditions and joint deterioration - what were once considered 'adult' diseases - are regularly being diagnosed in children, due to the prevalence of obesity," said Jessica Bartfield, MD, internal medicine and medical weight-loss specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of the Loyola University Health System.

"What is particularly tragic is that studies have suggested that obesity in children today may contribute to a 2-5 year decline in their life expectancy, shorter than that of their parents, due to obesity related diseases that are largely preventable," said Dr. Bartfield, who is part of Gottlieb's medically supervised weight-loss program involving physicians, nutritionists, exercise physiologists and behavioralists.

She says the causes are "multifactorial, including environment and culture." Genetics and parental weight status also plays a role.

"If one parent is obese, a child has a 50 percent likelihood of being obese, and if both parents are obese, that skyrockets to 80 percent likelihood," she said.

Research by the Center for Disease Control found that 80 percent of obese children between the ages of 10-15 continue to be obese at age 25. Furthermore, the earlier obesity develops in children, the more severe it tends to be as an adult.

In addition to health implications, there are psychological and social damages as well.

"In addition to decreasing years of life, obesity decreases the quality of life through social ostracism, bullying, social isolation, and poor self-esteem which can lead to poor performance in school, in jobs and in life," she said.

Top Five Ways We Can Reverse The Obesity Trend

1 - Parents take charge. "Focus on getting the family healthy, not putting someone on a diet," she said. "Monitor and take accountability for what the family is eating. Plan meals, set limits and take the team approach."

2 - Involve the Kids. "As a family, create a weekly meal plan, look up calorie counts, make a grocery list, read product labels, choose fresh rather than packaged and get everyone's participation," said Dr. Bartfield. "Everyone has to get on board to be successful."

3 - Add fresh fruits and vegetables. "Replace applesauce for oil in baked goods, add carrots, broccoli and kale to soups and omelettes, cut up fresh fruit as a side dish," said Dr. Bartfield. "Even if it is dipped in low-calorie whipped topping or low-calorie salad dressing (moderately) to make the fruit or vegetable more appealing to kids."

4 - Cut liquid calories. "Soda, flavored and full fat milk, fruit punches and fruit -flavored beverages are loaded in sugar and empty calories," says Dr. Bartfield. "Substitute 2 percent for whole milk, or skim for 2 percent, and try adding water, seltzer or club soda to juices to cut calories."

5 - Prioritize breakfast and keep meals consistent. "Eating within the first hour of waking up powers the brain and jump-starts the metabolism for the rest of the day," said Dr. Bartfield. "Choose protein and fiber in breakfast foods to boost endurance." Establish set meal times, and calories per meal, and stick to them, with defined healthy options for snacking.

Keeping It Real

"In overweight children with medical complications or obese children, strive for a one-pound individual weight loss per month," said Dr. Bartfield, who uses guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Focus on weight maintenance for overweight kids without medical complications. As kids continue to grow in height, their percentage Body Mass Index (BMI) on the growth chart will decrease."

Illinois Is At-Risk

Dr. Bartfield practices in Chicago, a city whose youth population has increased in obesity. "Most recently, data from 2007 National Survey of Children's Health found Illinois to have the 4th highest rate of child obesity in the nation 1 out of every 5 children is obese. In particular, our children entering schools in Chicago (age 3-7) have about double the rate of obesity as the national average of similar aged kids."

Source: Loyola University Health System

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Feast Or Famine; Researchers Identify Leptin Receptor's Sidekick As A Target For Appetite Regulation

A study by researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida and Washington University School of Medicine adds a new twist to the body of evidence suggesting human obesity is due in part to genetic factors. While studying hormone receptors in laboratory mice, neuroscientists identified a new molecular player responsible for the regulation of appetite and metabolism.

In the Jan. 11 online issue of PLoS Biology, the authors report that mice engineered not to express the lipoprotein receptor LRP1, in the brain's hypothalamus, began to eat uncontrollably, growing obese as well as lethargic. They found that LRP1, a major transporter of lipids and proteins into brain cells, is a "co-receptor" with the leptin receptor meaning that both the leptin and LRP1 receptors need to work together to transmit leptin signals.

