People can be fat yet fit, research suggests. 4 September 2012Last updated at 20:48 ET By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online Some obese people were as 'metabolically fit' as people of ideal weight People can be obese yet physically healthy and fit and at no greater risk of heart disease or cancer than normal weight people, say researchers. The key is being "metabolically fit", meaning no high blood pressure, cholesterol or raised blood sugar, and exercising, according to experts. Looking at data from over 43,000 US people they found that being overweight per se did not pose a big health risk.
The results are published in the European Heart Journal. In the study at the University of South Carolina, more than a third of the participants were obese. Of these 18,500, half were assessed as metabolically healthy after a physical examination and lab tests. And their risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer was identical to people of ideal weight and was half that of "metabolically less fit" obese people. Global governments 'must get tough on obesity' 26 August 2011Last updated at 00:55 By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News Obesity is a problem in low, middle and high income countries Tougher action - including taxing junk food - is needed by all governments if the obesity crisis is going to be tackled, experts say. The international group of researchers, who have published a series of articles in The Lancet, said no country had yet got to grips with the problem.
They said changes in society meant it was getting harder for people to live healthy lives. And they warned without state action, health systems could become swamped. Obesity-related problems, such as diabetes, were now accounting for between 2% and 6% of health care costs in most countries. Rising spending But as one of the articles showed, this is likely to get worse if current trends continue. Researchers made projections for the US and the UK - two of the developed countries with the worst rates of obesity.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote. Public 'need to be more honest about eating habits' 13 October 2011Last updated at 14:40 By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News Dame Sally Davies: "People are not honest with themselves about what they're eating and drinking " People need to be more honest about how much they eat and drink if obesity levels are to be cut, ministers say. The message formed a central theme of the new obesity strategy for England as the government tried to stress the importance of personal responsibility. In doing so, it rejected calls to introduce legislation to change behaviour, such as a "fat tax".
But the strategy was labelled "pathetic and stupid" by experts, who warned it would do little to solve the problem. Instead of proposing using regulation, the strategy talked about creating the right environment for individuals to make healthier choices. This included getting councils to use their powers to encourage more physical activity through schemes such as cycling networks and green spaces. Reverse the tide Continue reading the main story. What caused the obesity crisis in the West?
13 June 2012Last updated at 07:25 ET British people are on average nearly three stone (19kg) heavier than 50 years ago, but who or what is to blame? Jacques Peretti (pictured above) investigates. Contrary to popular belief, we as a race have not become greedier or less active in recent years. But one thing that has changed is the food we eat, and, more specifically, the sheer amount of sugar we ingest. "Genetically, human beings haven't changed, but our environment, our access to cheap food has," says Professor Jimmy Bell, obesity specialist at Imperial College, London.
"We're being bombarded every day by the food industry to consume more and more food. "It's a war between our bodies and the demands our body makes, and the accessibility that modern society gives us with food. One of the biggest changes in our modern diet stems back to the 1970s when US agriculture embarked on the mass-production of corn and of high-fructose corn syrup, commonly used as a sweetener in processed foods. Global weight gain more damaging than rising numbers. 20 June 2012Last updated at 12:45 ET By Matt McGrath Science reporter, BBC World Service Extra weight could be the equivalent of adding an extra billion people to the planet.
Researchers say if increasing levels of fatness are replicated globally it could mean the equivalent of an extra billion people on the planet. The team estimated the total weight of people on the planet and found that North America had the highest average. Although only 6% of the global population live there, it is responsible for more than a third of the obesity. The research is published in the journal BMC Public Health.
In their report, the researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine calculate the weight of the global population at 287 million tonnes. They estimate that 15 million tonnes of this mass is due to people being overweight, and 3.5 million tonnes due to obesity. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End QuoteProf Ian RobertsLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Shift workers 'risking' Type 2 diabetes and obesity. 11 April 2012Last updated at 17:10 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News Night working has been linked to poorer health Shift workers getting too little sleep at the wrong time of day may be increasing their risk of diabetes and obesity, according to researchers.
