Lose weight, gain friends go to TOPS

ONEIDA — TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) is a non-profit organization helping local people get healthy and stay that way. Mindy Hoag, of Munnsville, began coming to the Oneida chapter’s meetings in late August 2008. By September, she had officially joined and started losing weight. She now weighs 73.5 pounds less, thanks to the “helping hand” provided by her fellow TOPS members.

“The people are all incredible...Everyone cares about everyone,” she said.

Yvonne Hicks, of Oriskany Falls, decided to join TOPS a year ago.

“I knew I needed help and couldn’t do it alone,” she said.

Today, she is 87 pounds thinner and 14 pounds away from reaching her goal weight.

“I love coming and seeing everybody,” she said. “It’s fun and they are a huge support.”

The Oneida TOPS chapter, which has been around for 25 years, draws most of its 25 female members to St. Paul’s Church on Sayles Street each Thursday for a weekly meeting and private weigh-in. Most meetings involve a program, given by a member, that features information relevant to the TOPS mission.

Chapter leader Jacque Roys said that unlike other weight loss groups that are a bit more costly, TOPS is an inexpensive way to embark on a weight loss, health-driven journey with the help of others.

Being a member of TOPS, a national non-profit organization, costs $26 a year. Members put forth 50 cents at each meeting towards paying those dues. During the year, members have access to a library of books and tapes to help them reach their healthy goals, as well as chances to go to TOPS conventions and workshops together. Most of all, there is unity, Roys said.

“One big thing is support,” Roys said. “We’re here as a group, not as individuals, and really support each other.”

Other components of every meeting include a TOPS pledge said at the beginning, as well as a chance for a member to share a personal “tip of the week.” There is also plenty of discussion between members about objectives. For example, May has been designated “Me Month” and there is extra emphasis on not gaining weight.

During a roll call, members aren’t obligated to say how much they’ve lost or gained, but they do say one of three things: “I lost,” “I gained,” or “I turtled,” which Roys said means staying the same - like a turtle stuck on its back.

And to those who say they’ve gained, members respond with a resounding “Good to see you” or “Glad you’re back.”

In addition to the support, there are some other incentives to losing rather than “turtling” or gaining. For one, there is a savings. If someone hasn’t lost any weight, that person pays 50 cents at the meeting. If they have gained weight instead, they pay 25 cents for each pound. This money is then used for a 50/50 raffle for those who have lost weight at that meeting.

Members who get to their goal weight — and stay within a minimal range of it — graduate from being TOPS members to becoming KOPS, or Keeping Off Pounds Sensibly, members.

About five of the women currently in the group have made it to this status, Roys said, and some current members have been in the club since it began 25 years ago. Doris Schoolcraft was the member who began the Oneida chapter in July 1984 after being a member of the Verona chapter. She said her favorite part has been the people.

“I’ve enjoyed all the friends I’ve made,” she said.

Joanie Vaillancourt belongs to the Oneida chapter in addition to a chapter in Florida during winter months. She has had her fair share of success with the program, she said, since joining a year and two months ago. She has dropped 27 pounds.

Her sister, Dorie, co-leads the group and is amazed by the people there.

“I’ve never met a group as friendly as this. You come in here and you feel like you belong,” she said.

Roy said that the group is always looking to add more members and that people are welcome to check out the chapter any Thursday. Membership is open to all, regardless of age or sex. Weigh-ins begin at 4 p.m. and go until 4:45 p.m., when the meeting begins and goes until 5:30 p.m.

For more information, call Jacque Roys at 843-8180 or Dorie Vaillancourt at 363-5344, or visit: www.tops.org - By LYNN COLLIER:Dispatch Staff Writer

Study confirms: Don't reward yourself for calories burned for lost weight

Overweight women who exercised one to two hours a week lost several pounds in six months without dieting, a study shows. But those who exercised the most — about three hours a week — didn't lose as much as they should have, possibly because they increased the calories they consumed. "There is a great lesson here: People generally overestimate the calories they are burning with exercise, and they may reward themselves by eating more," says lead researcher Tim Church, director of preventive-medicine research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

If a person runs for an hour then goes out to have a large high-calorie coffee drink and a large muffin, she probably consumed more calories than she burned, he says. For the latest study, Church and colleagues recruited 411 overweight or obese sedentary women, average age 57. Some of the women were told not to change their level of physical activity. The others were divided into three groups and instructed to do different amounts each week. They rotated walking briskly on a treadmill at a fitness center with riding a stationary bike.

Their workouts were monitored closely by the researchers, and the women were asked not to change their eating habits during the study.

At the end of six months, one group of exercisers was doing an average of 72 minutes of moderate physical activity a week; another group was doing about 136 minutes (a little more than two hours); and the third was doing 194 minutes (slightly more than three hours).

The findings reported in PLoSONE, a Public Library of Science online journal:

• Women who did 72 minutes of physical activity a week lost 2 to 3 pounds in six months, which was what was expected from the amount of exercise they were doing.

• Those doing more than two hours of activity a week lost slightly more than 4 pounds in that time, which also was what was expected.

• Those who did three hours of activity a week lost only about 2 to 3 pounds, but they should have lost almost 6 pounds from the increase in physical activity.

• Everyone who exercised lost dangerous belly fat. Those who didn't lose weight dropped about an inch around the middle. Those who did lose weight trimmed an average of 2 inches around the waist.

This confirms other research that physical activity alone can contribute to some weight loss. Another recent study showed that women who increased their activity level by an additional 3,500 steps a day lost 5 pounds during the year. Men who added that many steps lost 8½ pounds in a year.