Leptin decides whether fat should be stored or used, resulting in lethargy or energy. When working properly, the hormone, which is made when body cells take in fat from food, travels to the brain to tamp down appetite.

"If a person is born with too little gene expression in the leptin pathway, which includes its receptors, or the circuitry is not functioning well, then leptin will not work as well as it should," says the study's lead investigator, neuroscientist Guojun Bu, Ph.D., of Mayo Clinic. "Appetite will increase, and body fat will be stored."

Given these results, Dr. Bu says it may be possible to develop a treatment that increases gene expression in one or both of the protein receptors, which then increases the messages meant to decrease appetite sent to the brain.

The serendipitous findings were born out of Dr. Bu's primary research focus, Alzheimer's disease. He has been studying how cholesterol, essential to the smooth functioning of neurons, is carried from star-shaped astrocytes to the surface of neurons by apolipoprotein E (APOE). There are two major receptors for APOE on brain neurons, and LRP1 is one of them.

Inheriting one version of APOE APOE4 is a known risk factor for development of Alzheimer's disease, and Dr. Bu has found that APOE4 is less effective at transporting cholesterol. To understand what role LRP1 plays in bringing APOE4 into neurons, he created a knockout mouse model with no expression of LRP1 in its forebrain neurons; the rest of its body expressed the receptor normally.

He found neurons lacking LRP1 had even less ability to absorb cholesterol, and that they lost synaptic contact with other neurons, impairing their ability to retain memory.

But Dr. Bu was surprised to find the mice suddenly gained weight. "This is the opposite of what had been observed in mice who did not have the receptor in their body fat cells," he says. "Those animals became skinny because they couldn't absorb enough lipoproteins."

The knockout mice were indistinguishable from control mice for the first six months of life but then gained weight rapidly, a phenomenon that correlated with a decrease in LPR1 expression in the central nervous system. At 12 months old, the genetically engineered mice had twice as much body fat as control mice, lacked energy, and were insulin resistant. "Together, these results indicate that LRP1, which is critical in lipid metabolism, also regulates food intake and energy balance in the adult central nervous system," Dr. Bu says.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer's Association.

Source: Mayo Clinic

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Compulsory Nutritional Information In Menus Makes No Difference To Calorie Intake

You would have thought that forcing restaurants to list nutritional information in their menus would make people more careful about what they ate - apparently it makes no difference at all. In January 2009, King County, Washington, USA, made it compulsory for fast food outlets with 15 or more locations to disclose nutritional data on their menus, including calorie information.

Authorities at King County, which includes the city of Seattle, said their intention was to try to address the rise in obesity rates in the area.

Scientists from the health department of Seattle and King County, as well as some from Duke-National University of Singapore gathered information on purchasing behavior of Taco Time customers in the area. They found that after 13 months of mandatory menu labeling, people's purchasing habits had not changed at all.

Sales value and average calories for each transaction were not affected by the measure, the authors wrote.

Lead author Eric Finkelstein, Ph.D., said:

"Given the results of prior studies, we had expected the results to be small, but we were surprised that we could not detect even the slightest hint of changes in purchasing behavior as a result of the legislation. The results suggest that mandatory menu labeling, unless combined with other interventions, may be unlikely to significantly influence the obesity epidemic."

Federal authorities are planning to make all fast-food chains with at least 20 outlets include nutritional data on all their menus. The researchers wonder whether this may be a mistake.

Coauthor Kiersten Strombotne of Duke-NUS, said:

"However, it may be that detailed nutritional information is not the best way to convey the health content of fast foods. For example, if you know a store offers diet and regular soda, does showing how many calories are in regular soda really offer any relevant information? Those who want a lower calorie drink already know to drink the diet soda."

Before mandatory labeling was introduced, Taco Time already had a "Healthy Highlights" logo option on its menu, something which may have undermined the impact of the county's health drive, Finkelstein suggested.

Finkelstein said, said:

"A simple logo identifying which foods are healthiest may be all it takes to convey that information to those consumers who wish to choose a healthier alternative. The additional information appears not to have made a difference."

