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Eating earlier can reduce weight gain

12/10/2022

Eating earlier in the day can be beneficial for weight loss, new research suggests. According to the study by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, people who eat later are hungrier during the day and have lower levels of serum leptin, the hormone that helps regulate body fat. Later eaters also burned fewer calories and had a lower core body temperature. The researchers say that eating later actually changes gene expression in adipose tissue in favor of increased fat storage, which could predispose people to becoming obese. Based on the study, the researchers said that people who ate later in the day were twice as likely to feel hungry. They were also more likely to desire certain foods like starchy foods or meat. To thoroughly test, the researchers had half the study group eat earlier in the day and half eat later. Both groups then switched places and tried the alternative eating protocol. The results were mirrored on both occasions, underlining the study findings. Commenting on the study, Julie Palmer, a registered dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said that one main takeaway is that we feel hungrier when we wait to eat later in the day. “When higher-calorie foods are more available to us later in the day … we’re more likely to overeat them,” said Palmer.  *Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay 

Sugar-free drinks help lower weight and risk of diabetes

24/03/2022

Sugar-free and low sugar drinks can help people realise a number of health benefits, a new study has found. According to the research, the results of which are published in JAMA Network Open, drinking diet soda and sugar alternatives, such as Stevia and Equal, instead of can help people lose weight, reduce their BMI, and lower their risk of diabetes. In fact, the researchers said participants who consumed low and no-calorie beverages saw positive effects similar to those one would expect from water. “Ideally, you would replace sugary beverages with water as much as possible, but our findings show that people have another choice — a low-calorie or no-calorie beverage is a good option as well,” said Tauseef Ahmad Khan, MBBS, PhD, a researcher at the University of Toronto department of nutritional sciences and a coauthor of the study. Modern Western diets often contain too much sugar and it's causing a huge health problem. For example, the average American consumes 22 teaspoons (tsp) of added sugar daily, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends people limit their daily intake of sugar to about 6 tsp women and 9 tsp for men. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, lists higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease among the health issues related to too much sugar intake. *Image by DesignDraw DesignDrawArtes from Pixabay

How an hour more in bed can kerb your calorie intake

08/02/2022

More sleep each night could help with weight loss, according to a new study published yesterday.   Published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the study by researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Wisconsin adds to the growing evidence that sufficient sleep plays a crucial part to overall health and wellbeing.   By getting just over an hour of extra sleep a night, study participants reduced their caloric intake by an average of 270 kilocalories (kcal) a day. The researchers say this amount could translate to a 26-pound loss over 3 years.   Prior research has found that sleep restriction causes people to eat more and increases the chances of weight gain over time.   Speaking about the study, researcher Dr. Estra Tasali, director of the UChicago Sleep Center at the University of Chicago Medicine, said: “Prior research showed that sleep loss leads to increases [in] food intake in the laboratory setting and weight gain. In our study, we showed for the first time that in [a] real-word setting, objectively tracked caloric intake is decreased when sleep is extended in individuals who habitually sleep less than 6.5 hours.”   For the study, the researchers recruited 80 obese adult participants, aged 21 to 40, who habitually slept fewer than 6.5 hours a night. Both caloric intake and daily energy stores were measured via a simple urine-based test.   *image courtesy of Katniss12 from Pixabay

Weight gain speeds up lung function decline in older adults

03/03/2020

Gaining weight in later years has a detrimental impact on lung health, a new study suggests. People’s lungs naturally deteriorate as they age and lose functionality as the years go by. But now new research has linked moderate or significant weight gain to an even sharper decline in lung health. According to the study of 3,700 individuals in Europe and Australia, who were recruited between the ages of 20 and 44, and were studied for 20 years, people who gained weight throughout the course of the study – regardless of whether they were a healthy weight or overweight/obese to begin with – had accelerated lung function decline. Furthermore, overweight/obese individuals who lost weight during the study saw their lung functionality decline slow. Publishing their findings in the journal Thorax, the researchers said large amounts of fat in the abdomen and chest can limit the space lungs have when people inhale. It was also suggested that fat produces inflammatory chemicals that can reduce the diameter of airways and damage lungs. Speaking about the findings of the research, study leader Judith Garcia Aymerich, head of the non-communicable diseases and environment program at Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), said: “Although previous research has shown that weight gain is linked to lung function decline, ours is the first study to analyze such a varied population sample over a longer period of time.”  

