Why Are Urban Migrants Likely To Be Obese and Diabetics?

Diabetes is closely linked to obesity, which is a result of increased consumption of saturated fats and sugar coupled with reduced physical activities. Both diabetes and obesity, if not treated and managed appropriately, can lead to development of many other complications including heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol and stroke.

India, with the second largest population in the world, is experiencing diabetes epidemic, just like the rest of the world. Between 1984 and 2004, the number of diabetics has increased in the urban areas of India from 5 percent to 15 percent.

Being an essential part of the economic development, urbanization will naturally attract more people to migrate from rural areas to cities. Such movement would induce changes in diet and behavior for those migrants.

According to the findings of a large study published during April 2010 in “PLoS Medicine”, migrants moving from villages to cities to work are at a higher risk of becoming obese and developing diabetes, compared to their siblings who remain in the villages.

Researchers from the South Asia Network for Chronic Disease in New Delhi, India found that half of the migrants had gained about 14 pounds (6 to 7 kilos) of weight by the tenth year of their relocation. The increase was dramatic and some migrants even gained much more than that.

The study surveyed migrant workers from 4 factories in the north, central and south India, their siblings who were left behind in villages and the non-migrant urban workers. All participants had to answer questions regarding their diet and physical activity, and their blood sugar and body mass index (BMI) were also measured.

The results showed that migrants and the urban workers were 3 to 4 times more likely to be obese and more than 2 times more likely to be diabetics than people remained in the villages. Meanwhile, the migrants and urban workers were almost twice more likely to develop hypertension (high blood pressure) and have higher blood sugar than the villagers. Similar patterns of obesity and diabetes could also be found in women.

Evidence gathered from the study indicated the migrants, who had more money to spend on food, tend to eat more of everything (especially fat) than people in rural areas with other nutrients remained similar. The culprit behind the weight gain was not the Western foods but the ordinary everyday Indian foods.

Why Small Country Can Have Big Health Problems?

Qatar, with a population of merely 1.6 million, is definitely a small country. But on the other hand, it is a very wealthy country. Its capita gross domestic product ranks second in the world and it has the third-largest proven reserves of natural gas.

The privileged and luxury lifestyle supported by the wealth also creates serious health problems related to obesity, diabetes and genetic disorder for Qatar, together with its neighbors like Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Despite of being small, Qatar is among the greatest prevalence of obesity, diabetes and genetic disorders in the world. Figures provided by the International Association for the Study of Obesity indicated that Qatar has the sixth largest number of obese in the world and has a highest rate of obesity among boy in the Middle East and North African region. Qatar also has the fifth largest number of diabetics for the age ranges 20 to 79, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

As predicted the Qatari health experts, 73 percent of Qatari women and 69 percent of the men would qualify as obese within the next 5 years (from 2010). Obesity can lead to development of diabetes, and many other medical ailments including heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure) and stroke.

Despite all the challenges faced, Qatar has directed their attention to the treatment of diseases instead of focusing on prevention. Such peculiar course of action could only be explained by the Qatari lifestyle and tradition.

For instance, if one has taken lunch and then visit a friend. Very often, the friend will still bring many foods to the table. If one does not eat, the friend would consider it as an insult. In other word, people cannot get together without eating together.

It is understood that a typical Qatari student would skip breakfast, and then eat a snack and lunch at school. When the student returns home, they would be given another lunch, usually heavy meal consisting of rice and lamb. Later in the afternoon, the student will have snack on cake and tea. In the night, they eat dinner, often fast food that is delivered. Attitude can be the other challenge. For the majority of Qatari, there is nothing wrong to be obese.

As regards birth defects (genetic disorder), health experts blame it to consanguineous marriages (marrying within families), a social tradition that the Qatari is determined to hold.

Is There A Need To Ban Free Toys With Kid Meals?

Fighting obesity epidemic, especially children obesity, has been one of a top priority tasks for many countries. This is because obese or overweight children can develop many medical disorders including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke later on when they grow up. The potential medical expenses to be spent on these people for treatments would be huge.

For years, “Happy Meals” from McDonald as well as meals bundled with free toys and goodies from other fast food restaurants have been the favorite meal options for children. There is no question that such marketing approach does help the fast food companies build demand for their products.

Health experts have repeatedly pointed their fingers to the unhealthy fast foods as the culprits that are partly responsible for causing the childhood obesity epidemic. Some even blame the toys and freebies that come with the meals as a powerful lure for children, encouraging them to consume unhealthy food.

The social pressure has forced most fast food restaurants to introduce healthier meal options for children. However, most people are still not happy and feel that more actions should be taken to fight childhood obesity.