Another study showed that when obese women improved their eating habits and walked briskly for an additional 50 minutes to an hour a day, they lost about 10% of their body weight in six months.

Church says a growing body of evidence shows that physical activity decreases dangerous abdominal fat.

"Exercise without weight loss has a benefit to your waist, but exercise with weight loss has even more benefit to your waist," he says. This study did not include men, but he says other research he has done shows the same phenomenon in men.

The loss of belly fat through exercise is important because excess abdominal fat is considered a risk factor for many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some types of cancer, Church says.

Experts believe the fat cells deep in the abdomen are harmful because they secrete chemicals that play a role in a number of diseases. The cells produce about three times more bad chemicals than subcutaneous fat, the stuff you can pinch right under your skin, Church says. "Plus, the plumbing of visceral fat drains directly to the liver, allowing the bad chemicals to directly interfere with the liver's ability to metabolize blood sugar and cholesterol."

In addition to lowering the risk of many serious medical conditions, regular physical activity also improves quality of life by reducing stress, depression and anxiety, and by improving bone and joint health, sex drive, sleep and memory, Church says.By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

Losing Weight Can Cure Obstructive Sleep Apnea

For sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a new study shows that losing weight is perhaps the single most effective way to reduce OSA symptoms and associated disorders, according to a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Weight loss may not be a new miracle pill or a fancy high-tech treatment, but it is an exciting therapy for sufferers of OSA both because of its short- and long-term effectiveness and for its relatively modest price tag. Surgery doesn't last, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines are only as effective as the patient's adherence, and most other devices have had disappointing outcomes, in addition to being expensive, unwieldy and having poor patient compliance. Furthermore, OSA is generally only treated when it has progressed to a moderate to severe state.

"Very low calorie diet (VLCD) combined with active lifestyle counseling resulting in marked weight reduction is a feasible and effective treatment for the majority of patients with mild OSA, and the achieved beneficial outcomes are maintained at 1-year follow-up," wrote Henri P.I. Tuomilehto, M.D., Ph.D., of the department of Otorhinolaryngology at the Kuopio University Hospital in Finland.

The prospective, randomized trial found that, in 81 patients with mild OSA, the 40 patients who were in the intervention arm underwent a diet that strictly limited caloric intake combined with lifestyle counseling lost more than 20 pounds on average in a year—and kept it off, resulting in markedly lower symptoms of OSA. The 41 patients in the control arm, who only received lifestyle counseling and lost on average less than 6 pounds, and were much less likely to see improvements in their OSA.

And not only does sustained weight loss improve OSA, it also improves the many other independently linked co-morbidities such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

"This is emphasized by our findings that, in conjunction with the improvement in AHI, significant improvements were also found in symptoms related to OSA, insulin resistance, lipids, and cardiorespiratory variables, such as arterial oxygen saturation, in patients belonging to the intervention group," wrote Dr. Tuomilehto.

Furthermore, Dr. Tuomilehto observed, "The greater the change in body weight or waist circumference, the greater was the improvement in OSA." In fact, mild OSA was objectively cured in 88 percent of the patients who lost more than 33 pounds, a statistic that declined with the amount of weight lost. Only in 62 percent of those who lost between 11 and 33 pounds were objectively cured of their OSA, as were 38 percent of those who lost between zero and 11 pounds, and only 11 percent of those who had not lost weight or who had gained weight.

"Witnessed apneas," i.e., those loud or disturbing enough to have wakened the bedfellows of study participants, "totally vanished" in 26 percent of those patients, but in only three percent of the control group.

"This appears to be a fairly straightforward relationship, and while we would not necessarily recommend the severe caloric restriction used in our study to every patient, one of the first treatment for OSA that should be considered in the overweight patient is clearly weight loss," said Dr. Tuomilehto.

"A more aggressive treatment of obesity in patients with OSA is well-founded. Lifestyle intervention with an early VLCD is a feasible, low-cost, and curative treatment for the vast majority of patients with mild OSA and it can be implemented in a primary care setting after diagnosis of OSA. Weight reduction also results in an improvement of obesity-related risk factors for cardiovascular diseases."

Obesity Drug Shows Mixed Success Against Atherosclerosis

The weight-loss drug Acomplia may or may not help slow atherosclerosis, a buildup of arterial plaque that's connected with carrying too much weight.

A new trial did not find any evidence that the drug actually slowed disease progression, although it did show a decrease in one measure of plaque build-up in arteries.

Acomplia also showed a high rate of psychiatric side effects, notably depression and anxiety, the study found.

Still, Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who was not involved with the study, said: "I think it's important for us to understand that this wasn't a negative trial. It's very important that we look at this more closely. What decrease in blood pressure and cholesterol as parameters are needed, or really how much decrease in obesity is needed for us to see a change in atherosclerosis volume? It might pan out to show something beneficial. We just don't know."

The findings, from researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, were published April 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association and were released early Tuesday to coincide with a presentation at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting, in Chicago. The study was funded by Sanofi Aventis, which makes Acomplia.

Data on a second anti-obesity drug, taranabant, also presented at the conference, also showed a high rate of psychiatric problems, although the medication did show some promise helping patients lose weight.

In the United States, two-thirds of adults are overweight, and more than one-third are obese. People with weight concentrated in their midsection have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or disease related to the build-up of plaque in the arteries.

Not for lack of effort, researchers have yet to happen on a "magic" treatment for obesity and its attendant problems.

One drug that has shown some promise, Acomplia (rimonabant), has been approved for use in Europe but not in the United States. Last June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not recommend approval of the drug, pending more information on psychiatric side effects.

The drug works by inhibiting the cannabinoid type 1(CB1) receptors, which are involved in regulating food ingestion.

