Breast Reduction More Dangerous for Morbidly Obese Women?

As the obese population increases, more overweight women are consulting plastic surgeons for breast reductions. In previous studies, this group of patients had been thought to have higher complication rates. The authors of this study, however, found it to be as safe to perform large-volume breast reductions in morbidly obese women as slimmer patients. (Study title: Breast Reduction: Safe in the Morbidly Obese?)

Post-Bariatric Patients' Nutritional Deficiency: Concerns for Plastic Surgery
With the increasing popularity of bariatric operations, there has been a subsequent increase in body contouring following weight loss. This study highlights an important detail plastic surgeons need to assess in these potential patients: their nutritional health or lack of it. This study reports on the widespread evidence of nutritional deficiency in these patients that can lead to problems with wound healing and immune response optimization. The authors detail the various nutritional deficiencies commonly found in post-bariatric patients, noting that plastic surgeons may want to recommend optimal nutrition through supplements. (Study title: Nutritional Deficiency of Post-Bariatric Surgery Body Contouring Patients: What Every Plastic Surgeon Should Know)

Lasik Dry-Eye Needs Unique Approach to Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery
Patients looking to rejuvenate aging eyelids, but have dry-eye syndrome following Lasik surgery, present unique difficulties. Authors in this study describe how to identify and alter the surgical technique (such as staging the operations for upper and lower lids) for this unique group of eyelid surgery patients. (Study title: Optimizing Blepharoplasty Outcomes in Patients with Previous Laser Vision Correction)

Source: Medical News Today

Children who eat their lunch in front of the television consume more calories

A Canadian study has shown that children who eat their lunch in front of the television consume more calories than children who don't. It is the first time television and eating habits have been linked in this way to obesity issues.

Study funders the Canadian Institutes for Health Research said: "In effect, mindless television watching produces mindless eating. ... Anderson has some immediate advice for parents -- turn the television off during mealtime."

Overall, TV-watching children consumed 228 calories more during their meal than those who did not watch TV during lunch time.

Source: ShortNews.com

Cocoa Drinks May Lower Blood Pressure in Overweight Adults

Cocoa, either in a dark chocolate bar or as a hot drink, may reduce blood pressure in overweight adults. That's what happened in a recent study of 45 healthy adults with BMI (body mass index) near the borderline between overweight and obese. The researchers who included David L. Katz, MD, MPH, of the Yale Prevention Research Center gave some of the participants a dark chocolate bar containing 22 grams of cocoa. Other participants got a bar containing no cocoa.

Before-and-after blood pressure and ultrasound tests showed better blood pressure and better blood vessel function after participants ate the dark chocolate bar, compared to the cocoa-free bar. Likewise, blood pressure and blood vessel function improved after participants drank two cups of cocoa, compared with drinking a beverage containing no cocoa.

How the cocoa drink was sweetened mattered. When it contained sugar, blood pressure and blood vessel function didn't improve as much as when the cocoa was sugar-free.

Katz and colleagues reason that in the sugary cocoa drink -- which contained about 45 grams of sugar per serving -- the sugar may have offset cocoa's effects to some degree.

The study -- published in the July 1 edition of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- was partly sponsored by the Hershey Company. Of course, eating too much chocolate or drinking too much cocoa isn't a great idea. Blow your calorie budget and extra pounds will pile up, which is bad for your blood pressure.

Source: WebMD

Several variants of a single gene boost the risk of obesity

Previous research had shown that an extremely rare mutation in the same PCSK1 gene can, all by itself, lead to huge gains in weight, making it the only known source of so-called "monogenetic" obesity.

But a team led by Philippe Froguel of Imperial College London wanted to find out if PCSK1 might lead, in combination with other genetic factors, to more complex and widespread forms of obesity as well.

When they compared the genomes of 13,000 obese individuals of European ancestry to those of a normal control group, the researchers found three mutations in the gene that were far more common among those coping with excess weight.

These same variants were also linked to increased risk of childhood obesity, as well as less extreme weight gain, the study found.

The benchmark for obesity is the body-mass index (BMI), defined as one's weight in kilograms divided by the square of one's height in meters.

A BMI from 18.5 to 25 is considered in the healthy range, from 25 to 30 is overweight, and 30 or higher is obese.

PCSK1 produces an enzyme, called proconvertase 1, that plays a critical role in converting inactive forms of hormones that control appetite and regulate energy metabolism into active forms.

These hormones include insulin and glucagon, involved in the metabolism of sugar and carbohydrates, as well as a third molecule that signals to the brain that one has eaten enough.

"Nearly 25 percent of the population (studied) has a different form of the enzyme that is apparently a little bit more active," Froguel told AFP in an interview.

The study began with 150 families who responded to a public appeal to participate in research on obesity. Each of the families has at least one obese child.

The researchers then expanded to a larger population in France, as well as new cohorts in Denmark, Switzerland and Germany.

Obesity and obesity-related diseases such as diabetes have gained epidemic proportions in many developed economies. The causes are complex, and include sedentary lifestyle along with eating fat and sugary foods.

But a series of recent discoveries has shown that genetics can also play a bigger role than previously thought.

"We all react differently to an environment that is becoming more and more similar, and the reason we react differently is in part genetic in origin. This gene is one cause among others," said Froguel.

"By the end of the year we will probably have identified a total of a dozen genes linked to obesity," he added.

Another gene, called MC4R, that also orchestrates appetite and energy expenditure, was described in a study last month, also in Nature.

Source: Yahoo News

Obesity may offer some protection against heart-related "events," like heart attack

In a study, researchers found that obese patients who had stents placed in diseased arteries had a lower incidence of adverse cardiac events than their normal-weight counterparts.

Larger randomized trials are needed to confirm or refute the obesity paradox seen in this and other relatively small studies of drug-eluting stents, Dr. Ahmed A. Khattab of the Segeberger Kliniken in Bad Segeberg, Germany, and colleagues note in a report in the American Journal of Cardiology.

A stent is a tiny hollow tube that is placed in the coronary arteries to maintain blood flow after the blood vessel has been dilated with angioplasty. In the past, stents were simply made out of metal and did not release any drugs. In recent years, several "drug-eluting" stents have become available.

Khattab's team analyzed the outcomes at one year for 607 patients with coronary artery disease who were treated with stents that release the immune-suppressing drug sirolimus.

The group included 176 normal weight patients, 289 overweight patients, and 142 obese patients

At 30 days, the incidence of adverse cardiac events was 3.4 percent in the normal weight group and 3.1 percent in overweight patients, compared with just 2.8 percent in obese patients.

At one year, the combined cumulative incidence of death, heart attack, stroke, and repeat angioplasty or other "revascularization" procedure was higher in the normal weight patients (10.8 percent) and the overweight patients (11.8 percent) than in the obese patients (7.0 percent).

There was also "a clear trend" for a greater benefit from sirolimus-eluting stents compared with bare-metal stents with increasing body weight, the investigators report.

Source: Yahoo News