Obesity Linked To Income, Education; Not Sprawl

Obesity is more prevalent in areas with lower educational attainment and certain ethnic profiles than in areas of suburban sprawl, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Researchers at UIC's Urban Transportation Center revisited their 2005 analysis of data from about 7 million northern Illinois drivers licenses, which found that body-mass index scores in most city neighborhoods differ little from those in the farthest outlying areas.

The 2005 findings contradicted the conventional wisdom that city dwellers are thinner because their dense, centralized environment encourages walking, while suburbanites and rural residents tend to drive to widely scattered destinations.

The new analysis expanded the data set by comparing personal and environmental attributes at the zip-code level throughout the 2005 study area: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties in the Chicago metropolitan area, and the more rural DeKalb, Kendall, Grundy and Kankakee counties.

The data confirmed that sprawl is not significantly associated with obesity, the researchers said, although drivers living in most neighborhoods closer to downtown Chicago have slightly lower body-mass indexes than those living very far from the city.

Within zip codes, body-mass indexes increased with age and male gender, and also with the percentage of zip-code residents who commute by car, are African American or Latino, or own their homes.

The prevalence of obesity decreases in zip codes with higher median income and more residents who have attended college.

Paul Metaxatos, UIC research assistant professor, said the results of the study can inform urban planning initiatives.

"Ambitious land use policies to address obesity may have little success with the low-income ethnic minorities who are most in need of assistance," Metaxatos said. "Those in marginal, transportation-disadvantaged communities would benefit from better access to medical help, better food markets, and information about lifestyle modifications."

UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.

Source:
University of Illinois at Chicago

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Metabolic Syndrome Linked To Memory Loss In Older People

Older people with larger waistlines, high blood pressure and other risk factors that make up metabolic syndrome may be at a higher risk for memory loss, according to a study published in the February 2, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Metabolic syndrome was defined as having three or more of the following risk factors: high blood pressure, excess belly fat, higher than normal triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood), high blood sugar and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, or "good" cholesterol. Metabolic syndrome has also been tied to increased risk of heart attack.

For the study, 7,087 people age 65 and older from three French cities were tested for metabolic syndrome. A total of 16 percent of the participants had metabolic syndrome. Participants were given a series of memory and cognitive function tests two and four years later. The tests included a memory test, a test of visual working memory and a test of word fluency.

Researchers found that people who had metabolic syndrome were 20 percent more likely to have cognitive decline on the memory test than those who did not have metabolic syndrome. Those with metabolic syndrome also were 13 percent more likely to have cognitive decline on the visual working memory test compared to those who did not have the syndrome. Specifically, higher triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol were linked to poorer memory scores; diabetes, but not higher fasting blood sugar, was linked to poorer visual working memory and word fluency scores.

"Our study sheds new light on how metabolic syndrome and the individual factors of the disease may affect cognitive health," said study author Christelle Raffaitin, MD, of the French National Institute of Health Research in Bordeaux, France. "Our results suggest that management of metabolic syndrome may help slow down age-related memory loss, or delay the onset of dementia."

The study was conducted under a partnership agreement between the French National Institute of Health Research (INSERM), the University Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2 and Sanofi-Aventis. The 3C Study was supported by the National Fund for Health Insurance for Employees, Directorate General of Health, Mutual General Education, the Institute of Longevity and Aging, Regional Councils of Aquitaine and Bourgogne and the Foundation of France. The Lille Genopole was supported by an unconditional grant from Eisai.

Source:
American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

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Alcoholism Risk Linked To Obesity Risk

People who are at risk of alcoholism may also have a greater risk of being obese, researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveal in an article published in Archives of General Psychiatry. The authors explained that the link between a family history of alcohol dependency and obesity risk has become more prominent over the last few years. A higher percentage of males and females with a family history of alcoholism were found to be obese in 2002 than in 1992.

First author, Richard A. Grucza, PhD., said:

"In addiction research, we often look at what we call cross-heritability, which addresses the question of whether the predisposition to one condition also might contribute to other conditions. For example, alcoholism and drug abuse are cross-heritable. This new study demonstrates a cross-heritability between alcoholism and obesity, but it also says - and this is very important - that some of the risks must be a function of the environment. The environment is what changed between the 1990s and the 2000s. It wasn't people's genes."

15% of the US population was obese in the late 1970s, compared to 33% in 2004. An obese individual has a BMI (body mass index) of at least 30, and has a significantly higher risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure), several cancers, stroke, heart disease and diabetes.

In this latest study, researchers found that individuals with a family history of alcoholism had a higher risk of obesity, especially females. Grucza explains that this risk is growing and may be partly caused by dietary changes and the availability of more foods which interact with the same brain areas as addictive drugs.

