Obesity – TheNewsHub

Can Air Pollution Lead To obesity?

Harsh — Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:25:00 +0000

Poor air quality may not only spike respiratory, cardiac, and mental health issues but can also lead to weight gain and obesity — a precursor to several diseases, said doctors on Monday, even as the national capital saw worse pollution levels.

On Monday, Delhi’s air quality further plummeted with the Air Quality Index (AQI) surpassing 400 in multiple parts of the national capital, placing it in the ‘severe’ category.

Areas including Anand Vihar (433), Ashok Vihar (410), Rohini (411), and Vivek Vihar (426) registered AQI levels above 400, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Other regions like Dwarka, Patparganj, Jahangirpuri, and Punjabi Bagh also recorded ‘severe’ AQI levels.

Different studies have proven that an increase in PM10 & PM2.5 leads to an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI). Long-term exposure to toxic air — consisting of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide — can drive systemic inflammation and metabolic disturbances. These factors are crucial in weight gain and obesity.

Besides causing damage to the lungs, liver, and kidneys, PM2.5 can also influence metabolism rates.

The health experts noted that poor air quality can force people to stay indoors and decrease physical activity levels — leading to obesity.

“People of Delhi are getting scared to go out of their homes. The outdoor activity of younger children who are in the growing phase of their lives, are severely restricted due to which they engage themselves in indoor activities such as playing games on the phone or watching television. Lack of physical exercise in this group of patients and overeating leads to the problem of obesity,” Dr (prof) Bobby Bhalotra, Vice Chairman, Department of Respiratory Medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi, told IANS.

He added that patients suffering from hypertension and diabetes are also at risk of weight gain.

“These patients have to do the walking as part of their treatment and they are used to walking every day to burn extra calories and keep their muscles active. Due to air pollution, they are locked inside their home and hence are gaining weight. Obesity in both of these groups of patients is mentally as physically very harmful,” Bhalotra added.

According to a recent meta-analysis published in the journal BMC Public Health, air pollution can impair metabolic function by influencing inflammation in fat tissue, increasing oxidative stress, and altering individual dietary habits, with a “negative effect on glucose metabolism” — leading to weight gain.

“Different studies have proven that an increase in PM 10 and PM 2.5 leads to an increase in body mass index (BMI). This effect is more pronounced in adolescence where rise in obesity is related to increase in air pollution,” Dr. Vivek Bindal, Director & Head– Max Institute of Minimal Access, Bariatric & Robotic Surgery, Max Super Speciality Hospital, told IANS.

Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, study says

Harsh — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 11:00:01 +0000

Steve Christo – Corbis | Corbis News | Getty Images

Novo Nordisk‘s blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting its potential to delay or prevent the memory-robbing condition, according to a study released Thursday.

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, was associated with a 40% to 70% lower risk of a first-time Alzheimer’s diagnosis in patients with Type 2 diabetes compared with seven other diabetes medications. That includes insulin and older so-called GLP-1 drugs similar to Ozempic, the research said.

Alzheimer’s disease is often diagnosed in the mild dementia stage, when a person has significant trouble with memory and thinking. Almost 7 million Americans have the condition, the fifth-leading cause of death for adults over 65, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. But the number of Alzheimer’s patients is projected to rise to almost 13 million in the U.S. by 2050.

There are no cures for Alzheimer’s, only drugs that treat the symptoms of the disease or slow the progression of the condition in people at the early stages of it. But a potential preventive treatment such as semaglutide may prove even more useful, said lead study co-author Dr. Rong Xu, a biomedical informatics professor at Case Western Reserve University.

That’s because by the time many patients are diagnosed with the disease, “it’s often too late for treatment,” Xu told CNBC. She added that many of the risk factors of Alzheimer’s, such as obesity, diabetes and smoking, are preventable and “modifiable.”

The results add to mounting evidence that GLP-1s, a popular class of obesity and diabetes medications, may offer health benefits beyond promoting weight loss and regulating blood sugar. That includes Ozempic, Novo Nordisk’s weight loss injection Wegovy, and drugs from Eli Lilly that work slightly differently.