After the Nutrition Facts Panel was required nationally for pre-packaged foods, obesity continued growing in the USA regardless, Finkelstein pointed out.

Additional studies are needed to find out which sources of information might have the biggest impact on consumer decisions towards healthier eating.

Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine (Citation to come)

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
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Spanish Heart Risk Study Challenges Image Of Healthy Mediterranean Diet And Lifestyle

A Spanish study has challenged the long-held belief that people in the Mediterranean all enjoy more healthy diets and lifestyles, after discovering alarmingly high cardiovascular risk factors similar to those found in the UK and USA.

Research published in the January issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, also found strong links between low levels of education and increased risk.

"Cardiovascular diseases account for 33 per cent of deaths in Spain, making it the main cause of mortality in the country" says Dr Ricardo Gómez-Huelgas from the Internal Medicine Department at Hospital Carlos Haya, Malaga.

The study was carried out on a random selection of 2,270 adults attending a healthcare centre in Malaga, Andalucia, a region with one of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease in Spain. The participants ranged from 18 to 80, with an average of just under 44 years, 50.3 per cent were female and 58 per cent had low educational levels.

More than 60 per cent were overweight or obese and 77 per cent did not get enough exercise. The researchers also found that 28 per cent smoked, 33 per cent had high blood pressure, seven per cent had diabetes and 65 per cent had high cholesterol levels.

Just under 30 per cent of the patients had three or more cardiovascular risk factors that could be modified by changes to their lifestyle or diet.

"Most of the cardiovascular risk factors increased with age, with the exception of smoking and low levels of 'good' cholestererol, and we noted some differences between the sexes" says Dr Gómez-Huelgas.

"We also found that a low education level was associated with a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and this association was significant when it came to smoking, obesity, abdominal obesity and high levels of fatty molecules.

"The prevalence of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol in Spain have all risen at an alarming rate over the last 20 years and this is likely to cause future increases in bad health and death due to cardiovascular disease."

Other key findings of the study include:

* Men had a higher prevalence of smoking, high blood pressure, high levels of fatty molecules and impaired fasting glucose - which can lead to diabetes - than women.

* Women were more likely to demonstrate a higher prevalence of physical inactivity and abdominal obesity. Young female smokers with sedentary lifestyles were a particular concern.

* Obesity increased with age - 84 per cent of people over 50 were overweight or obese and 82 per cent had abdominal obesity, compared with 61 per cent and 56 per cent for the study as a whole.

"Our findings are cause for concern" says Dr Gómez-Huelgas. "We found high rates of obesity, abnormal lipid and fat levels and hypertension in the study group. And the high rates of smoking and sedentary lifestyles in young women raises fears for a large increase in cardiovascular deaths in this group in the near future. There are also issues around public health messages for people with lower education levels who tend to have higher risk factors.

"The drive to reduce cardiovascular disease by tackling these risk factors poses a real challenge for the healthcare profession. We hope that our findings can help to reduce risk factors among the most vulnerable sections of the community."

"The study by Dr Gómez-Huelgas and colleagues challenges the belief that cardiovascular disease, one of the fastest growing diseases in the developing world, is more likely to affect the chilly north than the sunny south" says Dr Anthony Wierzbicki, a London-based Consultant in Metabolic Medicine.

"In fact, the risk levels found in this study show parallels with the USA and are worse than those reported by recent UK studies.

"The myth that the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle is so healthy is based on 40-year old data from rural areas and so much has changed during those four decades. Studies like this are invaluable because they identify those people most at risk and provide valuable information that helps us to improve both screening and prevention strategies."

Paper: Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in an urban adult population from southern Spain. IMAP study. IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice. Gomez-Huelgas et al. 65.1, pp 35-40. (January 2011). DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02543.x

Editorial: Cardiovascular screening: which populations, what measure of risk? Wierzbicki A. IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice. 65.1, pp 3-5. (January 2011). DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02566.x

Source: Wiley-Blackwell

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Parents Are Key To Getting Children To Turn Off Television

With the U.S. national goal of ending childhood obesity within a generation, experts worldwide are looking for ways to keep children active and away from the television.

