Two out of three very obese kids already have heart disease risk factors: High blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose evident even in under-12s

ScienceDaily (July 23, 2012) — Two out of three severely obese kids already have at least one risk factor for heart disease, suggests research published online in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

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The prevalence and severity of childhood obesity has been rising worldwide, but little research has been carried out on the underlying health problems that children with severe weight problems have, say the authors.

They base their findings on data supplied by pediatricians to the Dutch Paediatric Surveillance Unit between 2005 and 2007.

During this period, doctors treating all new cases of severe obesity in children from the ages of 2 to 18 across The Netherlands were asked to supply information on their patients' cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure, fasting blood glucose levels, and blood fats (lipids).

The definition of severe obesity started at a body mass index (BMI) of 20.5 for a 2 year old, at 31 for a 12 year old, and at 35 for an 18 year old.

Over the three years, most (87% to 94%) of pediatricians submitted their monthly findings on every severely obese child they treated to the surveillance unit, providing information on 500 children in all.

When pediatricians were contacted again, with a request for further data, 363 responded and 307 of their children were correctly classified as severely obese.

Just over half (52%) of these 307 children were boys. They tended to be more severely obese at the younger end of the age spectrum; the reverse was true of girls. Full information on cardiovascular risk factors was available for 255 (83%).

Two out of three (67%) had at least one cardiovascular risk factor. Over half (56%) had high blood pressure; a similar proportion (54%) had high levels of low density 'bad' cholesterol; one in seven (14%) had high fasting blood glucose; and just under 1 per cent already had type 2 diabetes.

And "remarkably" say the authors, almost two thirds (62%) of those aged 12 and under had one or more cardiovascular risk factors. Only one child's obesity was attributable to medical rather than lifestyle factors.

Nearly one in three severely obese children came from one parent families.

"The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose in

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Lower iron levels seen in newborns of obese mothers

ScienceDaily (July 9, 2012) — A growing number of studies imply that children born to obese mothers face health problems stemming from the womb. New research from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and The Mother Infant Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center suggests that low iron status is among these health problems, according to an analysis of maternal hepcidin, a hormone that is key in keeping iron levels balanced.

See Also:Health & MedicineObesityPregnancy and ChildbirthDiet and Weight LossFolic AcidDiseases and ConditionsAnemiaReferenceNutrition and pregnancyBody mass indexMaternal bondFood groups

The study enrolled 15 obese pregnant women with body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 and 15 healthy weight pregnant women with BMIs between 20 and 25 as a control group. Maternal blood draws took place during the second trimester of pregnancy and newborn iron status was measured in cord blood.

The researchers found that being born to an obese mother with elevated hepcidin levels was associated with lower iron status at birth. Obese adults are known to produce higher levels of hepcidin compared to healthy weight adults and the researchers suggest that overproduction of the hormone interferes with the transfer of iron from mother to infant. The results were recently published online by the Journal of Perinatology.

During pregnancy, hepcidin levels are kept at low levels to optimize iron transfer from mother to fetus. "When there is excess hepcidin in a cell, it binds to and inhibits the function of ferroportin, the protein that allows iron to pass through the cell membrane and into the bloodstream," explained senior author Simin Nikbin Meydani, DVM, PhD, director of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (USDA HNRCA).

"The chronic low-grade inflammation that can result from being obese triggers an abnormal immune response, increasing production of proteins that increase hepcidin levels," added Maria Carlota Dao, first author and a doctoral student in the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at the USDA HNRCA.

Because iron plays a crucial role in the formation of the central nervous system, children born with iron deficiency are at a greater risk for delays in motor and cognitive development.

"The data on the impact of low maternal iron levels on the fetus comes from undernourished populations," said first author Sarbattama Sen, MD, a neonatologist at Tufts Medical Center and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM). "To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first study to demonstrate that obesity might hamper iron transfer from mother to child and offers some insight into the mechanism of how it occurs. Future studies, however, are needed to confirm the role of obesity associated with inflammation during pregnancy on hepcidin and iron status of the newborn."

The authors further stress that more research is needed before any changes to dietary guidelines or recommendations to obese pregnant women should be considered. Most prenatal vitamin supplements contain 27 milligrams of iron, the daily amount currently recommended by The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

"During pregnancy, women should try to eat a varied, healthy diet while taking the standard prenatal vitamins recommended by their doctors," Sen adds. "Weight gain goals should be based on a woman's BMI prior to becoming pregnant. In 2009, the Institute of Medicine issued new guidelines on weight gain during pregnancy."

Simin Nikbin Meydani is also a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and is a member of the immunology program faculty at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University. Additional authors of this study are Chitra Iyer, MD, a former maternal fetal medicine fellow at Tufts Medical Center and David Klebenov, a TUSM student. .