In United States, California was the first to ban on soda in public schools. On April 27, 2010, a bill was approved by Santa Clara County's Board of Supervisors to set basic nutritional standards for children’s meals. Only restaurants providing meals that comply with the national nutritional criteria for children can give away free toys with meals.

Restaurants that offer foods with excessive calories, more than 120 calories for a beverage, 200 calories for a single food item or 485 calories for a meal, would not be allowed to use toys as rewards for the children who purchase the foods. Meanwhile, there will also be limits on sodium, excess fat and excess sugar.

In Santa Clara County, one in four youths are either overweight or obese. A doctor revealed that parents coming into his clinic admitted that they often buy Happy Meals and other fast food for their children because of the free toys included. He further added that the obese children entering his clinic include a 5-year-old with Type-2 diabetes. It is hoped that the new bill would help parents decide what meal option they want for their children.

There is no surprise that people in favor of the new bill were public health administrators, parents and doctors, and those who opposed were fast-food franchisees, other parents, and fans of fast-food toys.

Air Pollution Could Be a Risk Factor for Heart Disease!

A person, who is exposed to air pollution, could develop cardiovascular (heart disease and stroke). Though the risk is comparatively smaller than those known risk factors like smoking, obesity, or high blood pressure, air pollution is still a public health issues that should not be ignored. This is because there are a large number of people exposing to air pollution over their entire lifetime.

Several epidemiological studies conducted worldwide have found a link between increased risk for cardiovascular disease and short- and long-term exposure to pollution, especially particulate matter. This prompts the American Heart Association (AHA) to issue a statement for healthcare professionals on air pollution and cardiovascular disease in May 2004.

AHA advise people with heart disease, or those with certain cardiovascular risk factors, pulmonary disease and diabetes as well as the elderly to restrict their outdoor activity if the air pollution level is high. The air pollution level is indicated by the daily Air Quality Index monitored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In Hong Kong, the air pollution raised to 500 on Mar 22, 2010, the highest possible reading on the 23-year-old index, because of the sandstorms in the northern China. The government immediately advises people with heart disease or respiratory problems to avoid staying in heavy traffic over a long period of time.

In fact, the existing guideline issued by the Hong Kong government advise people who have asthma and cardiovascular disease NOT to engage with outdoor activity and physical exercise should the index exceed 100.

It is understood the issuance of such alert would certainly bring inconvenience to the residence in Hong Kong. For instance, parents have to deal with schools cancelling sports days and others might have to change their routine behavior.

According to the Hong Kong’s authority, occasional rain might help lower the pollution index level. However, their long-term plan is to accelerate replacement of old buses, change transit routes and set up low-emission zones to cut pollution. It is expected that old buses will be eliminated from city roads by 2019.

Gene Mutation Can Harm The Heart Too!

Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine reported on April 13, 2010 in the Journal of Neuroscience that a gene mutation in the brain of people with epilepsy can create trouble for their hearts and even make them victims of sudden death.

Their findings explained why epileptics (people with epilepsy) who are otherwise healthy can have irregular heartbeat and their likelihood to die suddenly and unexpectedly are more than 10 times than that of the general population. The findings might also help identify people who are likely to have sudden cardiac and provide improved treatment.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines epilepsy as “any of various disorders marked by abnormal electrical discharges in the brain and typically manifested by sudden brief episodes of altered or diminished consciousness, involuntary movements, or convulsion.”

You will be surprised to learn that there are a substantial number of epileptics, about 50 million, around the world. Almost 90 percent of them are in developing countries. Though such disorder is more likely to be found among young children or people older than 65 years old, it can occur at any time.

While epilepsy can usually be controlled, it cannot be cured with medication. In some difficult cases, surgery might be an option. There are over 30 percent of epileptics do not have seizure control even with the help of the best available medications.

Researchers focused on abnormal ‘ion channels' in the brain that cause epilepsy as well as put individuals at risk for sudden unexplained death. An ion channel is a protein that allows charged particles leave or enter a cell to generate electrical signals, which is a basic process of nerve cell communication. These ion channels are also responsible for proper heart function, as pointed out in the study.

In the laboratory, electrical signals from the brains and hearts of mice bred to lack of the gene for the ion channel known as Kv1.1 were recorded. The results showed that the hearts of the mice had irregular heartbeat, signs of severe epilepsy and involuntary movement.

The heartbeats became even more erratic when the mice had epileptic seizures. This suggests that the signals from their brains to their hearts were disordered. After several episodes of cardiac arrest, the mice died.

What Is Endothelial Progenitor Cells?

