Is Obesity Epidemic Being Curbed?

Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), arthritis, certain types of cancer and other conditions are closely associated with overweight and obesity. However, while health experts are finding ways and means to combat obesity epidemic, the number of obese American adults has surpassed that of those who are overweight.

Body mass index (BMI), by dividing the weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters, is employed to determine if a person is obese or overweight. A person is classified as overweight if the BMI is between 25 and 29. When BMI reads between 30 and 40, the person is obese. A person with BMI reaching or exceeding 40 is morbidly obese.

For example, a person with a height of 5 feet 5 inches (or 165 cm) will become overweight at 150 pounds (68 kg) and obese at 180 pounds (82 kg). An online BMI calculator provided by the United States National Institute of Health is available at http: www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.

The latest figures reported (Jan 2009) by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicated that more than one-third of adults or over 72 million people were obese in 2005-2006. The report also showed that more than 34 percent of Americans are obese, compared to 32.7 percent, who are overweight, and just fewer than 6 percent are extremely obese.

The results were based on a 2005-2006 survey of 4,356 adults over the age of 20, taking part in a regular government survey of health, and these figures are the most current available. The heights and weights of the participants were measured during the physical examination, conducted in mobile examination centers.

The findings in the 1988 – 1994 surveys indicated that 33 percent of Americans were overweight, 22.9 percent were obese and 2.9 percent were morbidly obese. Since then, the numbers have continued to rise steadily.

In fact, in May 2008, CDC also reported that 32 percent of United States children were overweight, 16 percent were obese and 11 percent were extremely obese.

Childhood and adult obesity has been a great concern for the health authorities not only in the United States but also in many countries around the world. Unhealthy lifestyle and dieting habits are being blamed for creating such havoc.

Heart Attack May Be Reduced With Arthritis Pill!

A generic drug, which has been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke for people with the painful joint condition. This is the findings reported by an international team of researchers in the journal Arthritis & Therapy on March 6, 2008. In the paper, the researchers also provide further evidence of the benefits of the generic drug, known as methotrexate, and emphasize the importance of prescribing it early on.

About 20 million people worldwide have rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease caused when the body confuses healthy tissue for foreign substances and attacks itself.

Several drugs are used to treat it: some reduce inflammation directly but others tone down immune system response. The later type of drugs may risk patients to infections and cancer.

Methotrexate was developed as a cancer drug. Its function is to alter the body’s use of folic acid, which is required for cell growth. It can start working as early as 3 to 6 weeks after commencement of treatment.

In order to examine the causes and effects of rheumatoid arthritis and the potential benefits of medications, the researchers from Spain, Argentina and the United States carried out a long-term study on more than 4,300 people in 15 countries. After adjusting for traditional risk factors such as exercise, smoking and diabetes, the researchers found potential health benefits for patients given methotrexate.

The study indicated that patients who used methotrexate for 1 year, their risk of heart attack was cut by 18 percent and that of stroke was cut by 11 percent. Moreover, results from the study also suggested that newer drugs that block an inflammatory protein called tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were also effective at reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Nevertheless, further research is necessary to gather more evidences.

Of course, methotrexate is not the only drug that can treat arthritis. There are other drugs with similar functions as methotrexate, for instance, Johnson & Johnson's Remicade, Amgen's Enbrel, and Abbott Laboratories's Humira. However, because they are expensive, patients often do not get them right away.

Can Glucosamine Help Raise Good Cholesterol?

Glucosamine is an amino sugar and a prominent precursor in the biochemical synthesis of glycosylated proteins and lipids. It is commonly used to treat osteoarthritis. More information about glucosamine can be found at

---> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucosamine

Many people have taken glucosamine for arthritis-like symptoms. Previous research has made medical experts to think that it may also have a beneficial effect on HDL (good cholesterol). Nevertheless, a recent study has proved that the HDL level would not be increased for diabetics who are prescribed glucosamine at commonly taken doses.

The researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri evaluated the effects of glucosamine (500 milligrams taken 3 times daily) versus matching 'placebo' capsules in 10 people with Type-2 diabetes and 2 people with Type-1 diabetes.

The study examined 3 men and 9 women, all with low HDL cholesterol, who were randomly assigned to take glucosamine or placebo for 2 weeks, and were switched over to a 2-week course of the alternative therapy. The finding revealed that there was no benefit of glucosamine on HDL cholesterol or any worsening of the diabetes control.

Their report, which was published in the journal Diabetes Care, indicated that the lack of an effect on the control on diabetes is consistent with previously published studies on the effect of glucosamine in both diabetic and non-diabetic individual. However, the study did not go further to answer whether higher dose or longer duration of glucosamine may make any difference to HDL levels.

People with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing heart disease. As such, appropriately managing diabetes is very important.