Medicare Will Cover Obesity Screening and Treatment

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Medicare, which covers some 42 million American seniors, will pay for obesity screening and behavioral therapy as part of its portfolio of preventive services.

About 72 million American adults, including about a third of Medicare recipients, are obese, and the related health-care costs total some $325 billion a year. The federal decision will now allow Medicare beneficiaries to see their doctors for regular weight-loss counseling — a low-cost, low-tech solution — and may spur private insurers to do the same.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' decision summary, obese Medicare beneficiaries — with a body mass index of 30 or higher — seeking weight-loss counseling may see their primary care physician for one face-to-face visit every week for the first month. Then, Medicare will pay for one face-to-face visit every other week for the next five months. If the patient loses at least 3 kg (6.6 lbs.) over the first six months, Medicare will pay for an additional six months of once-a-month face-to-face visits with the doctor.

MORE: Number of Normal-Weight Americans Edges Out the Overweight

Despite the overwhelming rates of obesity in this country, few people have been diagnosed with a weight problem by their primary care physicians. In a 2007 Mayo Clinic study of nearly 10,000 primary care patients, about one quarter were obese; of those, only about 1 in 5 had a diagnosis or treatment plan for obesity. For older patients, the rate was even lower.

As the Los Angeles Times reported:

While research finds that physician counseling can be a powerful prod to weight loss for those who need it, many physicians have been reluctant to offer it. While some of that reluctance has stemmed from an absence of insurance reimbursement for such services, many also cite patient pushback and a lack of effective tools as reasons for shrinking from the task of identifying obesity, counseling patients about its health hazards and getting them started on a weight-loss program.

Medicare coverage isn't going to change the fact that we still don't have foolproof tools to help people lose weight, or that patients will push back — no one likes to hear that they're obese, after all — but if the federal decision helps lead to more obese people losing even small or moderate amounts of weight, it could be life-changing.

"As small of a weight loss as 5% to 7% can lead to a huge health improvement," Christy Ferguson, director of the STOP Obesity Alliance, told USA Today, noting also that obesity programs should emphasize an overall healthy lifestyle as well as weight loss. "It's not necessarily weight loss so much as it is increased fitness level and increased health."

The coverage is effective immediately, so Medicare recipients may be screened as soon as their next appointment.

Meredith Melnick is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @MeredithCM. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

News

Debt Financing

Read More

Babies on obesity path? New sign may offer answer

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
CHICAGO (AP) — Researchers say there's a new way to tell if infants are likely to become obese later on: Check to see if they've passed two key milestones on doctors' growth charts by age 2.

Babies who grew that quickly face double the risk of being obese at age 5, compared with peers who grew more slowly, their study found. Rapid growers were also more likely to be obese at age 10, and infants whose chart numbers climbed that much during their first 6 months faced the greatest risks.

That kind of rapid growth should be a red flag to doctors, and a sign to parents that babies might be overfed or spending too much time in strollers and not enough crawling around, said pediatrician Dr. Elsie Taveras, the study's lead author and an obesity researcher at Harvard Medical School.

Contrary to the idea that chubby babies are the picture of health, the study bolsters evidence that "bigger is not better" in infants, she said.

But skeptics say not so fast. Babies often grow in spurts and flagging the speediest growers could lead to putting infants on diets — a bad idea that could backfire in the long run, said Dr. Michelle Lampl, director of Emory University's Center for the Study of Human Health.

"It reads like a very handy rule and sounds like it would be very useful — and that's my concern," Lampl said. The guide would be easy to use to justify feeding infants less and to unfairly label them as fat. It could also prompt feeding patterns that could lead to obesity later, she said.

Lampl noted that many infants studied crossed at least two key points on growth charts; yet only 12 percent were obese at age 5 and slightly more at age 10. Nationally, about 10 percent of preschool-aged children are obese, versus about 19 percent of those aged 6 to 11.

Lampl and Edward Frongillo, an infant growth specialist at the University of South Carolina, voiced concern in an editorial accompanying the study in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, released online Monday. They argue that more research is needed to confirm whether the study's recommendation is really a useful way to flag infants for obesity.

"The potential to do more harm than good is actually very high," Frongillo said.

Taveras said the kind of rapid growth noted in the study should be used to raise awareness about potential risks but is not a reason to put babies on a diet.

The study involved 45,000 infants and children younger than age 11 who had routine growth measurements during doctor checkups in the Boston area from 1980 through 2008.

Growth charts help pediatricians plot weight, length in babies and height in older kids in relation to other children their same age and sex. Pediatricians sometimes combine an infant's measures to calculate weight-for-length — the equivalent of body-mass index, or BMI, a height-to-weight ratio used in older children and adults.

