One-Third of U.S. Homeless Population Is Obese: Study

HealthDay – Fri, May 18, 2012 FRIDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- One-third of homeless people in the United States are obese, about the same rate as the general population, a new study finds.

It might seem that hunger and lack of food would put homeless people at risk for weighing too little, according to the researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

But, the high rate of obesity among homeless people may be due to their reliance on cheap foods that contain high levels of fat and sugar. Another possible explanation could be physiological -- chronic food shortages cause the body to adapt by storing fat reserves.

Other factors may include little physical activity, sleep deprivation and stress.

The researchers examined the body-mass index (a measure of body fat based on height and weight) in more than 5,600 homeless men and women in Boston and found that 32 percent were obese, just less than 6 percent were morbidly obese and just less than 2 percent were underweight.

The overall obesity rate among homeless people was almost as high as among the general population (about 34 percent). Homeless women, however, were much more likely to be obese than non-homeless women -- 43 percent vs. 35 percent.

The findings, which will appear in the Journal of Urban Health, suggest that obesity may have replaced underweight as the new malnutrition of the homeless, the researchers concluded.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to rigorously evaluate whether obesity is a problem among the homeless in the U.S., as very little research has been done in this area," study co-author Paul Montgomery, a professor of psycho-social interventions at the University of Oxford, said in a journal news release.

"This study highlights the importance of the quality, as well as the quantity, of food that the homeless are consuming," Montgomery said. "Interventions aimed at reducing obesity in the homeless, such as improving nutritional standards in shelters or educational efforts at clinical sites, should be considered in light of these findings."

More information

National Health Care for the Homeless Council has more about homelessness and health.

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Why underweight babies become obese: Study says disrupted hypothalamus is to blame

ScienceDaily (May 2, 2012) — It seems improbable that a baby born underweight would be prone to obesity, but it is well documented that these children tend to put on weight in youth if they're allowed free access to calories. Now, researchers believe they understand why this happens.

See Also:Health & MedicineObesityDiet and Weight LossInfant's HealthFitnessDiseases and ConditionsPregnancy and ChildbirthReferenceAppetiteBirth weightInfantNutrition and pregnancy

A new animal model study at UCLA has found that in low-birth-weight babies whose growth was restricted in the womb, the level of appetite-producing neuropeptides in the brain's hypothalamus -- the central control of the appetite -- is higher, resulting in a natural tendency among these children to consume more calories.

"Other studies have shown that neuronal processes that signal the brain to eat were wired differently in the hypothalamus if a hormonal gene, such as leptin, was missing," said the study's lead author, Dr. Sherin Devaskar, professor of pediatrics and executive chair of the department of pediatrics at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA. "What we found is that appetite-producing genes in the hypothalamus are completely programmed toward eating more to make up for the relative decrease in nutrition while in the womb. So the natural tendency for a child born with low birth weight is to eat more and try to catch up in growth. But if this is not curbed, it can result in childhood obesity."

The findings appear in the June issue of the Journal of Neuroscience Research and are currently available online.

The study was undertaken in rodent models that mimicked small human babies. This was accomplished by reducing rodent mothers' intake of calories, which in turn led to the birth of small, low-birth-weight and growth-restricted babies. The rodent babies were then examined at an early age to see how much milk they consumed and to monitor their energy expenditure. In addition, the researchers examined the effect that being growth-restricted in the womb had on hypothalamic neuropeptides that control appetite when the babies were weaned.

The researchers observed that those neuropeptides that bring increased appetite with decreased energy expenditure were increased in the hypothalamus, while the neuropeptides that reduce appetite and increase energy expenditure were decreased. Therefore, the homeostatic balance of appetite-controlling neuropeptides was disrupted. The hypothalamus was poised to consume as many calories as were available, with no sense of satisfaction.

These findings expand on recent research published by Devaskar and colleagues in the June issue of the journal Diabetes, which found that if small babies are placed on a diet of moderately regulated calories during infancy, their propensity to become obese decreases. Because this was an early animal study, the UCLA researchers do not recommend that mothers of low-birth-weight infants start restricting their children's nutrition and suggest they consult with a pediatrician regarding any feeding questions.

About 10 percent of babies in the United States are born "small" -- defined as less than the 10th percentile by weight for a given gestation period. Some organizations define low birth weight as less than 2,500 grams -- or 5 pounds, 5 ounces -- at term.

Low birth weight can be caused by malnutrition due to a mother's homelessness or hunger or her desire not to gain too much weight during pregnancy. Additional causes include illness or infection, a reduction in placental blood, smoking, or use of alcohol or drugs during pregnancy.

Growth restriction before birth may cause lasting changes in genes in certain insulin-sensitive organs like the pancreas, liver and skeletal muscle. Before birth, these changes may help the malnourished fetus use all available nutrients. After birth, however, these changes may contribute to health problems such as obesity and diabetes.

Devaskar said the next phase of research will look at an intervention to reverse the hypothalamic neuropeptide changes that cause the central control of appetite to be set too high.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

In addition to Devaskar, the study was conducted by a team of UCLA researchers that included Bo-Chul Shin, Yun Dai, Manikkavasagar Thamotharan and L. Caroline Gibson.

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Surgery better for diabetes in the obese: studies

"File photo. Two clinical studies suggest that gastric surgery is better than traditional methods of care when it comes to controlling diabetes in overweight and obese patients (AFP Photo/Jeff Haynes)" title

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