We are eating too much sugar, experts warn. The average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar per year, and according to research at UCLA, sugar can lead to memory problems, learning problems and general mental dumbness.

By grouping rates into three groups, they concluded that rates drinking sugary drinks had the most difficultly finishing a maze they’d learned 6 weeks before. While the control group had significantly less difficulty, and the group with added omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) who also consumed sugary drinks did better.

“Because insulin can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, the hormone may signal neurons to trigger reactions that disrupt learning and cause memory loss,” Gomez-Pinilla said.

This suggests that sugar may disrupt a person’s processing of thoughts and emotions. This can disrupt memory and learning (two key components of intelligence), because of insulin’s role in the brain.

“Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage.”

Earlier studies have linked sugar to obesity and type 2 diabetes, and there are cascades of new research which suggests that sugar is even more harmful then we thought.

Dr. Lustig, featured in the 60 minutes interview below, says that too much fructose (sugar) and not enough fiber is leading the obesity epidemic.

Sugar and Cancer?

Other recent investigative news purported sugar as a toxin. 60 Minutes (video below) suggests that sugar can increase your chances of developing cancer. The doctor around 9:30 minutes says not to consume sugar at all.  It may not be entirely realistic, especially when they also say that sugar is addictive by firing the reward region of our brain. So they recommend eliminating all “added” sugars out of diet.

There recommendation on the how much “added” sugars to consume:

• 100 calories/per day from  sugar for women
• 150 calories/per day from sugar for men

Photo: Candy by Leogirly4life

36% of the adult population is currently categorized as obese (other studies suggest only 26%: view other post), new research points a grim light on the growing concern for obesity in America.

New research shows that the obesity epidemic is not slowing down. Obesity research for the next two decades is estimated to reach an astonashing 42% of the adult population.

Believe it or not, this is better than other forecasts which estimated 51% for the same time period.

The researcher attribute the lower rates “to the assumption that future trends in obesity will follow a logarithmic, as opposed to a linear, trajectory,” which suggests “a leveling-off of obesity for some sub-populations.”

The researchers analyzed data from a sample of 3,475,103 nonpregnant adults aged 18 years and older collected from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) between 1990 and 2008, to estimate the prevalence of adult obesity and severe obesity through 2030.

Although obesity rates are continued to rise, expectantly, in the next two decades. Severe obesity is foretasted to increase considerable to 11% of the population – casual definition is a person who’s 100 pounds or more overweight. This is expected to increase from only 4.9% now.

Obesity Costs Continues to Expand

Right now Americans are paying $147 Billion a year in medical costs, which represents 9% of total annual medical costs. The expected increase, 33% for the next two decades, could increase to $195.5 Billion a year.

 The findings are based on data collected from 1990 through 2008 as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a survey by the CDC and health departments in the states. Measures of obesity were based on body mass index, which is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. A BMI of 18 to 24.99 is considered healthy; those in the 25-29.99 range are considered overweight; people above 30 are classified as obese, and those above 40 are severely obese. – Source: LA Times

Obesity Might Be Even Worse Than 42% of the Population – Reaching 56.7% of the Population

Obesity may be worse than we expected, especially for women. There is a gowing concern about the efficacy of the widely used Body Mass Index. One study suggests that 50% of women and 20% of men, who are classified as “normal” weight, could be under reported - suggesting that they may truly be obese.

The study, published Monday in the journal PLoS One, uses a patient’s ratio of fat to lean muscle mass as the “gold standard” for detecting obesity and suggests that it could be a better bellwether of an individual’s risk for health problems.

The new measure allows a majority of men to reclassify their overweight and obese classifications of BMI to a healthy or better weight. However, women fared far worse with this new obesity measurement. Under this representation an additional 15.7% of the adult population could be overweight, bringing the total overweight individuals to 56.7% of the adult population in 2030.

Photo Source: Flickr Creative Commons Scale-A-Week: 18 July 2010

Michelle Obama says that even though Mexico is getting  negative press, with various media venues claiming it’s more dangerous and more violent, Mexico is still relatively safe. She warns people have to be on guard, no matter where you travel to. Be on guard and conscientious travels, and use common sense.

Michelle Obama also says that the U.S. Embassy in Mexico doesn’t have any restrictions for travel. For more information on the safety of Mexico please refer to Travel.State.Gov’s page on Mexico. Also read Center for Disease Control’s page on Mexico Travel.

The trip took place when Michelle Obama visited Mexico City on a three-day trip to promote an international agenda centered on engaging young people around the world.

Obesity is changing the way we live our lives, the way we interact with people and the way we plan for our futures. Obesity is especially severe in the U.S. and the U.K. with these frightening statistics. It may be surprising that the UK is suffering from the similar problems as we are in the US.

Healthcare companies will continue to  pander to their growing obese patients and costs will continue to soar.