The charts are organized into percentiles. For example, infants at the 75th percentile for weight are heavier than 75 percent of their peers.

The study authors used seven major cutoffs on the charts — the 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th and 95th percentiles — to calculate growth pace. An infant whose weight-for-length jumped from the 19th percentile at 1 month to the 77th at 6 months crossed three major percentiles — the 25th, 50th and 75th — and would be at risk for obesity later in childhood, the authors said.

Larger infants were most at risk for obesity later on, but even smaller babies whose growth crossed at least two percentiles were at greater risk than those who grew more slowly.

About 40 percent of infants crossed at least two percentiles by age 6 months. An analysis of more than one-third of the study children found that 64 percent grew that rapidly by age 2.

Dr. Joanna Lewis, a pediatrician at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill., said she supports the idea that infancy is not too young to start thinking about obesity.

Still, she emphasized that rapid growth in infancy doesn't mean babies are doomed to become obese. "It's not a life sentence," and there are steps parents can take to keep their babies at a healthy weight without restrictive diets, she said.

Lewis said many of her patients are large babies whose parents feed them juice or solid food despite guidelines recommending nothing but breast milk or formula in the first six months.

"The study reinforces what we try to tell parents already: Delay starting solids and don't put juice in a bottle," Lewis said.

Lewis also advises parents that when starting infants on solid food, have the whole family sit down and eat together. Research has shown that obesity is less common in children raised in families that have frequent meals together at home.

___

Online:

Journal: http://www.archpediatrics.com

Growth charts: http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Associated Press

Technology

News

Read More

Mexico tackles epidemic of childhood obesity

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
In this photo taken on Tuesday July 19, 2011, Elizabeth Sucilla combs the hair of her four-year-old granddaughter Anghella Torres before going out for a walk, at their home in Mexico City. Anghella weighs 66 pounds (30 kilos) - twice what she should. With the help of her grandmother, Anghella is following a modest diet and exercise program established for her by a nurse at a local public hospital earlier this year. Anghella's mother, Livni Schroeder, 25, is pictured at left. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) In this photo taken on Tuesday July 19, 2011, Elizabeth Sucilla combs the hair of her four-year-old granddaughter Anghella Torres before going out for a walk, at their home in Mexico City. Anghella weighs 66 pounds (30 kilos) - twice what she should. With the help of her grandmother, Anghella is following a modest diet and exercise program established for her by a nurse at a local public hospital earlier this year. Anghella's mother, Livni Schroeder, 25, is pictured at left. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) In this photo taken on Tuesday July 19, 2011, Anghella Torres, 4, relaxes on a bed as her mother Livni Schroeder, 25, fastens her sandal strap in preparation for a walk at a nearby park, in Mexico City. Anghella, who at 66 pounds (30 kilos), weighs twice what she should, is following a modest diet and exercise program established for her by a nurse at a local public hospital earlier this year. Mexico, which claims to have the fattest kids in the world, is encouraging others to lose weight. Schools are banning junk food and requiring more physical education. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) In this photo taken on Tuesday July 19, 2011, Anghella Torres, 4, together with her mother Livni Schroeder, 25, play at a park, near their home in Mexico City. Anghella, who at 66 pounds (30 kilos), weighs twice what she should, is following a modest diet and exercise program established for her by a nurse at a local public hospital earlier this year. Mexico, which claims to have the fattest kids in the world, is encouraging others to lose weight. Schools are banning junk food and requiring more physical education. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) In this photo taken on Tuesday July 19, 2011, Anghella Torres, 4, kisses her mother Livni Schroeder, 25, during play at a park near their home in Mexico City. Anghella, who at 66 pounds (30 kilos), weighs twice what she should, is following a modest diet and exercise program established for her by a nurse at a local public hospital earlier this year. Mexico, which claims to have the fattest kids in the world, is encouraging others to lose weight. Schools are banning junk food and requiring more physical education. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) In this photo taken on Tuesday July 19, 2011, Anghella Torres, 4, plays at a park near her home in Mexico City. Anghella, who at 66 pounds (30 kilos), weighs twice what she should, is following a modest diet and exercise program established for her by a nurse at a local public hospital earlier this year. Mexico, which claims to have the fattest kids in the world, is encouraging others to lose weight. Schools are banning junk food and requiring more physical education. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)eval("var currentItemd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 1;");eval("var nextd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;");eval("var previousd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;"); MEXICO CITY (AP) — Anghella Torres is just 4 years old, but already she weighs 66 pounds (30 kilos) — twice what she should. Because of her excess girth, her little feet constantly hurt from bearing the extra weight.

