Weight Control at WeightControl.com

Study Finds Whole-Body Cryostimulation Useful in the Treatment of Obesity

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Jacopo M. Fontana
Ph.D., M. Sc., Ricercartore
Laboratorio di Ricerca in Biomeccanica, Riabilitazione ed Ergonomia
Ospedale San Giuseppe
IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Italy

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study? Would you describe the treatment?

Response: Whole-body cryostimulation is a physical treatment that involves exposing the entire body to cryogenic temperatures (-110°C to -140°C) for a short period of time (2-3 minutes).

A growing body of work suggests that whole-body cryostimulation could play a role as an adjunctive therapy in various conditions of rehabilitative interest-such as obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, musculoskeletal inflammation, and long COVID-because it may act as a “training method” for the autonomic nervous system, a novel anti-inflammatory and antioxidant treatment with beneficial effects on body composition and adipose tissue.

Study Examines How Stress Triggers Craving for Sweet Food

If you are experiencing chronic stress be specifically vigilant on what you eat. K

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Prof. Herbert Herzog
Chair in Neuroendocrinology
Lab Leader, Eating Disorders Lab
Garvan Institute of Medical Research

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: We used a systematic, unbiased approach to identify the regions in the brain that specifically respond to either a Prof. Herbert Herzog
(HFD) or a HFD combined with stress. This identified the ‘Lateral Habenular’ (LHb) as the most responsive nuclei to a HFD, while when combining HFD and Stress the neurons in this nuclei were silent.

This indicates that stress can override the HFD induced activation of neurons in the LHb. The LHb is know as the so called ‘anti-reward’ centre, that when activated dampens the reward feeling in this case the pleasure of eating caloric dense food, normally high in fat and sugar. Chronic stress reverts that and brings the pleasure back by blocking the LHb pathway. Not only leads this to an increase of food intake but at the same time specifically promotes the graving for sweet food.

Five Anti-Obesity Medications Evaluated for Cost-Effectiveness

A primary consideration that this analysis could not investigate is the issue of long-term weight loss.

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Ainhoa Gomez-Lumbreras, MD, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Department of Pharmacotherapy
College of Pharmacy, University of Utah

Dan Malone, PhD
Professor
Department of Pharmacotherapy
College of Pharmacy, University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Obesity, defined as having a body mass index of 30 or more, is a multifactorial disease that has been associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, diabetes, and others. By 2030 it is expected that half of the U.S. adult population will be obese. More pharmacologic products are being investigated for weight loss, including the new anti-diabetes medications liraglutide, semaglutide and tirzepatide.

Gender Differences in Core Body Temperature

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Reed Thomas BS and
Dr. Kong Y. Chen PhD
Director, Human Energy & Body Weight Regulation Core
NIH

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Over the last century, many studies have looked at the thermoregulation of both arctic and tropical animals; however, far fewer have rigorously measured variations in human thermal physiology, and even less have compared women and men. This study is a part of our ongoing efforts to fill that gap.

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Variety of Healthy Dietary Patterns can be Recommended to Reduce Risk of Chronic Diseases and Premature Death

These patterns such as the Mediterranean diet, DASH diet, vegetarian diet, or other versions of healthy diets can be adapted to meet individual health needs, food preferences, and cultural traditions.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) recommend multiple healthy eating patterns. However, few studies have evaluated whether greater adherence to the DGAs-recommended dietary patterns is associated with long-term risk of total and cause-specific mortality. The researchers used health data collected over 36 years from 75,230 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study and 44,085 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. All participants were free of cardiovascular disease or cancer at the beginning of the study and completed dietary questionnaires every four years.

Their information was scored based on each of the four dietary pattern indexes (Healthy Eating Index 2015, Alternate Mediterranean Diet, Healthful Plant-based Diet Index, and Alternate Healthy Eating Index). All share key components including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, although other components differ across different eating patterns.

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Small Weight Loss in Older Men Might Signify Increased Risk of Mortality

Older individuals with a weight loss of 5-10% had a higher risk of all-cause mortality: 33% for men and 26% for women.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Dr Monira Hussain MBBS, MPH, PhD
Senior Research Fellow &
ECF Clinical Research Australian Fellow
Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Monash University
Melbourne Australia

Dr Monira Hussain MBBS, MPH, PhD
Senior Research Fellow &
ECF Clinical Research Australian Fellow
Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Monash University
Melbourne Australia

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The impact of weight changes on healthy older adults is not fully understood, and the association between weight loss and cause-specific mortality needs to be explored using more reliable methods.

