Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Data collected between 1988 and 2006 and presented at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting last month showed modest improvements in two risk factors for cardiovascular disease: the number of Americans who do not smoke increased from 45% to 50%, and the number of Americans who have achieved optimal (below 100 mg/dl)  LDL levels increased from 22% to 28%.

But these improvements are counteracted by the rapidly growing prevalence of obesity that has occurred in the same time frame. 

American adults’ average body mass index (BMI) went from 26.5 to 28.8 (25 and above is overweight, 30 and above is obese). Incidence of overweight in children went from 20% to 35%.

What have been the consequences of this increase in body weight?

“Obesity is not benign.”

-Dr. Tiffany Powell, lead author of the study¹

Obesity robs people of their quality of life as they age – as reported in the International Journal of Obesity, obese individuals had double the rates of disability compared to normal-weight individuals.²

The number of Americans with healthy blood pressure has fallen by 5%. The number of those with good blood sugar control have decreased by 9%. Most alarming is that left ventricular mass in children, a predictive indicator for future heart disease and stroke, has also risen - their hearts are being forced to work too hard to pump blood to their excess body fat.

How will this affect the incidence of cardiovascular disease in this country?

“Many people feel the decline in [heart] risk factors is leveling off and there will be an acceleration of cardiovascular disease.”

-AHA spokesman Dr. Roger Blumenthal¹

A large part of the problem is that our society views these factors – hypercholesterolemia, poor blood sugar control, hypertension, obesity – each as a separate issue with its own drug-based method of management. But they are not separate. The truth is, the same nutrient-rich, vegetable-based diet combined with regular exercise is effective in preventing and reversing all of these conditions. 

References:

1. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/11/17/hscout633216.html?feed=rss_forbeslife_health

2. Walter S et al. Mortality and disability: the effect of overweight and obesity. International Journal of Obesity (2009) 33, 1410–1418

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Don’t put the baby on the treadmill just yet, but a new study in the journal Pediatrics claims gaining weight as an infant might foreshadow obesity later in life. A group of 559 mother and child pairs were examined after three years. For example, two infants with the same birth weight, but after six months differed in weight by 1.5 pounds, the larger being 18.4 pounds, puts the bigger child at a 40% higher risk of being obese at age 3; from EurekAlert!

Actually, other studies have linked a baby’s weight-gain to high blood pressure, saying babies who put on weight too rapidly can develop hypertension as adults. So don’t be like this idiot and only feed your toddler French fries. The woman needs her head examined.

In February, research found obese women are more likely to give birth to children with congenital anomalies, like cleft palate, and obesity can give kids heart disease too.

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A new analysis of 60,000 medical records revealed pediatricians fail to diagnosis weight problems in children. Reporting in Pediatrics, researchers determined 54% of obese children and 74% of severely obese kids were diagnosed, but only 10% of overweight children were given a weight-related diagnosis, meaning doctors are missing an opportunity to intervene before weight issues get out of control; The New York Times investigates.

Not surprising, some parents can’t even recognize their child is overweight or obese, could be because parents themselves are overweight and previous research claims kids eat like their parents and if parents don’t eat and live healthfully, they shouldn’t expect their children too!

And unchecked childhood obesity is being blamed for more kids taking drugs for diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and other chronic conditions. Eek!

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A new study in the American Journal of Hypertension claims high resting heart rates may be associated with obesity and diabetes. Scientists split participants into 4 groups: heart rates of under 60, 60 to 69, 70 to 79 and over 80. Individuals with resting heart rates over 80 were 1.34 times more likely to be obese, 1.2 times more likely to develop insulin resistance and 4.39 times more likely to become diabetic; Reuters reports.
 

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Salt is unhealthy, it ups hypertension and stroke-risk, but yet, it’s in everything, from bagels to breakfast cereal. And in this video, Dr. Fuhrman’s friend, Jeff Novick MS, RD, LD, LN, explains that after cutting the fat in many foods. Food producers increased the salt, to make it taste better.

And experts at Consumer Reports concur. "Our analysis found that lower-fat products might be higher in sodium. That's in part because when fat is taken out of full-fat foods, sodium is sometimes used to compensate for flavor," Jamie Hirsh, associate health editor, told Reuters.

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