Harmful Effects Of Obesity Research Articles

The role of purslane in modulating diverse effects of high fat diet on biochemical, histological, and molecular parameters of rats' liver.

Consuming a high-fat diet causes a harmful accumulation of fat in the liver, which may not reverse even after switching to a healthier diet. Different reports dealt with the role of purslane as an extract against high-fat diet; meanwhile, it was necessary to study the potential role of fresh purslane as a hypolipidemic agent. This study is supposed to investigate further the potential mechanism in the hypolipidemic effect of fresh purslane, by measuring cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (Ldlr). Rats were divided into two main groups: the first one is the normal control group (n=7 rats) and the second group (n=28 rats) received a high fat diet for 28 weeks to induce obesity. Then the high fat diet group was divided into equal four subgroups. As, the positive control group still fed on a high fat diet only. Meanwhile, the other three groups were received high-fat diet supplemented with a different percent of fresh purslane (25, 50 and 75%) respectively. At the end of the experiment, rats were sacrificed and samples were collected for molecular, biochemical, and histological studies. Current study reported that, supplementation of fresh purslane especially at a concentration of 75% play an important role against harmful effects of high-fat diet at both cellular and organ level, by increasing CYP7A1 as well as Ldlr mRNA expression. Also, there were an improvement on the tested liver functions, thyroid hormones, and lipid profile. Fresh purslane plays the potential role as a hypolipidemic agent via modulation of both Ldlr and Cyp7A, which will point to use fresh purslane against harmful effects of obesity.

Novel Insights in the Physiopathology and Management of Obesity-Related Kidney Disease

Obesity is recognized as an independent risk factor for the development of kidney disease, which has led to the designation of obesity-related glomerulopathy (ORG). Common renal features observed in this condition include glomerular hypertrophy, glomerulosclerosis, haemodynamic changes and glomerular filtration barrier defects. Additionally, and although less studied, obesity-related kidney disease also involves alterations in renal tubules, including tubule hypertrophy, lipid deposition and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Although not completely understood, the harmful effects of obesity on the kidney may be mediated by different mechanisms, with alterations in adipose tissue probably playing an important role. An increase in visceral adipose tissue has classically been associated with the development of kidney damage, however, recent studies point to adipose tissue surrounding the kidney, and specifically to the fat within the renal sinus, as potentially involved in the development of ORG. In addition, new strategies for the treatment of patients with obesity-related kidney disease are focusing on the management of obesity. In this regard, some non-invasive options, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists or sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, are being considered for application in the clinic, not only for patients with diabetic kidney disease but as a novel pharmacological strategy for patients with ORG. In addition, bariatric surgery stands as one of the most effective options, not only for weight loss but also for the improvement of kidney outcomes in obese patients with chronic kidney disease.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Pregnant Women Regarding the Possible Effects of Obesity on Maternal and Fetal Health

Background: Obesity is a common health problem among females in reproductive age. Obesity is associated with fetal and maternal complications. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of pregnant women regarding obesity and its negative impact on maternal and fetal health. Methods: This study was conducted among 218 pregnant women who attended one primary care center in Abha City, KSA during 2018. The participants were interviewed during their visit to the antenatal clinic using a valid questionnaire which included many questions exploring the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding obesity during pregnancy. Data were entered and analyzed through SPSS. Relevant statistical tests were used accordingly, p-values were considered significant if less than 5%. Results: The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 37.6% and 24% respectively; more than half of the participants did not know the expected average weight increase during pregnancy and more than half were unable to classify their actual weight correctly. Knowledge regarding harmful effect of obesity on maternal and fetal health during pregnancy was poor. Pregnant women also have false beliefs about dietary habits and physical activities which may lead to gaining of extra weight during pregnancy and worsen the outcomes. Conclusion: The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among many pregnant women were high. Knowledge related to obesity and its maternal and fetal risk were inadequate. False beliefs regarding lifestyle during pregnancy were evident. A preconception structured health education program to upgrade knowledge, change attitude, improve practice and to correct misbeliefs regarding obesity during pregnancy, is mandatory. Keywords: obesity, overweight, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Pregnancy.

