Why So Many Children Are On The Road To Heart DiseaseWe teach our children how to walk, talk and go to the bathroom, but do we teach them how to eat right? National statistics show that many of us do not. According to the American Obesity Association, an alarming 15.5 percent of children between the ages of six and 11 are considered obese, putting them on a collision course with the nation's biggest killer: heart disease.The power of preventing such a tragedy lies in the hands of parents, according to pediatric health experts.
Childhood Obesity Is 'In The Genes'Childhood obesity is down to nature not nurture, reports The Times and other news sources. Genes account for "more than three quarters of the difference between children's waistlines, with lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise playing a much smaller role", the newspaper adds. All the news stories focus on a message that it is wrong to blame parents for their child's weight as much of the variation is due to genetics.
Obesity Screening Measures Highlight Additions To HEDIS 2009Two new measures focusing on obesity in children and adults highlight the additions to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®), released today for public comment by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Two other additions to the 2009 edition of HEDIS focus on care for older adults. The total annual cost of obesity in the U.S. is an estimated $117 billion. Overweight children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults.
Rat Study Suggests Obesity May Be Wired In The BrainA predisposition for obesity might be wired into the brain from the start, suggests a new study of rats in the February issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.Rats selectively bred to be prone to obesity show abnormalities in a part of the brain critical for appetite control, the researchers found.
Cancer Risk Goes Up With Increasing BMI, StudyA UK research team reviewing data pooled from over 140 studies has found that increasing BMI (body mass index, the ratio between a person's weight and their height squared) is linked to increasing risk of developing a number of common and some less common cancers. They also found that the link varies with gender and in some cases, by ethnic origin.
Health Effects Of Obesity May Be Related To Body ImageThe difference between actual and desired body weight is a stronger predictor of health than body mass index (BMI). In a secondary analysis of the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data set, researchers looked at a sample of 150,577 participants to examine the impact of desired body weight, independent of actual BMI, on the number of physically and mentally unhealthy days subjects report over one month.
Cold Tolerance And Metabolic Syndrome LinkedResearchers from the University of Chicago have discovered that many of the genetic variations that have enabled human populations to tolerate colder climates may also affect their susceptibility to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of related abnormalities such as obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease, and diabetes.More than 100 years ago, scientists noted that humans inhabiting colder regions were bulkier and had relatively shorter arms and legs.
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