Is weight fluctuation a risk factor?

Article Abstract:

Almost two in five men and more than one in three women are overweight, and health professionals and public health authorities have been advising these people to diet. The media also encourage teenagers and adults to subscribe to ideal body images. The success rate of weight maintenance is poor, leading to cycles of weight gain and loss (weight cycling). Weight gain with age complicates the picture, especially since this weight tends to collect in the abdomen, a pattern associated with increased risk of arterial disease. Previous studies suggested that weight cycling made gain easier and loss harder; the recent study reported by Lauren Lissner and her colleagues in the June 27, 1991 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine indicates an even more serious hazard, including a possible increased risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia (elevated levels of fats in the blood), and death. Animal studies of weight fluctuations do not support the ''easier to gain, harder to lose'' hypothesis, nor is there a great deal of evidence for health implications at this time. Some of the methodological issues and inconsistencies are discussed. One inconsistency is the conclusion that women have greater weight variability than men; this is not in accord with the data. If women do have greater weight cycling than men, the lower incidence of illness and death among women from coronary artery disease seems to conflict with the Lissner's hypothesis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Demographic aspects, Reducing diets, Coronary heart disease, Body weight, editorial

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Obesity in adulthood - the importance of childhood and parental obesity

Article Abstract:

Obese children who have an obese parent are likely to be obese as adults. This was the conclusion of a 1997 study, which needs to be replicated in a larger population. The incidence of obesity is increasing and it is probably a result of reduced physical activity, since there is no clear evidence that people are consuming more calories than before. Obesity also runs in families and it is probably genetic rather than environmental. Obese children who have an obese parent should be targeted for interventions including a reducing diet and increased physical activity.

Editorial, Obesity in children, Childhood obesity

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Inhibition of food intake by inhibitors of fatty acid synthase

Article Abstract:

Drugs that in inhibit an enzyme called fatty acid synthase may be effective in the treatment of obesity. In studies of mice, the drug C75 caused rapid weight loss with no decrease in activity. However, the mice re-gained the weight when the drug was stopped.

Fatty acids, Fatty acid synthesis, Enzyme inhibitors

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