Grucza said:

"Much of what we eat nowadays contains more calories than the food we ate in the 1970s and 1980s, but it also contains the sorts of calories - particularly a combination of sugar, salt and fat - that appeal to what are commonly called the reward centers in the brain. Alcohol and drugs affect those same parts of the brain, and our thinking was that because the same brain structures are being stimulated, overconsumption of those foods might be greater in people with a predisposition to addiction."

As Americans eat high-calorie and hyper-palatable foods which hit the reward centers in the brain with greater impact, individuals with a higher genetic risk for addiction may face a greater risk of obesity, Grucza suggests.

The team gathered data from the 1991-1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey, and the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, involving approximately 80,000 individuals.

Grucza wrote:

"We looked particularly at family history of alcoholism as a marker of risk. And we found that in 2001 and 2002, women with that history were 49 percent more likely to be obese than those without a family history of alcoholism. We also noticed a relationship in men, but it was not as striking in men as in women."

Some people may be swapping one addiction for another, Grucza suggests, hence explaining why obesity occurs more frequently in those with a family history of alcoholism. Some individuals may resist alcohol after witnessing the devastating effects of alcoholism on a family member. However, hyper-palatable high-calorie foods might substitute alcohol because they stimulate reward centers in the brain, giving them a similar experience to what they would have obtained from alcohol.

Grucza said:

"Ironically, people with alcoholism tend not to be obese. They tend to be malnourished, or at least under-nourished because many replace their food intake with alcohol. One might think that the excess calories associated with alcohol consumption could, in theory, contribute to obesity, but that's not what we saw in these individuals."

Other factors, such as smoking, alcohol intake, age and education cannot explain the link between alcoholism risk and obesity, the researchers explained.

Grucza said:

"It really does appear to be a change in the environment. I would speculate, although I can't really prove this, that a change in the food environment brought this association about. There is a whole slew of literature out there suggesting these hyper-palatable foods appeal to people with addictive tendencies, and I would guess that's what we're seeing in our study."

Alcohol, addiction and obesity researchers should be liaising more, Grucza believes. Treating one of the disorders may result in helping prevent or treat the other.

"The Emerging Link Between Alcoholism Risk and Obesity in the United States"
Richard A. Grucza, PhD; Robert F. Krueger, PhD; Susan B. Racette, PhD; Karen E. Norberg, MD; Pamela R. Hipp, MPH; Laura J. Bierut, MD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67(12):1301-1308. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.155

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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Risk For Alcoholism Linked To Risk For Obesity

The researchers noted that the association between a family history of alcoholism and obesity risk has become more pronounced in recent years. Both men and women with such a family history were more likely to be obese in 2002 than members of that same high-risk group had been in 1992.

"In addiction research, we often look at what we call cross-heritability, which addresses the question of whether the predisposition to one condition also might contribute to other conditions," says first author Richard A. Grucza, PhD. "For example, alcoholism and drug abuse are cross-heritable. This new study demonstrates a cross-heritability between alcoholism and obesity, but it also says - and this is very important - that some of the risks must be a function of the environment. The environment is what changed between the 1990s and the 2000s. It wasn't people's genes."

Obesity in the United States has doubled in recent decades from 15 percent of the population in the late 1970s to 33 percent in 2004. Obese people - those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more - have an elevated risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.

Reporting in the Archives of General Psychiatry, Grucza and his team say individuals with a family history of alcoholism, particularly women, have an elevated obesity risk. In addition, that risk seems to be growing. He speculates that may result from changes in the food we eat and the availability of more foods that interact with the same brain areas as addictive drugs.

"Much of what we eat nowadays contains more calories than the food we ate in the 1970s and 1980s, but it also contains the sorts of calories - particularly a combination of sugar, salt and fat - that appeal to what are commonly called the reward centers in the brain," says Grucza, an assistant professor of psychiatry. "Alcohol and drugs affect those same parts of the brain, and our thinking was that because the same brain structures are being stimulated, overconsumption of those foods might be greater in people with a predisposition to addiction."

Grucza hypothesized that as Americans consumed more high-calorie, hyper-palatable foods, those with a genetic risk for addiction would face an elevated risk from because of the effects of those foods on the reward centers in the brain. His team analyzed data from two large alcoholism surveys from the last two decades.

The National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey was conducted in 1991 and 1992. The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions was conducted in 2001 and 2002. Almost 80,000 people took part in the two surveys.

"We looked particularly at family history of alcoholism as a marker of risk," Grucza explains. "And we found that in 2001 and 2002, women with that history were 49 percent more likely to be obese than those without a family history of alcoholism. We also noticed a relationship in men, but it was not as striking in men as in women."

Grucza says a possible explanation for obesity in those with a family history of alcoholism is that some individuals may substitute one addiction for another. After seeing a close relative deal with alcohol problems, a person may shy away from drinking, but high-calorie, hyper-palatable foods also can stimulate the reward centers in their brains and give them effects similar to what they might experience from alcohol.

