Could Erectile Dysfunction treatment Viagra also help for slimming?

At Medical Specialists® Pharmacy we know that losing weight can sometimes be a hard task. We know this due to the thousands of patients that come to us for weight loss treatments such as Xenical or Alli, after previously struggling to shed the pounds.

However, according to researchers in China, erectile dysfunction drug Viagra may actually be a radical method of losing weight.

Laboratory and animal studies have discovered that ‘the little blue pill’ – as Viagra is often labelled – produces alterations in body fat, causing calories to be burned for energy as opposed to being stored.
As animals have only been assessed, a trial has now begun to see if the same premise holds true for humans. A group of men will be administered either a Viagra tablet or an ineffective placebo, to be taken three times daily for a duration of seven days, with any possible fluctuations in body-fat analysed.

Public Health England say that two-thirds of British adults and a quarter of children between the ages of two and ten can be classified as overweight or obese. The risks from being obese are well-known and include serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, and pressure placed onto the joints, leading to osteoarthritis.

Fat accumulates within the body when we consume more calories than we burn, however not all fats are generated in the same way. Most of the typical adult’s bodily fatty tissue is white fat, linked to the storage of excess calories. The body also has a smaller amount of brown fat, which actually work to burn calories to generate heat, so the body is kept warm.

Brown fat is most prominent in new-borns, as they need to be kept warm but are less capable of regulating body temperature. Unfortunately, we lose most of this brown fat as we get older, except for small amounts (particularly around the neck and shoulders) which are used to keep a constant core body temperature.

As we grow into adults, we lose most of our brown fat. But small amounts – teaspoonfuls – remain, particularly around the neck and shoulders, where it is needed to help maintain a constant core body temperature.

Whilst white fat can comprise of around 20 to 25% of a person’s bodyweight, brown fat only takes up between 3 and 7.5% of bodyweight, however, some scientists are looking at methods of boosting the prowess of brown fat – or even ways of producing more of it.

They discovered that exposure to cold temperatures can help to induce a process called ‘browning’ – the conversion of the unhealthy white fat into energy-burning, heat-generating brown fat, and research would suggest erectile dysfunction treatment Viagra can actually kick-start browning.

Viagra (generic name sildenafil) works in erectile dysfunction patients by helping to relax the smooth muscles of the penis and boosting blood flow. However, trials have shown that mice administered the drug over lengthy periods of time were less prone to obesity, despite having a high-fat diet.
With that in mind, researchers based at the University of Bonn in Germany decided to give mice Viagra for a week to see any potential effects on their fat cells.

Remarkably, the researchers discovered that Viagra manage to change white fat cells into ‘beige’ fat – which, similar to brown fat, burns the energy from food and converts it to heat. Writing in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say that Viagra basically is able to ‘melt’ away the unhealthy fat, but precisely how it does that is unclear at this moment in time, but it is generally thought that sildenafil increases levels of compound cGMP.  This compound passes signals between cells and is thought to be linked to fat browning and speeding up metabolism.

Weight loss expert Steve Miller says fat doctors should be struck off

Overweight doctors should be forbidden from practising on the NHS as they are setting bad examples to the patients that go to see them, according to a leading weight loss expert.

Birmingham-born hypnotherapist Steve Miller runs his own clinic in his home town, and argues that fat doctors should be struck off and told to lose weight; one of many suggestions he has put forth as drastic measures to tackle Britain’s increasingly problematic obesity crisis.

In a written letter to NHS chief executive Simon Stevens, Mr Miller has argued for a much tougher approach with regards to those GPs found to be obese and setting a bad example to their patients, further suggesting that all NHS doctors should be subject to a yearly medical examination which will comprise of a weigh-in, to ensure they are maintaining a healthy weight.

Moreover, Mr Miller says that any doctor found to have a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight/obese categories should be forced to attend a privately funded boot camp in order to lose the excess weight.

If that wasn’t enough, the hypnotherapist has called for any overweight or obese GP who is not willing to attend the boot camp or agree to a personal training programme (at their own expense), should be held to disciplinary action and maybe even struck off if they don’t shed the weight.