According to a study entitled "Movement Skills and Physical Activity in Obese Children: Randomized Controlled Trial" published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, the official scientific journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, parents who employ a physical activity and/or dietary intervention can reduce their overweight child's screen time by nearly one hour per day.

Researchers at the Universities of Wollongong and Newcastle in Australia studied the effects of three intervention strategies - a physical activity skill development program, a dietary modification program and a combination of the two - on 165 Australian children. All participants were between ages five and nine and were classified as overweight.

In addition to monitoring the children's body mass index, diet, exercise and skill proficiency during the study, researchers also tracked the children's screen behaviors, which comprise time spent watching television or DVD programs, playing electronic games and using the computer or Internet for fun.

At the end of the study period, children in all three intervention groups reduced their daily screen time by, on average, 55 minutes after six months and 39 minutes after one year. However, children in the dietary modification program were the only ones unable to maintain their screen time reduction after six months. Although this group reduced their daily screen time by 65 minutes after six months, they gained back more than half of this time after one year. One possible explanation for this, researchers suggest, could be a lack of targeted parental support related to screen time in the dietary modification group.

"In the physical activity skill development program (which was also included in the combination group), we targeted screen behaviors directly through a single behavior-change session with parents and follow-up telephone calls during the six month program," said Dylan Cliff, Ph.D., the lead author of the study. "The findings suggest that parental support could be the missing piece to help overweight children change their screen time behaviors."

A study released in 2010 by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that U.S. youth ages eight to 18 spend an average of seven hours, 38 minutes each day using entertainment media such as a television and computer.

"It's a logical connection - the more time a child spends each day in sedentary behaviors, like in front of the computer or television, the less time they have to be active," said Cliff. "The results of our study indicate that with appropriate parental support, a physical activity and/or dietary intervention program can successfully help overweight children turn off the television, be more active and achieve a healthier weight. The ultimate goal for all of us is a healthier generation of children."

ACSM and the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children and adolescents participate in at least one hour of physical activity each day.

Source:
American College of Sports Medicine

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Family, Friends, Social Ties Influence Weight Status In Young Adults

Does obesity tend to "cluster" among young adults? And if so, what impact does it have on both their weight and weight-related behaviors? That's what researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center set out to answer to better understand how social influences affect both weight status and weight loss intentions in this difficult-to-reach age group.

According to the study, published online by the journal Obesity, overweight and obese young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 were more likely to have overweight romantic partners and best friends and also had more overweight casual friends and family members compared to normal weight peers. Also, overweight and obese young adults who reported having social contacts trying to lose weight had greater weight loss intentions.

Why is this an important issue? Forty percent of young adults age 18-25 are considered overweight or obese, and young adults experience the highest rate of weight gain per year - typically one to two pounds - of any age group. While previous research has consistently demonstrated the powerful impact of social influence on health behaviors, especially for younger individuals, no previous study has examined whether social ties influence weight status and weight loss intentions among young adults.

Lead author Tricia Leahey, PhD, a researcher with The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, also points out that young adults are less likely to participate in behavioral weight loss interventions, and when they do, they tend to lose less weight than older adults. "Identifying the factors that influence both weight status and weight control in this high-risk age group can help us develop appealing and effective obesity treatment and prevention programs for this population," she said.

The study included 288 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25; 151 individuals were of normal weight, while 137 were considered overweight or obese (BMI of 25 or greater). The majority of participants were female and Caucasian. All participants completed questionnaires to determine their weight and height, number of overweight social contacts (including best friends, romantic partners, casual friends, relatives and colleagues/classmates) and perceived social norms for obesity and obesity-related behaviors.

Overweight and obese study participants completed additional questionnaires to assess how many of their overweight social contacts were currently trying to lose weight, perceived social norms for weight loss (such as how frequently social contacts encouraged them to lose weight or whether the people closest to them would approve if they were to lose weight), and intentions to lose weight within the next three months.