Compound found only in avocados could hold promise for type 2 diabetes treatment

12/11/2019

A compound found only in avocados could help reduce type 2 diabetes, new research suggests. The study by researchers from the University of Guelph in Canada found that a fat molecule called avocatin B, or AvoB - which avocados alone contain – can help strengthen insulin sensitivity and could forestall type 2 diabetes. Initial tests involving mice showed that AvoB slowed weight gain and increased insulin sensitivity by ensuring the complete oxidation of fats. As a result, mice that were given the compound had improved glucose tolerance and utilization. Then, in a separate, double-blind placebo‐controlled human trial, an AvoB supplement was given to people with an average Western diet for 60 days. The researchers found that the participants had tolerated the compound well and no negative effects in the liver, muscles, or kidneys were witnessed. There was also some weight loss among participants that took the supplement, though the authors of the study considered it statistically insignificant. Paul Spagnuolo, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Guelph, said the research team will now design clinical trials to assess AvoB's effectiveness in people. Furthermore, they have already received clearance from Health Canada to sell AvoB in powder and pill forms, perhaps as early as next year.

Can weighing yourself every day prevent weight gain?

30/05/2019

With more than 37% of American adults living with obesity, and more than 32% overweight, any strategies for curbing weight gain should be closely examined to see if they could help the situation. Now, new research suggests that weighing ourselves every day could effectively prevent weight gain – especially over the usually over-indulgent holiday period. Published in the journal Obesity, the research was led by Jamie Cooper, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Georgia in Athens. For the study, Cooper and colleagues recruited 111 adults aged between 18 and 65. Each participant was told to try and maintain their starting weight during the holiday season, but wasn’t given any advice on how to do this. Instead, the participants were all told to weigh themselves – some daily and others less frequently. At the end of the 14-week trial, the participants who weighed themselves every day either maintained their starting weight or actually lost weight. In contrast, the participants who did not weigh themselves every day all gained weight. The researchers suggest that by weighing themselves every day and being able to exercise more/eat less to combat small weight increases, those participants were able to maintain their starting weight or lose weight. Speaking about the findings of the research, Study co-author Michelle vanDellen, said: “People are really sensitive to discrepancies or differences between their current selves and their standard or goal. When they see that discrepancy, it tends to lead to behavioural change. Daily self-weighing ends up doing that for people in a really clear way.”

Study finds eating later in the day promotes obesity

26/03/2019

As obesity rates across the world continue to rise, understanding exactly why we put on weight has never been more important. That’s why the findings of a new study, which looked at whether there is an association between when we eat and how much weight we gain, could be very significant. Presenting their findings at the ENDO 2019 conference, which took place in New Orleans, the scientists from the University of Colorado in Denver said there is a link between eating later in the day and having a higher BMI, as well as more body fat. For the study, 31 adults who were either overweight or obese and had an average age of 36 years were closely monitored to assess their sleep, levels of activity, and diet. Interestingly, the study also showed that the participants who ate later in the day still had an average of 7 hours sleep each night, suggesting that lack of sleep may not promote obesity after all. Speaking about the findings of the study, Dr. Adnin Zaman, lead author, said “These findings support our overall study, which will look at whether restricting the eating window to earlier on in the day will lower obesity risk.”

Regular weigh-ins, simple tips help avoid Christmas weight gain

13/12/2018

Christmas Day is less than two weeks away and that means many of us will soon be gorging ourselves on all sorts of culinary delights. It’s a reality that will see a lot of people piling on the pounds this month ahead of the inevitable January fitness drive. But what if there was a simple way to limit the impact of Christmas feasting on our waistlines? A new study by the Universities of Birmingham and Loughborough in the UK suggests there is. According to the study involving 272 volunteers, regular home weigh-ins coupled with simple weight-loss tips can prevent people from putting on weight over the festive period. For the study, the volunteers were divided into two groups. One group weighed themselves regularly and were given dietary advice, including information on how many calories they needed to burn to negate Christmas food. The other group didn’t weight themselves and were only given a small amount of healthy lifestyle advice. The group that weighed themselves and had access to the additional information weighed 0.49kg less than the "comparison" group come the end of the study. Study lead author, Frances Mason, of the University of Birmingham's Institute of Applied Health Research, said “People gain a kilo of weight on average annually. Often this weight gain happens at Christmas, and is never fully lost. This could possibly be a factor driving the obesity epidemic.” In other words, by simply keeping track of your weight and understanding the impact the foods you are eating are having on your waistline, you stand a better chance of avoiding weight gain at a time of year that’s traditionally associated with piling on the pounds. [Related reading: Why being overweight increases your risk of cancer]

