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Achoo…you’re fat.

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By healthhabits, October 3, 2010

Cartoon by Rob Rogers

Imagine that you’ve let your diet slip over the past few months. Too many chalupas and not enough….real food.

Imagine that you’ve really started to pack the weight on.

Muffin top, love handles, saddle bags…all that stuff.

Luckily for you, medical science is working hard to provide you with an iron-clad excuse for your extra adipose.

An Obesity Virus.

And believe it or not, this may turn out to be a real thing.

When I first wrote about it, the science behind the obesity virus was pretty sketchy.

But now, we have research that shows that children who tested positive for adenovirus36 antibodies weighed almost 50 pounds more, on average, than children who were AD36-negative.

The Research

Dr. Jeffrey B. Schwimmer (UCSD) examined 124 children, ages 8 to 18, for the presence of antibodies specific to adenovirus 36 (AD36).

Results

• Slightly more than half of the children in the study (67) were considered obese.
• The researchers detected neutralizing antibodies specific to AD36 in 19 of the children (15 percent).
• The majority of the AD36-positive children (78 percent) were obese, with AD36 antibodies much more frequent in obese children (15 of 67) than in non-obese children (4 of 57).
• Children who were AD36-positive weighed almost 50 pounds more, on average, than children who were AD36-negative.
• Within the group of obese children, those with evidence of AD36 infection weighed an average of 35 pounds more than obese children who were AD36-negative.

So, what does this mean to you?

According to Dr. Schwimmer,

“Many people believe that obesity is one’s own fault or the fault of one’s parents or family. This work helps point out that body weight is more complicated than it’s made out to be. And it is time that we move away from assigning blame in favor of developing a level of understanding that will better support efforts at both prevention and treatment. These data add credence to the concept that an infection can be a cause or contributor to obesity”.

According to Health Habits,

This means absolutely nothing…..until the day that researchers develop an anti-viral that can block the effect of AD36.

We all know people who can eat whatever they want and never gain a pound. Lucky them.

Whether it’s a virus, hormonal imbalance, malfunctioning hypothalamus or simply bad eating habits learned at your parent’s kitchen table, we are ultimately responsible for our actions.

And if you’re one of those unlucky people infected with AD36, and you want to stay lean & fit, you’re just going to have to work a little harder than your buddy with the hollow leg.

Sorry.

.

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Is Obesity a Side Effect of PAIN?

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By healthhabits, October 3, 2010

According to  Dr. Peggy Mason (chair of Neurobiology – U of Chicago), eating is a natural form of pain relief.

During the course of her research, Dr. Mason found that rats will not react to moderate amounts of pain while they are eating or even if they are being given a squirt of water directly into its mouth.

Similar to the effect of morphine, eating or drinking causes a part of your brain (the medullary raphe) to automatically and unconsciously block pain sensations.

And while this may be a useful tool for animals in the wild who are faced with food shortages, it is less helpful for humans have 24-7 access to inexpensive, calorie dense food.

And, to make things worse, not only can your medullary raphe ease your pain, it also inhibits your ability to STOP EATING.

And as a result of this double whammy, Dr. Mason concludes that biology trumps will power and that obesity is not as simple as “eat less & move more”.

.

Reference

• Dr. Mason’s research
• Dr. Mason’s lecture at the 2010 World Congress on Pain

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Deconstructing the Twinkie Diet

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By healthhabits, October 1, 2010

For 23 days, KSU nutrition professor Mark Haub has been eating Little Debbie Pecan Spin Wheels for breakfast, Hostess Twinkies for lunch, birthday cake for supper and Doritos for dessert.

As of yesterday, he’s lost 13 lbs.

And according to the prof, not only has he lost weight during this experiment, his health has improved by eating a reduced calorie (under 1800 kcal) diet of twinkies, swiss cake rolls, blueberry muffins, cinnamon rolls, peanut butter oreos, hot dogs & a glass of milk to wash it down.

After 3 weeks on this anti-diet diet, the Prof is sleeping better, is snoring less, has lowered his LDL cholesterol, has raised his HDL cholesterol and has maintained his RDA level of nutrients by taking vitamins and eating low cal veggies like celery.

So, is this diet healthy?

That’s the question Professor Haub wants people to ask themselves. He wants us (and his students) to question the idea that eating fruits, vegetables, low-fat protein and whole grains is the only way to lose weight.

According to Haub, “It’s unrealistic in some areas of society to expect that you can find fresh broccoli, tomatoes at a price that is affordable. If somebody can get their nutrients from a supplement and then they get their fuel from whatever is available, does it matter that they’re not getting fruits and vegetables and whole grains?

Haub believes that “it doesn’t matter where the macronutrients are derived from as long as essential nutrients are consumed at the recommended levels, and the fuel is consumed at a level at or below energy expenditure.”

And this is where I have to call B.S. on Prof. Haub’s Twinkie Diet.

His belief that a handful of vitamins can replace the nutrients found in a diet of actual food is a total crock of twinkie goo.

• I agree with the Prof that caloric consumption is the strongest indicator of weight loss/gain.
• I agree with the Prof that supplementing his Twinkie Diet with vitamin & mineral supplements will help to address the obvious nutritional deficiencies.

However, before people start swarming  their local 7-11 to get the last box of Diet Twinkies, the Nutrition Professor should remind us (and the media) this is a short term experiment that is limited in scope & depth.

It will not measure:

• The damage caused by the over-consumption of trans fats, artificial colors, petroleum derived flavorings, chemical emulsifiers, chemical preservatives, etc…
• The effect that the high levels of HFCS & other sugars is having upon Prof. Haub’s  poor ole pancreas
• Any increase in systemic inflammation and ph levels
• The increased cravings for sugar…. brought upon by those twinkies and peanut butter oreos
• The lack of enzymes, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, non-vitamin cofactors, sterols, polyphenols, flavonoids, phytosterols, carotenoids, prebiotics, probiotics, triterpenes, mineral salts, amino acids, etc…

In short, Professor Haub has shown us that when you eat less food, you lose body-fat.

Of course, a 15 year old anorexic teenager could have told us that.

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