Compared to normal weight young adults, those who were overweight or obese were more likely to have an overweight romantic partner (25 percent vs. 14 percent) and an overweight best friend (24 percent vs. 14 percent). "Our data suggests that obesity 'clusters' in this population. But interestingly, social norms for obesity did not differ between the two groups and did not account for the clustering," said Leahey. "Both groups reported similarly low levels of social acceptability for being overweight, eating unhealthy foods and being inactive."

The study also showed overweight and obese young adults who had more social contacts trying to lose weight were more likely to want to lose weight themselves. Social norms for weight loss, such as encouragement and approval from social contacts, account for this association, researchers say.

Leahey is also assistant professor of psychiatry/human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Co-authors included Rena Wing, PhD, Jessica LaRose, PhD, and Joseph Fava, PhD, all of the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital and Alpert Medical School.

Wing is leading an innovative new study to help young adults avoid gaining the weight in the first place. The Study of Novel Approaches to Prevention (SNAP), funded by the National Institutes of Health, will compare two different behavioral approaches to weight gain prevention in 18- to-35-year-olds. One is focused on small lifestyle changes, such as walking an extra mile each day, while the other involves larger changes, like going on a periodic diet, as a buffer against future weight gain. For more information, please visit http://www.snapstudy.org.

Source:
Jessica Collins Grimes
Lifespan

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Zafgen Announces Positive Topline Phase 1b Data For ZGN-433 In Obesity

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
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Zafgen, Inc., a pharmaceutical company pioneering novel obesity therapeutics to help the body regain and sustain a lean, healthy state by targeting imbalances in fat metabolism, has announced positive topline results from its Phase 1b study of ZGN-433, a methionine aminopeptidase 2 inhibitor (MetAP2), for the treatment of severe obesity. The Phase 1b study met its primary and secondary objectives and showed that ZGN-433 at a dose of 0.9 mg/m2 was well tolerated and reduced body weight by a median value of 1 kg per week and 3.1 percent over 26 days relative to placebo in severely obese subjects. MetAP2 inhibitors work by re-establishing balance to the ways the body metabolizes fat, leading to substantial loss of body weight.

The results of the study also demonstrated a decline in hunger as well as meaningful changes in lipid parameters following treatment at 0.9 mg/m2. These changes included a 38 percent reduction in triglyceride levels and a 23 percent reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels (p<0.05). Additionally, beta-hydroxybutyrate, an indicator of fat oxidation, increased to levels seen with very low-energy diets. No treatment-related serious adverse events were observed. The data will be presented at the Keystone Symposia on Obesity in Keystone, Colo., on January 15, at 2:30 p.m. MST during the "Hot Topics in Obesity Therapy" workshop.

"These findings are significant as they show MetAP2 inhibition has the potential to drive impressive weight loss with excellent tolerability and favorable metabolic effects in severely obese individuals, and demonstrate that the preclinical pharmacology of ZGN-433 is translating well to human studies," said Thomas Hughes, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Zafgen, Inc. "The results show the magnitude of weight loss approaches the commonly recommended maximal rate of safe weight loss, which is exceeded only by gastric bypass surgery, duodeno-jejunal bypass liner and restrictive therapy. If sustained, the rate of weight loss would be consistent with a 6-9 month course of treatment in individuals requiring a 20-40 percent reduction in weight."

A double-blind, placebo-controlled multiple ascending dose study was performed to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of ZGN-433 in reducing weight in severely obese females with a body mass index (BMI) between 32-45 with co-morbidities allowed. Twenty-four people were enrolled in the core study. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability, and determine the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ZGN-433 in obese individuals. The secondary objective was to obtain information on weight loss in obese individuals exposed to eight intravenous doses of ZGN-433 administered over a four-week period. Patients were allowed to eat normally and were not counselled to exercise. Individuals received ZGN-433 or placebo twice weekly by intravenous administration over a four-week treatment period for a total of eight doses at three different dose levels (0.22, 0.65, and 1.96 mg per administration).