For the new study, 839 patients at 112 centers in Australia, Europe and North America were randomly selected to receive either Acomplia or a placebo. All participants, who also had coronary disease, received dietary counseling as well.

Coronary intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) at the end of 18 months revealed a 0.25 percent increase in percent atheroma volume (PAV) in those taking rimonabant, compared to 0.51 percent in the placebo group. And change in normalized total atheroma volume (TAV) decreased in the Acomplia group but increased in the placebo group. PAV and TAV are basically two ways to measure how clogged an artery is.

Those taking Acomplia also saw other benefits: They lost more weight (9.5 pounds versus 1.1 pounds in the placebo group); their waist circumference went down more (1.77 inches versus 0.39 inches); their HDL or "good" cholesterol increased more (22.4 percent versus 6.9 percent) and triglyceride levels went down further (20.5 percent versus 6.2 percent). But LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels and blood pressure stayed about the same in both groups.

More worrisome, 43.4 percent of those in the Acomplia group experienced psychiatric problems, most notably anxiety and depression, compared to 28.4 percent in the placebo group.

Obesity During Pregnancy Carries Bigger Price Tag

It is well-known that obesity increases the chances of medical complications during pregnancy, but now a new study shows it also puts a financial strain on the health-care system.

Obese women who are pregnant tend to have longer hospital stays, require more medications, and spend more time with their doctors than normal-weight women do. Much of this is due to complications such as high blood pressure, preeclampsia and Caesarean deliveries, researchers find.

"Right now, about one in five women in the United States who deliver babies are obese," said lead researcher Susan Y. Chu, a senior epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Given that there are about 4 million births in the United States each year, that translates to almost 1 million obese women giving birth."

"Obesity during pregnancy is associated with more use of health-care services," Chu said. "Even if there is a small increase, it is going to have substantial financial implications."

The report is published in the April 3 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the study, Chu's team collected data on 13,442 pregnancies that occurred from 2000 to 2004. These births were recorded by a large managed-care system. The researchers looked at the relationship between obesity and the use of health-care services before and during pregnancy.

Chu's group found that obese women have significantly longer hospital stays compared with normal-weight women. For most obese women, a hospital stay was 4.1 days longer than it was for normal-weight women.

The increased hospital stays were mostly related to more Caesarean deliveries among obese women than normal-weight women, Chu said.

In addition, obese women required more prenatal tests, more ultrasound examinations and more medications than normal-weight women. Obese women also made more phone calls to their doctors and had more physician visits than normal-weight women, the researchers found.

While obese women used more medical services during pregnancy, they were less likely to see nurse practitioners and physicians assistants for prenatal care, Chu's team found.

One expert says that obesity takes both a health and a financial toll on pregnant women.

"This article accurately reflects the well-known fact that obesity is a significant risk factor in pregnancy," said Dr. Richard Frieder, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.

"This wasn't a problem 50 years ago, before the fast food/super-size generation that is now having babies," Frieder added.

Complications such as preeclampsia, diabetes, deep vein thrombosis, macrosomia (excessive newborn birth weight), abnormal labor and the need for a Caesarean delivery are the usual reasons for an increased level of care and longer hospital stays, Frieder said.

"This is all just a small example of the massive problem that obesity costs our society, both to individual health as well as the economic cost to our institutions," Frieder said.

Increase in throat cancer parallels obesity rate

The rising incidence of throat cancer, also referred to as cancer of the esophagus or esophageal adenocarcinoma, may be related to Americans' increasing intake of total and refined carbohydrates and subsequent rise in obesity rates.

"The similarity in these trends gives further evidence for the association of carbohydrate intake, obesity, and related measures with cancer," Dr. Cheryl L. Thompson told Reuters Health.

She and colleagues caution, however, that such observations do not necessarily reflect individual risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma

The researchers, all associated with Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland, in Ohio, compared National Cancer Institute data for esophageal adenocarcinoma (1973-2001) and food consumption information from the National Nutrient Data Bank (1909-1997).

The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma increased over the review period and "strongly correlated" with carbohydrate consumption. This cancer is also known to be strongly associated with gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), which, in turn, associated with obesity and a high carbohydrate intake, the investigators report in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

By contrast, they noted a decrease in the rates of squamous cell cancer of the esophagus, which is more closely associated with smoking rather than reflux disease and obesity.

The researchers found a trend toward higher intakes of refined carbohydrates; those with more starch and lower nutrient levels than carbohydrates obtained from whole grains and minimally processed foods.

These findings highlight the importance of limiting refined carbohydrates in the American diet, the investigators note. Additional research is needed to assess individual risk from high intake of refined carbohydrates, Thompson adds.

Lifestyle change key for obesity surgery success

Anyone thinking about having weight loss surgery should be sure to do their homework beforehand, and must understand they need to dramatically change the way they eat for the surgery to be successful, advises the head of the U.S. government agency responsible for research on health care quality and patient safety.

"People who succeed and lose weight and keep it off eat very, very differently," Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, Maryland, told Reuters Health. "Essentially, you've got to eat a whole lot less."

Clancy has written about the realities of operations to promote weight loss, known as bariatric surgery, in the latest issues of Nursing for Women's Health and Health for Women, both published by the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

Bariatric surgery has skyrocketed in popularity, Clancy noted in an interview, but just a fraction of people who could benefit most from the surgery have gotten it. According to AHRQ, evidence for the procedure's benefits is strongest for people with body mass indexes (BMIs) of 40 or higher, or individuals with BMIs of 35 or greater who have a serious medical condition, such as diabetes or severe sleep apnea.

Nevertheless, she added, the surgery "is not risk free, and I think it's really important for all people, women and men, to know about the risks and to be very clear about what they're getting into."

