COVID-19 Linked to Difficulty with Weight Control

With the current concerns that the pandemic may lead to increases in obesity rates, it’s important to develop appropriate and large-scale support options for those aiming to manage their weight.

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Dr Sarah-Elizabeth Bennett
Senior Research Associate
Slimming World, UK

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

Response: This research is part of a larger Health and Wellbeing study, investigating the behaviour changes made by members of Slimming World, the UK’s largest group-based weight management organisation. New members were surveyed regularly over the course of one year and a representative sample of non-members were also surveyed at similar timepoints for comparison. The survey at the six-month point coincided with lockdown, so questions were added to learn more about how lockdown measures had impacted the nation’s health, wellbeing, and lifestyle behaviours. The following findings were based on the responses of 222 members who had completed all 3 surveys to-date and 637 non-members.

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Benefits of Weight Loss on Physical Function in Older Adults Differ by Sex and Race

We report greater weight loss-associated improvement in short physical performance battery score in women (versus men) and greater gait speed improvement in blacks (versus whites).

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Kristen M. Beavers, PhD, MPH, RD
Associate Professor
Department of Health and Exercise Science
Wake Forest University

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

Response: Consideration of differential treatment effects among subgroups in clinical trial research is a topic of increasing interest. This is an especially salient issue for weight loss trials, as most are over-represented by white women. The question we sought to address is: “Does sex or race moderate the effect of a weight loss intervention on physical function among older adults?”

In this pooled analysis of 1317 individuals participating in eight randomized clinical trials of weight loss — of which 30% were male and 21% were black — we report greater weight loss-associated improvement in short physical performance battery score in women (versus men) and greater gait speed improvement in blacks (versus whites).

Continue reading “Benefits of Weight Loss on Physical Function in Older Adults Differ by Sex and Race”

How Much Fasting Is Necessary to Lose Weight?

The main findings of this study were a 3% weight loss in 8 weeks in both groups with a 550-calorie restriction (unintentional) and good adherence to both diets.

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Sofia Cienfuegos
PhD Candidate, Human Nutrition.
Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition
University of Illinois at Chicago

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

Response: Intermittent fasting has been gaining a lot of popularity lately mainly due to a large group of the general population that don’t like to keep tabs on their caloric intake. Intermittent fasting is a safe and effective alternative to weight loss that does not require people consciously restricting calories. Time restricted feeding (TRF) is one specific type of IF that has been gaining a lot of popularity and public interest lately. Previous studies in TRF with the 16/8 method made people want to try and follow this diet strategy achieving promising results. Some people were wondering if shortening the feeding  window even further would induce better results in terms of weight loss and cardiometabolic health.

Based on this question, we decided to test two different short time restricted feeding methods (18/6 and 20/4) to see if they could induce even better results in weight and health outcomes. We were also wondering if people were able to stick to these interventions considering the short eating window.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: The main findings of this study were a 3% weight loss in 8 weeks in both groups with a 550-calorie restriction (unintentional) and good adherence to both diets. Also, we found significant reductions in insulin resistance and oxidative stress in both intervention groups.

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Scientists Explain Why Artificial Sweeteners Don’t Quench Our Appetite for Sugar

We identified a key gut-to-brain circuit responsible for our unquenchable sugar appetite.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Alexander Sisti, MD/PhD Candidate
Zuker Lab
Columbia University

suga

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

Response: Our lab has studied the biology of mammalian taste for over two decades. Previous work has identified the receptors for all five basic taste qualities (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami).

In the course of these studies, we generated mice lacking sweet receptors (i.e. “sweet-blind”). Unexpectedly, we observed that these animals could eventually learn to identify and develop a preference for a sugar-containing bottle—even though they could not taste it. This was not true for artificial sweeteners. This led us to hypothesize that there was something about the sugar that made the animals feel good and want more of it.

We set out to identify the brain circuits underlying our insatiable appetite for sugar which could operate independently from the taste system. So, we searched the brain for areas activated by sugar but not artificial sweeteners and areas that responded to sugar in the sweet-blind animals. We wanted to identify where the sugar signal was coming from.

WeightControl.com:  What are the main findings?

Response: Our work revealed that sugar activates a selective circuit from the gut to the brain. This pathway is responsible for our “wanting” of sugar. It does not respond to artificial sweeteners and operates completely independently from the classical tongue-to-brain taste system (which mediates “liking” of all sweet substances, including artificial sweeteners). The discovery of this new circuit fundamentally changes the way we think about the action of sugar in the brain.

WeightControl.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Our most significant findings are:

  1. We identified a key gut-to-brain circuit responsible for our unquenchable sugar appetite.
  2. We demonstrate that silencing this circuit is able to completely abolish development of sugar preference. Essentially, we were able to create “sugar-blind” animals insensitive to sugar craving. Given the extraordinary impact of sugar on the global epidemic of obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, identifying new strategies to curb sugar consumption could have a meaningful impact on human health.
  3. Our results explain why artificial sweeteners have failed in reducing our appetite for sugar, as they cannot activate this gut-brain circuit.

Citation:

Hwei-Ee Tan, Alexander C. Sisti, Hao Jin, Martin Vignovich, Miguel Villavicencio, Katherine S. Tsang, Yossef Goffer, Charles S. Zuker. The gut–brain axis mediates sugar preferenceNature, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2199-7

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Weight Control: Better to Eat a Big Breakfast than Big Dinner

The importance of the time of day and our internal clock for food intake and energy metabolism is a very exciting research field. Future studies should investigate why we spend so much more energy after breakfast than after dinner

WeightControl.com Interview with:
M. Sc. Juliane Richter
University of Lübeck
Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism
Section of Psychoneurobiology

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

Response: The background for this study is that there is still the misbelief that it does not matter when we eat and that the only thing that counts is the energy balance of the whole day. However, since our body has an internal clock and many processes in the body, for example glucose metabolism, are subject to diurnal variations, we investigated whether diet-induced thermogenesis also varies during the course of the day.

