From Fat to Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation within fat tissue is now recognized as a contributor to the many negative consequences that come with obesity -- from diabetes to cardiovascular disease, according to Yuichi Oike of Kumamoto University in Japan. Researchers hope a new discovery will point to a targeted therapy designed to limit the impact of the obesity epidemic. Read more

More Evidence Healthy Living Brings Long Life

People who adopt four healthy behaviors -- never smoking, regular exercise, eating well and maintaining a healthy weight -- can dramatically reduce their likelihood for chronic disease and an early death, a new study confirms. Read more

Obesity is a Family Affair

(HealthDay News) -- Although genetics likely play a role in whether or not someone becomes overweight or obese, a family's lifestyle also has a major impact on the chances of a teenager winding up overweight, a new study shows.

Adolescents tended to be heavier in families that frequently missed meals or spent several hours a day in front of the TV or video games, researchers report in a special issue of the American Journal of Sociology.

"My study finds that weight runs in families, but it's not just because of genetics. What we do together, how we spend our time together, what we eat and how we organize ourselves as family matters," said study author Molly Martin, an assistant professor of sociology and demography at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.

Currently, about 17 percent of American children and teens are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For the new study, Martin included data from more than 2,500 pairs of twins, siblings or half-siblings. She examined numerous factors that could contribute to a teen's weight status, such as parental obesity, socioeconomic status, parental education levels, birth weight, activity levels and more.

Two factors that emerged as separate from a family's genetic influence were whether or not families missed meals, and the amount of time they spent watching TV or playing video games.

"Not skipping meals seems to be the biggest factor that can help with regard to the weight of kids," said Martin.

She said there are multiple reasons that children miss or skip meals. One is that the family may simply not have the resources to have three square meals a day, she said. Another is hectic family lifestyle, where the family could be missing a meal because they just don't have the time. Or, for some teens, they may be deliberately skipping meals in a misguided attempt to lose weight.

Whatever the reason, Martin said that when you miss a meal, you'll likely end up hungrier later and may overeat then.

"I think the importance of family meals is something that should be underscored," added Andrea Vazzana, clinical coordinator of the pediatric weight management program at the New York University Child Study Center in New York City.

"Kids that sit down with their family tend to have a more normal weight. Parents can provide structure for the meal, and the meal tends to be more well-balanced. Parents can also set limits around food," explained Vazzana, who added that when parents eat with their kids they can let them know that it's not a good idea to have two helpings of dessert first and then forgo the vegetables.

The second factor that Martin found to be a predictor of excess teen weight was how much time the family spent in front of the TV or playing video games. Those who spent a few hours daily on these activities tended to be heavier.

"Families develop patterns together," said Martin, but those patterns don't have to be bad ones. "Try to be active together. Go for a walk after dinner, play with the dog, play Frisbee. Spend quality time together that's also active time."

Vazzana said it's not just the displacement of activity that contributes to overweight, it's also that people tend to eat while they're watching TV, and they see food ads or shows that may focus on food.




"Sometimes it's really difficult to be healthy, and we may start adopting behaviors that really don't work well. But there are some things we can do consciously and even small changes can make a long-term difference in weight," said Martin.

More information
Learn more about the causes of childhood obesity from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

High-Fat Diet While Pregnant May Produce Obese Kids

(HealthDay News) -- Eating a high-fat diet during pregnancy causes permanent changes in the fetal brain that can result in overeating and obesity early in life, according to a study with rats.

The researchers from Rockefeller University in New York City said their finding is an important advance in understanding mechanisms of fetal programming. It also sheds light on the production of new brain cells, helping to explain the dramatic rise of childhood obesity in the United States over the past three decades.

"We've shown that short-term exposure to a high-fat diet in utero produces permanent neurons in the fetal brain that later increase the appetite for fat," study senior author Sarah F. Leibowitz, director of the Laboratory of Behavioral Neurobiology at Rockefeller, said in a university news release. "This work provides the first evidence for a fetal program that links high levels of fat circulating in the mother's blood during pregnancy to the overeating and increased weight gain of offspring after weaning."

For the study, pregnant rats were fed either a high-fat or a balanced diet for two weeks. Pups born to mothers that ate the high-fat diet ate more, weighed more throughout life, and began puberty earlier than pups born to mothers that ate a balanced diet. The pups born to the mothers that at the high-fat diet also had higher levels of triglycerides in the blood at birth and as adults, and also had greater production of brain peptides that stimulate eating and weight gain.

The study was published in the Nov. 12 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

The creation of neurons that increase the appetite for fat may also occur in human babies born to mothers who eat a high-fat diet during pregnancy, Leibowitz said.

"We're programming our children to be fat," she believes. "I think it's very clear that there's vulnerability in the developing brain, and we've identified the site of this action where new neurons are being born. We now need to understand how the lipids affect these precursor cells that form these fat-sensitive neurons that live with us throughout life."

More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about overweight and obesity in children.

Eat All You Want: But Exercise … A Lot

The Amish diet is high in fat, calories and sugar, but a new study shows that you can eat that way and not get fat. Not even when you have a copy - or two! - of a gene that predisposes you to obesity. Read more...