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UCLA Study Finds Neighborhood Disadvantage Shapes Brain and Body Mass

We hope our study brings a greater appreciation for how neighborhoods shape us and impact our health.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Arpana Gupta, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Co-Director: Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center at UCLA
Director: Neuroimaging Core
G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience
Ingestive Behavior and Obesity Program
UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases
David Geffen School of Medicine
UCLA Los Angeles, CA

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

Response: Neighborhood characteristics, such as crowding, number of households in poverty, and rate of unemployment, have an effect on health, including brain health, beyond one’s individual income/education level.

Our study adds to this evidence by showing an effect of neighborhood disadvantage on an important brain feature, cortical microsctructure, which impacts brain communication and information processing.

Further, we found that some of the effect, particularly in brain areas involved in emotion, reward, and cognitive functions, was related to increased body mass index in poorer quality neighborhoods.

Penn Researchers Identify Brain Circuits That Increase Risk for Obesity

These findings underscore that some individual’s brains can be fundamentally different in regions that increase the risk for obesity.

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Casey H. Halpern, MD
Division Head, Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery
Associate Professor of Neurosurgery
University of Pennsylvania

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

Response: The dorsolateral hippocampus (dlHPC) is located in the region of the brain that processes memory, and the lateral hypothalamus (LH) is in the region of the brain that is responsible for keeping the body in a stable state, called homeostasis. Previous research has found an association with loss of function in the human hippocampus in individuals with obesity and related disordered eating, like BED. However, outside of imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the role of the hippocampus has been difficult to study in humans with obesity and related eating disorders.

Even Small Reductions in Weight Can Reduce Obesity-Related Chronic Diseases

Given the health benefits of clinically meaningful weight reduction at any level of excess weight, 5% or greater weight loss can be a reasonable target for obesity management efforts.

WeightControl.com Interview with:

Dr. Lyudmyla Kompaniyets, PhD
Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia

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

Response: Overweight and obesity affect more than 70% of US adults and are risk factors for other chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many cancers. This is one of the only papers to assess the probability of a 5% weight loss or reducing BMI to healthy weight among US adults with overweight and obesity.

This study focused on the probability of weight loss in a healthcare seeking population with overweight or obesity regardless of any individual’s intention to lose weight.

Heart Benefits of Wegovy (semaglutide) Extend Beyond Weight Loss

This trial found that among the participants taking Wegovy the incidence of MACE was 20% lower than those with usual care.

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Shauna Levy MD, MS, FACS. FASMBS, DABOM
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery
Division of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery
Director of Bariatric Surgery
American Board of Obesity Medicine, Diplomate
Instagram @tulane_bariatric_center
Tulaneweightloss.com

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

Response: The SELECT trial evaluated over 17,000 patients with a history of overweight or obesity and cardiovascular disease. They randomized patients to usual care versus Wegovy (semaglutide), which is an anti-obesity medication. It is important to note that none of the participants had diabetes.

They evaluated the incidence of Major Adverse Cardiaovascular Events (MACE) for up to 5 years for all participants.

Intermittent Fasting Without Counting Calories for Weight Loss

We found that participants who engaged in time-restricted eating ate 425 fewer calories per day than the control group and lost about 10 more pounds than the control group after one year

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Krista Varady, PhD
Professor, Kinesiology and Nutrition
University of Illinois, Chicago

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

Response: Obesity is a major health issue. Many traditional weight loss diets involve counting calories, which can be cumbersome and difficult to do well. Time-restricted eating, without calorie counting, has become a popular weight loss strategy because it is simple to do. Whether it’s effective in producing weight loss, especially beyond the short term, is unclear.

Forever Chemicals During Pregnancy May Raise Risk of Childhood Obesity: Steps to Limit Exposure to PFAS

WeightControl.com Interview with:
Yun (Jamie) Liu
Department of Epidemiology
Brown University School of Public Health
Providence, Rhode Island,

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

Response: Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in the U.S., and can continue into adulthood, increasing the risks of developing cardiometabolic diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, and cancers. While a lack of physical activity and an unhealthy diet do not fully explain the genesis and trends of the obesity epidemic, some research suggests that fetal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), may predispose children to a higher risk of obesity. Studies on this topic have been quite limited.

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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