The authors received funding for this study from the USDA, a Tufts Medical Center Research Grant, the Natalie V. Zucker Foundation for Women Scholars, the Stanley N. Gershoff Scholarship and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) T32 training program.

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Obese Teens Already Have Heart Damage

Sobering news was presented at the annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology: Obese teens, without any signs or symptoms of cardiovascular disease, were found to have significant structural and functional damage to their hearts.

The researchers found that as the BMI Body Mass Index. BMI is a statistical measurement of body weight based on the person's height and weight. It does not actually measure the body fat percentage but provides an estimation of a healthy body weight. Normal BMI for adults ranges from 18.5-24.9 increased in these teens so did the thickness of the arteries of the heart.  Increased structural thickness correlated with decreased left ventricular velocity, indicating that the structural heart problems were impairing healthy heart function.

This study is a bit of a shocker as it shows adverse changes to the heart prior to the onset of a cardiovascular risk profile.  This means that parents could think their obese child is simply overweight but not in any real trouble that needs attention.

This study implies that diligent efforts to help overweight children lose weight must be a priority.  Obesity will drastically impair the health of young people, at ever-earlier ages.  Twenty years ago type 2 diabetes was virtually non existent in teens.  Now it is common.

The fact that obesity in teens is correlated with heart damage is a major wake-up call.  If nothing is done we will have a generation of citizens who have health debilitating heart disease in their 30’s. 

There are plenty of BMI Body Mass Index. BMI is a statistical measurement of body weight based on the person's height and weight. It does not actually measure the body fat percentage but provides an estimation of a healthy body weight. Normal BMI for adults ranges from 18.5-24.9 calculators on the WEB.  Another easy and highly accurate test is to measure the waistline and compare the measurement to height.  Waistline circumference in inches times two should never be more than height in inches; this measurement is appropriate for children and teens.  Once this line is crossed we know that cardiovascular disease processes have been set in motion, regardless of age.  Unfortunately, we now know that such processes include heart damage.  Such damage is reversible over time, but only if weight is lost.

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Thin as a baby, obese as an adult -- a diabetic in old age?

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2012) — Small babies had significantly higher blood glucose and insulin levels and a higher risk of diabetes at the age of 75 and older. The risk of diabetes in old age was five-fold among those born small but who were obese in midlife compared to those with higher birth weight and low body mass index in adulthood.

See Also:Health & MedicineDiabetesObesityDiet and Weight LossHealthy AgingInfant's HealthDiseases and ConditionsReferenceDiabetes mellitus type 2Birth weightBlood sugarGlycemic index

- Studies have shown that small body size at birth is associated with diabetes in adulthood. However, little is known about the effect in old individuals. In our study, the association between birth weight and glucose metabolism in old age was strong in spite of the long time between the exposure and the outcome as well as the age-related changes that occur in the glucose and insulin metabolism, says Dr. Mikaela von Bonsdorff from the University of Jyväskylä.

The Finnish researcher worked with an Icelandic dataset at the National Institute on Aging, NIH, US. Iceland has one of the highest average birth weights in the world and also one of the lowest rates of diabetes. High birth weight has been attributed to the high protein nutrition and the universal use of cod oil which is known to lengthen gestation. In spite of these unique features, the present findings are in line with earlier studies conducted in the Western countries.

- In terms of identifying risk factors for diabetes, it is important to consider body size at birth along with the traditional risk factors as low birth weight seems to yield a lifetime risk for diabetes. The present findings are concerning while obesity is increasing in all age-groups, says Dr. Mikaela von Bonsdorff.

The 1682 participants belonging to the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility – Reykjavik (AGES-Reykjavik) Study were born between 1914 and 1935. They had taken part in the follow-up as middle aged and in old age and these data were linked with anthropometrical birth data extracted from medical records in Iceland. The international study group included researchers from the US, Iceland, the Netherlands and Finland.

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Obese adolescents have heart damage

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2012) — Obese adolescents with no symptoms of heart disease already have heart damage, according to new research.

See Also:Health & MedicineObesityHeart DiseaseStroke PreventionCholesterolDiseases and ConditionsChronic IllnessLiving WellReferenceEchocardiographyBody mass indexOverweightNutrition and pregnancy

The findings were presented at the Heart Failure Congress 2012, 19-22 May, in Belgrade, Serbia. The Congress is the main annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.

Obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and previous research has shown that obese adults have structural and functional changes to their hearts. The current study investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and cardiac function in overweight and obese adolescents with no symptoms of heart disease.

