Gender Differences in Weight Loss with Medical Treatments

females lost more weight than males with similar exposures to liraglutide, suggesting that body size may not be the only factor.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
A/Prof Samantha L Hocking | Associate Professor Diabetes NSW & ACT
Sydney School of Medicine (Central Clinical School)
Charles Perkins Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health
President National Association of Clinical Obesity Services

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

Response: Numerous studies have shown that the mean response to a weight loss intervention hides significant individual variation. There are biological and physiological differences between males and females so gender is a potential predictor of weight loss outcomes. 

Lean Individuals Who Intentionally Lose Weight May Risk Diabetes and Inceased Weight Gain

Exercise is optimal for long-term weight control and prevention of type 2 diabetes when compared with low-calorie diet, low-calorie diet & exercise, fasting, commercial weight loss program, and diet pills.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Dr. Keyi Si, PhD
Department of Nutrition
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr. Keyi Si

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

Response: Weight control is one of the primary and effective strategies for the prevention and management of obesity and related chronic diseases. However, long-term weight change and risks of developing type 2 diabetes following various weight loss strategies are understudied, especially among originally lean individuals.

Study Finds Morning or Evening Calories Equally Affect Weight Loss

However, people who ate their largest meal in the morning did report feeling less hungry later in the day, which could foster easier weight loss in the real world.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Prof Alexandra Johnstone
Rowett Institute
University of Aberdeen

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

Response: There are a lot of myths surrounding the timing of eating and how it might influence either body weight or health. When dieting, many people follow the old saying “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper,” based on the belief that consuming the bulk of daily calories in the morning optimizes weight loss by burning calories more efficiently.

Model Predicts Success of Weight Control Programs

We know that many people living with obesity do not want to attend health care appointments after a perceived “failure” of a weight loss intervention

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Prof Jennifer Logue 
Associate Dean (Research) Faculty of Health and Medicine
Lancaster University
Deputy Clinical Director | NIHR CRN North West Coast
Professor of Metabolic Medicine | Lancaster University
Hon Consultant in Metabolic Medicine
Blackpool Victoria Hospital

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

Response: Currently, many providers may offer more intensive therapies to every patient as they don’t believe behavioural programmes are effective, when they are for many people. Other providers leave patients struggling in a behavioural programme and they will disengage, reinforcing self-stigma.

Yale Scientists Find Liver and Brain Work Together to Control Eating

The main messages are that the liver can directly control the most complex part of the brain.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Tamas L. Horvath, DVM, PhD
Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Comparative Medicine
Chair, Department of Comparative Medicine
Founding Director, Yale Program in Integrative Cell Signaling
& Neurobiology of Metabolism
Professor of Neuroscience and Ob/Gyn & Reproductive Sciences
Yale University School of Medicine

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

Response: We knew from earlier work that this very specific lipid species we studied (lysophospholipids) have an impact on how the most complex part of our brain, the cerebral cortex, functions.  What is knew here is that we show that the level of these lipids fluctuate in association with the level of hunger of animals and that this fluctuation of these liver-derived lipid molecules are governed by neurons that control hunger and are in an ancient part of the brain (hypothalamus).   

New Weight Loss Model Targets Individual Response to Food Cues

Individuals who are high on food cue responsiveness typically have uncontrolled eating and ruminate (think) about food a lot of the time

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Dr. Kerri N. Boutelle, Ph.D
Department of Pediatrics
Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science,
Department of Psychiatry
University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California

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

Response: Behavioral weight loss, which includes nutrition and physical activity education and behavior therapy techniques (also called a lifestyle intervention), is not effective for all adults with overweight and obesity and of those who lose weight, the majority regain the weight back.  This suggests that there are unaddressed underlying mechanisms that impact the effectiveness of these interventions. 