"ZGN-433 has the potential to be the first drug to produce weight loss approaching that of bariatric surgery," said Steven R. Smith, M.D., scientific director of the Translational Research Institute for Metabolism and Diabetes and professor at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Orlando. "Given the excellent tolerability and safety seen in this four-week study, the program shows early promise to provide a positive risk/benefit proposition. While the long-term safety and efficacy of the compound remain to be established, there is nothing in the industry drug pipeline this advanced that has shown this kind of efficacy. These early results are very encouraging, and there remains a significant unmet medical need for new obesity therapeutics that are both safe and efficacious."

"While Zafgen's understanding of the compound's mechanism of action has evolved significantly since the company's early days, MetAP2 inhibition for the treatment of obesity and diabetes appears to translate well across species," said Alan D. Cherrington, Ph.D., professor of medicine and molecular physiology and biophysics, Vanderbilt University, and former American Diabetes Association president. "These positive initial clinical and preclinical findings show that MetAP2 inhibitor actions point to utility for the treatment of severe obesity, and also show intriguing potential for use in broader indications related to control of glucose, lipid and cholesterol metabolism, including hepatic glucose intolerance, fatty liver and dyslipidemia."

Zafgen is pioneering novel obesity therapeutics to help the body regain and sustain a lean, healthy state by targeting imbalances in fat metabolism. Research has shown that fat metabolism differs between obese and lean individuals. Recent studies indicate that once a person becomes obese, the body undergoes certain changes and is "programmed" to make and store more fat. These metabolic adaptations that take place in obese people impair the normal release of fatty acids from adipose tissue and restrict the ability to stimulate formation of ketone bodies (a byproduct of the breakdown of fatty acids). Simultaneously, the body becomes much more efficient in diverting calories from food and storing them as fat.

About ZGN-433

Zafgen's lead compound, ZGN-433, is being studied as a pharmacological alternative to bariatric surgery for severe obesity. The company plans to initiate Phase 2a studies with ZGN-433 administered via subcutaneous injection in 2011. Zafgen is also developing new compounds suitable for oral administration for use in broader indications as part of its second generation program. ZGN-433 was initially developed by CKD Pharmaceuticals. The molecule was originally profiled for efficacy in the treatment of solid tumors. Zafgen holds exclusive worldwide rights (exclusive of Korea) for development and commercialization of ZGN-433.

About Obesity and Fat Metabolism

Obesity continues to be one of the world's most costly and underserved health issues. As such, there exists a tremendous unmet medical need for effective drug therapies to treat obesity, which has reached epidemic proportions and is growing at an alarming rate. According to the Worldwide Health Organization (WHO), the number of obese adults had increased to at least 400 million worldwide in 2005, with more than 700 million projected by 20151. If current trends continue, 103 million American adults will be considered obese by 20182. The U.S. is expected to spend $344 billion on health care costs attributable to obesity in 2018 if rates continue to increase at their current levels with obesity-related direct expenditures expected to account for more than 21 percent of the nation's direct health care spending in 20182.

Obesity leads to serious health consequences. As BMI increases, so does one's risk for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and some cancers, compounding the urgency for new and effective treatment options1. Currently available weight loss treatments function by blocking fat absorption or signalling feelings of fullness or diminished appetite in the brain. These drugs are often associated with undesirable side effects and limited efficacy that fails to provide sustainable weight loss in many patients.

1 World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/index.html

2 The Future Costs of Obesity: National and State Estimates of the Impact of Obesity on Direct Health Care Expenses, A collaborative report from United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention, Based on research by Kenneth E. Thorpe, Ph.D. of Emory University, November 2009

Source: Zafgen, Inc.

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posted by herbz on 10 Jan 2011 at 4:41 am

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Go Lite is an extremely powerful and effective Ayurvedic weight loss solution. It is a proprietary blend of a few Ayurvedic herbs which give the formulation incomparable efficacy.

Go Lite allows one to lose weight in a safe, sustainable and healthy way. Many of the weight loss solutions available today work in an invasive and unsustainable manner, causing several adverse side effects. Go Lite on the other hand, works in harmony with the natural balance of the body and is extremely effective with stable and lasting results. All the ingredients in Go Lite are regular food ingredients and have absolutely no side effects.

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