Ever since they were discovered in 1997, Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPC) have become the targets of scientists who hope to explore the potential of these cells in the process of cardiovascular damage and repair.

So what is EPC? According to MedTerms.com (an online medical dictionary), EPC is “a primitive cell made in the bone marrow that can enter the bloodstream and go to areas of blood vessel injury to help repair the damage”.

The number of EPC in the blood can be used to assess the risk factors in cardiovascular disease. A shortage or ageing of endothelial progenitor cells might cause blood vessel disease.

A study released on September 8, 2005 concluded that patients with higher level of circulating endothelial progenitor cells detected in their bloodstream experienced fewer repeat heart attacks. Meanwhile, a number of small phase clinical trials have indicated EPC as a potential treatment for various types of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Detection of EPC level of suspected heart disease patients within the shortest duration is crucial because it would help doctors provide timely treatment to their patients. Unfortunately, the conventional method, known as flow cytometry, would need between 4 and 5 hours to get the results. This is obviously not fast enough to treat acute cases.

Recently, A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME) announced that they have invented a new device that could rapidly detect the level of EPC in a heart disease patient. With the help of so-called microfluidic system, the device requires just a finger prick of blood from that patient.

For more information on microfluidic system and A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME), please visit their website via the following link:

http://www.astar.edu.sg/Media/News/PressReleases/tabid/828/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1272/Default.aspx

Women Should Walk to Lower Their Stroke Risk!

Having adequate physical activity such as brisk walking can help prevent heart disease. The recommendation by the American Heart Association for adults is to do 2-and-a-half hours a week of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity or a combination of both.

Recently, a group of researchers from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston found that women could actually reduce their risk of stroke by walking. Published on April 6, 2010 in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, the findings reported that women who said they walked briskly had a 37 percent lower risk of stroke than those who did not walk. For those women who walked at least 2 hours a week at any pace had a 30 percent lower risk of stroke.

Previous studies have already reported physical activity decreases stroke risk. For example, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health reported in 2000 in the Journal of the American Medical Association that physical activity, including walking, provided a significant reduction in stroke risk. The new study, however, took a step forward to focus on the kind of exercise that might be most beneficial for women.

About 39,000 female health workers who were 45 and older were involved in the study known as Women’s Health Study. The women were asked about their physical activity at the start of the study (1992-1995) and periodically reported their activities thereafter. During the 12-year period, it was found that 579 of them had stroke.

In addition to walking, the researchers also examined other vigorous activities such as running, swimming and biking. However, no link was found between those vigorous activities and a reduced stroke risk.

This could be due to insufficient number of women in that group to show a difference or moderate activity could be better at lowering blood pressure, as explained by the researchers.

While the study was observational with self-reported data, the research team did control well of other risk factors including age, aspirin use and smoking that could affect stroke risk. The researchers were happy to find that moderate activities are powerfully effective in cutting the stroke risk.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer. Besides high blood pressure, heart disease, Type-2 diabetes and obesity are also risk factors that could lead to stroke.

Can Fat Dissolving Treatment Help Achieve Healthy Weight?

Most obese or overweight people are finding ways and means to get rid of the extra fat and weight in their bodies. This is because they are aware that the extra fat and weight they have will subsequently bring them many medical disorders like diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease and stroke.

Naturally, the best way to reduce these extra fats and weights is to adopt healthy eating habits as well as perform regular exercise. However, the process takes much longer time. That is why many people would rather turn to certain cosmetic surgery like liposuction for almost immediate effect.

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, liposuction was the most common plastic surgery procedure performed in 2006 with 403,684 patients. Nevertheless, removal of very large volumes of fat (more than 5 liters) is indeed a very complex and potentially a life-threatening procedure.

Recently, many have taken up so-called fat dissolving treatments, a popular nonsurgical alternative to liposuction, offered by spas. These procedures have many different names, such as lipodissolve, lipozap, lipotherapy, mesotherapy or injection lipolysis. Usually, they require unproven injection of drugs.

According to a statement issued on April 7, 2010 by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), these fat dissolving treatments do not actually eliminate fat and companies that are promoting them should stop claiming so.

Usually, these fat dissolving treatments require people to have injection of 2 drugs called phosphatidylcholine and deoxycholate. Some spas and promoters even have other drugs or components of other products like vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts included in the injection. The FDA confirmed that none of these treatments has been shown to work in credible clinical trials.

FDA have also sent warning letters to many companies promoting such treatments and even warned a Brazilian company that markets so-called lipodissolve products on 2 websites. The aim is to let the public know that FDA does not approve the products used to perform lipodissolve procedures for fat removal.