For the study, 97 healthy adolescents had their weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference measured. BMI and waist/hip ratio were calculated. Blood and biochemistry tests and an echocardiogram were performed. Based on their BMI, patients were divided into three groups: lean (L

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Being Obese May Make Job Search Tougher

HealthDay – 45 mins ago THURSDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- It was the small square photo clipped to an applicant's resume that most influenced whether a woman would be hired. But there was a hidden catch: The pictures showed the same six women both before and after weight-loss surgery.

The end result: The "employers" in the study rated these six women more poorly when their photos were taken when they were obese.

For the research, published recently in the International Journal of Obesity, the 95 raters actually were New Zealand undergraduate students who weren't aware that weight bias was the real focus of the study.

"Clearly, these were not actual employers," said study co-author Janet Latner, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii. "But they are people who will enter the workforce, and the underlying prejudice that they're displaying could ultimately affect their decisions regarding future colleagues."

The study participants -- mostly female -- received information packages on "candidates" to evaluate for a potential managerial position. The bogus resumes were equivalent as far as skills, experience and education.

The women shown in the photos had been located on websites. To rule out other appearance-based biases, the six women were of similar ages, from 29 to 32, and of European descent.

Before surgery, the women's body-mass index (BMI) -- a measure of body fat based on weight and height -- ranged from 38 to 41. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. After surgery, the women's BMI ranged from 22 to 24, considered normal weight.

The student "employers" rated candidates for starting salary, leadership potential and likelihood of being hired.

Based on the ratings, larger women had less chance of being hired. And if they managed to pass that hurdle, they still would have faced lower salaries and limited career progression.

The more attractive the raters considered themselves, the stronger the weight bias they displayed, researchers found. Having personality traits such as authoritarianism also was associated with being more biased.

Males weren't evaluated in the study, which leaves open the question of whether obese men face a similar bias.

"Men certainly face discrimination as well, but the research shows that they have to get to a higher weight in order for their weight to be consequential," said Michaela Null, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., whose research focus is fat studies.

Such hiring bias isn't just a hypothetical. In 2011, a Texas hospital instituted a policy that job candidates had to have a BMI of less than 35, but the hospital withdrew the policy in April.

"We sent a letter to

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Sooner Is Better for Controlling Obese Kids' Weight: Study

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Losing weight when obese can prevent or cure diabetes, whatever the initial BMI, study suggests

ScienceDaily (May 6, 2012) — Lowering your BMI by five units can dramatically reduce your risk of diabetes, whatever your initial weight, says new research presented at the International Congress of Endocrinology/European Congress of Endocrinology in Florence, Italy. The findings show that even severely obese patients with diabetes can potentially rid themselves of the disease.

See Also:Health & MedicineObesityDiabetesDiet and Weight LossWounds and HealingDiseases and ConditionsHormone DisordersReferenceBody mass indexDiabetes mellitus type 2OverweightHyperglycemia

Addressing diabetes is a major priority for health providers worldwide given the vast global prevalence (approx. six to seven per cent of the world's population; around 285 million people) and its severe complications including amputations and heart disease. Surgery for weight loss has an unexpectedly rapid and substantial therapeutic effect on diabetes rates. Understanding why weight loss has such a dramatic effect on diabetes is the focus of this study by Associate Professor Markku Peltonen from the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland and colleagues from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

The researchers enrolled the 2010 patients from the Swedish Obese Subjects study who had received bariatric surgery and 2037 obese controls receiving conventional (non-surgical) obesity treatment. They were assessed for BMI and diabetes at baseline (before surgery in the surgical group), and at two and 10 year follow-up.

Among patients with BMI<35, 35-40 and 40-45 who did not lose weight after two years, type 2 diabetes incidence rates were 6.5%, 7.7% and 9.3% respectively. Among those with initial BMI 35-40, 40-45 and ≥45 who lost at least five BMI units after two years, type 2 diabetes incidence rates were 2.4%, 2.0% and 3.4% respectively, clearly showing that lower rates of diabetes can be found among obese patients who have lost five BMI units through any means. Further analysis showed that the rate of patients cured of diabetes after losing five BMI units was independent of the starting BMI at all BMI levels measured. This trend was also observed after 10 years post surgery.

The findings suggest that losing five BMI units, the equivalent of approx. 16kg for a 180cm tall 35 year old man weighing 130kg (BMI 40), can make a real difference to your health by reducing your likelihood of having type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, it suggests that this is true for all patients, as even those who were severely obese showed dramatic improvements.

Associate Professor Markku Peltonen, Director of Department at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland, said:

"Our findings show that, whatever your starting weight, losing five BMI units can dramatically reduce your risk of having type 2 diabetes after two and ten years.

"Dropping five BMI units is no mean feat, as the human body is not very good at losing weight. But patients of any weight should take encouragement that by doing so they can really improve their chances of a healthy future."