Currently, NHS England already has an aim of decreasing sickness amongst staff, which includes obesity, by a third, which may save up to £550 million. This works out at roughly adding an extra 15,000 staff and 3.3 million extra working days.

One of the ways of achieving this will be through the introduction of voluntary weight management schemes for NHS employees, in addition to urging staff to actively travel to work (i.e. walking or cycling) and the ban of unhealthy, fatty food and drink items on the hospital premises.

As doctors are in a position of responsibility, Mr Miller says there should be tough ramifications for any overweight GP.

He said: “Doctors are role models for their patients and that means setting a good example in their actions as well as their words. But there are far too many overweight and obese doctors sitting behind desks in surgeries across the UK. For a doctor to let themselves turn into a lard bucket sends a terrible message. Fat doctors should be suspended from work until they get into shape and if they refuse to undertake a diet and exercise programme then they should be reported to the General Medical Council and struck off.That might sound harsh but obesity is the single biggest problem facing the NHS over the next 20 years and we have to get tough on it as a nation.

“That means a zero tolerance approach to fat doctors. It is laughable when a patient is told by a GP who looks like a Sumo wrestler that they need to lose a bit of weight. Patients take no notice and laugh away the advice. GP’s are paid out of the public purse and should remember that being in a position of power need to be seen as a role model for health. Fat GP’s are an advert for stuffing in yet more burgers and chips and swilling it down with a bottle of wine. It’s ridiculous that any doctor with a belly overhanging their trousers should think they are fit to dish out medical advice, frankly.”

Those with a good memory may recall 45-year-old Mr Miller presented the Sky1 television weight loss show ‘Fat Families’ back in 2011 and the controversial, and sometimes harshly blunt health guru is no stranger to weight struggles himself.

The outspoken Brummie – who specialises in anxiety, panic attacks, weight loss and confidence building – is now down to a trim 11 stone, but was four stone heavier in his mid-30s, managing to shed the pounds by simple lifestyle changes, such as walking more and eating less.

He added: “Simon Stevens needs to acknowledge the dangers of obesity and its acceptance in this country. We need to take action and I’m willing to step up if he will. The sooner we start speaking out, the sooner we start saving lives. Isn’t that the purpose of the NHS? It needs to start within the medical profession. Once they bring their own house in order then perhaps we have a chance of stemming the ever increasing tide of the obesity epidemic.

“GPs have a responsibility to manage their weight. No patient deserves to be advised by a fat GP who is lazier than they are. Overweight docs need to get their mind over the platter. They need to be hypnotised fast so they can lose weight and be an inspiration to obese patients. Fat GPs are a shockingly bad example to kids. Child obesity is out of control and a fat doctor does nothing to motivate overweight kids to slim down. Every GP needs to look in the mirror. If they see a fat bulge, they need to realise they will be perceived as a joke and their advice ignored.”

National Obesity Awareness Week 2015 encourages small changes now for long-term gains

Monday saw the beginning of National Obesity Awareness Week 2015, a campaign that aims to take back control of the nation’s spiralling obesity crisis, and, as many of us will have ‘weight loss’ as one of our New Year’s resolutions, there is no better time to act than now.

Alarmingly, around 25% of adults are deemed to be obese. According to NHS Choices, a BMI of 30 to 39.9 means you are considered obese, and the government claims that unless the problem is tackled, 60% of men, 50% of women and 24% of children will be obese by the year 2050.

Clearly, obesity is an incredibly serious problem that needs fighting. It effects not only our personal health – increasing the risk of problems including heart attacks, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes and arthritis – but can have a detrimental impact to society.

McKinsey and Company produced a report last year documenting the country’s various yearly outgoings, with their economic analysis estimating that the fight against obesity is costing the UK even more than tackling armed violence, war and terrorism. According to their calculations, the problem of obesity costs the UK in excess of £46.5bn ($73bn) a year, in comparison to the £43bn ($67bn) it costs the country due to armed violence, war and terrorism. The biggest social cost to the country though – and by some distance – remains smoking, with the impact from smoking costing a staggering £57bn ($86bn) in 2012.