For example, Clancy said, 7 percent of people who undergo the surgery need to be rehospitalized for complications. Four out of 10 will develop complications within 6 months of the surgery. These complications include nausea, cramps and vomiting due to overeating.

People should also seek out a surgeon and health care team they can communicate with effectively, because post-surgical follow-up care is just as important as the procedure itself, Clancy added. If you don't "click," or you feel your surgeon isn't hearing your concerns, she advised, look elsewhere.

People may want to seek out bariatric surgery programs designated as Centers of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (http://www.asbs.org/), Clancy suggested.

Finally, she said, people need to find out before having the surgery whether or not their insurer covers it. Some will require documentation that a person has made a serious effort to lose weight by other means before they will pay for the procedure.

School nutrition policy can prevent obesity

Philadelphia schools that cut out soda, revamped snack selections and took other measures to prevent childhood obesity were able to halve the odds of students becoming overweight by sixth grade, a study has found.

Among fourth-graders at five schools that instituted the new nutrition policy, 7.5 percent became overweight over the next 2 years, compared with 15 percent of students at five city schools that did not make the changes, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.

The findings show that a comprehensive approach to battling childhood obesity in schools can make a significant difference, according to lead researcher Dr. Gary D. Foster of Temple University.

Schools have been at the center of the controversy over what to do about U.S. children's rising rates of overweight and obesity. Critics have pointed to vending machines, sugary "a la carte" items in school cafeterias, and reductions in gym class as part of the problem.

At the same time, schools are considered the ideal place for children to learn healthy eating and exercise habits, and various school-based programs have been developed with that aim. The results have been mixed, however.

For their study, Foster and his colleagues evaluated a program developed by a non-profit community group called the Food Trust. Ten schools enrolled in the study; half were randomly assigned to adopt the nutrition program, while the other half served as a comparison group.

Schools in the program made an array of changes. They replaced soda with water, low-fat milk and 100-percent fruit juice, and rid vending machines and cafeterias of snacks that did not meet certain nutrition criteria. They educated students on how diet and exercise affect their health, and gave them raffle tickets for bikes and other prizes to reward them for choosing healthy snacks.

The schools also got parents involved through meetings and nutrition workshops that encouraged them to give their kids more fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods.

Among the 1,349 students Foster's team followed from fourth to sixth grade. As mentioned, there was about a 50 percent reduction in the incidence (new cases) of overweight at the end of 2 years among the children attending the program schools, while no changes were seen among the children attending the schools without a program.

The prevalence (total number) of overweight children also declined during the study period in the program group. However, no differences in the prevalence of obesity were seen between the program group and the comparison group.

The results, Foster told Reuters Health, underscore the benefits of schools having a comprehensive nutrition program, rather than taking only individual measures -- like removing vending machines, for instance.

He and his colleagues also stress that the urban schools in this study had largely low-income, minority student populations -- children who are at particularly high risk of obesity. Black children appeared to particularly benefit from the nutrition policy.

In the sixth grade, the study found, African-American children in these schools were 41 percent less likely to be overweight than African Americans in the comparison schools.

Despite the success, Foster's team writes, the fact that 7.5 percent of children in the program schools still became overweight shows that even more needs to be done.

They say that obesity-prevention programs should start before fourth grade, and possibly include a broader range of measures -- such as devoting more time to gym class and enlisting the corner stores near schools to offer healthier snack options.

Dad's early obesity tied to liver disease in kids

Having a father who becomes obese at a relatively young age may increase a person's risk of developing serious liver problems, a new study shows.

Individuals whose fathers were obese before age 45 were more likely than those whose parents were not obese to have high levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in their blood, an enzyme that signals liver injury, Dr. Rohit Loomba of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and colleagues found.

High ALT levels in the general population can be associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, an obesity-related condition, Loomba and his team say. One severe, progressive form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, which can lead to cirrhosis and even liver cancer, they note in the medical journal Gastroenterology.

To investigate whether parental obesity might be related to high ALT levels, as well as levels of another enzyme related to liver damage, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), the researchers looked at measurements of both enzymes in 1,732 men and women participating in the Framingham Heart Study.

The researchers divided study participants into three groups: people whose parents became obese unusually early (before age 41 for women and before age 45 for men), those with parents who became obese later on, and those with parents who were never obese.

Having a father with early-onset obesity increased a person's likelihood of having elevated ALT levels, regardless of their own weight, the researchers found. But there was no link between maternal obesity and ALT levels, and no relationship at all between parental obesity and AST levels.

Developing a condition like obesity early can indicate genetic susceptibility to that condition, the researchers note in their report. The findings suggest that genes that promote early-onset obesity could also influence ALT levels, they add.

"These results support the need for further studies to establish whether individuals with early-onset parental obesity and elevated serum ALT levels are at a higher risk for developing progressive liver disease such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis," the researchers conclude.

Metabolic Syndrome Triggered by Overeating, Not Obesity

Overeating, not the obesity it causes, is the actual cause of metabolic syndrome, suggests a study with mice by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Metabolic syndrome is a collection of health factors that increase the risk of developing insulin resistance, fatty liver, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

This study was among the first to propose that weight gain is an early symptom, not a direct cause, of metabolic syndrome, the researchers said.

"Most people today think that obesity itself causes metabolic syndrome," senior author Dr. Roger Unger, professor of internal medicine, said in a prepared statement. "We're ingrained to think obesity is the cause of all health problems, when, in fact, it is the spillover of fat into organs other than fat cells that damages these organs, such as the heart and the liver. Depositing fatty molecules in fat cells where they belong actually delays that harmful spillover."

