50% of American adults have chronic diseases: Study

American adults have chronic diseases

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that half of all adults in the USA have at least one chronic condition, such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity.

The study published in the medical journal ‘The Lancet’ also shows that over a quarter of adults have two or more of these conditions.According to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the

majority of these chronic conditions are largely preventable through the reduction of risk factors that falls within individuals’ control such as – tobacco use, poor diet, and physical inactivity (both strongly associated with obesity), alcohol consumption, and uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Compared with other high-income countries, USA is less healthy in areas such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases.

The study also found that Medicare enrollees (the majority of whom are over 65) accounted for 300 billion dollars in healthcare spending. And over 90 percent of this healthcare expenditure was accounted for by people with two or more chronic conditions.

Source: zee news


Want to protect your kids from obesity? Get enough sleep

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If you wish to protect your kids from obesity, make sure you get enough sleep on a daily basis as a study has shown that a parent’s sleep has an effect on the likelihood that their children will be overweight or obese.

More parental sleep is related to more child sleep, which is related to decreased child obesity, the findings showed.

“We viewed how long parents slept and how long children slept as part of a household routine and found that they really did go together,” said Barbara Fiese from University of Illinois in the US.

In the study, socioeconomic characteristics were assessed in relation to protective routines and prevalence of being obese or overweight for 337 preschool children and their parents.

The routines assessed in parents included adequate sleep (over seven hours) and family mealtime routine.

The four protective routines assessed in children were adequate sleep (10 or more hours per night), family mealtime routine, limiting screen-viewing time to less than two hours a day, and not having a bedroom TV.

The only significant individual protective factor against obesity or overweight in children was getting adequate sleep.

Children who did not get enough sleep had a greater risk for being overweight than children who engaged in at least three of the protective routines regularly, even after controlling for parents’ BMI (body mass index) and socio-demographic characteristics, Fiese said.

But the researchers also learned that the number of hours a parent sleeps is related to how much sleep children are getting.

The study appeared in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Source: samachar


Study: Obesity and Overweight Rates Climbing Worldwide

obese

A new study published in a British medical journal says obesity rates for both adults and children are climbing worldwide, with the greatest gain in weight in developing countries.

According to the report, the number of people carrying extra kilos climbed from 857 million globally in 1980 to more than 2 billion last year. Researchers report 62 percent of the world’s obese individuals live in developing countries.

The findings come from an analysis of data gathered from 188 countries published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

Investigators discovered the rates of overweight and obesity climbed 28 percent over the past 33 years with the biggest increase in children. Forty-seven percent of all youngsters and adolescents worldwide are now considered overweight or obese.

In developed countries, men have higher rates of obesity than women, although there’s evidence that the pace of weight gain in the United States and other Western nations has begun to slow over the past eight years.

“Nowadays, food is prepared for us. Remember, in the past, it used to take some time to cook a dish,” said Ali Mokdad, who teaches health metrics and evaluation at the University of Washington and co-authored the study. “Now a seven- or 10-year-old child could pop something in a microwave. It’s safe and readily available,” he said.

The authors found some of the highest rates of obesity in China, India, Russia, Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia. Places with the highest percentage of overweight people include the island nation of Tonga, where 50 percent of the population has a weight problem, along with Libya, Qatar, Micronesia and Samoa, where more than 50 percent of women carry excess weight.

The health care costs of obesity, particularly to developing countries, are enormous, according to Mokdad.

“It has a toll on our disability, our diseases. And with an aging population living longer, no country in the world can afford to spend all its money on treatment. We should find a balance between treatment and prevention,” he said.

Without targeted interventions, obesity control programs and the sustained efforts of national governments, experts say it is unlikely countries will meet the United Nations’ goal of halting the rise in obesity rates by 2025.

Source: voa news


Super-hot curries could help you live longer

chicken

A new study suggests that super-hot curries could help you live longer.

The hot tip comes after scientists in the US ran tests on mice.

They found stopping pain signals reaching the brain increased the chance of them living longer, the Daily Star reported.

University of California’s Andrew Dillon said that blocking the pain pathway could be very useful, not only for improving lifespan but for treating diabetes and obesity .

Boffins also believed that it could halt the ageing process.

Source: Zee news


People in desk jobs gain weight for sure

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If you have gained extra waistline, do not get enough sunlight for your bones and strain your eyes in front of a computer screen, you have all reasons to complain about your desk job.

