Sugar is catastrophic for the body, study suggests

Sugar is getting an increasingly bad rap. Only last week, a leaked report by government advisory group Public Health England - which health secretary Jeremy Hunt initially tried to keep hushed – pinpointed sugar’s role in a soaring obesity crisis and proposed “a price increase of a minimum of 10%-20% on high-sugar products through the use of a tax or levy”.

Meanwhile, on Monday 20 October, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver gave evidence to the Health Committee on childhood obesity about why a sugar tax should be slapped onto food and drink, despite previous opposition to the idea by some ministers, including Prime Minister David Cameron, who instead has indicated that measures such as a clampdown on advertising and marketing deals could form part of a childhood obesity strategy.

Oliver has already added a sugar-levy to his restaurant chains, but has faced criticism for his apparent lack of understanding about the issue of obesity – especially within the different social classes.
However, the celebrity chef’s grave concerns about the impact of sugar on the human body would appear to carry weight, with the suggestions from a new study that reducing sugar in diets even without cutting calories or losing weight can significantly boost health in less than 10 days.
The study, featured in the journal Obesity, looked at obese children and discovered significant changes in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol in less than a fortnight.

In total, 43 children aged nine to 18 took part in the study at the University of California San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital. All children participating in the study were obese with at least one other chronic disorder, such as high blood pressure.

They were given 9 days of food prepared for them by the clinic and were weighed each day. The added sugar in their diet was cut back from 28% to 10%. In addition, the fructose – a type of sugar often advisable to limit – was reduced from 12% to 4% of their total calorie intake.

Results clearly showed that the new meal plan given to the children resulted in major improvements to their health in a short duration. Diastolic blood pressure dropped by 5mm, levels of blood fats called triglycerides dropped by 33 points, LDL-cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol, dropped by 10 points, and liver function tests improved.

The diet overall stuck to the same fat, protein, carbohydrate, and calorie levels as their previous diets at home, but sugary food was replaced by starchy food such as turkey, hot dogs, crisps and pizza.
The Scientists involved in the study state that sugar was “metabolically harmful not because of its calories” but due to the fact it is putting a lot of strain on the body.

The study assessed potential impacts of limiting sugar on metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that raise heart disease risk, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. Those with metabolic syndrome may find they have raised blood pressure, high blood glucose levels, excess body fat around the waist and unusual cholesterol levels.

During the study, those children that did lose weight, were then given more low sugar foods to keep weight stable.

Lead author, Dr Robert Lustig, said: “This study definitively shows that sugar is metabolically harmful not because of its calories or its effects on weight; rather sugar is metabolically harmful because it’s sugar.

“This internally controlled intervention study is a solid indication that sugar contributes to metabolic syndrome, and is the strongest evidence to date that the negative effects of sugar are not because of calories or obesity.”

Jean-Marc Schwarz, senior author of the paper, added: “I have never seen results as striking or significant in our human studies.

“After only nine days of fructose restriction, the results are dramatic and consistent from subject to subject.”

“All of the surrogate measures of metabolic health got better, just by substituting starch for sugar in their processed food — all without changing calories or weight or exercise,” said Dr Lustig.
“These findings support the idea that it is essential for parents to evaluate sugar intake and to be mindful of the health effects of what their children are consuming.

“When we took the sugar out, the kids started responding to their satiety cues.

“They told us it felt like so much more food, even though they were consuming the same number of calories as before, just with significantly less sugar.

“Some said we were overwhelming them with food.”

Dr Lustig said: “This study demonstrates that a calorie is not a calorie.

“Where those calories come from determines where in the body they go.”

“Sugar calories are the worst, because they turn to fat in the liver, driving insulin resistance, and driving risk for diabetes, heart, and liver disease.

“This has enormous implications for the food industry, chronic disease, and health care costs.”

Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist and advisor to Action on Sugar, said: “It’s time to abandon the outdated notion that a calorie is a calorie theory that continues to damage public health. This study provides further evidence that all calories do not have the same metabolic effects on the body with sugar calories being particularly harmful.”

Tracy Parker, heart health dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study is interesting, but we need more research to confirm these findings. Previous studies have suggested that eating too much added sugar increases a person’s risk of development of the various diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, because of the link with excess calorie intake leading to obesity.”

Air pollution puts obese children at higher risk from asthma

A new study shows that obese children exposed to high levels of air pollution could be three times more likely to develop asthma in comparison to their peers who are not obese and exposed to less air pollutants.

This conclusion was drawn up by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), who analysed 311 children in predominantly Dominican and African-American areas of New York City.

The air within each child’s home was monitored for a period of two weeks at age 5 or 6, in order to assess that child’s exposure to a type of air pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

In addition, the child’s height and weight were tracked and respiratory questionnaires were asked. It was found that 20% of the children were suffering from asthma and going off body mass index, 20% could be classified as obese.