"Ironically, people with alcoholism tend not to be obese," Grucza says. "They tend to be malnourished, or at least under-nourished because many replace their food intake with alcohol. One might think that the excess calories associated with alcohol consumption could, in theory, contribute to obesity, but that's not what we saw in these individuals."

Grucza says other variables, from smoking, to alcohol intake, to demographic factors like age and education levels don't seem to explain the association between alcoholism risk and obesity.

"It really does appear to be a change in the environment," he says. "I would speculate, although I can't really prove this, that a change in the food environment brought this association about. There is a whole slew of literature out there suggesting these hyper-palatable foods appeal to people with addictive tendencies, and I would guess that's what we're seeing in our study."

The results, he says, suggest there should be more cross-talk between alcohol and addiction researchers and those who study obesity. He says there may be some people for whom treating one of those disorders also might aid the other.

----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------

Grucza RA, Krueger RF, Racette SB, Norberg KE, Hipp PR, Bierut LJ. The emerging link between alcoholism risk and obesity in the United States, Archives of General Psychiatry, vol. 67(12), pp. 1301-1308. Dec. 2010

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Washington University in St Louis

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View the original article here

Addiction Research Reveals Risk For Alcoholism Linked To Risk For Obesity

Addiction researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a risk for alcoholism also may put individuals at risk for obesity.

The researchers noted that the association between a family history of alcoholism and obesity risk has become more pronounced in recent years. Both men and women with such a family history were more likely to be obese in 2002 than members of that same high-risk group had been in 1992.

"In addiction research, we often look at what we call cross-heritability, which addresses the question of whether the predisposition to one condition also might contribute to other conditions," says first author Richard A. Grucza, PhD. "For example, alcoholism and drug abuse are cross-heritable. This new study demonstrates a cross-heritability between alcoholism and obesity, but it also says - and this is very important - that some of the risks must be a function of the environment. The environment is what changed between the 1990s and the 2000s. It wasn't people's genes."

Obesity in the United States has doubled in recent decades from 15 percent of the population in the late 1970s to 33 percent in 2004. Obese people - those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more - have an elevated risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.

Reporting in the Archives of General Psychiatry, Grucza and his team say individuals with a family history of alcoholism, particularly women, have an elevated obesity risk. In addition, that risk seems to be growing. He speculates that may result from changes in the food we eat and the availability of more foods that interact with the same brain areas as addictive drugs.

"Much of what we eat nowadays contains more calories than the food we ate in the 1970s and 1980s, but it also contains the sorts of calories - particularly a combination of sugar, salt and fat - that appeal to what are commonly called the reward centers in the brain," says Grucza, an assistant professor of psychiatry. "Alcohol and drugs affect those same parts of the brain, and our thinking was that because the same brain structures are being stimulated, overconsumption of those foods might be greater in people with a predisposition to addiction."

Grucza hypothesized that as Americans consumed more high-calorie, hyper-palatable foods, those with a genetic risk for addiction would face an elevated risk from because of the effects of those foods on the reward centers in the brain. His team analyzed data from two large alcoholism surveys from the last two decades.

The National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey was conducted in 1991 and 1992. The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions was conducted in 2001 and 2002. Almost 80,000 people took part in the two surveys.

"We looked particularly at family history of alcoholism as a marker of risk," Grucza explains. "And we found that in 2001 and 2002, women with that history were 49 percent more likely to be obese than those without a family history of alcoholism. We also noticed a relationship in men, but it was not as striking in men as in women."

Grucza says a possible explanation for obesity in those with a family history of alcoholism is that some individuals may substitute one addiction for another. After seeing a close relative deal with alcohol problems, a person may shy away from drinking, but high-calorie, hyper-palatable foods also can stimulate the reward centers in their brains and give them effects similar to what they might experience from alcohol.

"Ironically, people with alcoholism tend not to be obese," Grucza says. "They tend to be malnourished, or at least under-nourished because many replace their food intake with alcohol. One might think that the excess calories associated with alcohol consumption could, in theory, contribute to obesity, but that's not what we saw in these individuals."

Grucza says other variables, from smoking, to alcohol intake, to demographic factors like age and education levels don't seem to explain the association between alcoholism risk and obesity.

"It really does appear to be a change in the environment," he says. "I would speculate, although I can't really prove this, that a change in the food environment brought this association about. There is a whole slew of literature out there suggesting these hyper-palatable foods appeal to people with addictive tendencies, and I would guess that's what we're seeing in our study."

The results, he says, suggest there should be more cross-talk between alcohol and addiction researchers and those who study obesity. He says there may be some people for whom treating one of those disorders also might aid the other.

Notes:

Grucza RA, Krueger RF, Racette SB, Norberg KE, Hipp PR, Bierut LJ. The emerging link between alcoholism risk and obesity in the United States, Archives of General Psychiatry, vol. 67(12), pp. 1301-1308. Dec. 2010

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Washington University School of Medicine

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

All opinions are moderated before being added.

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

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For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

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