Anghella knows she is obese and she doesn't like it. And now, even though she doesn't know how to read or count calories, she is on a diet. With the help of her grandmother and caretaker, Elizabeth Sucilla, Anghella is following a modest diet and exercise program established for her by a nurse at a local public hospital earlier this year.

"I have to stop eating candies," she said.

Her new regimen also requires her to cut down on the deep-fried potato wedges she ate every other day in the streets and spoonfuls of heavy cream she downed like yogurt.

Mexico, which claims to have the fattest children in the world, is trying to encourage others to follow Anghella's lead. Public schools have banned junk food and are requiring more hours of physical education while the federal government has launched a media campaign that invites families to enroll their kids in a public weight-loss program.

Yet three-quarters of Mexico City's 2,400 public schools don't have playgrounds or gyms for exercise. And 80 percent of the schools don't have water fountains. Experts stress the importance of drinking more water and fewer sugary drinks to prevent and reverse weight gain.

President Felipe Calderon said earlier this year that Mexico had the highest rate of obesity for children ages 5 to 19 in the world. And although he did not cite any source, University of North Carolina nutrition professor Barry Popkin, who has studied childhood obesity in many countries, agrees that it "is the highest I know of in the world."

While a large number of children in Mexico's poor, rural villages are still underweight, the country as a whole has seen the second-fastest growth rate for childhood obesity of nine countries examined by Popkin in a 2007 study, including the United States. The fastest growth rate of the nine is in Australia, according to the study, which compares health statistics in the countries over the past two decades.

The problem in Mexico is especially pronounced in the capital, Mexico City, and near the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a study by Mexico's National Institute of Public Health.

Children and teenagers make up Mexico's largest age group, representing 39 percent of the country's 112 million people. More than 28 percent of children between 5 and 9, and 38 percent of preteens and teenagers ages 10 to 19, are overweight or obese, according to statistics from the Mexican Social Security Institute.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 12.5 million, or 17 percent, of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are obese. First lady Michelle Obama has tackled the issue with her "Let's Move" campaign, pushing for better school lunches, more access to fruits and vegetables and more physical activity. And Congress last year passed a new law requiring school lunches to be healthier.

In Brazil, a newly industrialized nation like Mexico, 19 percent of children ages 5 to 9 are overweight, and 15 percent are obese, according to government statistics. Officials did not have statistics available for teenagers.

Mexico's public health institute says the problem lies not just with children: Seventy percent of Mexican adults are overweight or obese as well. Officials have decided to target children and teens first, however, because they are the largest age group and fighting their habits now would prevent large numbers of diabetes cases and other illnesses in the future, the officials said.

"The earlier obesity shows up, the higher the risk the kid will become an obese adult and contract other diseases like diabetes, hypertension," said Leticia Martinez, chief nutritionist for Mexico's public health institute. "We see this as an emergency."

Health officials define obesity as having too much body fat. In Mexico, the U.S. and elsewhere, obesity is determined through BMI, a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

Mexico's childhood obesity spans social classes, though the poor are less informed and equipped to deal with the epidemic.

Starting this year, pre-kindergarten and elementary schools completely banned the sale of soft drinks and junk food and replaced previous breakfast programs with dishes rich in vegetables, such as squash blossoms and carrots. Middle schools are only selling sugar-free drinks, low-calorie snacks and small bags of chips that appear in new food guidelines approved by the departments of health and education.

During recess at the Republica Italiana elementary school, children run out of classrooms and form three lines, each one of which leads to a different food option.

Their choices include a turkey hot dog on a wheat bun with tomatoes and no mayonnaise; "nopales," or edible cactus paddles, with sliced peppers on a corn tortilla; sunflower seeds or a scoop of unsweetened lemon sorbet; and slices of cucumbers and carrots.

Principal Yamile Bobadilla says there's nothing she can do about vendors who still gather outside of the school gates to sell sodas, greasy pizzas and chips.

Some of the children, and even some parents, have complained about the junk food ban, she said, adding, "They see me as the witch."

The country's healthy-weight campaign has other challenges: Officials acknowledge there aren't enough dietitians in the public schools to help all of the children in need. They also note a prevailing cultural notion that a chubby baby is a healthy baby.

"Any efforts to improve the school environment are very important to combat the epidemic," said Chessa Lutter, a regional adviser on food and nutrition for the Pan American Health Organization.

Starting in the 2010-2011 school year, education officials began increasing the number of physical education hours from one to three per week based on their conclusion that some children are obese because they don't exercise. On a recent morning at Republica Italiana, several groups of kids were sent out to the school yard to run, play softball or twirl hula-hoops.

