| IVL Products Health Watch - Is Obesity Contagious? |
| The Official IVL Products Health Blog |
Dear Reader,
A study published in the July 26 issue of the New
England Journal of Medicine contends that obesity is "socially
contagious." In other words, when a person gains weight their close
friends are likely to do the same. The study concluded that when the
scale reads "obese" for one individual, the odds that their friends
will become obese increase by more than 50 percent. Interestingly, the
study concluded that the "obese influence" occurs even if the close
friend lives hundreds of miles away.
Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, a physician and professor of medical
sociology at Harvard Medical School and a principal investigator in the
study, said one explanation was that friends affected each other's
perception of fatness. When a close friend becomes obese, then obesity
may not look so bad. "You change your idea of what is an acceptable
body type by looking at the people around you," said Dr. Christakis.
Other interesting insights:
* If one adult sibling becomes obese, the chances that the other
sibling will become obese are increased by 40 percent.
* If a spouse becomes obese, the other spouse has a 37 percent increased risk of obesity.
The issue is of no small concern, since obesity has become a major
public health problem in the United States and other Western nations.
Around the world, the number of people struggling with weight problems
is increasing rapidly. Within the US the fraction of the population
considered obese has doubled in the past 25 years, from 15% to 32%.
Based on World Health Organization definitions, people are considered
obese if they have a body mass index, or BMI, over 30.
Obesity is associated with an increased risk for some types of cancer
including endometrial (cancer of the lining of the uterus), colon, gall
bladder, prostate, kidney, and postmenopausal breast cancer. Women
gaining more than 20 pounds from age 18 to midlife double their risk of
postmenopausal breast cancer, compared to women whose weight remains
stable.
Obesity contributes to increasing levels of lipids (fat) and
cholesterol in the blood (hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia
respectively), leading to narrowing of blood vessels due to deposition
of fatty materials in coronary arteries (atherosclerosis). This in turn
causes the blood pressure levels to soar (hypertension) and increases
the risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction) and strokes.
Overweight people are more likely to suffer from sleep apnea, a
condition in which a person snores heavily and stops breathing for
small periods while sleeping. This is a serious condition that may lead
to heart failure.
Obesity increases the risk of diabetes because it increases insulin
resistance leading to glucose intolerance. Weight reduction helps many
diabetic patients in controlling their diabetes.
Excess body weight exerts more pressure on joints wearing out the
tissue that pads the joints leading to osteoarthritis. Losing weight
can provide significant relief from this condition.
Does this mean you should go through your address book and cross out
the names of your friends with a BMI greater than 30? Of course not.
"We're not suggesting that people should sever their ties with
overweight friends," says Christakis. "Having friends is healthy for
you." Experts stress that people with more friends tend to enjoy better
emotional and cognitive wellbeing.
What this does mean is that if you have close friends who are obese
then you should be vigilant about maintaining a healthy weight and
healthy lifestyle and encourage your friends to do the same. By
supporting each other, you can develop a happy, healthy lifestyle that
will add years to your life.
Yours in good health,
Sheila McCormick
Editor, IVL Health Watch
|
|
| Visit our Health Forum and ask a question of one of the country's leading experts in nutritional medicine. |
Dr.
Mikles is a Board Certified Internist, and is the Medical Director of
Choices Integrative Healthcare Clinic in Sedona, Arizona. For more than
30 years, Dr. Mikles has been engaged in the study and practice of the
therapeutic effects of diet and nutrition, making him one of the
country's leading experts.
|
|
|
Brought to you by Institute for Vibrant LivingTM
To learn more about IVL, call 1-800-720-1245
or visit http://www.IVLProducts.com
|
Contact us by mail at:
Institute for Vibrant Living
P.O. Box 3840
Camp Verde, AZ 86322
|
|