On a global scale, armed violence, war and terrorism is costing the economy $2.1 trillion a year, and obesity isn’t too far behind, at $2 trillion, with the following social burden being alcoholism, costing $1.4 trillion.

Unfortunately, obesity appears to be a growing problem. Almost a quarter of children are considered to be obese upon leaving primary school, in addition to the one in four adults also obese. Over 12,000 hospital appointments are made each year because of health issues associated with obesity, placing further pressure on an already stretched NHS budget.

However, this is where National Obesity Awareness Week comes into play, aiming to promote the various methods how the government, businesses and us as individuals can implement positive steps to boost our health, with the information and resources from the campaign enabling a long-term positive change. This doesn’t mean people have to make astronomical alterations, but smaller, manageable and sustainable changes that can be kept up beyond National Obesity Awareness Week – this might be cutting down on sugar in your diet, reducing alcohol intake, or increasing the amount of exercise you do.


The campaign encourages everyone to get involved, whether it is events, activities and promotions taking place around the country, or people can even organise their own event with the online supporters’ pack.

The National Obesity Awareness Week website is also full of fantastic, useful information, such as exercise tips to help successful weight loss, an explanation of calories and the number of calories expended in an hour of doing various exercise such as running or swimming, why low-fat diets don’t always work for those trying to lose weight, healthier cooking recipes, a breakdown of the vitamins and minerals we need in our diets and their purposes, how to stay active during pregnancy and much more.


So, whatever it is you decide to do to take part, why don’t we all commit to making 2015 the year we take action with manageable and sustainable changes to turn the obesity crisis around before it is too late.

Medical Specialists® Pharmacy can also help those trying to lose weight, with our fantastic range of obesity treatments such as Xenical and Orlistat. Used in conjunction with a balanced diet and exercise, these treatments are very effective and can help people regain their confidence to enjoy a happier and healthier 2015!

Scientists develop obesity pill to ‘replace treadmill’

With Christmas Day now just a fortnight away, it would not be a surprise if much of the population found their pants becoming ever so tighter in the coming weeks, as the high calorie content of festive treats like mince pies, Christmas pudding and novelty chocolate foods start to creep onto the waistline.

To further show this point, a 2011 survey conducted by MSN found that the average Brit will consume two or three Christmas dinner servings on the day itself, taking in 2,300 calories in the process. This equates to a staggering 115% of the recommended daily intake for women and 92% for men.

It seems a lot of people are worried about the extra calories and are preparing for the possibility of weight gain this year as Medical Specialists® Pharmacy have seen a massive surge in the number of people coming to them seeking help with losing weight and enquiring about the obesity treatments available such as Xenical and Orlistat. Medical Specialists® have also witnessed a huge increase in requests for treatment for conditions usually worsened by the cold weather such as influenza and asthma.

However, it is still weight gain that remains as the primary worry for much of the nation over the festive period, but there has been good news this week for those trying to lose weight. It has emerged that scientists in America are developing a pill that could help the body to burn off excess fat and its creators even claim that “it could one day replace the treadmill”.

Researchers based at Harvard University have found a way to trigger a molecule that can convert ‘bad’ white fat cells into ‘good’ brown cells that help to burn energy.

When a person consumes too many calories and doesn’t burn off a sufficient amount, adult stem cells in the body start to generate a higher amount of white fat cells, leading to a flabbier physique, especially evident around the stomach and hips.

Brown fat cells on the other hand, are used by the body to burn energy and produce heat. The colder the body becomes, the higher amount of brown fat cells begin to get used up, and hence they are generally easier to get rid of compared to the white cells. Not only this, but the brown cells also work to reduce both the size and numbers of their white counterparts.

Researchers say they have managed to pinpoint which molecule is responsible for turning stem cells white or brown, and state that by increasing the molecule, this will help the body to generate more brown cells, instead of white.

Associate professor Chad Cowan, at Harvard, said: “What we were really impressed by is that there are some compounds that have this same kind of effect when they are administered to animals, but when you remove them, the effect goes away.