Bobadilla said some children still faint and suffer from extreme fatigue because of their weight problems.

Guillermo Ayala, who leads the food guidelines' task force at the Education Department, also heads an effort to have every child in Mexico City weighed and measured by a team of physical education coaches and nurses. Schools with a high number of children who have gained or not lost weight will face administrative sanctions, he said.

Outside the classroom, government-sponsored TV spots show kids struggling under heavy sacks of grain, symbols of the extra pounds (kilos) many are carrying around with them. The ads invite parents to enroll their children in a government-run program of diet and exercise. About 5.3 million children participate every year, but officials don't keep track of how many of them are overweight.

Anghella's grandmother Sucilla took her to a public hospital in May at the suggestion of the girl's day care providers, who said something would have to be done about the child's diet and exercise before she started school in August.

A nurse at the hospital suggested that Anghella start taking regular walks, drinking a lot of water and eating more whole grains, vegetables and fruits.

She goes often to visit the nurse, who weighs her regularly.

At home, when her small hand tries to reach for a sweet roll on the table, Sucilla slaps it and says, "You know why, my little girl."

Anghella said she doesn't like it when adults say she's fat.

"No, sweetheart. You are cuddly," Sucilla tells her. But she then adds, "I worry because I don't want my little girl to be an obese girl."

Associated Press

Technology

News

Read More

Study links neighborhood to obesity risk

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Research has linked obesity to neighborhood features such as the number of supermarkets and fast-food restaurants.Rates of diabetes and severe obesity are about one-fifth lower in the women who movedFactors could contribute to better health in low-poverty areas, including healthy foodsJust 16% of the women who moved to low-poverty areas had diabetes

(Health.com) -- When federal housing officials created a program in the mid-1990s to help single-mother households in poor neighborhoods relocate to low-poverty areas, they weren't merely interested in providing access to better homes, jobs, and schools. They also wanted to study how the families who moved out changed over time compared to those who stayed put.

After more than a decade, moving from high- to low-poverty areas seems to have had little impact on economic measures such as employment and income. But researchers have discovered an interesting side effect of the program: In a new follow-up study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, they report that rates of diabetes and severe obesity are about one-fifth lower in the women who moved than in those who did not.

The apparent improvements in health associated with low-poverty areas are comparable to the typical outcomes seen with programs that encourage healthy eating or exercise, or that provide medications to people with diabetes, says Jens Ludwig, Ph.D., the lead author of the study and a professor of social service administration, law, and public policy at the University of Chicago.

"For this program, health improvements were not the primary goal," Ludwig says. "But the fact that we're seeing effects in the ballpark of what you'd get with very direct, targeted interventions designed for weight loss, for example, [is] pretty striking."

Health.com: 11 ways to save money on healthy food

Several factors could contribute to better health in low-poverty areas, including greater access to healthy foods, a safer environment more conducive to outdoor exercise, and lower levels of psychological stress, Ludwig says. The move "changed a bunch of things at one time for these families, so it's hard to tease out exactly what made a big difference for them," he says. "But all of these things seem like plausible explanations."

Troy Blanchard, Ph.D., an associate professor of sociology at Louisiana State University, in Baton Rouge, who studies health and obesity in poor rural areas, says the findings draw attention to an often-ignored aspect of the obesity and diabetes epidemics.

"Oftentimes, research really focuses on people's decisions, and what they do wrong, and how they are at fault, essentially, for being obese or having a disease or a poor diet," says Blanchard, who was not involved in the study. "This provides evidence that it's not just the individual's decisions, but...also the environment -- the neighborhood -- that really does matter."

Health.com: 10 states that consume too much fast food

The idea that neighborhoods can have an impact on health is not new. Studies on this topic date back to the 1700s, Ludwig points out, and more recently a growing body of research has linked obesity and other health problems to neighborhood features such as the number of supermarkets and fast-food restaurants. But this is the first time researchers have been able to compare moving out of a neighborhood with staying behind, in the same way that new drugs are compared with placebos in clinical trials.

The relocation program, known as Moving to Opportunity, began in 1994 when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development partnered with local housing authorities to recruit low-income families living in public housing in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

The families who volunteered for the program were sorted into three groups via random lottery: Some received vouchers that enabled them to move into areas with a low poverty rate (below 10%) at the same rent they were paying in public housing, some received vouchers that could be used anywhere, and some -- the control group -- received no new vouchers or assistance.

Years later, between 2008 and 2010, Ludwig and his colleagues followed up with 3,186 women who participated in the program. The researchers calculated each woman's body mass index, or BMI (a simple ratio of height to weight), and collected blood samples, which they tested for a type of protein that indicates average long-term levels of blood sugar.