It was determined that high exposure to PAH exposure was only linked to asthma for the obese children. The link was due to alkylated forms of PAH; released by a variety of things such as candles, cooking, cigarette smoke, incense, and more.

A two-to-three-fold rise in asthma risk was witnessed amongst obese children that were exposed to significant levels of PAH chemicals 1-methylphenanthrene and 9-methylphenanthrene, but just PAH or obesity on their own could not foresee asthma risk.

Lead author Kyung Hwa Jung, PhD, associate research scientist in the Department of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, said: “Our results suggest that obesity may magnify the effects of these air pollutants, putting children at greater risk for having asthma.”

The study is useful as it could result in the development of better targeted treatment. “These findings suggest that we may be able to bring down childhood asthma rates by curbing indoor, as well as outdoor, air pollution and by implementing age-appropriate diet and exercise programs,” commented senior author Rachel Miller, MD, Professor of Medicine (in Pediatrics) and Environmental Health Sciences, chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at CUMC, and co-deputy director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Asthma and obesity are two conditions that have been on the increase in recent decades, both in the US and in the UK.

Obviously this study was conducted in the US, where the percentage of American children who are obese has risen from 7% in 1980 to 20% in 2008, while childhood asthma has gone up from 4% in 1980 to 10% in 2009.

In the UK, there are 5.4 million people currently receiving treatment for asthma, of which 1.1 million are children (1 in 11) and 4.3 million are adults (1 in 12). Last year a 11-year-old boy from Manchester hit the headlines after weighing in at a staggering 24 stone.

Obesity crisis worsens as 11-year-old boy reaches 24 stone

England’s childhood obesity epidemic could be much worse than first thought following the publication of alarming NHS statistics which show that seven school children have tipped the scales at over 20 stone. The figures come from the National Child Measurement Programme, an England-wide initiative whereby schoolchildren are weighed and measured twice prior to reaching the age of 12.

The most overweight child in the country has been revealed to be an 11-year-old boy from Manchester, who at 4ft 4in was found to weigh a staggering 23 stone 11lb in 2011-2012, meaning the boy’s Body Mass Index (BMI) was 84.2.

To put this into perspective; this is approximately twice the weight of a healthy male who is 5ft 10in tall and you are in fact medically classified as obese with a BMI reading of between 30 and 35.

Anybody with a BMI of over 40 is deemed ‘morbidly obese’ and is 80 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than someone of a normal weight and you are also likely to lose 10 years off your lifespan.

However, prior to this discovery, a 10-year-old girl from Hounslow, West London, was one of many school children measured and weighed during 2006-2007 for the government’s yearly weigh-in of all year-six pupils. The girl was 4ft 10in tall and weighed in at 24 stone 5lb.

Between 2006 and 2012, there were a total of seven children who weight more than 127kg (20 stone). This included an 11-year-old girl from Bolton, Greater Manchester, whose weight was recorded at 22 stone 11lb during 2012-2012, giving her a BMI of 69. A few years before this in 2007-2008, a 10-year-old boy from Wandsworth, South-West London, weighed 21 stone 10lb and had a BMI of 79.

According to a study published in June conducted by Imperial College London, the number of children admitted to hospital due to obesity-related health problems has shot-up more than four-fold in the last decade, and it seems the problem could spiral out of control unless an urgent intervention is made. Asthma, diabetes and sleeping difficulties are all on the rise because of obesity.

Moreover, statistics from the National Child Measurement Programme show that around one in 10 children are obese when they begin primary school and a third are obese by the time they come to leave, and obesity rates for children in the UK are the highest in Western Europe. Also, it seems that rates are significantly higher in the more deprived communities around the country.

Professor Mitch Blair, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, spoke to the Sunday Times and said: “Being severely overweight at such a young age has clear physical health implications including a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and joint problems. In addition there can be serious psychological repercussions. Teenage years are tough enough without the extra burden of being obese.”

Tam Fry, spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, commented: “We have come to accept that 26 per cent of adults in the UK are obese. But we should be outraged that 20 per cent of children are too…We are waiting for children to get fat and then doing something about it. What we should be doing is monitoring them, so before they get fat we have already started to sort them out.”

Quadruple rise in childhood obesity hospital admissions

Alarming NHS figures show that the number of children requiring hospital treatment for obesity-related conditions has increased more than four-fold in less than ten years.

The analysis, conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, comprised of a study of NHS hospital admission statistics for obesity between 2000 and 2009 in England and Wales. The research team, led by Dr Sonia Saxena, looked at statistics where either obesity the main cause for the admission or together with a condition that had worsened due to obesity.