Obesity predicts subclinical myocardial injury in men and women of all ages: the Nord-Trondelag Health Study

Abstract Background Obesity strongly associates with subclinical myocardial injury as quantified by concentrations of cardiac troponin. Body mass index (BMI) is the most commonly used index of obesity, but BMI does not take into account the different phenotypes that arise on the basis of age, sex and body composition. We aimed to investigate the influence of these factors on the association of obesity with subclinical myocardial injury. Methods We analyzed total body fat and fat-free mass by bioelectrical impedance analysis and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) with a high-sensitivity assay in 30,778 participants of the prospective observational The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study at study visit 4 (2017–2019). All subjects were free from known cardiovascular disease at baseline, and we excluded subjects with BMI <18.5 kg/m2. Subgroup analyses were performed according to sex and age (<45 years, 45–59 years, ≥60 years). Adjustment was made for established cardiovascular risk factors and indices of body composition. Results Median age was 52.1 (range 16.5 to 98.9) years and 56% were women. Concentrations of cTnI were detectable in 60.6% of study participants, and were median 1.5 (0.6 to 2.9) ng/L. Median BMI was 26.7 (24.0 to 29.9) kg/m2. There was a strong and linear association between BMI and cTnI in adjusted models, with a 37.3 (95% CI, 27.6 to 46.9) % increase in concentrations of cTnI per 10 units of BMI (Figure 1). When adjusting for body composition, strong associations were observed for both sexes. The association between BMI and cTnI was stronger with increasing age (Table 1). Conclusion Obesity is strongly associated with subclinical myocardial injury. The associations are stronger with increasing age and persisted after adjustment for body composition, suggesting a harmful effect of obesity on the myocardium independently of different obesity phenotypes. Figure 1. Association between BMI and cTnI Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority

Identifying menarcheal age and its association with body mass index in young Saudi females.

Objectives:To explore the relationship of menarcheal age with body mass index (BMI), to find mean menarcheal age in Saudi population and compare it with global data, and to create awareness in health science students on harmful effects of obesity.Methods:A cross-sectional study carried out between February 2015 and February 2016 on 744 health sciences students of Immam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia aged 18-21 years. Weight and height was measured, and subjects were categorized into 2 groups on the basis of BMI: normal and underweight (BMI ≤24.9), and over weight and obese (BMI ≥25). The data analyzed was preformed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA).Results:Mean menarcheal age of subjects was 13.1 years. Early menarche was observed in 35.6% of the students. Of the 21.7% overweight/obese group, 45.6% reported early menarche. The early menarcheal group had significantly higher BMI compared to late menarcheal group (p=0.021). Significant negative correlation was found between BMI and menarcheal age (p=0.0006).Conclusion:The present study indicates a downward secular trend in the menarcheal age of the Saudi population. Moreover, a negative correlation between BMI and menarcheal age was also documented.

Role of a plausible nuisance contributor in the declining obesity-mortality risks over time

ContextRecent analyses of epidemiological data including the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) have suggested that the harmful effects of obesity may have decreased over calendar time. The shifting BMI distribution over time coupled with the application of fixed broad BMI categories in these analyses could be a plausible “nuisance contributor” to this observed change in the obesity-associated mortality over calendar time. ObjectiveTo evaluate the extent to which observed temporal changes in the obesity-mortality association may be due to a shifting population distribution for body mass index (BMI), coupled with analyses based on static, broad BMI categories. Design, setting, and participantsSimulations were conducted using data from NHANES I and III linked with mortality data. Data from NHANES I were used to fit a “true” model treating BMI as a continuous variable. Coefficients estimated from this model were used to simulate mortality for participants in NHANES III. Hence, the population-level association between BMI and mortality in NHANES III was fixed to be identical to the association estimated in NHANES I. Hazard ratios (HRs) for obesity categories based on BMI for NHANES III with simulated mortality data were compared to the corresponding estimated HRs from NHANES I. Main outcome measuresChange in hazard ratios for simulated data in NHANES III compared to observed estimates from NHANES I. ResultsOn average, hazard ratios for NHANES III based on simulated mortality data were 29.3% lower than the estimates from NHANES I using observed mortality follow-up. This reduction accounted for roughly three-fourths of the apparent decrease in the obesity-mortality association observed in a previous analysis of these data. ConclusionsSome of the apparent diminution of the association between obesity and mortality may be an artifact of treating BMI as a categorical variable.

