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Obesity in Children Update
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The obesity epidemic in children resulting in type2 diabetes continues to grow and now there is a book about it by pediatrician Francine Kaufman from the Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles called “Diabesity”. The number of people with type2 diabetes worldwide was 150 million in 2000 and is expected to continue to rise dramatically. Children being brought into emergency rooms unconscious with high blood sugar levels, kids with acanthosis nigricans – a type of hyperpigmentation caused by insulin resistance – and even atherosclerosis are becoming more and more common.
In the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology Dr. Ana R. Damaso of the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil reports that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (fatty tissue build up in the liver) is also becoming more common in kids. In this study, 73 obese teenagers participated in a 12 week program that including learning about nutrition and exercise. Afterward it was found that the kids lost weight and had less fat around their livers.
Speaking of kids and liver problems – more data supporting the connection between obesity and sugar filled soft drinks is available now too. This time the effects of sugar sweetened water and mice were measured. It was found that the mice given sugary drinks ate less overall, but had a higher level of total calories and gained more weight. They also had more incidence of fatty liver disease. This was especially true when they were fed fructose. Think of all the high fructose corn syrup people have been consuming the last 30 or so years? What were people thinking when they starting selling soda anyway? Will soft drinks become the new cigarettes in our society? Once common, but now seen as a horrible health threat?
Education about nutrition and exercise seem like they might be keys to solving the problem. I don’t have kids, so I don’t know what is going on with schools now – but are they teaching anything about nutrition to kids?
On the other hand – Dr. Reid Ewing of the University of Maryland’s National Center for Smart Growth Education and Research recently had a study that shows kids that live in sprawling suburbs were over twice as likely to be overweight as those in urban areas. This study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and used government data from 8,984 kids aged 12 to 17 years. When race, income and education levels were taken into account more ‘sprawl’ still lead to a greater chance of being over weight.
And a new study to be published in Pediatrics shows that kids with better motor abilities tend to be more physically active. That’s no surprise – but school programs designed to increase physical activities in kids need to take this into consideration. Putting kids with less motor skills into competitive situations is hardly going to lead a lifetime of increased activity levels.
Another interesting story from Nature is the new theory of how different types of bacteria in different people’s gut may effect whether they are obese or thin. There are two groups of bacteria involved – the Bacteroidetes and the Firmicutes. It was found in both mice and people that the obese have less Bacteroidetes than thin individuals. When the obese lose weight – their Bacteroidetes levels rise. Definitely interesting stuff – a lot still to be understood about it.
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Related Posts:
- Pregnancy – diet, weight gain and diabetes
- Women’s Health Weekly Review: May 4 – May 10
- Kids and soda!
December 19, 2006
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Ovarian Cancer Update
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Hate the cold? Need a good reason to move to a warmer area?
Some recent research now shows a correlation between the chance of developing ovarian cancer and living in a sunnier region. The study which appeared in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine looked at ovarian cancer rates in 175 countries and found a correlation between latitude and UV exposure levels. Basically, women who live in sunnier places have a lower chance of developing ovarian cancer. It could be that these women have more vitamin D production.
Or it could be that its just a correlation and doesn’t really mean anything at all.
And then of course there is the whole skin cancer risk.
Should you move to a sunny place or stand out in the sun all day to avoid ovarian cancer? No, of course not. This is not a good reason to move. The author of the study suggests people make sure they get enough vitamin D. Shouldn’t people being doing that already?
And as long as I’m in the mood for writing about research that states the obvious –
Another study, this one in Cancer, by Dr. Andrew Li of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles looked at data from 216 women who had surgery for ovarian cancer between 1996 and 2003. What they found is that women who are obese or overweight have a lower survival rate than those who aren’t. Is this really surprising to anyone? There is all sorts of data indicating that obese people are susceptible to all sorts of health complications.
I was hoping to get out of this mood by now – but I guess not.
I read another article that claims that the symptoms of ovarian cancer aren’t really that vague and most women who are diagnosed had a number of previous warning signs. Some of these symptoms are:
Abdominal discomfort or bloating.
Persistent gastrointestinal upset.
Frequent or urgent urination.
Unexplained weight loss or gain.
Ongoing unusual fatigue.
Unexplained changes in bowel habits.
I pretty much have all these symptoms all the time and always have. I guess its just a matter of degree, but without some way of quantitating these – its pretty useless. The bottom line is that there is still no way to effectively diagnose ovarian cancer in its early stages.
On the positive side, apparently there has been some progress made in treating ovarian cancer in the past 40 years. In the 70’s the drugs available weren’t too effective. In the 80’s and 90’s platinum based drugs were used. Since then a combination of platinum and taxane given intraperitoneally has been used and can reduce the death rate by as much as 55%. This was in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Of course the death rate from ovarian cancer is still appalling. About 3 out of 4 women diagnosed with it will die. With around 20,000 women diagnosed with it per year, that’s around 15,000 per year dead.
That’s a pretty negative post for this time of year isn’t it? I promise I will try to be more positive next time!