“But what we saw here was a stable conversion of the white fat cells to brown cells. You’re constantly replenishing your fat tissue so if you were on a medication to convert the cells, each new fat cell would be more metabolically active and would convert to brown fat over time.”

The scientists involved with the research go on to claim that this decreases the risk of a person developing health conditions associated with a fat build-up, such as type 2 diabetes.

A drug called tofacitinib, which helps to trigger the molecule for cell conversion is actually already approved, but for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. However, it remains to be seen exactly when a pill for obesity that contains the molecule will be approved, with fears it could damage the immune system.

Professor Cowan warned the compounds “target the same molecule, and that molecule plays a role in the inflammatory response”.

He stressed: “So if you administered them for a long time, the person taking them could become immune compromised”, and his team added that despite the fact any future obesity pill may help people to remain trim, it would still not be a sufficient substitute for the other health benefits to be gained from engaging in regular exercise.

Pounds gained for lbs lost: Overweight people could be paid to lose weight

The UK obesity crisis has reached such epic proportions – one in 4 Brits are now classified as obese – that the NHS are now throwing their weight behind a plan to reward people who successfully lose weight.

Under proposed new plans, employers will be encouraged to offer incentives to employees who manage to shed the pounds, such as cash or shopping vouchers. The scheme will be aimed at relieving the huge financial strain on the NHS through the care for overweight or obese patients, and related health complications.

New ways to try and tackle the growing problem of obesity comprise of just a few methods proposed in a “radical” overhaul of the country’s healthcare system proposed by the NHS for the next parliament. Tax cuts for volunteers and “breaking down the boundaries” between GPs and hospitals have also been discussed in the report by NHS England.

However, it is not just work employees that are being encouraged to watch their waistlines, with NHS staff being urged to “set a national example” by adhering to healthier lifestyles. There are plans to prevent access to unhealthy food on NHS sites and monitor the health and wellbeing of NHS staff.
The report also states that local authorities should be stricter on fast-food and alcohol outlets to improve the overall health of their community.

“Put bluntly, as the nation’s waistline keeps piling on the pounds, we’re piling on billions of pounds in future taxes just to pay for preventable illnesses,” the report says.

 There could be a “severe consequences” for patients if the healthcare system is not revamped and improved according to officials, who are also pleading with an increase in funding from the next government.

However, top doctor Clive Peedell said: “This policy will do nothing to help the millions of unemployed and the growing numbers of self-employed people who may need help but won’t qualify.”

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens commented: “We have no choice but to do this. If we do it a better NHS is possible, if we don’t the consequences for patients will be severe.”

Sir Bruce Keogh, national medical director of NHS England, said the NHS remains “one of the best healthcare systems in the world”, but stressed: “We’ve squeezed the orange really hard over the last four years. People working in the NHS are really beginning to feel the pressure.”

Mr Stevens added that he believed a tax-payer funded health system has resulted in a “blind spot” with regards to the healthcare of employees, and that despite success in other countries abroad, workplace schemes to encourage workers to lose weight have been relatively ignored in this country.
He said: “The principal point is that employers in many countries have developed voluntary schemes for their employees whereby for example you actually get cash back based on participation in Weight Watchers or other type schemes.”

When quizzed as to what kind of rewards may be on offer, he said: “It could be shopping vouchers, it could be cash, it could be prizes”, adding that the rewards could be higher or lower for the person depending on how much weight had been shed.

The NHS are considering “challenging” companies to introduce the schemes instead of offering them money.

According to Mr Stevens obesity is “getting worse in some respects” highlighted childhood obesity as “a significant future health threat”.

He said: “When your son or daughter starts primary school one in 10 children are obese. By the time they reach Year 6 that’s doubled to one in five so something is going wrong with the way in which we are keeping our children healthy and setting them up for a good start in life.”

Lose weight and achieve a summer beach body

With exactly one month to go until the official beginning of the summer season in the UK, perhaps now is the perfect time to start thinking about achieving that body fit for the beach you have always dreamed about, but not quite done much about!