Over 50 per cent of employees who are deskbound said in a latest survey that they do not get enough physical activity.

Also, staring at a computer screen for most of the day and being stuck inside are the biggest disadvantages of having a desk job. Nearly half of employees surveyed gained weight in their current position compared to 30 per cent of workers in non-desk jobs.

“Overall, 58 per cent of workers in desk jobs categorise themselves as overweight compared to 51 per cent of their peers in non-desk jobs,” said the survey from a leading job portal CareerBuilder.

The study was based on a survey of 2,095 employees who typically work behind a desk and 1,102 people who do not work behind a desk. Additionally, 24 per cent said they do not like working at a desk because there is not enough variety in their work.

While 23 percent said there are too many distractions like disruptions from co-workers. There are some positive sides too.

Employees who work in desk jobs reported earning higher salaries. Desk employees also have access to technology and opportunity to communicate with bosses easily, the survey added.

For someone in non-desk job, not being informed about new company developments, having less chance for upward mobility and fewer face-to-face interactions with company leaders and peers are the disadvantages.

Source: Times of India


Control sugar: Limit fruit juice intake to once a day

juice

The appalling diets of the nation’s teenagers have been exposed by a report which shows that many are already putting themselves at risk of diabetes, obesity and heart disease. And last night health experts warned that fruit juice – seen by many as a healthy option – should be drunk no more than once a day because of its high sugar content.

Girls and boys aged 11 to 19 typically eat 42 per cent too much sugar and 14 per cent too much saturated fat.

Only 10 per cent of teenage boys and 7 per cent of teenage girls manage to get their five portions of fruit and veg a day.
Adults do not fare a great deal better. Only a third get their five-a-day and the diet of the average adult exceeds recommended sugar limits by 10 per cent.

The report, the Government’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey, also shows that children aged ten and under typically exceed the recommended daily limit of sugar by 34 per cent.
Their main sources of sugar are fruit juice, soft drinks, cereal bars, biscuits and cakes.

It reveals that adults are eating half the recommended weekly amount of oily fish – which protects against heart disease, cancer and dementia – while teenagers and children only manage a fifth of this amount.

The survey, which involved 4,000 adults and children between 2008 and 2012, says 48 per cent of men and women have above-normal levels of cholesterol, putting them at higher risk of heart disease and strokes.
Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘This study paints a clear picture that too many people, especially children, are not eating healthily enough.

‘This puts them at greater risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity now or in the future. There is no magic bullet to solve this problem. Parents, schools, restaurants, retailers and the food industry all have a role to play.

‘But the Government can fire the first shot by implementing a 9pm watershed ban on junk food marketing to stop children being bombarded with advertising about products high in fats, salts and sugars. We also need stringent regulation to protect children from online marketing tactics.’

There is also concern that policies such as the NHS’s Change4Life programme are having little effect because only healthy adults and children pay any attention.

The initiative, which has cost taxpayers £65million since its launch in January 2009, consists of television adverts, a website, a helpline and locally-run sports clubs all aimed at curbing the obesity epidemic.
The scheme also produces posters for schools, community clubs, GP surgeries and hospitals urging the public to eat their five- a-day, take regular exercise and cut portion sizes.

Dr Ian Campbell, of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘In spite of a raft of measures designed to encourage us to eat a healthier diet we are, as a nation, failing miserably.

‘If we really care about the health of our children we need to take far more decisive action. ‘We need to regulate the food industry to make healthy choices easier, more attractive and cheaper.’

Dr Alison Tedstone, the chief nutritionist at Public Health England, the Government agency that released the report, said fruit juice was a good option as one of the recommended five fruit portions a day.
But she warned: ‘It should only be drunk once a day and with a meal because it can be high in sugar.’

In March, Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer, said the Government may have to introduce a sugar tax to help make the nation’s diet more healthy.

Later that month the World Health Organisation urged the public to cut their sugar intake by half to six teaspoons a day.
Yesterday Labour MP Keith Vaz called for food labels to include the numbers of teaspoons of sugar in all products.

Source: daily mail


Good sleep needed to fight diabetes, obesity

It’s widely known that sleep is crucial for maintaining our health. Now, a new study sheds light its benefits, concluding that a lack of good sleep can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic disorders.

