By Rhonda Siddall

28th February, 2008

INTERIM results from the ADVANCE Study, involving 11,140 high-risk patients with Type 2 diabetes provide no evidence of an increased risk of death among those patients receiving intensive treatment to lower blood glucose.

 
By Rhonda Siddall
15th February 2008
 
Genehan AG, Tyson M, Egger M, et al. BMI and incidence of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. The Lancet 371:569-578

INCREASED body mass index (BMI) increases the risk of common and less common cancers, new research has confirmed.
 
A paper published in this week’s Lancet also showed that the level of risk can vary between the sexes and different ethnic groups depending on the type of cancer.

 

The National Obesity Forum (NOF) remains convinced that the use of anti-obesity medication, in line with NICE guidance, is justified in serious medical condition.

Rhonda Siddall [NOF Special Correspondent] 16th November 2007

Patients taking anti-obesity drugs will see only modest weight loss and many will remain significantly obese or overweight, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. But the National Obesity Forum (NOF) remains convinced that the use of anti-obesity medication is clinically justified (see full statement NOF reaction to BMJ anti-obesity drugs study).

 

The Government and industry are not doing enough to help people live healthy lives, says the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in a report on public health ethics published today. The report, which highlights the importance of reducing health inequalities, looks specifically at alcohol, obesity, smoking, infectious disease and fluoridation of water.
 
“People often reject the idea of a ‘nanny state’,” said Lord Krebs, who chaired the committee that produced the report. “But the Government has a duty to look after the health of everyone and sometimes that means guiding or restricting our choices.” 

Rhonda Siddall [NOF special correspondent]  01 November 2007

A landmark report has recommended that everyone should aim to be as lean as possible within the healthy weight range to cut their risk of at least six cancers including breast, bowel and pancreatic cancer.  

Identifying weight as a key factor in many cancers, the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) report said that convincing evidence exists that excess body fat is the main culprit in many common cancers. The report is the largest review of links between diet and cancer, based on more than 7,000 studies. Ten years ago, when the WCRF published its previous report on diet and cancer, this review said the evidence showed obesity and overweight were implicated in only one type of cancer (cancer of the womb lining). But the report’s authors say that the evidence that has accumulated over the past decade now shows that excess body fat is a significant risk factor for a range of cancers. Professor Sir Michael Marmot, chair of the expert panel that interpreted the evidence, said that even modest weight gains were associated with cancer risk. He told a press conference at the Royal Society yesterday: “The healthiest thing is to be as low as possible within the normal range.”  

 

BMJ 2007 doi: 10.1136/bmj.39320.843947.BE By Rhonda Siddall [Colin Waine]

 

A researcher at the University of Adelaide, Australia, has discovered scientific evidence that obesity is a key factor in infertility – because of how it affects women's eggs.  While obesity has long been thought to be a major factor in couples' inability to conceive, this is the first time the effects of obesity on the egg have been discovered.  The research findings – using female mice – have been made by PhD student Cadence Minge in the University of Adelaide's Research Centre for Reproductive Health. 

Mayo Clinic Proceedings  August 2007

 

If there's one place where it's a good idea to come clean, it's the doctor's office. Patients with an ache, a symptom or a bad habit like smoking do no one any good if they keep it to themselves. Yet there's one time doctors are often less than forthcoming: when they have to tell patients they need to lose weight.

Obesity August 2007

 

A new study suggests that overweight children tend to miss more days of school than their normal-weight peers -- a fact, researchers say, that could put them at an academic disadvantage.   In a study of more than 1,000 students attending Philadelphia elementary schools, researchers found that overweight children missed an average of 2 extra days out of the school year compared with normal-weight students.

Obesity  August 2007

Parental stress or bullying by peers can make it even tougher for overweight or obese children to get healthy, a U.S. study finds.  "If a parent is distressed, that seems to impact a child's symptoms of depression, which then impacts quality of life. It's the same with peer victimization. It impacts depression, which then impacts quality of life. And it seems to affect not just the emotional aspect of quality of life, but also their health status," lead author David Janicke, assistant professor of clinical and health psychology in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, in Gainesville, said in a prepared statement.

Daily Telegraph  22 August 2007

The obesity epidemic is causing an increase in the number of children with high blood pressure, doctors have warned.  New research has shown that the problems with obesity is causing conditions previously only seen in adults to be diagnosed in children.  Scientists who studied 14,187 children aged between three and 18 found that more than three per cent had high blood pressure but three quarters of them had not been properly diagnosed.  The team warned that doctors need to be more aware of the condition.

The first long-term studies of stomach stapling and other radical obesity treatments show that they not only lead to lasting weight loss but also dramatically improve survival. The results are expected to lead to more such operations, possibly for less severely obese people, too.  Researchers in Sweden and the United States separately found that obese people who underwent drastic surgery had a 30 percent to 40 percent lower risk of dying seven to 10 years later compared with those who did not have such operations.
 

Independednt 08 August 2007

 

Humans choose partners with a similar body fat level to their own, according to research published yesterday.  For years scientists have known people tend to marry within their own social and educational class and race. But a study has now found people with roughly the same amount of body fat are likely to be attracted to each other.  Researchers also found this predisposition - called "assortive mating" - could be contributing to the world's obesity epidemic.  This is because children who have an overweight mother and father get a double dose of the genes that make them susceptible to piling on the pounds

Obese women are more at risk of having babies with birth defects, say researchers. At least seven types of health problem are more likely to occur if a woman is grossly overweight when she becomes pregnant. The risk of spina bifida is doubled. Other conditions including heart and limb defects and hernia in the diaphragm are between 33 per cent and 63 per cent more prevalent in fat mothers.