In this study, Under and his colleagues compared normal mice to mice that were genetically altered to prevent their fat cells from expanding. Both groups of mice were overfed.

The normal mice got fat but didn't develop signs of metabolic syndrome until after about seven weeks of overeating. The genetically altered mice stayed slim but became seriously ill within a few weeks and displayed evidence of severe heart problems and major increases in blood sugar levels eight weeks before minimal heart problems developed in the normal mice, the researchers said.

The genetically altered mice showed significant damage to heart cells and to the insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas. They also got sick quicker, because the extra calories they consumed weren't stored in fat cells, but rather in other tissues, the researchers said.

The study was published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The exact cause of metabolic syndrome, which affects about 50 million Americans, is unknown, but lack of exercise and obesity have been tagged as the primary underlying contributors to the development of the condition, according to background information in the study.

Canadian cancer survivors obese and inactive: study

Cancer survivors in Canada are more likely to be obese and less likely to exercise than the rest of the population -- putting themselves at risk of having their cancers come back, researchers said on Monday.

The trends, likely to be seen in cancer survivors around the world, suggest patients need help and support in staying active and keeping the weight off, said Kerry Courneya of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, who led the study.

"It's a challenge for all of us to eat properly and exercise, and it may be especially challenging for cancer survivors who have been through difficult treatments and may have lingering health issues," Courneya said in a statement.

"But eating well and exercising are two of the best things we can do for our mental and physical health, even in trying times. Rest is rarely the best medicine for any health condition."

Courneya and colleagues analyzed data from a 2005 survey of more than 114,000 adults.

Fewer than 22 percent of former cancer patients described themselves as physically active. This compares with 25 percent of the general Canadian population, they reported in the journal Cancer.

They also found that 18 percent of cancer survivors were medically obese, compared to 15 percent of the general population, and 34 percent were overweight.

Many cancers are linked with obesity and a lack of exercise.

"These findings tell us that we need to look at ways to better support cancer survivors to become more active and to maintain a healthy body weight," Courneya said.

"We know that physical inactivity and obesity are risk factors for developing cancer. These are also risk factors for the recurrence of cancer. Lifestyle is just as important after diagnosis."

The researchers defined someone as physically active if they walked at least an hour a day or did the equivalent in swimming, cycling or some other activity. Inactive people walked or exercised less than 30 minutes a day.

Many Cancer Survivors Are Overweight and Sedentary: Study

A healthy lifestyle may help cancer survivors prevent recurrence of the disease and live longer, yet cancer survivors have rates of obesity and physical inactivity similar to those of the general population, according to new research.

The study, published in the June 1 issue of Cancer, found that less than one-quarter of cancer survivors were regularly physically active, and more than 18 percent were obese.

"We thought this might be a time when people would be particularly motivated to exercise and control weight. But, a cancer diagnosis and treatment didn't seem to stimulate behavior change," said the study's lead author, Kerry Courneya, a professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.

What's troubling is that maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular physical exercise may be even more crucial for cancer survivors than it is for the general public. Some studies have suggested that physical activity and losing weight may help prevent cancer recurrence and improve survival odds.

Additionally, some research suggests that exercise can help reduce fatigue, improve physical functioning and improve quality of life for some cancer survivors.

For the study, Courneya and his colleagues gathered data from the Canadian Community Health Survey. This survey contains information based on interviews of more than 114,000 people in Canada. Details of cancer history, weight, height and physical activity were all supplied by the respondents.

General population statistics for Canada find that 37 percent of people are overweight, and 22 percent are obese, according to background information in the study.

Fewer than 22 percent of cancer survivors reported being physically active. The lowest rates of physical activity were found among colorectal cancer survivors, breast cancer survivors and female survivors of melanoma.

Obesity, smoking cuts many US women's life expectancy: study

Life expectancy has declined for many women in the United States, largely due to smoking-related diseases and obesity, a study published Tuesday showed.

Nearly one in five US women saw the number of years they are expected to live decline or hold steady, starting in the 1980s, showed the joint study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Washington.

The study looked at data from more than 2,000 county "units" between 1959 and 2001.

In around 1,000 of those counties -- mainly poor, rural areas -- life expectancy for women dropped starting in the 1980s, "primarily because of chronic diseases related to smoking, overweight and obesity, and high blood pressure," according to the study.

In the United States as a whole, in contrast, life expectancy for women rose by more than six years and for men by more than seven years during the same period, it showed.

"There is now evidence that there are large parts of the population in the United States whose health has been getting worse for about two decades," Majid Ezzati, associate professor of international health at the Harvard School of Public Health, and lead author of the study, said in a statement.

Worst affected by the downturn in longevity were the south -- the region hardest hit by poverty, according to the US Census Bureau -- the Appalachians, southern parts of the Midwest and areas of Texas.

Men in the same areas also saw a drop in life expectancy, but numbers were less alarming than among women -- only four percent -- and the fall was attributed to different causes, mainly HIV/AIDS and homicide.

"Life expectancy decline is something that has traditionally been considered a sign that the health and social systems have failed, as has been the case in parts of Africa and Eastern Europe," said the study's co-author Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

"The fact that this is happening to a large number of Americans should be a sign that the US health system needs serious rethinking," he added.

Obesity and low birthweight mar health of kids

Rising obesity rates and a large percentage of children born with low birthweights are dragging down the overall health of American children in their first decade of life, according to a report tracking the health and well-being of young children in the United States.

While U.S. children overall have seen improvements in their well-being in recent years, American children aged 6 to 11 are four times more likely to be obese than similarly aged children in the 1960s, the report found.