Food Habits, Obesity and Nutritional Knowledge among the University Students in Noakhali Region of Bangladesh: A Cross Sectional Study

Food Habits, Obesity and Nutritional Knowledge among the University Students in Noakhali Region of Bangladesh: A Cross Sectional Study Objective: Obesity is emerging as a foremost health problem. In this regard, the study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity rates in association with food habits and nutritional knowledge among the university students of Noakhali region, a southern coastal area of Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during the period of October to December in 2013. A total of 200 students (50% male and 50% female) aged 18-24 years participated in the present study. Statistical analysis was done by using the SPSS software (version 16) to determine overweight and obesity among students and to sort out eating habits. Results: The study results found that the majority (70%) of the students were of normal weight; 77% male in contrast to 66% female students (P<0.05). The study also reported that prevalence of overweight and obesity was frequent among male students compared to female students (P<0.05). The study results demonstrated that irregular intake of breakfast and dinner, eating junk food and fried food regularly, lack of knowledge about balance nutrition and obesity, habits of eating outside of the residence frequently and sleeping at noon regularly are the reasons behind the overweight and obesity. Moreover, students were also found not to take part in regular exercise or sports which are considered as a major risk factor to become overweight or obese. Intake of fruits was rare among students with an insignificant gender difference in the frequency of fruits intake (P>0.05). Intake of alcohol containing beverages and smoking was not common among female students but it’s familiar with male students. Conclusion: Our findings recommend that the propensity of overweight and obesity among the university students can be reduced by providing proper knowledge at all levels (family, institution, community and government) on the healthy diet, improved lifestyle and harmful effect of obesity.

Abstract SY02-03: Mediators of the effect of overweight and obesity on cardiovascular disease and cancer: Evidence from pooling of prospective studies

Abstract Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer share lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity and overweight/obesity. The massive increase in prevalence of obesity worldwide was once predicted to reverse the gains in life expectancy in the developed world. However, successful control of major mediators of the effect of obesity on CVD, including hypertension and dyslipidemia, in the developed world has led to substantial and continuous declines in CVD incidence and mortality. Obesity also increases the risk of several important cancers, including colorectal, kidney and breast cancer. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the potential mediators of the effect of obesity on cancer and ways to control these mediators to reduce the harmful effects of obesity on cancer. We have previously published using data from 97 prospective cohort studies on the direct and mediated effects of overweight/obesity on CVD. Our results indicated that about half of the excess risk of overweight/obesity on coronary heart disease and about two thirds of its effect on stroke is mediated by blood pressure, serum cholesterol and blood glucose collectively. Blood pressure was the most important mediator for the effect of obesity on CVD. Here, we apply similar methods of mediation analysis to evaluate the role of type-2 diabetes as a potential mediator of the effect of overweight/obesity on cancer using data from two cohorts in the US. Methods and Results We used data from Framingham Offspring Study and Women's Health Initiative - Clinical Trial in the US. The two cohorts combined included 517 cancer events. Body mass index was measured at baseline in all cohorts and diabetes was defined as either a self-reported diagnosis of diabetes or having a high blood glucose measurement in the same or a subsequent visit. We used methods developed recently in the causal inference literature to estimate what proportion of the effect of obesity on cancer was mediated by type-2 diabetes. We estimated the direct and indirect hazard ratios using two separate regression models in each cohort: we used a logistic regression model to estimate the association between obesity and diabetes and used a Cox proportional hazards model to quantify the impact of obesity on cancer. We pooled these hazard ratios using random-effect models in a meta-analyses. We also investigated the potential interaction between obesity and diabetes in causing cancer by adding product terms to the outcome regression model. Our results indicated that 30% of the effect of overweight and 10% of the effect of obesity on the selected cancers were mediated by diabetes. We found no interaction between overweight/obesity and diabetes (P values ranged from 0.4 to 0.8). Conclusion Controlling diabetes may reduce the harmful effect of obesity on cancer. Recent advances in causal inference and mediation analysis can be readily applied to estimate the direct and mediated effects of lifestyle and metabolic risk factors on cancer. Citation Format: Goodarz Danaei. Mediators of the effect of overweight and obesity on cardiovascular disease and cancer: Evidence from pooling of prospective studies. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr SY02-03. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-SY02-03