Health.com: 10 signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes

Of the women who stayed in their original neighborhoods, 20% had blood-sugar levels consistent with diabetes and 18% had a BMI of at least 40 (the unofficial cutoff point for morbid obesity). These rates were not measurably different among the women who received unrestricted vouchers. By contrast, just 16% of the women who moved to low-poverty areas had diabetes and just 14% were morbidly obese.

"We went in wondering to what degree a real randomized experiment would confirm -- or not confirm -- what a lot of people already believed," Ludwig says. "The most surprising thing was not that it did confirm the belief, but the significant size of the effect."

The study doesn't claim that moving from a high- to low-poverty area guarantees weight loss or protection from diabetes. The health measures used in the study weren't recorded before 2008, so the researchers weren't able to track how moving affected the health of individuals over time. In addition, all of the Moving to Opportunity participants were volunteers, raising the possibility that they differ in key ways from the average public housing resident. (The volunteers were more likely than their neighbors to be concerned about crime, for instance.)

Despite the study's limitations, Ludwig and his colleagues conclude that public health programs that target obesity and diabetes in high-poverty neighborhoods "could generate substantial social benefits." This message is important for policymakers and community organizers, but also for individuals living in these neighborhoods, Blanchard says.

"It shows that being active in your community and working to make safer, healthier environments can really affect the health of the people who live there," he says. "Not everyone can move out of their neighborhood, but maybe there's a chance to improve what's there."

Copyright Health Magazine 2010

Education Information

Technology

Read More

Obesity 'harms teen girls more'

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
14 October 2011 Last updated at 16:16 GMT Teenage girls tend to be less active than boys Obesity has a greater impact on the blood pressure of teenage girls than on teenage boys, a US study has suggested.

High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke in later life.

The study of 1,700 teenagers, presented to the American Physiological Society conference, found girls had three times the risk of higher blood pressure.

A British Heart Foundation spokeswoman said a third of young people in the UK were overweight or obese.

The teenagers, aged between 13 and 17 had their blood pressure measured as part of school district health surveys and health checks. Their body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight/height ratio - was also recorded.

There are two types of blood pressure which are measured. Diastolic pressure - the lower number in a reading - measures the force on the arteries between heartbeats. Systolic blood pressure, represented by the top number in a blood pressure reading, is the amount of force that blood exerts on blood vessel walls when the heart beats.

High systolic measurements indicate risk for heart disease and stroke.

It was found obese boys were 3.5 times more likely to develop elevated systolic blood pressure than non-obese boys.

But similarly obese girls were nine times more likely to develop elevated systolic blood pressure than their non-obese peers.

Danger 'highlighted'

The researchers from the University of California say the link may be counteracting the known protective effect of the hormone oestrogen on the heart.

Dr Rudy Ortiz, who led the study, said: "Overall, there is a higher likelihood that those who present with both higher BMI and blood pressure will succumb to cardiovascular complications as adults.

"But the findings suggest that obese females may have a higher risk of developing these problems than males."

Dr Ortiz said the significant difference between boys and girls could be explained by exercise levels.

"Obese adolescent females participate in 50 to 60% less physical activity than boys in the population surveyed."

Natasha Stewart, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Here we have yet more evidence highlighting the danger that obesity poses to the health of our children.

"Based on this American study alone, it's too early to say for sure whether girls are more at risk than boys, but we do know girls tend to be less active than boys which could play a part.

"What is certain is that obesity is clearly putting both boys' and girls' health at risk.

"This is a very real problem for lots of families - about a third of young people in England are now overweight or obese.

"Healthy eating and physical activity during childhood is vital to ensure growth, development and a pattern of healthy habits which will carry through into adulthood."

Debt Financing

Career Advisor

Read More

Obesity rate declines slightly, study finds

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Subway commuters walk through the turnstiles while leaving the U.S. Open in New York September 4, 2007.

Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson/Files

By Roy Strom

CHICAGO | Sat Oct 8, 2011 4:01pm EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The percentage of Americans of "normal weight" has slightly increased in the past year, but overweight and obese people still command a solid majority, according to a new study.

In the third quarter of 2011, 36.6 percent of Americans were of normal weight, compared with 35.6 percent a year ago, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey found.

Obese and overweight Americans combined for more than 60 percent of the population, it said.

"Although the majority of Americans are still overweight or obese, it is an encouraging sign that obesity rates are trending downward in the U.S.," the study said.

The survey found 35.8 percent of Americans to be overweight, compared with 36.0 percent a year ago, and 25.8 percent obese, down from 26.6 percent last year.