The report, led by researchers at Duke University in North Carolina and the Foundation for Child Development, a private advocacy group, looked at the well-being of children in early childhood, those from birth to age five, and middle childhood, or those aged 6 to 11, from 1994 to 2006.

The researchers found obesity among children in middle childhood is nearly four times more common than in children of the same age in a national survey in 1960s. For children aged 2 to 5, it is three times higher.

"These are dramatic increases in the prevalence of overweight children in American society from one generation to the next," the researchers wrote. "The importance of this trend for the health and well-being of children is difficult to exaggerate."

They said overweight children have greater risks of type-2 diabetes, and often have elevated risk factors associated with heart disease, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

They also found that the percentage of babies born with low birthweights rose 12.3 percent from 1994 to 2005, an increase they said was likely tied to delayed childbearing among working mothers and an increased use of fertility drugs.

Low birthweight has been linked in large studies to a higher risk of developmental and learning problems and to lower academic achievement. It also has been linked with higher rates of chronic health conditions.

Other trends were more positive.

The researchers found significant improvements in the mortality rates of children, with the most dramatic improvement for children aged 1 to 4. Death rates among these children fell to 29.4 deaths in 100,000 in 2005, compared with 42.9 deaths per 100,000 in 1994.

For those aged 5 to 9, rates of death fell 27 percent to 14.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2005.

The researchers cite a host of contributing factors, ranging from better health care and nutrition to car safety seats.

The report also noted a dramatic 84 percent drop in the rates of lead poisoning among children aged 0 to 6. Lead poisoning can result in physical, neurological and cognitive problems.

Still, many children remain at risk for moderate levels of lead in their blood should continue to be monitored, they said.

Recent News & Comments About 5 diet factor

Diet, exercise the magic pills for heart health (Lawrence Journal-World)
Think the best treatment for heart disease includes the newest drugs on the market and the most high-tech tests? Think again.

Cancer Experts Issue Seasonal Warning On Grilling -- With An Important Research Update (Medical News Today)
This year, as Americans make ready to fire up millions of backyard grills, there's a new scientific wrinkle: according to an exhaustive analysis of international research on diet and cancer, it's time to start looking for an alternative to the humble hot dog.

Beyond the finish line (San Diego Union-Tribune)
LINDA VISTA – Cyndy Day-Wilson hates to think of where her horse, Max, would have ended up if it wasn't for Linda Vista resident Emily Ruocco.

Shortages Threaten Farmers’ Key Tool: Fertilizer (NYTimes.com via Yahoo! Finance)
Shrinking grain stocks and an increasing appetite for meat have collided with a shortage of fertilizer.

Try these 10 tips for a healthier heart (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Think the best treatment for heart disease includes the newest drugs on the market and the most high-tech tests? Think again. Consumer Reports recently put heart-disease prevention and treatment under the microscope and offered these 10 low-drug or no-drug tips for a healthy heart: 1. Eat plenty of fiber and good fat. New research suggests that inflammation of the arteries may be as big a ...

Washington DC (The San Francisco Examiner)
BEECH GROVE, Ind. ( Map , News ) - Barack Obama teamed up with wife Michelle on Wednesday to court working families with a little kitchen table conversation about tax cuts.

Shortages Threaten Farmers’ Key Tool: Fertilizer (NYTimes.com via Yahoo! Finance)
Population growth, shrinking world grain stocks and a growing appetite for meat, particularly in the developing world, has collided with a shortage of fertilizer.

Eating 5 tomatoes a day 'offers sun protection' (Daily Telegraph)
Eating five tomatoes a day could help protect against sunburn and premature ageing, research suggests.

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Update: Spirit Sees Clearest Skies Since Landing on Mars! (SpaceRef)
Clear skies mean more sunlight penetrates the atmosphere, making rover planners optimistic that Spirit will have a slim but adequate amount of energy to survive until Martian spring.

Washington DC (The San Francisco Examiner)
BEECH GROVE, Ind. ( Map , News ) - Barack Obama teamed up with wife Michelle to court working families with talk of middle-class tax cuts and a little kitchen table conversation.

Recent News & Comments About 4 food less

Kroger Opens Food 4 Less Unit in Urban Chicago (Progressive Grocer)
Food 4 Less cut the ribbon on its newest store, a 58,0000-square-foot unit in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, signaling what store officials and local leaders hope will jump-start the area's economic revitalization.

Ethanol vs. food debate growing (Chicago Tribune)
Corn for fuel leaves less to fill stomachs Before milk prices started spiraling, before gas prices passed $3.50 and before food riots broke out in several countries, ethanol was the darling of energy alternatives. It gave jobs to rural communities and offered an alternative to foreign oil.

Food inflation hits families hard - Congress (CNN Money)
A joint committee of Congress on Thursday started scrutinizing the impact of rising food costs on middle-class families already stung by rising gas prices.

Day 4 of Cheap Eats: Wilson, Durham, Cary (WRAL.com Raleigh)
In day four of Cheap Eats, WRAL Reporter Kim Dean found everything from fish to jerk chicken. Her goal is to get a meal, plus drink and tax, for less than $10 – no fast food allowed.

Food 4 Less to Open Supermarket in Austin Neighborhood (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Food 4 Less, the nation's leading price-impact supermarket chain, continues to make good on its promise to bring jobs, charitable giving and the finest in service, quality, variety and every day low prices to Chicago.

Grocery pain looks short-lived as food prices moderate long-term (Market Watch)
Inflation in retail food prices will gradually moderate over the next several years, the Agriculture Department’s chief economist told lawmakers Thursday, while grain and oilseed prices could remain high.