The team is calling for more measures to reduce the impact of shift working following the results of its study. Researchers controlled the lives of 21 people, including meal and bedtimes. The results, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed changes to normal sleep meant the body struggled to control sugar levels. Some participants even developed early symptoms of diabetes within weeks.
Shift work has been associated with a host of health problems. Doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in the US, were trying to study its effects in a controlled environment. Lower insulin levels The 21 health-trial participants started with 10 hours' sleep at night. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote. Sugar tax needed, say US experts. 2 February 2012Last updated at 00:00 By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website Consumption of sugar has tripled worldwide in the past 50 years Sugar is as damaging and addictive as alcohol or tobacco and should be regulated, claim US health experts.
According to a University of California team, new policies such as taxes are needed to control soaring consumption of sugar and sweeteners. Prof Robert Lustig argues in the journal Nature for major shifts in public policy. Industry body the Food and Drink Federation said "demonising" food was unhelpful. Several countries are imposing taxes on unhealthy food; Denmark and Hungary have a tax on saturated fat, while France has approved a tax on soft drinks. Now, researchers in the US are proposing similar policies for added sugar and sweeteners, amid concern about the amount of sugar in the diet.
The consumption of sugar has tripled worldwide over the past 50 years, with links to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. “Start Quote. India loses stomach for the pot belly. 1 November 2011Last updated at 01:30 By Rajini Vaidyanathan BBC News, Mumbai India has long battled with malnutrition but rising incomes and changing diets have meant obesity and diabetes are growing problems too, challenging the long-held notion that a paunch is an indication of health. In a surgery in South Mumbai (Bombay) a patient is being measured up by a doctor. "I've lost more than 30kg (66lbs), I've had to change my clothes six times," he says, smiling as the tape measure touches his tummy.
Balancing on a set of scales isn't the sort of setting you'd expect to see a politician in, but Nitin Raut, a cabinet minister for the Indian state of Maharashtra, isn't ashamed to tell the world he took action to lose weight. "Before, when I was coming before the camera I was looking so bulky. Mr Raut underwent surgery to lose his bulging belly, having a procedure known as a gastric band, which effectively shrinks the stomach and the appetite. Pre-gastric band, Mr Raut was 30kg (66lbs) heavier. Study uncovers new diabetes genes. 27 June 2010Last updated at 18:01 The team compared the DNA of people with the condition to those without Twelve new genes linked with type 2 diabetes have been found in a study into the differences in people's DNA and their risk of having the condition.
A consortium including Edinburgh University scientists have identified "important clues to the biological basis of type 2 diabetes". It is hoped the findings will lead to better ways of treating the condition. The genes tend to be involved in working cells producing insulin, which controls levels of glucose in blood. The 12 new genes brings the total number linked with type 2 diabetes to 38. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote The diabetes susceptibility genes also contain variants that increase the risk of unrelated diseases, including skin and prostate cancer, coronary heart disease and high cholesterol” End QuoteDr Jim WilsonEdinburgh University. Fast food 'fuelling Asia diabetes boom' 7 July 2010Last updated at 11:53 Asian consumers of fast food are risking their health, scientists suggest Many Vietnamese have diabetes but are unaware of it - and the condition is spreading fast in South East Asia, scientists have warned.
A study by Australian and Vietnamese scientists found about 11% of men and 12% of women in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City had undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. This was in addition to the 4% of people who had been diagnosed. The scientists, from Australia's Garvan Institute of Medical Research, blamed changing lifestyles and fast food. "Dietary patterns have been changing dramatically in Vietnam in recent years, particularly in the cities as they become more Westernised," said Professor Tuan Nguyen of the Sydney-based institute. "There are fast food outlets everywhere," he said, adding that similar studies in Thailand reinforced the link. The study was based on a sample of more than 2,000 people.
Weight-loss schemes help patients 'more than the NHS' 12 July 2010Last updated at 06:15 By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News Being in a group helps people lose weight, says one nutritionist A leading nutritionist says GPs should send obese patients to weight-loss schemes rather than offer NHS help because they will see better results. Dr Susan Jebb of the Medical Research Council found in a study that people in a WeightWatchers programme lost twice as much weight as those with GP care. WeightWatchers part-funded the study, but Dr Jebb stressed similar schemes would be as effective. The National Obesity Forum said buying in services could benefit NHS patients. The NHS is currently running pilot schemes with WeightWatchers. GPs can buy one patient a 12-week course for about £45. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote It's certainly not some panacea for the nation's weight problems” End QuoteDr Susan JebbMedical Research Council The other half received GP-led care.