Correspondência entre obesidade e hiperlipidemia em cães

Os efeitos deletérios do excesso de peso sobre a saúde dos cães são bastante citados na literatura, mas pouco investigados. O termo hiperlipidemia refere-se ao aumento da concentração de lipídeos (colesterol, triglicérides ou ambos) séricos. As desordens lipídicas são relativamente comuns nos cães e essas condições podem ocorrer como resultado de um defeito primário no metabolismo de lipoproteínas ou como consequência de doença sistêmica subjacente. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a frequência de animais obesos que apresentam alterações nas concentrações de lipídios séricos e analisar a possível correspondência dessa condição com grau de obesidade, sexo, idade e castração. Foram incluídos 30 cães obesos com escore de condição corporal (ECC) igual ou superior a 8 (em escala de um a nove, com nove representando obesidade acentuada) e um grupo controle de dez animais com ECC igual a cinco. Nos animais com ECC 9 (n=21), foi encontrada frequência de 52,4% (n=11) de cães com hipercolesterolemia e 33,3% (n=7) com hipertrigliceridemia. Nos animais com EEC 8 (n=9), foi encontrada frequência de 22,2% (n=2) de hipercolesterolemia e de 33,3% (n=3) de hipertrigliceridemia. Essas alterações também apresentaram correspondência com o sexo feminino, faixa etária entre quatro e sete anos e a castração. Todavia, a elevação desses metabólitos foi moderada e não se situou em faixa de reconhecido risco à saúde.

Prevalence and awareness of obesity among people of different age groups in educational institutions in Morogoro, Tanzania

To determine the prevalence rates and level of awareness of obesity among people of different age groups in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. A cross-sectional, descriptive study. One hundred adults aged 19-50 years old and 40 pupils aged 14-18 years old. Four educational institutions in Morogoro Municipality were included in the study. The four institutions included a primary and a secondary school, a teacher's training college and a university. The prevalence of obesity among the sampled subjects in Morogoro Municipality was 25 %, whereby 15.7% had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of between 25 and 30, and 9.3% had a BMI of more than 30. Age and occupation of all the subjects, together with marital status of adult subjects, were significantly related with obesity status. Prevalence of obesity increased with the increased age whereby subjects in the 41-50 years had the highest rate (45.4%). Employed subjects had higher rate of obesity (22.2%) than pupils or students. Similarly, married adults had higher rate of obesity (27.8%) than the single ones (4.7%). Unlike the old age group (41-50 years), 70% of the youngest subjects were not aware about the harmful effects of obesity. On the other hand, more than two thirds of all the subjects could not associate excess body weight with chronic non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and breathing problems. Results of the current study indicate that obesity is increasingly becoming a public health problem in Morogoro Municipality, and probably in many other places in Tanzania. There is need for more public awareness on the effect of obesity on people's health through information, education and communication. It would be of great importance if such interventions were introduced at early age of life, for example by inclusion in school curricula.