Tim Hortons Net Income Rises Less Than Estimates (Update1) (Bloomberg.com)
April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Tim Hortons Inc., Canada's biggest coffee-and-doughnut chain, reported first-quarter profit that rose less than analysts estimated.

Fixes for the Food Fight (Washington Post)
The world is not food secure. An overextended global food system operating in an increasingly resource-constrained world with little or no cushion to cope with catastrophe is now at the brink of break down due to soaring global food prices. In the United States and internationally, our response must be immediate and enduring, requiring swift action this week by Congress, the World Bank, the ...

U.S. Consumer Spending Increased 0.4 Percent in March (Update1) (Bloomberg.com)
May 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer spending rose in March, reflecting an increase in prices that is eroding Americans' buying power. The greater-than-forecast 0.4 percent rise in spending followed a 0.1 percent increase the prior month, the Commerce Department said today in Washington.

UN: Biofuel Production 'Criminal Path' to Global Food Crisis (Environmental News Network)
GENEVA, Switzerland - The United States and the European Union have taken a "criminal path" by contributing to an explosive rise in global food prices through using food crops to produce biofuels, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food said today. At a press conference in Geneva, Jean Ziegler of Switzerland said that fuel policies pursued by the U.S. and the EU were one of ...

Recent News & Comments About 3 Hour Dieting

Carrie Underwood on getting glamorous (CNN.com)
Singer Carrie Underwood dishes on dieting, beauty and fashion.

Media Agency Report Cards 2007 (AdWeek)
Media agency competition for new business, always fierce, dramatically intensified in 2007. Clients put $12 billion in media-only accounts up for grabs, compared with some $7 billion the year before, and the major media shops achieved double-digit revenue growth for the sixth consecutive year.

‘South Beach Diet’ follow-up expands options (MSNBC)
Dr. Arthur Agatston first introduced "The South Beach Diet" five years ago, and it became a popular way to lose weight. Now, he's following up with a new book that offers a way to change your lifestyle for increased weight-loss success. Here's an excerpt.

04-23-08 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE (Eurweb)
KANYE'S EX ALEXIS 'SAD' OVER BREAKUP: Split attributed to rapper's hectic schedule. *Alexis Phifer has confirmed her breakup with Kanye West to People magazine, stating "It's always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends."

Slow lifting brings about fast slimming (Bradenton Herald)
Fitness author Jorge Cruise believes that just a few minutes per week of properly applied resistance exercise can firm muscles, build lean muscle tissue and trim inches off the waist.

Lawrence firefighters drop 575.1 pounds in eight-week charity contest (The Eagle-Tribune)
LAWRENCE — Losing never felt so good as it did last night for veteran Lawrence firefighter Pat Driscoll. Especially after the Lawrence Firefighters Union president stepped off a scale on the stage at Relief's In and learned that he had dropped 48.4 pounds over the last eight weeks to claim individual honors in Local 146's Biggest Loser 2008 Charity Fund Raiser.

HEALTH & FITNESS: The less sleep you get, the more problems you encounter (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Know somebody who likes to brag that he can get by on six hours of sleep a night? Tell him that men who sleep less than seven hours a night have a 26 percent greater death rate over a two-decade period than men who sleep seven to eight hours a night.

Sharples: 'Keeping Kids Safe' (Scoop.co.nz)
In our busy lives, driven by over-full schedules, a day can often be punctuated by the ringing phone, the rush of email traffic, the urgent meeting - unanticipated but taking priority over all.

The Skinny on Male 'Dieting' (AdWeek)
On a recent Friday morning, Bill Cohen, 40, walked into an office in midtown, removed his Green Bay Packers jacket, belt and shoes, and stepped onto a scale.

A Force of Comedic Energy (Washington Post)
Like many comedians, Brian Malow jokes about his own life in his act. But self-proclaimed as "Earth's premier science comedian," he does so with a twist.

Recent News & Comments About 3 diet hour

'South Beach Diet' author's new plan draws fire (USA Today)
The South Beach Diet by cardiologist Arthur Agatston has been wildly popular since it arrived in 2003 and promoted a diet that cuts back on artery-clogging fat and processed carbohydrates. But the honeymoon may be over with Agatston's latest book. The South Beach Diet Supercharged, just out, is drawing fire from several top national exercise researchers.

Obese man sues prison for 'inadequate diet' (Daily Telegraph)
An overweight inmate is suing jail authorities after he lost more than seven stone, alleging he is “being starved to death” by an inadequate prison diet.

Recession? Not in the Advertising Business (Addict 3D)
could be in a recession. Consumer confidence is declining. Food and gas are so expensive it's more cost-effective to stay home and diet. But the advertising business (of all things!) is actually benefiting from the painful spectacle of the traditional media landscape fragmenting into shards.

Diet, exercise the magic pills for heart health (Lawrence Journal-World)
Think the best treatment for heart disease includes the newest drugs on the market and the most high-tech tests? Think again.

US lag sues over prison crash diet (The Register)
'We're starved to death', moans 140kg murder suspect A US prisoner awaiting trial on a murder rap* has filed suit against the county after losing more than 45kg in eight months on an Arkansas prison "starvation" diet, AP reports.…

Cafeteria manager the ‘Biggest Loser’ (Muskogee Phoenix)
After going on the potato-less Atkins Diet and working out at a gym nearly every day, Hilldale Elementary School cafeteria manager Donna Orr won $500.

Fliers are Better Protected in Europe (Aviation.com via Yahoo! News)
Oh, those Europeans. They know how to live. Six-week vacations, fine wine, great museums ... and consumer protection for airline passengers.