A study of 30,000 Medicare recipients showed that the health care costs of overweight people increased almost twice as much as those with a more normal body mass index. Also, according to Gallup research, Americans paid around $80 billion for additional health care costs related to obesity in 2011.

Obesity will continue to rise because of the complacency and growing social acceptance. That is a very strong statement, but if you see the way people are acting about obesity and obese people, there is a growing acceptance for obesity. An extreme example is an community dedicated to supporting acceptance of obese individuals (ie try searching for “Fatspiration“).

Should we at any rate accept obese individuals? Probably not. But right now it’s a fuax pas to criticize people who are obese. This is not so in other countries, where it’s akin to telling somebody they’re destroying their lives and potential engaging in drug-related activities.

The proliferation of fast food and wrong ideology continues to spread we are likely to see healthcare costs continue to rise and a continued growth of the weight loss industry. Now is the time to change, consider a new diet and exercise regimen or bariatric surgery.

Frightening Statistics

In 2020, if the current rate of obesity occurs, half the population will be obese, and will cause 13 years of life span decrease. Obesity is highly related to depression, unemployment, and other maladies.

Created by: MedicalCodingCareerGuide.com

In 2011 saw less obese and overweight individuals and a rise in healthly weight. Health (normal) weight individuals grew from 35.4% to 36.1% from 2010 to 2011, respectively. The new study by the Gallup and their Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index also shown some significant correlations between interest demographics as well a positive correlation between obesity and comorbidites.

Overall, the study found that obesity rates and overweight rates are declining for the second year in a row (2010 and 2011). Here is the statistics on weight and obesity (BMI) in 2011:

• 26.1% of Americans are Obese
• 36% of Americans are Overweight
• 36.1% are Normal Weight
• 1.8% are Underweight

The 2011 data encompass more than 300,000 surveys of American adults. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index uses respondents’ self-reports of their height and weight to calculate body mass index (BMI) scores. Individual BMI values of 30 or above are classified as “obese,” 25 to 29.9 are “overweight,” 18.5 to 24.9 are “normal weight,” and 18.4 or less are “underweight.”

Income and Obesity

Income and obesity seem to be negatively correlated, in 2011 an annual income less than $36,000 has 30.9% of the demographic obese, while an annual income over $90,000 has only 20.9% obese.

Location and Obesity

Individuals located on the coasts, or near the coasts (west or east) seem to have lower rates of obesity. Study found that the South 27.9% of residents were obese, Midwest was 27.4%, East saw 25.3% and West only 23.1%.

Obesity In Metro Areas and Cities

The cities with the highest rates of obesity were:

• McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX  - 38.8%
• Binghamton, NY  - 37.6%
• Huntington-Ashland, WV, KY and OH – 36%
• Rockford, IL  - 35.5%
• Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX  -  33.8%
• Charleston, WV  -  33.8%
• Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL  -  33.5%
• Topeka, KS  -  33.3%
• Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA  -  33.2%
• Reading, PA  -  32.7%

The cities with the least rates of obesity were:

• Boulder, CO   – 12.1%
• Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT  -  14.5%
• Fort Collins-Loveland, CO  -  14.6%
• Barnstable Town, MA  -  15.9%
• Santa Barbara-Santa Maria -Goleta, CA  -  16.4%
• Naples-Marco Island, FL   – 16.5%
• Trenton-Ewing, NJ  -  16.8%
• Provo-Orem, UT  -  17.1%
• Colorado Springs, CO  -  17.4%
• San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA  -  17.5%

Comorbidities and Obesity

The study also found that the cities and metro areas that are prevalent with obesity are at an higher likely hood for Diabetes, Heart Attack, High Blood Pressure (hypertension), Depression and High Cholesterol. Which leads the conclusion, brought forth by the study to suggest, that Obesity costs cities an estimated $80 Billion per year in Healthcare costs (Study).

Comorbidities - 10 Most Obese Metro Areas – 10 Least Obese Metro Areas

• Diabetes : 13.8%  -  8.1%
• Heart Attack :  5.7%  -  3.6%
• High Blood Pressure :  33.6% – 25.1%
• Depression :  19.3%  - 14.8%
• High Cholesterol :  30.8% – 25.1%

As more benefits of bariatric (weight loss) surgery becomes aware in the public’s eye, many are urging insurance companies to cover weight loss surgery. There have been numerous studies showing that insurance companies can actually cut costs over the long run by offering bariatric surgeries to their patients.

Earlier last week, medical device manufacturer Allergan ( the maker of the Lap-Band Implant) is pushing the U.S. government and healthcare insurers to cover bariatric surgery costs.