Novo Nordisk and rival Eli Lilly have been studying their drugs as potential treatments for chronic conditions such as sleep apnea and fatty liver disease. Novo Nordisk, which did not fund the new Case Western study, is also examining semaglutide in a late-stage study on Alzheimer’s patients.

The new Case Western study released Thursday builds on other research released in July on a once-daily drug for diabetes and obesity called liraglutide, which Novo Nordisk sells under the brand names Saxenda and Victoza. In the liraglutide research, data from a midstage trial found that the drug may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by protecting patients’ brains.

In the study released Thursday, researchers from Case Western analyzed three years of electronic records of nearly 1 million U.S. patients with diabetes who did not have a prior Alzheimer’s diagnosis. The study was partly funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The study compared semaglutide with seven different diabetes medications, including insulin and a drug called metformin. It also includes other GLP-1s, such as liraglutide and a medication from Eli Lilly called dulaglutide.

Semaglutide was associated with a roughly 70% lower risk of first-time Alzheimer’s diagnosis compared with insulin, a nearly 60% lower risk compared with metformin and a 40% lower risk compared with other GLP-1s, according to the study. Semaglutide was also associated with significantly lower prescriptions for Alzheimer’s disease-related medications, the study said.

Similar reductions in risks were seen across patients in the trial, regardless of their gender, age group and whether they had obesity.

But the study has limitations since it relies on data from electronic health records. Xu called for more research, specifically clinical trials that randomly assign patients to receive semaglutide or other treatments, to confirm how much Ozempic and other GLP-1s can help prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease.

Xu and the team of researchers also plan to study whether GLP-1s can prevent Alzheimer’s in patients with obesity, but they want to wait one or two years for GLP-1s approved for weight loss to be on the market longer so there is more patient data for them to analyze. Wegovy won approval in the U.S. in 2021, while Eli Lilly’s weight loss injection Zepbound only entered the market last fall.

Ozempic is driving up the cost of your health care, whether you can get your hands on it or not

Harsh — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:45:20 +0000

About 165 million Americans rely on employer-sponsored health insurance, and yet workers may still not get the coverage they want — particularly when it comes to drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic.

About 1 in 3 employees are looking for more resources to combat obesity, according to a recent report by consulting firm Gallagher. Glucagon-like peptide-1 treatments such as Wegovy and Ozempic, which mimic hormones produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite, are considered game changers on this front.

These blockbuster weight-loss drugs have skyrocketed in popularity in the U.S. but are still not universally covered — even though “Americans have higher rates of obesity and diabetes and more behavioral health conditions today than ever before,” according to Trilliant Health’s “2024 Trends Shaping the Health Economy” report.

Cost is a key issue.

Although research shows that obesity drugs may have significant health benefits beyond shedding unwanted pounds, organizations representing U.S. insurers have said concerns remain about the high price involved in covering those medications, which are nearly $1,350 per month for a single patient.

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The price tag for GLP-1 medications, along with the large number of workers who could potentially benefit from using them, are a big driver of higher health-care costs, several studies show. Already, prescription drug costs jumped 8.6% last year, due in part to a surge in the use of GLP-1 drugs, according to a recent report by Mercer.

“Is that significant? Yes,” said Sunit Patel, Mercer’s U.S. chief health actuary.

Patients on these medications need to complete months, if not years, of continuous treatment.

“It becomes a lifelong drug,” said Gary Kushner, chair and president of Kushner & Company, a benefits design and management company. “That’s a pretty expensive commitment.”

expensive weight-loss drugs to some extent. Another 27% are considering adding coverage in the year ahead, according to the survey by Mercer.

Still, “not everyone who wants it can get it,” Patel said.

On the flip side, 3% of employers have recently removed coverage for these drugs and 10% of companies that currently cover them are considering removing them for 2025.