At each measurement appointment, WeightWatchers came out best. Bone 'turnover' link to diabetes. 23 July 2010Last updated at 02:41 The skeleton is under constant renewal as new bone is grown and old bone broken down The skeleton has a key role in regulating blood sugar and may be the underlying cause of diabetes in some people, say US researchers. A study in mice found that the breakdown of old bone to make way for new bone growth also helps to keep a healthy level of glucose in the blood.
A hormone called osteocalcin seems to be the link, it showed. The Columbia team, writing in Cell, say the findings may lead to better drugs to help control Type 2 diabetes. Study leader Dr Gerard Karsenty, from Columbia University Medical Center, had already done work showing osteocalcin, which is released by bone, can regulate glucose levels. It switches on the production of insulin in the pancreas which in turn improves the ability of other cells to take in glucose from the blood.
But in the latest study, he found that osteocalcin only works when bone is being broken down during its natural turnover. No quick drug fix for high diabetes risk. Two key treatments do not halt diabetes in people with early signs of the disease, a large study has found. Researchers said the results showed the only way to ensure future health in people at high risk of diabetes was exercise and a healthy diet. Trials in more than 9,000 people also found no reduction in future heart problems in people prescribed two drug treatments compared with dummy pills.
Diabetes UK said 7m people in the UK were at risk of developing diabetes. Everyone taking part in the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, had been diagnosed with what doctors call "impaired glucose tolerance". It effectively means that people have high blood sugar and their bodies are starting to not respond to insulin as well as they should. Sometimes called pre-diabetes, it is thought that the condition is a stage in the development of full-blown type 2 diabetes, and can be associated with obesity. Medical intervention 'Dramatic difference' Overweight pregnant women are target of new guidelines. 28 July 2010Last updated at 00:40 By Jane Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News Mothers often say they get confusing advice about exercise during and after pregnancy Obesity levels among pregnant women have reached epidemic levels, putting the health of their babies at risk, experts say.
The health watchdog NICE has issued new guidelines encouraging women in England to attain a healthy weight before they get pregnant. It also advises them against eating for two once they conceive. It says almost half of women of childbearing age are overweight or obese, which could harm their child. Many women feel they are offered confusing and conflicting advice about their health during pregnancy. The guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are aimed at cutting through that.
Celebrity culture If a woman is obese during pregnancy, she has an increased risk of developing serious complications like pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, miscarriage and stillbirth. “Start Quote. Obese visit GP more often than smokers, researchers say. 14 August 2010Last updated at 00:01 By Emma Wilkinson Health reporter, BBC News Obesity has been linked with several chronic diseases Overweight people are more likely to make frequent trips to their GP than smokers or those who are generally unfit, say Dutch researchers. The findings cannot be explained by overweight people having a higher risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, the analysis showed. Rising rates of obesity means nurses may have to take some of the pressure off doctors, they said.
The research is published in Family Practice. The team from Maastricht University looked at GP data from almost 4,500 adults. Participants also filled in a questionnaire designed to find out about their lifestyles, such as their diet, whether they smoked, how much they drank and how much exercise they did. They expected to find that the most unhealthy or unfit people would visit their GP more often. Minor complaints. 'Being fat at four means a life of ill-health' Newsbeat - Top UK slimmer loses nearly half her body weight.
Green leafy veg 'may cut diabetes risk' Health Explained: What is fat? Rogue protein 'may spark diabetes' Call to 'suspend' diabetes drug Avandia. China faces obesity explosion. Chocolate cholesterol claims spark debate. World News America - Obama administration tackles childhood obesity. 'My type 2 diabetes was cured after gastric bypass op' Obesity affects one in 10 adults around the world. Diabetes and virus link confirmed. Review reveals thousands 'wrongly diagnosed diabetic' Scientists find link between maternal diet and diabetes.