People are getting fatter, but fewer than ever are trying to lose weight - study

09/03/2017

Despite the fact the number of people who are overweight or obese has risen over the past 30 years, fewer people are actually attempting to shed weight, according to a new study, the findings of which were published in JAMA. Around two thirds of the adult population in the United States are obese or overweight, putting them at increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. However, new research has found that even though there has been a significant rise in the number of people who are overweight or obese since the 1980s, the percentage of U.S. adults who are trying to lose weight has fallen. For their research, study co-author Dr. Jian Zhang and her colleagues from the Georgia Southern University, analysed the data of 27,350 U.S. adults aged between 20 and 59 years. The analyses revealed that the rates of overweight and obesity increased by 13%, from 53% in 1988-1994 to 66% in 2009-2014. Furthermore, the researchers also found that the percentage of people who attempted to lose weight over the same period actually dropped by 7%, from 56% in 1988-1994 to 49% in 2009-2014. At present, people are deemed to be overweight or obese depending on their body mass index (BMI). A BMI of 25 to under 30 is considered overweight, while a BMI of 30 or above is considered obese. A healthy diet and regular physical activity are proven to help curb weight gain, which is why we should all make a conscientious effort to watch what we eat and exercise more. [Recommended read: BMI Wrongly Labelling People Unhealthy, Finds New Research]

Dopamine could be to blame for people's reduced motivation to exercise

05/01/2017

The New Year is here and for many of you that will mean a new exercise regime designed to get you into shape and improve your overall health. For some people, though, sticking to a disciplined program of physical exercise is one of the hardest resolutions they can make because a lack of motivation gets in the way. But now new research sheds some light on why many people, despite understanding the benefits of regular exercise, find it hard in practice to stay physically active. Researchers from the Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), led by Alexxai V. Kravitz, focused on why obese animals also have a hard time carrying out physical activity. They found that a dysfunction in obese rodents' dopamine systems might help explain why. Mice fed on a high-fat diet started gaining significantly more weight than mice fed on a normal diet. They were also observed to have fewer movements; spend less time moving; and were slower when they did move, compared with the lean mice. Most interesting of all was that the overweight mice's changes in movements did not correlate with body weight gain. Instead, the researchers found that a deficit in striatal D2R explained the obese mice's lack of activity. "In many cases, willpower is invoked as a way to modify behavior. But if we don't understand the underlying physical basis for that behavior, it is difficult to say that willpower alone can solve it," said Kravitz.

Eating Sweeteners While Pregnant Could Affect Baby's Weight: Study

29/11/2016

A Canadian study has questioned how a pregnant mother's consumption of beverages containing sweeteners might affect the weight of their unborn child. According to the authors, the risk of a mother's unborn child being overweight could be increased among those mothers who consume sweeteners on a daily basis. Dr. Meghan Azad, of the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada), and her staff questioned more than 3,000 women to learn about their eating habits during pregnancy. In addition, the body mass index (BMI) of their children was also measured at the age of one. The researchers made two main findings: 1. 5.1% of the young children at the age of one were already overweight. 2. Mothers who consumed one or more artificially sweetened drinks each day during their pregnancies doubled the risk of their unborn children being overweight by the time they were one. In conclusion, the researchers admit that their work includes some limitations such as the mothers reporting their eating habits via questionnaire. They point out, however, that "to their knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the potential effect of consuming artificial sweeteners during pregnancy and infant weight gain." In January 2015, the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSES) was less convinced. According to them, "the available data do not make it possible to identify any benefit or conclude on the risk associated with the consumption of intense sweeteners during pregnancy, whether it is maternal health, obstetric parameters, or health of the newborn."

Benefits of Fish Oil Highlighted in New Study

04/09/2015

New research suggests that the impact of dietary fats on our overall health is likely to be affected by the changes they cause in the stomach’s bacteria ecosystem. The findings, which were obtained by studies in mice, show that diets rich in omega-3 fats, such as fish oil, affect the gut’s balance of bacteria differently to diets rich in lard. Senior researcher Professor Fredrik Bäckhed, from the University of Gothenburg’s faculty of Health Sciences, also known as the Sahlgrenska Academy, led the team of European researchers who discovered that changes in gut microbiota are responsible for some of their health benefits. “We wanted to determine whether gut microbes directly contribute to the metabolic differences associated with diets rich in healthy and unhealthy fats,” said first study author Robert Caesar from the University of Gothenburg. And, even though the study was done in mice, he said: “our goal is to identify interventions for optimising metabolic health in humans.” Writing in the journal Cell Metabolism, Bäckhed’s team said they obtained their results by feeding either lard or fish oil to a group of mice for a period of 11 weeks. They then monitored the metabolic health of the study mice and found that dietary fat is a major community structure driver, which in turn affects the composition and diversity of gut microbiota. “We were surprised that the lard and the fish oil diet, despite having the same energy content and the same amount of dietary fibre—which is the primary energy source for the gut bacteria—resulted in fundamentally different gut microbiota communities and that the microbiota per se had such large effects on health,” said Bäckhed. Increased lard consumption promoted the growth of Bilophila, bacteria often linked to gut inflammation. In contrast, the fish oil diet increased the growth of Akkermansia muciniphila, bacteria known to reduce weight gain and improve glucose metabolism in mice. The bottom line is that eating a diet rich in fish oils is, as the study suggests, going to help you lose weight, compared to a diet rich in lard.    