To improve access to weight-loss drugs, many businesses would have to pay even more — and health-care costs are already reaching a post-pandemic high, with employers and employees set to shell out significantly more for coverage in 2025, according to WTW, a consulting firm formerly known as Willis Towers Watson. U.S. employers project their health-care costs will increase by 7.7% in 2025, compared with 6.9% in 2024 and 6.5% in 2023.

Among employers’ greatest concerns was how to cover increasingly sought-after weight loss drugs, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey also found.

“Employers face the challenge of integrating these potentially important treatments into their already costly benefit plans,” Gary Claxton, KFF’s vice president said in a press statement.

Packages of weight loss drugs Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro.

Picture Alliance | Getty Images

FDA-approved for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

“Most employers cover Ozempic for diabetes, they don’t necessarily cover it as an anti-obesity medication,” said Seth Friedman, pharmacy and health plans practice leader at Gallagher.

That makes it even trickier for employees to navigate whether they can get access to the drug and if it will be covered by their insurance. “They see that it’s covered but they get rejected,” Friedman said.

A 2023 survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans found that 76% of the companies polled provided GLP-1 drug coverage for diabetes, versus only 27% that provided coverage for weight loss — leaving many workers shut out.

“Obviously, there is demand for them, and it’s not for diabetes, it’s for weight loss,” said Kushner.

“Looking ahead to 2025, about half of large employers will cover the drugs for weight loss,” said Beth Umland, Mercer’s research director of health and benefits. However, “even when they do, there are guardrails around who can use it.”

Demand for these treatments is only expected to increase — but the added controls for coverage are also helping to keep costs in check.

Nearly all employers have some sort of “utilization management” restrictions in place, such as a prior authorization requirement, according to Gallagher’s Friedman.

For some companies, that may mean workers must try other weight-loss methods first or meet with a dietitian and enroll in a weight-loss management program. Others may require a threshold for body mass index, or BMI, of at least 30, depending on how the plan is set up, Friedman said.

This information is available during open enrollment, which typically runs through early December.

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Liver Health Issues Linked To Obesity

Harsh — Sat, 05 Oct 2024 08:56:00 +0000

Being overweight can have a serious impact on liver health and lead to several kinds of issues, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of them.

This disorder occurs when fat builds up in the liver cells, which may lead to inflammation in the liver. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a more severe form of fatty liver disease marked by liver inflammation and fibrosis, can develop from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) if not treated timely.

The majority of NAFLD and NASH cases involve overweight or obese people. NAFLD and NASH can also occur in people with metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, high blood fat levels, type 2 diabetes, and certain genes.

Identifying the Liver Health Issues Due to Obesity shared by Dr. Shivaji Vibhute, Consultant – Laparoscopic, General, Colorectal Surgeon, Manipal Hospital, Kharadi, Pune:

• Early detection and treatment of NASH are important for preventing problems before the liver suffers major damage. It might be difficult to diagnose liver disease early because most patients do not exhibit any symptoms. Discuss the risk of getting NASH with the doctor if one has been diagnosed with any of the metabolic syndrome components.

• Liver cirrhosis is one of NAFLD’s serious side effects. This disease is characterised by scarring of the liver tissue, which impairs the organ’s normal functioning. Such scarring can progress to potentially fatal liver failure and can be a sign of persistent, long-term liver injury.

• The complex relationship between obesity and liver cirrhosis emphasises how important it is to maintain both a healthy weight and awareness of fat distribution to encourage the best possible liver health. Also, those who are overweight are more likely to develop liver cancer. Liver cancer is a possible outcome of chronic liver damage imposed by obesity because NAFLD and NASH can provide an environment that is conducive to the growth of malignant cells.

• Being overweight can cause diseases like severe gallstones. Gallstones are solid stones in the gallbladder that obstruct bile ducts and seriously harm the liver and digestive system. Metabolic syndrome, a group of diseases that includes elevated blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, and abnormal cholesterol levels, can be linked to being overweight. The chance of having NAFLD and other liver-related problems is greatly increased in those with metabolic syndrome.