“It’s all about reimbursements,” Allergan Chief Executive David Pyott told Reuters. The benefits of weight loss surgery, he added, “are not well understood by policy makers.” Read more: Fox News

This comes at a time when Lap-Band sales are flat, as other surgeries like Gastric Sleeve, Gastric Plication and RNY Gastric Bypass are all increasing in use. Currently many companies already offer some sort of coverage, and Virginia and Georgia have mandated that state-regulated insurers offer bariatric surgery — but employers are not required to buy that coverage.

Does insuring bariatric surgery for patients make since actuarially?

More and more insurance companies are opting to cover the surgery, some companies are covering the surgery without conditions, conditions even the NIH recommends.

Midwest Blue Cross/Blue Shield Plan and the Health Alliance Medical Plan in Southern Illinois and Iowa recently eliminated the requirement that a patient must have tried and failed to lose weight under the supervision of a physician before getting surgery.

A survey by Hewett Associates found that 44 percent of insurance plans with 5,000 or more employees do not cover weight loss surgery. The fact that more people are becoming aware about the health and financial benefits of weight loss surgery, I think insurance coverage for bariatric surgery will only increase.

Although, I think insurance coverage will increase, there are some companies, companies who have a high turnover or a low revenue-per-employee, which will never offer complete coverage. That being said, in the future if you’re working 40-hours per week at a stable company, there should be a strong chance you’ll get covered.

Photo Credit: Obesity and Computers by FBellon, on Flickr

Obesity is on rise all over the world due to changes in life style and dietary habits of the people. According to national health and nutrition examination surrey (NHANES) report 1999-200, 64 percent of the adult population in America is overweight and almost one third of the adults are obese (31% adults aged 20 years or older suffer from obesity). This is an alarming fact, moreover obesity is also affecting the pediatric age group; more and more children are getting obese.

The tremendous rise in obesity is also putting a lot of burden on the health system due to obesity related complications. Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular diseases are well-known complications of obesity now cancer of different organs of the body has been linked to obesity. There are solid evidences that obese people are at more risk of different types of cancers and most important among those are, colon cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer, pancreatic cancer and gall bladder cancer. According to an estimate 41000 new case of cancer in 2002 were due to obesity that shows that 3.2% all new cases of cancer are related to obesity.

Several studies published in world’s renowned journals declare obesity a risk factor for colon cancer. The exact mechanism how obesity increases the risk for colon cancer is not fully known. The most probable explanation seems to be insulin resistance which is especially more common in people who have abdominal obesity. Older people who are obese are particularly at higher risk of developing colon carcinoma and this risk increases with severity and duration of obesity.

In a research published in American journal of epidemiology, 12000 adults between the ages 55 to 69 years were followed for sixteen years at Maastricht University, Netherlands. During the study period, 2% of the cases developed colorectal carcinoma, tumors of the colon and rectum; mainly colon cancer. The lead researcher of this study: Laura Hughes, found that people who were obese or significantly overweight had 25% higher risk of developing colon cancer than people with normal weight. Moreover more central fat was a greater risk for colon cancer.

Colon cancer can be devastating for health and reduces life expectancy along with a lot of misery for the patient. Protection against colon cancer is possible through weight loss. The research shows that even 5 to 10 pounds loss of excess weight improves the chances of survival and coming to normal weight reduces the risk of colon cancer to minimum. It should be remembered that more advantage lies in losing weight as early as possible.

Losing weight and coming to normal weight is really a difficult task in severely obese people. The research shows that morbid obesity (BMI more than 40 or BMI 35 with some serious medical ailment) can only be managed effectively by weight loss surgery. Patients who have severe obesity should immediately contact a dedicated Bariatric surgery hospital for losing weight quickly and reducing their risk for colon cancer. It should also be memorized that safe Bariatric surgery is only performed at specialized Bariatric surgery hospitals which are renowned for their success and safety over the years. Patient should not commit a mistake in selecting a facility for Bariatric surgery. An apparently cheap surgery centre, not necessarily provide safe surgery and can result into serious complications.

Photo Credit: Células cancerígenas de cáncer de cuello by fotosinteresantes, on Flickr

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed 4,000 obese Swedish people who’ve undergone bariatric surgery. Between 1987 and 2001, the study found decreased number of cardiovascular deaths and lower incidence of cardiovascular events in obese adults.

This study isn’t alarming as there have been numerous reports highlighting the various health and psychological benefits of extreme weight loss. Currently type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and other disease, are said to be greatly minimized after bariatric surgery.

Decreased Cardiovascular Issues

The study found that obese people who decided not to undergo the weight loss surgery were found to suffer more cardiovascular issues including death. In Sweden 2,000 individuals who underwent the surgery and 2,000 individuals who opted against it, were followed.

This 14.7 year (average) study found that 199 who underwent bariatric surgery had their fisrt heart attack or stroke, with 28 deaths. The group who did not opt for the surgery, 234 people had their first heart attack or stroke, with 49 deaths.