The study said it was not clear what caused the change, but said it could be due to the tough economy, with cash-strapped Americans choosing to eat in rather than eating at high-calorie restaurants.

A downward trend in obesity rates could also mean a drop in healthcare costs, the study said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated medical costs associated with obesity were $147 billion in 2008.

The study used self-reported data of height and weight to determine a score of body mass index. It was based on telephone interviews with a random sample of 90,070 people aged 18 and older from July to September, and had a margin of error of plus or minus one percent.

(Editing by Greg McCune and Mohammad Zargham)

New Automobile

Health Management

Read More

U.S. obesity rate declines slightly, study finds

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Fairgoers play a carnival game at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar, California, June 29, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

By Roy Strom

CHICAGO | Fri Oct 7, 2011 4:29pm EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some Americans are losing weight resulting in more people of "normal weight," according to a new study, but it is not clear if the trend will last.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index found that for the first time in three years there are more normal weight Americans than those in the overweight category.

But the majority of Americans are at an unhealthy weight, the study said. Obese and overweight Americans combined make up more than 60 percent of the population, according to the study.

"Although the majority of Americans are still overweight or obese, it is an encouraging sign that obesity rates are trending downward in the U.S.," the study said.

The study found the percent of normal weight Americans in the third quarter of 2011 to be 36.6 percent, while the number of overweight people came in at 35.8 percent. Obese Americans make up 25.8 percent of the population.

Obesity has become a major problem in the U.S. over the last decade.

In 2000, no U.S. state had an adult obesity rate higher than 30 percent, according to Centers for Disease Control data. In 2010, there were 12 states at that level, and another eight poised to join them with adult obesity rates of 28 percent or higher.

The study said it was not clear what caused the drop in overweight and obese Americans, but said it could be due to the tough economy, with cash-strapped Americans choosing to eat in rather than eating at high-calorie restaurants.

Another reason could be increased public awareness campaigns such as Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" anti-obesity campaign, and business initiatives, that prompted more health-conscious decisions.

A downward trend in obesity rates could also mean a drop in U.S. health care costs, the study said. The Centers for Disease Control estimated medical costs associated with obesity were $147 billion in 2008.

The study used self-reported data of height and weight to determine a score of body mass index. A score of 30 or higher was classified as "obese," while 25.0 to 29.9 was "overweight." A score from 18.5 to 24.9 is classified as "normal weight." Scores below 18.5 were "underweight."

The study conducted telephone interviews with a random sample of 90,070 people aged 18 and older from July to September of this year, and had a margin of error of plus or minus one percent.

(Editing by Greg McCune)

New Automobile

Health Management

Read More

HEALTH MANAGEMENT. Smoking marijuana not relating to obesity: study

NEW YORK | Sun Sep 11, 2011 10: 22 pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - who marijuana smoked has "the munchies," knows, that want to eat anything within reach. But a study from France has found that, surprisingly, actually less often than non-smoking, weight to put pot smokers.
Researchers led by Yann Le STRAT, a psychiatrist in the Louis Mourier hospital in Colombes, France, were found that approximately 14 to 17 percent of people reported that they smoked pot at least three days a week obese with data for more than 50,000 adults in the United States.
That compared with 22 to 25 percent obesity among people who said they had used not pot in the past 12 months.
"Initially, we thought we made a mistake," Le STRAT, adding that he said and co-author Bernard Le foll the results checked several times to ensure that they were correct.
"This is only a preliminary earnings." "It does not mean that marijuana really help to lose weight, but maybe there's a component that does."
The study, published in the American Journal of epidemiology, contain two surveys of adults in the USA-one about 43,000 people, the other about 9,300 respondents. Both had of branches of the US national institutes of health between 2001 and 2009 performed.
The larger the surveys found that 14 percent of the pot were obese smokers compared to 22 percent, the pot smoking not. Also the smaller survey found 17 percent of the pot-smoking obese be compared to 25 percent of the non-smoking.
All respondents two surveys smoked pot between four and seven percent, she said at least three times a week.
Whether she had smoked cigarettes also does not affect the results of obesity, although researchers not look at whether nutrition and lack of exercise in pot smokers and non-smokers were different.
According to an another recent survey from the substance abuse and mental health services administration is pot use on the rise in the United States. Almost 16 million US citizens, marijuana used an increase of around 15 million in 2007 in 2010.
Scientists have the role to block various molecules within marijuana smoke, high feeling, pain, and may be subject to the hunger for food in the rule provoked, explored by using pot.
Cannabinoids, molecules natural signaling chemicals in the body, similar to be believed, too stimulated to key Appetit--so much so that in 2006, a drug called rimonabant, designed to combat cannabinoids, work has been developed.
Rimonabant has been in more than 30 countries, but not in the United States, for the treatment of obesity. But the drug was pulled from shelves two years later by an increased risk of suicide among its users.
Whether cannabinoids are the only appetite stimulants in pot smoke, or other chemicals could take account of the impact, remains to be seen, the researchers say.
Other experts said that the results, which does not surprise her.
"There is no evidence of that repeatedly, body weight, can increase use of marijuana," said Vincenzo Di Marzo, Professor at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry in Pozzuoli, Italy, which was not part of the study.
He warned that the study does not appear that smoking pot helps you lose weight, but that it could be a starting point for future research.
Le STRAT echoed this view and warned before experiment with pot as a diet aid.
"I see people with marijuana addiction." "I hope that people will not interpret the results mean that if they use marijuana, they are to lose weight", he added. Source: bit.ly/mQOCXt