High-Protein Diets Linked to Weight Gain and Heart Disease

12/05/2015

Every week, there seems to emerge new advice on dieting which contradicts previously accepted methods. This week is no different and it’s the turn of the protein-packed diet to get a meaty dressing down. An international team of researchers voiced their concerns about diets high in protein at the European Congress on Obesity in Prague. The research team looked at data collected from over 7,000 men and women over the age of 55 who had no previous history of heart disease. When quizzed about their eating habits, the individuals divulged their dietary trends over the last five years. The results showed that when carbohydrates were replaced with protein, the risk of gaining 10% more body fat was increased by 90%. Furthermore, higher protein intake was also linked to a 59% greater risk of death from any cause. When fat was replaced by protein, the risk of death rose even further to 66% said the researchers. "These results do not support the generalised use of high-protein diets as a good strategy for losing weight," said the study’s lead researcher Monica Bullo, of Pere Virgili Health Research Institute in Reus. She added: "Long-term efficacy and safety of these diets deserve more attention.” With 69% of the population of America overweight, high-protein diets have been favoured because they often provide quick results. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that American adults are already eating enough protein and the American Heart Association website says it “doesn’t recommend high-protein diets for weight loss.” Photo credits: Guardianlv, Fawesome.ifood

Exercise (Not Diet) Has Most Impact on Our Weight as We Age

07/04/2015

It won’t come as any surprise that Americans gain weight as they get older. However, you may raise an eyebrow to learn that as Americans age and pile on the pounds, the quality of their diet actually gets better. Therefore, we can safely say that as their waists expand and they realise something needs to be done, Americans try and counteract their weight gain by eating salads and lean proteins. But, according to a new study by the University of South Carolina, improving one’s diet simply isn’t enough to stave off weight gain in our later years. Using data collected from 4,999 Americans aged between 20 and 70, the study painted a complete picture of how the individual’s diet and exercise levels alter over the years. Lead researcher Russell Pate Ph.D. said: "Our study points to the very important impact of physical activity on weight status in U.S. adults, and in particular it points to the critical role of the age-related decline in physical activity on the increasing rates of overweight and obesity that we see with aging.” The bottom line? Americans should absolutely be trying to achieve the 150-minutes of moderate exercise as per the federal physical activity guideline. According to the American Heart Association, the activity levels of Americans are generally lower nowadays because of more sedentary jobs, better mass transport options and technology. Being overweight increases the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, reproductive problems and some cancers.

Thyroidectomies: What You Need to Know

28/01/2015

The thyroid gland is shaped like a butterfly and found at the base of your neck. It regulates every aspect of your metabolism by producing hormones. This includes everything from how fast you burn calories to how quickly your heart beats. Think of your thyroid as your body’s general thermostat. However, your thyroid can sometimes over-perform or under-perform and that can cause a number of issues to occur. When your thyroid over-performs it causes your pulse to race, your bowel movements to be accelerated, sudden weight loss, as well as excited and aggressive mood swings. When it under-performs it can cause your pulse to slow down, weight gain, constipation and depression. A thyroidectomy is the usual medical procedure undergone to treat disorders relating to your thyroid. These range from minor diseases to cancers and how much of the thyroid is removed totally depends on the reason for the thyroidectomy. If a partial thyroidectomy is performed then only part of the thyroid gland is removed and it may still be able to function normally post-surgery. If a total thyroidectomy is performed and the entire gland is removed, patients inevitably need daily treatment with thyroid hormone replacement therapy to counteract the removal of the thyroid gland. Find out more about thyroidectomies on our website and/or contact us today for more information on how we can facilitate a range of medical procedures for you right here in France.

Weight loss through gastric surgery

23/09/2013

Gastric surgery is used to treat people who are dangerously obese. The procedures available to aid weight loss in obese people are only used as a last resort and should not be considered to be an ‘easy option’ to weight loss. Gastric surgery is increasing in popularity with more people becoming unable to control their weight gain with routine exercise and healthy eating. There are 2 procedures which are most commonly performed in France: Gastric band This procedure uses surgery to place a band directly onto the stomach to reduce the size and in turn the amount of food that can fit inside the stomach. This makes the patient feel full and stop eating sooner. Gastric bypass This is a more complex procedure which involves re-routing the digestive system so that the majority of the stomach is bypassed. Again a patient feels full quicker and so eats less. Both procedures are very effective in reducing weight in France but should not be used in isolation. The medical team will want to ensure that the patient is willing to make the necessary changes to keep the weight off, including diet and lifestyle changes. If a patient is committed to these changes then gastric surgery is a fantastic option and what better place to recover than in the French climate. Photo Credit: © aihumnoi - Fotolia.com

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