When the researchers took into account the initial health differences between people who did and did not get surgery, they found that after the surgery, patients were about 30 percent less likely to have a first-time heart attack or stroke than non-surgery patients, and half as likely to die from one.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/01/05/fewer-heart-attacks-after-weight-loss-surgery/#ixzz1jCYeHOdQ

Although the study is promising, it doesn’t prove that that undergoing weight loss surgery will be beneficial to your cardiovascular health. That being said, it is pretty much confirmed by many bariatric surgeons and physicians that weight loss surgery does, without uncertainty, increase one’s lifespan.

We didn’t have access to see the study, but it would have been interesting to see what kind of exercise and dieting both groups did for the study. If there was an exercise component, a required component by almost all professionals today, did that have the biggest impact on this study’s findings?

Photo: Heart by jkavo, on Flickr

Hazards of obesity are countless which simply warrant weight loss in time to avoid long-term sequel of excess weight. A lot of research is underway to assess the effects of obesity on respiratory system of an individual. It is already known that patients who are obese suffer obstructive sleep apnea more frequently than people with normal weight. In the recent years, medical scientists have also disclosed a very important fact that obesity has strong relation with bronchial asthma.

Researchers have found that people who are obese are at greater risk of developing bronchial asthma as well as obese people with asthma have more severe disease than do people with normal weight.

A number of studies in this regard recognize obesity as a notorious risk factor in development and worsening of bronchial asthma. How obesity worsens asthma and how it does make a person more prone to develop asthma is a complicated process. Research shows that a number of factors are responsible for increasing risk and severity of asthma in obese people.

In a research published in the May 2005 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the scientists working for Physiology Program at the Harvard School of Public Health, elaborated factors which are thought to play key role in development and worsening of asthma in obesity. They described these factors as

In obesity lungs expand to lesser extent that reduces the size of breath. These factors play key role in narrowing the airways.

There is chronic low grade inflammation in obese people that originates from fat tissue. This systemic inflammation may affect smooth muscles present in the airway which result in airway hyper-responsiveness and narrowing.

Many hormones are also released from fat tissue in obese people. One of the important hormones called leptin is present in excess in obese people. Leptin is a pro-inflammatory hormone that is present in high concentration in asthmatic patients. This is an indirect evidence of more sever asthma in obese people.

Dont’ Let Bronchial Asthma Grab You For Whole Life!

Whatever mechanism is involved in causation of bronchial asthma in obesity, one thing is crystal clear that obesity is a declared risk factor for worsening and causing bronchial asthma. Severely obese or morbidly obese people are particularly more vulnerable to this worst effect of asthma. Also remember that once bronchial asthma grabs someone, it usually remain with that person for the rest of his life. Wisdom is hidden in losing weight in time to prevent this deadly complication of obesity.

If you are morbidly obese (body mass index above 40), hurry up to defeat bronchial asthma before it gains control over your airways. Remember the only effective way of losing weight in morbid obesity is bariatric surgery. More important to tell about bariatric surgery is that it is only safely performed at dedicated bariatric surgery hospitals. So chose a dedicated bariatric surgery hospital for your dreams of living healthier life to come true.

Photo Credit: Asthma Inhaler (Object) by Dottie Mae, on Flickr

Teens are outpacing adults. Teen obesity tripled from 1980 to 2008, while adults only doubled in the same time period. This increasing obesity from teenage to adulthood has caused many health professionals worried about the future health of the American’s citizens.

When teenagers are facing impending health diseases from their obesity, it’s extremely important to lose the weight. The benefits could be astronomical, a healthy self-esteam, confidence boosting, increased life-span, job opportunities, and more.

Weight Loss Surgery as an Important Tool

The increasing propensity to obtain type 2 diabetes, and other health problems have many individuals worried.  As many prominent health officials declaring weight-loss surgery has a useful tool in the fight against obesity, many insurance companies and many bariatric surgeons are not preforming the surgery on these individuals.

“There are so many factors in morbid obesity that we don’t completely understand—metabolics, genetics, behavior—we don’t have one effective diet or medication that works consistently,” Dr. Haggerty explains. “But it does come down to taking in fewer calories than you burn off. Bariatric surgery is simply a tool to help people lose significant weight and keep it off.” – Bariatric Surgery Among Important Weight Loss Tools

Mexico Medical Tourism may be the perfect option when insurance companies and surgeons fail to operate. Many bariatric surgeons in Mexico are willing to operate on individuals outside of the prescribed 18 to 65 range. They do so because it’s safe and because of wider ability to practice.

The United States has many health standards and procedures that have many surgeons scared to impose the NIH health standards. By traveling outside of the United States, you can see a bariatric surgeon willing to practice. Not all surgeons do though, it’s important to read reviews from bariatric surgeons and ask many questions.