The research, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, says sleep aids in both the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders because it helps regulate the metabolism of glucose, control food intake, and energy balance.

Disrupting the body’s sleep cycle is also linked to poor metabolic health, increased chronic illness rate, and premature death, according to the new study.

Researchers say more people are getting lower-quality sleep due to the modern lifestyles, including the use of technological devices at nighttime, such as tablets and smartphones.

Source: Health Central


ADHD treatment may increase obesity risk

Previous studies have linked ADHD with an increased risk of obesity. Now researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health say the reason may be because of ADHD stimulant medications, rather than the condition itself.

Using the electronic health record data from the Gesinger Health System, the researchers analyzed 163,820 children between the ages of 3 to 18 years. They found that children who had ADHD and were treated with stimulants experienced a fast adolescent BMI growth compared to children with no ADHD history or stimulant use. Also, the earlier children began using stimulants, the stronger these weight effects were.

This research, published in the journal Pediatrics, backs current research indicating a relationship between ADHD and obesity. However, more research is needed to determine the exact reason behind this connection.

Source: health central


About 7 Million Americans Have New Hips, Knees

It’s not just grandma with a new hip and your uncle with a new knee. More than 2 of every 100 Americans now have an artificial joint, doctors are reporting.

Among those over 50, it’s even more common: Five percent have replaced a knee and more than 2 percent, a hip.

“They are remarkable numbers,” said Dr. Daniel J. Berry, chairman of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Roughly 7 million people in the United States are living with a total hip or knee replacement.

He led the first major study to estimate how prevalent these procedures have become, using federal databases on surgeries and life expectancy trends. Results were reported Tuesday at an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons conference in New Orleans.

More than 600,000 knees and about 400,000 hips are replaced in the U.S. each year. But until now, there haven’t been good numbers on how many people currently are living with new joints. The number is expected to grow as the population ages, raising questions about cost, how long the new parts will last, and how best to replace the replacements as they wear out over time.

The term “replacement” is a little misleading, said Dr. Joshua Jacobs, chairman of orthopedic surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and president of the orthopedic surgery association. What’s replaced is the surface of a joint after cartilage has worn away, leaving bone rubbing against bone and causing pain and less mobility.

In a replacement operation, the ends of bones are removed or resurfaced and replaced with plastic, ceramic or metal materials.

Arthritis is the main reason for these operations, followed by obesity, which adds stress on knees and hips. Baby boomers are wearing out joints by playing sports and doing other activities to avoid obesity. Knee replacement surgeries have more than tripled in the 45-to-64 age group over the last decade and nearly half of hip replacements now are in people under 65, federal numbers show.

Source: NBC news


Obesity Rates Dropping in U.S. Preschoolers

Obesity rates are falling among America’s pudgy preschoolers, perhaps the latest sign that the super-sized nation is getting a handle on its weight problem, according to new figures from government health officials.

Obesity among kids ages 2 to 5 dropped by 43 percent between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012, from 14 percent of children to 8 percent, data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.

It’s the brightest spot in a report that found that overall obesity held steady but remains high in the U.S., with about one-third of adults and 17 percent of kids and teens still medically obese. Nearly a third of all kids ages 2 to 19 and more than two-thirds of adults remain either overweight or obese, CDC officials found.

“We continue to see signs that, for some children in this country, the scales are tipping,” said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, who added that the new data echo other recent encouraging studies about obesity in preschoolers. “This confirms that at least for kids, we can turn the tide and begin to reverse the obesity epidemic.”

The preschool drop is particularly encouraging in light of recent research that found that overweight kindergarteners are four times as likely as normal-weight kids to become obese by middle-school.

“This is the second report that shows that things have plateaued,” said Dr. Adrienne Youdim, medical director of the Cedars-Sinai Weight Loss Center in Los Angeles.

The new data are based on analysis of 9,120 participants in the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative sample. Obesity had been rising for years, until the 2009-2010 figures.

The findings show obesity among women older than 60 jumped more than 20 percent from 2003-2004 to 2011-2012, climbing from 31.5 percent to 38 percent. It’s not clear why older women are so much heavier, Youdim said. Menopause may play a role, and women may be more sedentary as they age.

“There are so many factors at play,” she said. “In order to really make a dent in this epidemic, it has to be not in the area of treatment, though it’s important, but in the area of prevention.”

Source: NBC news