(Technorati Tags: ovarian cancer, health, vitamin D)
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Related Posts:
- Ovarian cancer news review
- Reduce ovarian cancer risk for BRCA1/2 women
- News shorts: Ovarian cancer; breast feeding
December 18, 2006
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Osteoporosis Update
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Recently in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report a study by Judy Stevens, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that the rate of death in elderly people from falling has gone up. Falling is the 14th leading cause of death of elderly people.
Many people fall as they age due to vision loss, inner ear and other balance problems and strength loss.
Hip fractures however have gone down which may be part due to Medicare paying for bone density tests to check for osteoporosis in elderly people since 1998.
More data pointing to a connection between drinking colas and bone loss was reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In this study by Dr Katherine L Tucker of Tufts University in Boston of 2500 people showed that women who drank colas on a daily basis had lower bone mineral density in their hips than those who drank it infrequently. The phosphoric acid in colas impairs the absorption of calcium and increases excretion calcium from the body.
Since 90% of bone mass is in place by the age of 18 it is important that young girls learn how to increase their bone mass. In one promising study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine girls 14 – 16 years old were put into a lifestyle intervention program. In this program the girls had overnight retreats, fitness center membership, individual health coaches and more. After 2 years the girls had increased their spine and thigh bone density and had increased their consumption of calcium, vitamin D and other healthy foods. Now, if they could start programs like this in all schools we would be getting somewhere. Maybe cut down in the obesity problem in kids too!
And lastly, at Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers published a study in Developmental Cell where they demonstrated that a slight modification of the NFATc1 in mice could result in more bone growth presumably by triggering the production of more osteoblasts.
(Technorati Tags: osteoporosis, bone, calcium, death)
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December 15, 2006
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Breast Cancer Update
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(Its been a while since I’ve been able to post anything here due to injuries, sickness and other life issues getting in the way.
I decided to start posting again with short reviews of news stories on different topics since I last posted about them. I’ll start with breast cancer.)
Prevention
On the topic of prevention it was discovered that when girls eat soy on a regular basis from ages 5 to 11 they have a 58% lower chance of developing breast cancer as adults. A possible connection between soy intake and cancer isn’t new, but if I remember right – some studies show conflicting data. It is interesting that in this study by Dr. Larissa Korde only Asia women were included.
On the other hand it was found that folate, one of the B vitamins, does not seem to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Some researchers at the University of Bristol gathered the results of 22 other previous studies to and came to the conclusion folate does not affect the risk of developing breast cancer.
A study with rats showed that when pregnant rats ate lots of whole wheat their daughters were less likely to get breast cancer. This research by Dr. Leena Hilakivi-Clarke of Georgetown University in Washington, DC also indicates that a high-fat diet in pregnant rats also results in a greater change of the daughters developing breast cancer. Her research was published in the November issue of the International Journal of Cancer.
Testing and Screening
Research published in The Lancet recently suggests that the benefits of mammograms for women under 50 may not out weigh the risks of the increased radiation exposure.
A review by Drs. Peter C. Gotzsche and M. Nielsen of the Nordic Cochrane Center in Copenhagen points out that while mammography can save lives it also results in many women being diagnosed and treated for a benign cancer.
Advances in detecting breast cancer include a new type of ultrasound that can distinguish between lumps which are cancerous and those that are harmless. A small study was conducted by Richard Barr, a radiologist at Southwoods X-Ray and Open MRI in Youngstown, Ohio which showed that elasticity imaging might help prevent many women from having unnecessary biopsies.
Studies with a new type of CT scan called a Cone Beam Breast Computed Tomography scanner have produced some promising results. It produces 3D images and can also distinguish between benign and cancerous tumors – and tends to be much more comfortable for women. The research was led by Dr. Avice O’Connell of the University of Rochester in New York and was presented at the meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.
Treatment
The FDA recently approved the use of Herceptin in women with early stage cancer who have had surgery. Herceptin is already generally used for this purpose. Herceptin is given by an injection and targets tumor cells but not normal cells.
Other News
A British medical journal reports that it is not necessary for most women to wait more than 6 months after being treated for breast cancer to get pregnant.
Three recent studies address some issues related to African-American women and breast cancer. Dr. Devra L. Davis, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Epidemiology has suggested that exposure to hormones in some cosmetic products may be involved. Other research suggests that breast cancer in black women may be more aggressive and difficult to treat. They are more likely to have estrogen-receptor negative cancers which are not affected by some cancer drugs such as Herceptin. Recent data suggests that black women are now being screened as often as other women but their cancers are still not being diagnosed at an early stage.
(Technorati Tags: Breast Cancer, soy, mammogram, Herceptin)
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Related Posts:
- New drug for HER2/neu breast cancers may be available soon!
- Women’s Health Weekly Review: July 6 – July 12
- Breast cancer update – 7/12/07
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I’m back!
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Due to ergonomic and other injuries, sickness and other life issues getting in the way I haven’t been able to blog for a while. However, I think I am at least over the worst of those problems. My back and neck still bother me a bit while at the computer, but I think if I make a point to limit the time I’m spending here and take breaks I should be ok enough to start writing again.
I’m going to start back with some updates of the different topics I blog about and review what has happened since I last wrote about them. I’ll start with a breast cancer update.
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