They discovered a sharp rise in the number of five to 19-year-olds admitted to hospital with obesity related conditions, increasing from 872 to 3,806, with almost 21,000 patients aged five to 19 being treated for such problems in that period. Reporting their findings in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, the team also state that admissions were more common in girls than boys.

Girls accounted for 55% of the cases, as well as comprising of three-quarters of the patients who had underwent bariatric weight loss surgery, where the stomach is reduced in size. Also known as gastric surgery, bariatric operations carry a number of risks and can cost thousands of pounds for somebody who decides they do not want to join an ever-growing NHS waiting list for such operations – after meeting strict criteria of course.

Dr Sonia Saxena says: “This is one of the first studies to show health problems linked to obesity are affecting children. The figures are alarming. This is no longer a ticking obesity time bomb – it has exploded. It is no longer obese adults that should be the sole focus of our concerns. It’s clear that rising obesity levels are causing more medical problems in children. The burden of obesity is usually thought to have its serious consequences in adulthood, but we now see it manifesting earlier, in childhood.”

Tam Fry, a member of the National Obesity Forum and chairman of the Child Growth Foundation charity, added: “I’m not surprised by this leap, and I won’t be surprised if in five years we’re taking about another significant rise. When it comes to obesity we have taken our eyes off children to such an extent that they are now completely unmonitored and left to get on with it. The medical profession is not really paying too much attention to them. A lot of these young people are completely unaware that piling on the pounds will not only make them fat but give rise to these other conditions. We’ve got a substantial number of our children going into their secondary school life ill-equipped to know what the consequences of fatness and obesity are. We need a thorough reappraisal of the way we allow the food industry to get away with stuffing unhealthy levels of fat and sugar into their food. We need to ban fizzy drinks and sugar-laden drinks entirely. We need to take really radical steps.”

Obesity has long been connected to a wide range of serious health problems during childhood and increases the risk of developing conditions such as type-2 diabetes, asthma and can result in interrupted sleep due to breathing difficulties.

Government figures show that about 30% of children between the ages of 2 and 15 years old are classified as overweight and around a fifth are classified as obese. Worryingly, the number of overweight or obese children is expected to double by 2050.

Doctors and health experts have stressed the need for urgent government action to ease a nationwide obesity crisis, such as severely limiting access to junk food.

Professor Mitch Blair of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, commented: “The UK already has the highest rate of childhood obesity in western Europe, estimated to cost the NHS £4.2billion a year. This, coupled with these latest statistics, further emphasises the need for urgent action. The fast paced nature and rising cost of day-to-day living means parents are often left with little option but to feed their family quick and easy food which is often extremely unhealthy. This, and the fact children favour video games or watching television over playing outside, is a recipe for disaster. We need to look seriously at how fast food is marketed at children and consider banning junk food prior to the 9pm watershed, limiting the number of fast food outlets near schools and making sure children are taught the importance of a healthy, balanced diet.”

Junk food contributing to health problems in kids

There are countless health problems that junk food can pose to children. As well as being terrible for skin, causing spots and maybe losing popularity with friends, junk food can contribute towards tooth decay, is primarily responsible for the increasing childhood obesity epidemic that is sweeping across Britain – now being thought to increase the risk of liver disease in children and even leading to experts designing a childhood obesity risk calculator which can predict a new-born’s chance of becoming obese as they get older.

However, thanks to a study conducted by researchers based at New Zealand’s Auckland University, the list of health problems in kids that can be attributed to the consumption of junk food can now be increased.

More specifically, they are coincidentally the same issues that a survey published last week found could possibly be connected to the failure of Brits to wash their bed sheets at least once every week – asthma, eczema and rhinitis.

The study was a project examining the dietary habits of 181,000 youngsters aged six to seven within 31 different countries, in addition to 319,000 teenagers aged 13-14 from 51 countries.
Both the kids and their parents were given questions regarding the youngster’s diets and if the kids suffered from symptoms of asthma, or had itchy eyes, runny noses and eczema – a skin condition that causes itching and red/dry skin that can be appear cracked or broken.

From the results of the Auckland University study, health experts are now concerned that a diet comprising of high levels of saturated fat can be detrimental to children’s immune systems. This is because it was discovered that teenagers who ate food such as burgers three times a week or more were at a 39% higher risk of developing severe asthma, whilst younger kids were found to be 27% more at risk.  In fact, regardless of gender or financial status, junk food was the only type of food to show similar health problems across both age groups.

Those who ate junk food at least three times each week were also more susceptible to the eye condition rhinoconjunctivitis (rhinitis) – characterised by various symptoms including sneezing, red eyes,  runny nose and nasal congestion. However, the researchers also learned that by consuming about three portions of fruit and veg each week could reduce the risk by 14% in the younger group and 11% for the teenagers.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the study authors state that their findings do not prove a definite cause and effect, but comment: “Fast food may be contributing to increasing asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. Regular consumption of fruit and vegetables is likely to protect against these diseases.”