Read More

HEALTH MANAGEMENT. Increases death risk in African-American women with obesity and waist size

According to a new study led by researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center at the Boston University higher overweight and obesity in African-American women, will increase the risk of death. Cause of death in women, moreover, was a larger waist size with a higher risk the not obese. The relationship between body size and risk of death was strongest for deaths from cardiovascular disease.
The study, published in the New England Journal of medicine, Deborah Boggs, ScD, a researcher at the Slone led.
Researchers assessed the relationship of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference risk of death over a period of 13 years of follow up in the black women's health study, an ongoing study of 59,000 African-American women in the United States. The Auditors focused on 33.916 women who had never smoked and were free from cardiovascular disease and cancer at the beginning of the study.
The risk of death was 18 percent, for every 5 units increase in BMI and BMI most from cardiovascular disease death was connected. The risk of death from cardiovascular disease was two times higher for obese women (BMI 25-29) and three times higher for obese women (BMI of 30 or higher) compared with women with a healthy weight (BMI below 25). The researchers also found that a larger waist size increased risk of death among women is associated with, who were not obese been classified; A waist size was over 35 inches a 55 percent higher risk of death.
Whereas BMI is one good estimate of the total body fat, waist size is a measure of the distribution of body fat, particularly abdominal fat. Previous research suggests that belly fat is more metabolically active, plays a role in the development of insulin resistance and can be especially harmful for the long-term health. In those who are not obese may be waist size a better indicator of risk for many health consequences.
Earlier results found that risk of death with higher BMI in the white population increased, but the limited data available on African-Americans out, pointed, increasing risk of death only at a very high level of BMI.
"Today's results show that increases the risk of death in black women with increasing BMI of 25 or more similar to the pattern in the white people", said Boggs, main author of the study. "Our results emphasize the importance for women of a healthy weight, and keep additional inches from the waist in order to reduce the risk of death."

Read More

HEALTH MANAGEMENT. White House childhood obesity task force must focus on the treatment for minority children

The White House task force on childhood obesity, created by the President as part of the first lady "Let's move" campaign, is resolved to be the epidemic of obesity within a generation rising the land at a rate of 5 percent by 2030, what began in the late 1970s the rate before obesity by the year.
A recent U-M study, published online before using print in obesity journal researchers evaluated the balance of prevention and treatment, for the objectives, by the task force may 2010-report ordered.
Is a shared emphasis on the prevention of obesity and treatment strategies required to achieve this goal, according to researchers. Prevention programmes solely deal with according to the epidemic, the children, who are already obese, especially minorities. Obesity treatment strategies have an important part of the equation.
"There are many discussions on the prevention of obesity for children." This is certainly important, but it is not the whole story. "Because so many children are already overweight, it need greater efforts focused on treatment, if we succeed", Joyce M. LEE, MD, mph, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and communicable diseases at the U-M medical school and a U-M c.s.. clinician says Mott Childrens Hospital.
Rates of obesity in the United States are much higher for minority children, with 20% black and Mexican-American children affected, with only 15 percent for white children childhood. Because the burden of obesity is so high, the study includes prevention strategies alone will not help, the task force, be to achieve objective.
"Effective treatment strategies, in particular targeted minority children, in particular are needed," says Lee, the lead author of the study.
The research suggests that healthy hunger-free kids act of 2010, reverse progress efforts to the obesity epidemic can help recent legislation, including the. The law increased financial support for the national school lunch program, offering free or reduced price meals to students with low income.
However, the researchers say that the law the affected by obesity can have a greater impact on the prevention of obesity in healthy children, instead of reducing obesity in children.
"It is not enough only to develop new, culturally relevant and effective treatment strategies focused on minority children be." "We the financial obstacles to these treatment strategies for children in households with low income, of which there are many racial / ethnic minorities, must reduce", says Lee.
Only ten States include offered obesity nutritional and behavioral therapy by programs such as Medicaid. Given the number of disadvantaged children, which are likely to be more obese, but is it important to say that this scheme for all authors available.
"The health care reform bill passed an important role in the cover for overweight children, can play in 2010 as requires it, new health plans to cover obesity screening and counseling for children," says Lee.
Source: University of Michigan health system
Articles from medical news today adapted from original press release.
Visit our paediatrics & child health section for the latest news on this topic.
There are no references listed, for this article. To quote this article in your essay, paper, or report, please use one of the following formats:
APA
University of Michigan Health System (2011, September 9). White House\ childhood obesity task force on the treatment for minority children should. Medical news today. Retrieved 9 September 2011 by http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/234131.php MLA
University of Michigan Health System. "White House\ childhood obesity task force must children focus on the treatment for minority". Medical news today, September 9 2011. Web. 9 Sep, 2011.
Please note: If no information about the author is specified, the source is quoted instead.

