What Are Weight Watchers Seeing?

Many obese people are non-believers

Many obese people are non-believers. A study presented to the American College of Emergency Physicians questioned 450 randomly selected emergency department patients at the University of Florida. Fifty-three percent of overweight/obese men didn't believe their weight was a problem. Among women it was 38%. Among only obese patients 30% didn't see their weight as a health issue. In fact, 70% of the patients who had been told by their health care provider that their weight was unhealthy didn't agree. It seems that overweight/obese patients need to fear health consequences before they lose weight. They need to see the "big picture".

Obese people's brains might crave fattening foods. In a study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, MRI scanners monitored the brains of 5 obese and 9 non-obese people while researchers changed their blood sugar levels from normal to low. As the participants were being shown pictures of low and high-calories foods, the obese participants had less brain activity in the prefrontal cortex - where inhibition is based. That implied obese people have a harder time resisting the urge to eat - especially when their sugar levels are below normal. It seems weight loss requires more than being "levelheaded".

Moving to a better neighborhood lowers the risk of obesity. That was a finding of "Moving to Opportunity", a mid-1990's HUD program in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Some single-mother households in poor neighborhoods were helped to move to areas where poverty was below 10%. Approximately 10 years later the rate of morbid obesity was about 20% lower for the women who had moved. Those women had greater access to healthy food, safer environments for outdoor exercise and less stress. The program's primary goal was to see how the move affected families. Improved health was a "move in the right direction".

Finally, liposuction may help the heart. A study presented to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons looked at 322 consecutive patients who had liposuction and/or tummy tuck. Although 78% were in the normal-to-overweight range and only 22% were obese, patients' triglyceride levels had dropped an average of 43% three months after their procedure. Triglycerides (fats in the blood) have been linked to higher risk of cardiovascular disease. There was also a decrease in white blood cells, suggesting fat removal reduces inflammation - also linked to cardiovascular disease. As more research is necessary, many are left to "weight and see".

by: Knight Pierce Hirst

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