We developed a novel weight loss model based on appetitive traits, called regulation of cues (roc), that targets improving responsiveness to hunger and satiety cues and decreasing responsiveness to food cues.  This is different than behavioral weight loss as it targets these internal control mechanisms while behavioral weight loss targets external control mechanisms.

After Bariatric Surgery, Women Advised to Wait At Least Two Years to Conceive

After bariatric surgery there is a rapid weight loss that may impair an adequate weight gain during pregnancy and may also be associated with nutritional deficiencies

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Dr Ana Carreira and Dr Bárbara Araújo
Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra
Coimbra, Portuga

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

Response: Bariatric surgery is increasingly common in women of reproductive age and reduces the risk of obesity-related comorbidities in pregnancy. However, women after bariatric surgery have an increased risk of having a baby who is underweight (small for gestational age, SGA). A shorter bariatric surgery-to-conception interval (BSCI) has been one of the factors associated with a higher risk of SGA neonates, and, as a result, women are generally advised to wait at least 12 months after bariatric surgery before trying to conceive. However, the optimal bariatric surgery-to-conception interval is yet to be determined, and current recommendation differ among scientific societies, with some advocating a minimum of 12months and others 18 or 24 months.

Weill Cornell Medicine Pioneers in Weight Control and Intellihealth Launch ‘Weight Matters’ Podcast

In the Weight Matters podcast, Dr. Katherine Saunders and Dr. Louis Aronne address the many misconceptions associated with weight and how it impacts our broader health.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Louis Aronne, MD
Co-Founder and Chief Medical Advisor at Intellihealth
The Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research
Weill Cornell Medicine Medical Director
Comprehensive Weight Control Center

Dr. Aronne

WeightControl.com:  How does obesity affect health and health care costs?

Response:  Obesity is a leading contributor to over 200 diseases: type 2 diabetes, heart disease, many types of cancer, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. All of these diseases and comorbidities have a link to excess weight, and their severity could be reduced by addressing the underlying issue of obesity. According to the World Health Organization, almost 3 million people die as a result of obesity or excess weight each year. And the National Institutes of Health has reported that obesity and overweight are now the second leading cause of death nationally. Perhaps that’s because unlike the more than 80 percent of patients with diabetes who receive treatment for their disease, less than 2 percent of patients with obesity or overweight are treated according to the latest guidelines.

Obesity is also an economic burden, leading to more than $210 billion a year in direct medical costs. Indirect costs, such as employer expenses, absenteeism, and lost productivity add up to as much as $500 billion annually. For adults with obesity, that translates to more than $3,500 in medical care costs per patient each year.

NEJM: Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss

Time-restricted eating combined with calorie restriction offer a viable and sustainable approach for person who wants to lose weight.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Huijie Zhang   M.D. & Ph.D
Professor and Chief Physician
Deputy Director of Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Nafang Hospital of Southern Medical University
Guangzhou, China

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

Response: Time-restricted eating is one of the most popular intermittent fasting regimens involving a specific eating period within a 24-hour cycle. Time-restricted eating regimen has gained attention because it reduces weight and enhances adherence. The long-term efficacy and safety of time-restricted eating for weight loss are not clear.

In this randomized clinical trial, among patients with obesity, a regimen of time-restricted eating was not more beneficial with regard to reduction in body weight, body fat, or metabolic risk factors than daily calorie restriction.

Study Evaluates Impact of Food Choices on Life Expectancy

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Lars T. Fadnes
Professor & research group leader
Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care
& Bergen Addiction Research
Department of Addiction Medicine
University of Bergen & Haukeland University Hospital

Prof. Fadnes

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

Response: Food is fundamental for health, and globally dietary risk factors are estimated to cause 11 million deaths and 255 million disability-adjusted life years annually. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors study provides summary measures of population health that are relevant when comparing health systems but does not estimate the impact of alterations in food group composition and respective health benefits. The EAT–Lancet commission did present a planetary diet, but it gives limited information on the health impact of other diets, and few people are able to adhere to strict health  maximization approaches. 

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