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Obese Kids: Genes, Junk Food Share Blame

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Children Born to Obese Moms May Face Higher Autism Risk: Study

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Obese White Women Shying Away From Colon Cancer Screening

HealthDay – 2 hrs 26 mins ago WEDNESDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) -- Obese white women are less likely than normal-weight white women or blacks of any weight or gender to seek potentially life-saving colon cancer screenings, according to a new study.

This reluctance is especially serious because obesity is associated with a higher risk for colon cancer and an increased risk of death from the disease, noted study leader Dr. Nisa Maruthur, an assistant professor in the general internal medicine division at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

"Being concerned about your weight usually is good, but here it appears to be keeping people from a test we know saves lives," Maruthur said in a Hopkins news release. "Obese white women may avoid screening because they feel stigmatized and embarrassed to disrobe for the tests."

Colonoscopy and fecal occult blood tests are two methods of colon cancer screening. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that adults aged 50 to 75 undergo colonoscopy on a periodic basis, but only 20 percent of women and 24 percent of men over age 50 do so, the study authors pointed out in background information in the news release.

For the new study, the researchers reviewed the findings of 23 published studies that included information on body mass index (BMI) and colon cancer screening. BMI is a measurement that takes into account height and weight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal weight, between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight and 30 or more is considered obese.

Overall, the Hopkins team found no link between higher BMI and lower rates of colon cancer screening. They did find such a link in obese white women, however.

Compared to normal-weight white women, those with a BMI between 30 and 34.9 were 13 percent less likely to be screened, and those with a BMI of 40 or higher were 27 percent less likely to be screened.

There was some indication that obese white men also are reluctant to undergo colon cancer screening, but further research is needed to confirm that data.

The study is published in the April 4 online issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Previous research by the same Johns Hopkins team found that obese white women are also less likely to seek mammography breast cancer screening and Pap smear screening for cervical cancer.

In addition to feeling reluctant to disrobe, another reason obese women may avoid the screening is because they may be dealing with other higher-priority health concerns, the researchers suggested.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about colorectal cancer screening.

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U.S. Women Could Be More Obese Than Believed

HealthDay – 21 mins ago MONDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- The way that obesity is currently measured greatly underestimates the actual number of women who are obese, a new study suggests.

Almost half of women currently labeled as not obese by virtue of their body mass index (BMI) turned out to be obese when measured by a newer method focusing on their percentage of body fat by weight, the research found.

Researchers Dr. Eric Braverman, president of the Path Foundation in New York City, and Dr. Nirav Shah, the current New York state health commissioner, say that an accurate measurement of obesity should include percentage of body fat as well as the ratio of height and weight known as BMI.

"If you're counting on looking at your body fat based on body mass index, it's virtually completely unreliable," Braverman said.

Based on BMI alone, "roughly 30 percent of Americans are obese, but when you use other methods, closer to 60 percent are obese," he said. "We call BMI the 'baloney mass index,'" Braverman noted.

"We are fatter than we realize; it's the percent of body fat, not BMI, that makes you obese," he explained.

The problem is especially seen among women, because "as women age, they tend to lose bone and replace muscle with fat," Braverman said.

The report was published online April 2 in the journal PLoS ONE.

Braverman and Shah found that when women had a special scan called a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which measures body fat, muscle mass and bone density, obesity measured by BMI alone underestimated obesity.

Among the more than 1,300 people who underwent DEXA in the study, almost half of women (48 percent) were misclassified as not obese by BMI, but were found to be obese by percent body fat on DEXA.

In contrast, 25 percent of men were misclassified as being obese by BMI, but were in fact not obese by percent body fat.

In fact, the researchers said, all of the study participants who were found to be obese by DEXA were women.

Braverman noted that a DEXA scan is expensive, so it wouldn't be practical for routine assessment. However, a simple blood test that measures leptin levels can serve the same purpose, he said. Leptin is a hormone involved in regulating appetite and metabolism.

In the study, levels of leptin correlated to body fat. The researchers said leptin levels can be used along with BMI as a more accurate measure of obesity.

"Leptin is a better marker of obesity in women," Braverman stressed, adding that successful weight loss depends on lowering leptin levels. However, he said, women can develop leptin resistance -- a metabolic disorder most often seen after menopause -- which makes dieting ineffective.

People with leptin levels below 5 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) are considered thin and levels up to 10 are considered normal weight. Leptin levels of 10 to 30 ng/mL are correctable through diet and exercise, Braverman said, but extremely high levels are hard to reduce.

The effect of leptin is not as powerful in men, he said. But men with low leptin levels are very fit, he added.

Braverman believes that, eventually, leptin tests will become a regular part of a physical exam and people with high levels will be treated with various drugs and diets designed to reduce leptin levels.

"Everyone is going to get a leptin level

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