Please note that we publish your name, but we publish your e-Mail address. It is used only so that you know when your message is published. We use it for any other purpose. See our privacy policy for more information.
If you write about certain drugs or operations, No please health care professionals name by name.
All submissions are moderated before, is included (in order to stop spam)
Contact our news editor
Please use our feedback form for corrections of factual information, or to the editor.

Please send medical news or health press press releases to:
Note: all medical information on this website is published not a substitute for well-founded advice and you should take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

Read More

HEALTH MANAGEMENT. Smoking marijuana not relating to obesity: study

By Linda Thrasybule
NEW YORK | September 9, 2011 5: 16 pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - can people, vulnerable to "the munchies" smoke the marijuana, but surprisingly, they are less likely than proposes non-smoking to pack the pounds, a new study from France.
Analyzing data, for more than 50,000 American adults, the researchers found that approximately 14 to 17 percent of people were reported that they smoked pot at least three days a week obese. That compared with 22 to 25 percent obesity among people who said they had used not pot in the past 12 months.
"Initially, we thought that we have a mistake", Dr. Yann Le STRAT is a psychiatrist in the Louis Mourier hospital in Colombes, France said. He and co-author Dr. Bernard Le foll had several times to check the results, to ensure that they were incorrect, said Le STRAT.
Le STRAT "This is only a preliminary earnings," said Reuters Health. "It does not mean that marijuana really help to lose weight, but maybe there's a component that does."
The study, published in the American Journal of epidemiology, contain two surveys of adults in the United States - one about 43,000 people, over 9,300 other respondents. Both had of branches of the US national institutes of health between 2001 and 2003 performed.
The larger the polls not found 14 percent of the pot smokers obese compared to 22 percent, the pot smoking. Also the smaller survey found 17 percent of the pot-smoking obese be compared to 25 percent of the non-smoking.
All respondents two surveys smoked pot between four and seven percent, she said at least three times a week.
Whether she had smoked cigarettes also does not affect the results of obesity.
The researchers consider not whether diet and lack of exercise were different in pot smokers and non-smoking.
According to an another recent poll, from the substance abuse and mental health services administration is pot use on the rise in the United States marijuana 2010 a nearly 18 million Americans a year increase of around 15 million in 2007.
Scientists have the role to block various molecules within marijuana smoke, high feeling, pain, and may be subject to the hunger for food in the rule provoked, explored by using pot.
Cannabinoids, molecules natural signaling chemicals in the body, similar to be believed, key to stimulates appetite. Was so much so that in 2006 a drug rimonabant, called, which is designed to combat cannabinoids, developed.
Rimonabant has been in more than 30 countries-but not in the USA-for the treatment of obesity. But the drug was pulled from shelves two years later by an increased risk of suicide among users.
Whether cannabinoids pot are the only appetite stimulants in smoke, or whether other chemicals for the effect could take into account, remains to be seen, the researchers say.
Dr. Vincenzo Di Marzo, Professor at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry in Pozzuoli, Italy, who was not part of the study, was not in the meantime their results at all surprised. "There is no evidence, that repeatedly body weight can increase use of marijuana."
Di Marzo precautions, which don't, see the study that smoking pot helps you lose weight, but he believes that it is a starting point for future research.
Le STRAT warned against feeling and also experiment with pot as a diet aid.
"I see people with marijuana dependence," explained Le STRAT. "I hope that people do not interpret the results mean that if they use marijuana, they are to lose weight."

Read More