The liver is an important organ in our body because it facilitates detoxification, regulates nutritional metabolism, and maintains general balance. Its role in disorders such as NAFLD highlights the vital significance of proper liver care, especially when considering weight and dietary habits. Regular health checkups, making informed food choices, and staying ahead of health concerns are all important aspects of maintaining liver health and avoiding potential damage.

Staying up late raises risk of type 2 diabetes by 50%: study

Harsh — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 06:20:10 +0000

Individuals who stay up late and are active during the night have a 50% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a new study presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting.

The research, part of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study, examined over 5,000 participants categorized into early risers, intermediate, and late risers.

The findings reveal that night owls are at a significantly greater risk of developing metabolic disorders, including diabetes.

Lead researcher Jeroen van der Velde from Leiden University Medical Centre explained that this increased risk is likely due to a misalignment between the body’s natural circadian rhythm and daily social schedules.

This misalignment can disrupt metabolic functions, contributing to issues such as type 2 diabetes.

“People with a late chronotype tend to have higher body fat, including visceral and liver fat, contributing to their greater risk,” he said.

Night owls were also found to have higher body mass indexes, larger waist circumferences, and more visceral fat, all of which contribute to diabetes risk.

However, the study suggests that adopting healthy lifestyle habits could help mitigate some of these risks. Below are some effective strategies for improving metabolic health for night owls:

1. Focus on consistent and quality sleep to reduce diabetes risk

Night owls often suffer from poor-quality sleep due to irregular schedules. Studies show that going to bed late disrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythm, leading to increased risks of type 2 diabetes.

Night owls should aim to establish a regular bedtime, ensuring they get 7-9 hours of uninterrupted, restful sleep.

Consistent sleep patterns can help improve metabolic health and reduce the risk of other chronic conditions, including heart disease and high cholesterol.

2. Early dinner and regular exercise essential for night owls’ health

Late-night eating is linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Night owls should prioritise eating dinner earlier in the evening to give their bodies enough time to digest food before sleeping.

Along with healthy eating, incorporating regular exercise into their routines, such as walking, yoga, or swimming, can help regulate blood sugar levels.

Physical activity is key to maintaining metabolic health, improving sleep, and balancing weight gain that may come from late-night habits.

3. Staying hydrated is key to managing blood sugar levels

Dehydration can lead to blood sugar spikes, which increase the risk of diabetes. Night owls, especially those who are active at night, need to stay hydrated by drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day.

Ensuring adequate hydration throughout the day helps maintain balanced blood sugar levels, reducing the risk of complications from type 2 diabetes. Proper hydration also supports overall health and helps regulate bodily functions.

4. Balanced diet rich in fibre and protein helps control diabetes risk

Night owls are more likely to indulge in late-night snacks, which can lead to weight gain and metabolic issues. A balanced diet rich in fibre, protein, healthy fats, and essential vitamins is crucial for night owls to stay full and avoid unhealthy cravings.

Such a diet helps regulate blood sugar levels, ensuring they remain balanced throughout the night and into the next day. This approach will also support overall health and prevent obesity-related illnesses.

5. Quitting smoking and limiting alcohol can lower diabetes risk

Research shows that night owls are more likely to smoke and drink, habits that contribute to higher risks of developing type 2 diabetes. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption increase inflammation and insulin resistance, key factors in diabetes development.

Quitting smoking and limiting alcohol intake can significantly reduce these risks and contribute to better metabolic health, improving overall well-being and reducing the chance of other chronic illnesses.

6. Manage stress with mindfulness to prevent blood sugar spikes

Chronic stress is closely linked to higher blood sugar levels, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. Night owls often experience elevated stress due to irregular sleep and work schedules.

Incorporating stress-management techniques, such as mindfulness, yoga, or meditation, can help lower stress levels and prevent blood sugar spikes. Finding time to relax and engage in hobbies can also support mental well-being, further reducing the risk of diabetes and other stress-related health issues.

By adopting these healthy lifestyle habits, night owls can significantly reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and improve their overall metabolic health.