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Hopkins Study finds Weight Loss by Bariatric Embolization Principally from Fatty Tissues

The data from this preliminary study represents a healthy pattern of weight loss in support of bariatric embolization as a valid therapeutic for obesity.

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Daniel Giraldo-Herrera, MD,
Postdoctoral research fellow
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and
Clifford R. Weiss, MD, PI of the study
Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and
Whiting School of Engineering.

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study? Would you describe the procedure and how it works to reduce obesity?

Response: Bariatric Embolization is a minimally invasive image-guided medical procedure for patients with morbid obesity who seek weight loss. The procedure is performed with tiny catheters through small nicks in the skin, deploying precisely engineered microscopic beads. These are deposited to block blood flow in the upper part of the stomach to reduce appetite by suppressing the release of the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin. With less hunger, patients can then more easily restrict excess calories from food intake. Weight loss results as they tap their own caloric energy reserves, ideally from subcutaneous fat (the deposits between the skin and deep muscle tissues) and visceral fat (the deposits surrounding abdominal organs). Protein stored in muscle can also be turned to calories for energy.

The purpose of this study was to understand if weight loss resulting from Bariatric Embolization comes from fat, muscle, or a mix of both. In a pilot trial, we used AMRA Medical’s advanced body composition measurement techniques with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine body composition changes in the abdomen and thighs, where the most significant fat deposits and muscle groups are located. MRI is the reference standard for body composition measurement since it allows for rapid, detailed analysis of anatomic distributions and accurate measurement of fat and muscle tissue volumes.

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Intermittent Fasting Plus Exercise Can Reduce Help Decrease Liver Fat

Fatty liver disease puts people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Krista Varady, PhD
Professor of Nutrition
Dept Kinesiology and Nutrition
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60612
Instagram: @DrKristaVarady

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: We noticed that the main lifestyle therapy for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was combining daily calorie restriction with aerobic exercise. We were curious if intermittent fasting combined with aerobic exercise would produce the same reductions in liver fat.

So we designed a randomized controlled trial in 80 adults with obesity and NAFLD, with four intervention groups:

1) An alternate day fasting group that consumed 500 calories on the “fast day”, alternated with a free eating “feast day”;

2) Exercise group that participated in five supervised 60 min sessions per week, using elliptical machines and treadmills;

3) Combination of the fasting and exercise interventions;

4) No intervention control group. We measured liver fat using MRI before and after the 3-month intervention.

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NEJM: Semaglutide Evaluated for Pediatric Obesity

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Prof. Dr. Daniel Weghuber
Head of Department
Department of Pediatrics
Paracelsus Medical University
Austria
President of the European Childhood Obesity Group

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: In this study, researchers looked at the effect of semaglutide on body mass index (BMI) and weight loss compared to a dummy medicine (placebo).

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ObesityWeek: Setmelanotide (IMCIVREE™) Successfully Induced Weight Loss in Patients With Hypothalamic Obesity

Patients were able to stay away from food for a longer time. For some of the patients that was really changing their lives. They are back to normal and not obsessed with food all the time.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Dr. Christian Roth, MD
Seattle Children’s Research Institute and Division of Endocrinology
Department of Pediatrics
University of Washington

Dr. Christian Roth, MD
Seattle Children’s Research Institute and Division of Endocrinology
Department of Pediatrics
University of Washington — Dr. Roth

WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain what is meant by Hypothalamic Obesity?

Response: Hypothalamic obesity is a different entity of obesity that is rare and very difficult to treat. It is an acquired form of obesity due to injury to the hypothalamus because of a brain tumor and/or its treatment. This causes an abrupt change in body weight regulation because tissues that are important for energy homeostasis are partially or completely removed.

Typically, these patients can’t control their appetite and within a very short time after surgery they gain weight quickly. Their energy expenditure is also very low. So even if they cut down on calorie intake, they are typically not able to lose weight.

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