If you have suffering with Allergic rhinitis and/or asthma then Medical Specialists are at hand to help. We have a vast range of medications to help both asthma and allergy sufferers, all at fantastic prices. If you are suffering from asthma-like symptoms, you should see your doctor immediately for a diagnosis.

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If you suffer from hay fever or allergies we have many options for you including Alomide allergy eye drops, Loratadine tablets, Nasonex spray, Prevalin allergy nasal spray and Prevalin allergy kids nasal spray.

Calculator devised that can predict childhood obesity risk at birth

Scientists at Imperial College London claim they have constructed a formula that could predict a new-born baby’s chance of becoming obese as they get older. The calculator is available online for anybody wishing to test it out, with researchers hoping that parents analyse the results seriously and take positive steps now to help avoid weight creeping onto their child in future years.

The need for such a formula could be due to the fact that an alarming 17% of boys and 15% of girls aged between two to 15 in England are currently in the obese category of body mass index (BMI) classification. If your BMI is between 30 and 40, you would be considered obese. Although the online calculator has targeted how babies will develop in the future, a survey published this year unearthed damning statistics showing just over a quarter of all adults (26%) in England are obese.
The Researchers from Imperial College London studied 4,032 Finnish children all born during 1986 and also analysed information extracted from two other studies; one involving 1,503 Italian children and another that included 1,032 U.S. children.

It was initially considered if an obesity risk could be determined by studying genetic profiles. Accurate predictions were not able to be found though using the tests on this theory. In fact it was estimated that only about one in 10 cases of obesity is a direct result of a rare gene mutation that influences a person’s appetite. Instead, it was found that simple non-genetic factors could be used such as if the child’s mother smoked or not and the baby’s birth weight.

Prof Philippe Froguel from Imperial College London, led the study and he and his team managed to refine obesity risk factors to just six pointers which they say together can provide an accurate reading of a child’s chance of becoming obese.

The first question requests both parent’s BMI as many health experts argue that children of overweight adults are more likely to become overweight as well due to picking up bad dietary habits.
Next, the calculator asks for how many people are in the household as it is believed that single-parents have less time to spend properly taking care of their child and thus the child has a higher chance of becoming obese.

Following questions then ask for the mother’s professional category, if the mother smoked during her pregnancy and finally the birth weight (in kg) is required to be entered.
The calculator was used on the children in Finland, Italy and the US, and was found to be a fast and credible method of producing an obesity risk.

Prof Froguel said that prevention methods held the key to tackling the problem as once a child has become obese, they usually find it difficult to drop the extra weight. He said: “The equation is based on data everyone can obtain from a new-born, and we found it can predict around 80% of obese children. Unfortunately, public prevention campaigns have been rather ineffective at preventing obesity in school-age children. Teaching parents about the dangers of overfeeding and bad nutritional habits at a young age would be much more effective. The message is simple. All at-risk children should be identified, monitored and given good advice, but this costs money.”

Publishing their findings in the journal PLoS ONE, the researchers stated they believed parents could be provided with more information about breastfeeding – a factor linked to a reduced risk of a baby becoming obese later in life. They also said the time spent watching television should be greatly reduced and parents should avoid giving their children fizzy drinks. Ironically only two days ago Medical Specialists Pharmacy actually reported on many of the health dangers associated with such drinks.

If you have already become an adult and gained weight though, it is not too late to lose the extra lbs. and feel the benefits. There are so many reasons to lose excess weight if you are overweight or obese. It is absolutely not something you should consider to begin in the future, start today! The health benefits include:

. You will find it easier to breathe.
. The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is greatly reduced.
. Blood pressure decreases.
. Improved mobility, with less aches and pains.
. Lowers cholesterol levels.
. Decreases the risk of sudden death from a stroke or heart disease.
. Weight loss and being in good health promotes better sleep and waking with more energy.
. Weight loss can improve fertility.

As well as countless medical reasons why it is a danger to be overweight or obese, weight loss will improve your confidence levels and boost your wallet as you gain the willpower to give up spending money on expensive fatty meals and treats.
With Christmas rapidly approaching and many of us will probably gain weight over the coming month, now more than ever is the time to act!

Luckily, at Medical Specialists we have proven effective weight loss treatments such as Xenical and the recently introduced XLS-Medical Fat Binder. In conjunction with a healthy diet, they can help you drop the additional pounds and begin to reap the massive rewards from doing so. XLS-Medical can even be obtained today without the need for a prescription or doctor’s consultation. You can find out more information regarding both medications from the obesity section of the Medical Specialists website.