Diet-induced thermogenesis is the energy our body spends for the digestion, absorption and transport of nutrients. We found that diet-induced thermogenesis after breakfast is more than twice as high as after dinner. We also investigated whether this difference in time of day depends on the amount of calories consumed. In both cases, high- and low-calorie meals, the body spends more energy after breakfast than after dinner.

breakfast-timing of meals for weight control
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Obesity Prevented and Reversed in Mice By Blocking Cellular Receptor

We are beginning to understand how the blockage of the AHR prevents and reverses obesity, which may lead to a therapeutic treatment of obesity in humans.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Craig R. Tomlinson, Ph.D.
Director of Genomics & Molecular Biology Shared Resource
Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
Lebanon, NH 03756

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

Response: Obesity, a global epidemic, is a known contributor to numerous diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Preventing and reversing the obesity epidemic would be a critical aid in preventing and treating these diseases.

Our laboratory had discovered that a drug called NF, which was known to block the activity of a cellular receptor called the AHR, prevented obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet. We undertook studies to determine how the AHR, when inhibited by NF, exerted its effects on obesity.

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Is There a Link Between Obesity and Periodontal Disease?

Clinicians should educate patients about the importance of weight control affecting oral/periodontal health.

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Andres Pinto DMD, MPH, MSCE, MBA, FDS RCSEd, FICD 
Professor and Chair
Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences
Director, Oral Medicine Internship and MSD Program

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies
Case Western Reserve University and
Cleveland Clinic
Health Education Campus
School of Dental Medicine
Cleveland, OH

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

Response: There is  strong association between oral health and systemic health.  Periodontal disease affects almost half of Americans and is characterized by increased inflammation. The focus of our review was to evaluate the association between obesity and periodontal disease, which has been reported earlier, with attention to the effects on the non-surgical management of periodontal disease. Our results indicate both disorders share similar inflammatory characteristics and may be associated.

However, multiple factors mediate this relationship, of course including oral hygiene. We were unable to find conclusive evidence on the impact of obesity on treatment planning for periodontal therapy, although the presumptive common pathophysiology provides an opportunity for active patient education.

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Using Diet Pills For Weight Control Linked to Increased Risk of Eating Disorder in Young Women

Over-the-counter diet pill and laxative use are not a healthy way to manage weight and young women, or consumers of any age or gender, should not use them for weight control

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Jordan A. Levinson BA
Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine
Boston Children’s Hospital
Boston, MA

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

Response: Many unhealthy weight control behaviors, including the use of diet pills and laxatives for weight control, can put individuals at risk for developing eating disorders. Though the use of these products is common, it is incredibly dangerous and not recommended by health care providers for weight control. 

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BELVIQ® : FDA Accepts Eisai’s Supplemental New Drug Application to Update the Labeling For Anti-Obesity Agent

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Dr. Lynn Kramer, MD FAAN

Dr. Lynn Kramer

Dr. Lynn Kramer, MD FAAN
VP and Chief Clinical Officer & Chief Medical Office
Eisai Co., Ltd

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

Response: On February 25th, Eisai announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted its supplemental New Drug Application to potentially update the label for BELVIQ® (lorcaserin HCI) CIV 10 mg twice-daily/BELVIQ XR (lorcaserin HCI) CIV once daily  to include long-term efficacy and safety data from CAMELLIA-TIMI 61, a clinical trial of BELVIQ in 12,000 overweight and obese patients with cardiovascular (CV) disease and/or multiple CV risk factors such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

CAMELLIA-TIMI 61 is the first completed large-scale cardiovascular outcomes clinical trial for a weight loss agent. As reported and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on August 26th, the results showed that CAMELLIA-TIMI 61 met its primary safety objective, finding that long-term treatment with BELVIQ did not increase incidence of MACE in overweight and obese patients at high risk for a CV event (HR 0.99; 95% CI: 0.85 to 1.14; p<0.001). Since the study met the primary safety endpoint for non-inferiority for MACE, the study continued to assess for the primary efficacy endpoint assessing whether or not BELVIQ reduced the incidence of major CV events compared to placebo for a broader composite endpoint, MACE+ (consisting of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, hospitalization due to unstable angina, heart failure or coronary revascularization). Although superiority to placebo was not met, BELVIQ was non-inferior to placebo on the MACE+ composite, with similar event rates for BELVIQ and placebo. 

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Red Raspberries May Help Control Blood Sugar in Prediabetes

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Britt BurtonFreeman, Ph.D
Director of the Center for Nutrition Research at IFSH
Associate Professor, Food Science and Nutrition
Illinois Institute of Technology

"Raspberries" by theslowlane is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
“Raspberries” by theslowlane

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

Response: Red raspberries contain appreciable amounts of dietary fiber and a variety of other nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium and potassium. They also contain phytochemicals, such as polyphenols with documented biological activity suggesting metabolic benefits. However, there is limited data assessing the potential effects of red raspberries in humans, particularly in those people who might benefit the most, ie., people at risk for diabetes mellitus.

We investigated the health benefits of consuming 1-2 cups of red raspberries in a group of people who were overweight/obesity and had prediabetes and insulin resistance.

The results showed that when a breakfast meal was consumed with raspberries, less insulin was needed to manage blood sugar compared with a meal with no raspberries. Moreover, when two cups of red raspberries were included in the breakfast meal, blood sugar concentrations were significantly lower compared to consuming breakfast without raspberries.

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