Health Highlights: April 30, 2008 (HealthDay via Yahoo! News)
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Healthy Lifestyles Become A Political Affair (Medical News Today)
Heart disease is the number one killer in Europe, taking over 2 million lives every year1, yet it is a preventable condition. Some segments of the population such as women and young athletes are not even aware that they are at risk.

Try these 10 tips for a healthier heart (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Think the best treatment for heart disease includes the newest drugs on the market and the most high-tech tests? Think again. Consumer Reports recently put heart-disease prevention and treatment under the microscope and offered these 10 low-drug or no-drug tips for a healthy heart: 1. Eat plenty of fiber and good fat. New research suggests that inflammation of the arteries may be as big a ...

Recent News & Comments About 3 day diet

'South Beach Diet' author's new plan draws fire (USA Today)

The South Beach Diet by cardiologist Arthur Agatston has been wildly popular since it arrived in 2003 and promoted a diet that cuts back on artery-clogging fat and processed carbohydrates. But the honeymoon may be over with Agatston's latest book. The South Beach Diet Supercharged, just out, is drawing fire from several top national exercise researchers.

Thai Workers At May Day Rally Demand Hike In Minimum Wage (INO News)
BANGKOK (AP)--Thousands of workers rallied in Bangkok on the May Day laborers' holiday Thursday, demanding the government raise the minimum wage to help them cope with soaring commodity prices.

New findings challenge conventional ideas on evolution of human diet (New Kerala)
Washington, April 30 : The analysis of marks on the teeth of members of an ancient human ancestor species has determined that structure alone is not enough to predict dietary preferences and that evolutionary adaptation for eating may have been based on scarcity rather than on an animal's regular diet.

News flash: Big Jim’s last day (The Hook)
The folks at Big Jim’s BBQ on Route 29 tell us that, after over 27 years, today is their last day. Big Jim’s has been a local institution for years, and a favorite hang out of former Senator George Allen , civil rights attorney John Whitehead , and scores of other BBQ fans. Big Jim’s declined to comment on the reason for the restaurant’s closure, but they did encourage everyone to swing ...

4 Steps To Reverse The Damage From A 'Super Size Me' Diet (Medical News Today)
It was probably enough to make many Americans lose their appetite: A recent study from Europe showed that eating too much fast food a diet high in fat and sugar could cause serious damage to your liver.Yet for those who overdo it with too many trips to their favorite burger joint, there's good news.

DASH diet may be the best choice for women (Orange County Register)
Research shows it helps fight heart disease and stroke. What's the best diet for women ages 34-50?

Ancient 'Nutcracker Man' Challenges Ideas on Evolution of Human Diet (US News & World Report)
New evidence shows that our ancient human ancestors did not feed regularly on hard or tough foods.

How healthy can you get on diet alone? (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
For any number of reasons, far too many Americans are sedentary.

4 Steps to Reverse the Damage from a 'Super-Size Me' Diet (Newswise)
Diets high in fast food can be highly toxic to the liver and other internal organs, but that damage can be reversed, says one of the country's leading experts on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, who offers four steps to undo the effects of a 'super-size me' diet.

Cafeteria manager the ‘Biggest Loser’ (Muskogee Phoenix)
After going on the potato-less Atkins Diet and working out at a gym nearly every day, Hilldale Elementary School cafeteria manager Donna Orr won $500.

Recent News & Comments About 10 tips to healthy eating

School serves up its own healthy meals (icNewcastle - Evening Chronicle)
SOGGY semolina and concrete chips are often the butt of playground jokes about school dinners. But pupils at this Newcastle school are enjoying a healthy lunch menu with a difference.

Bumble Bee Foods Launches BeeWell Miles; An Interactive Health and Wellness Program Benefitting the Y-Me National ... (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
A healthy lifestyle is always important and to encourage consumers to get active, Bumble Bee Foods today launched the BeeWell Miles Program, benefitting the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization with a donation of up to $200,000.

Eating Healthy While Eating Out (BellaOnline)
Going out to eat at a restaurant can be a rewarding family experience. However, if you or your children are trying to eat healthier, some simple research before will save you a lot of calories later.

Can the Government Regulate Your Weight? (Newsweek)
Is increased regulation the best way to tackle obesity and eating disorders?

What's Happening (Oroville Mercury-Register)
Dinners Berry Creek Grange No. 694 will serve a dinner from 5:30-7 p.m. Friday, May 9, at Grange Hall, 1477 Bald Rock Road.

Garden Calendar (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
A look at upcoming gardening events.

A consistent, worldwide association between short sleep duration and obesity (PhysOrg)
A study published in the May 1 issue of the journal SLEEP is the first attempt to quantify the strength of the cross-sectional relationships between duration of sleep and obesity in both children and adults. Cross-sectional studies from around the world show a consistent increased risk of obesity among short sleepers in children and adults, the study found.

[Campus] Minneapolis and campus police seek to shed pounds and gain a new image (The Minnesota Daily)
About 120 Minneapolis and University police officers are fighting the hefty-cop-with-a-doughnut stereotype this spring. The Minneapolis and University police departments are having two separate versions of television's "The Biggest Loser"...

Soup that really satisfies (Hastings Gazette)
Minestrone, cream of celery, pumpkin, pea and ham, tomato or chicken noodle. A bowl of soup is warming and nourishing on a cold winter's day. With a chunk of crusty bread it makes a complete meal in itself.

Well-Being In Brief: 05/01/2008 (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Self-help course for arthritis sufferers; Expo will focus on natural health; Blood donors will receive gift of song; New spring fitness classes set to begin; Class focus is family weight loss; Lakeshore Free Clinic benefit; Events for Mental Health Month; Raffle for breast cancer fund; Blood pressure and foot care clinic; United Way will offer free workshops; Diabetics invited to program on ...