During winter and even early springtime, it is easier to cover up those extra pounds with a bulky sweater and jeans, but when the temperatures start to soar and it simply becomes too hot to bear, shorts and t-shirt are more appropriate to survive without pouring with sweat. Unfortunately, this means there is just nowhere for the fat to hide.

The thousands of patients Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy help each and every year will already be aware of the fact we have a fantastic range of weight loss treatments such as Alli, XLS-Medical and Xenical, which for suitable patients can work with a healthy diet plan to really shed the pounds and give you your confidence back.

However, there are also a number of alterations to your lifestyle that you can implement today – a month before summer begins – to help you lose weight and achieve a body to be envied on the beach! So when you hear the dreaded words ‘beach season’, you need not book the earliest flight to Siberia, where nobody dares to venture outside unless covered head to toe in thick clothing.

Here Medical Specialists™ run through some useful tips to lose weight and tone up:

. Plan your meals

If you speak to any weight loss expert, they will undoubtedly tell you planning what you are going to eat and when, has been proved to help dieters stick to their goals. By mapping out your meals it will enable you to manage your time more efficiently and make preparing the meals easier. It can be the difference between a stressful week and one which is stress-free. The process of preparing your weekly meals is so important that fitness experts and those involved in fitness competitions, consider it an absolute necessity.

. Don’t skip breakfast

Make sure to fill yourself up at the start of the day with a well-balanced breakfast that consists mainly of carbohydrates and protein. This will help to keep hunger pangs at bay so you don’t gorge on junk food come dinner time. Your metabolic rate is slowed down as a result of you obviously not taking in any food during sleep and by eating breakfast, you will wake up your metabolism and get it revved for the rest of the day.

. Snack smartly

It was previously thought that snacking in-between meals was an absolute no-no, however health experts now state it is far better to satisfy hunger between meals with a healthy snack such as fruit, instead of ignoring the hunger and risking a junk food binge later on. Fruit also contains plenty of water and good carbohydrates, meaning you will feel full for much longer.

. Watch your alcohol intake

Those few beers after work may help you to unwind after a stressful day at the office, but have you considered hitting the gym instead to help distress and release endorphins; aka ‘happy hormones’. There are hundreds of empty calories in alcohol that do no good for your waistline. Did you know that drinking just 5 pints of lager each week equates to around 44,200kcal over the course of a year – roughly the equivalent of eating 221 doughnuts. Alcohol can also induce massive hunger cravings for fatty junk food, which only adds potentially thousands more calories – Have you ever wondered why all those takeaways are packed out after your night out on the town?

. Consider high intensity exercise

Want to get fit and quick? It might be worth engaging in some high intensity interval training (or HIIT for short) exercises. HIIT exercises result in a big calorie burn within a short time period. Don’t be fooled though, HIIT workouts are far from easy and require you to give three or four times more effort in the 20 to 30 second bursts that such exercises are comprised of. The hard work here means your body is unable to bring in sufficient oxygen and a ‘debt’ is built up that must be accommodated for after exercising has finished so normality is resumed. This means your metabolism is boosted for hours after you leave the gym!

Change4Life aims to get the nation happier and healthier!

Obesity in the UK is a major growing health concern and is consistently found to be one of the leading causes of preventable death in Britain. In 2007 Forbes listed the UK as number 28 in the fattest countries in the world and other estimates predict that half the population could be obese by the year 2050.

Earlier this year, statistics were released that show the total proportion of people in areas across England are either overweight or obese, and it is an alarming similar trend around the country:

By region

1. North-east (68%)
2. North-west (66%)
3. West Midlands (65.7%)
4. East Midlands (65.6%)
5. Yorkshire and the Humber (65.4%)
6. East of England (65.1%)
7. South-east (63.1%)
8. South-west (62.7%)
9. London (57.3%)

Clearly the problem of managing the nation’s weight is something that needs to be tackled in the current day and not only taken seriously 36 years into the future.

Fortunately the government and the NHS are at the forefront of such measures and there are a number of initiatives that aim to promote healthy lifestyle changes to be sustained in the long-term for you and your children. One of these is Change4Life , an England and Wales public health programme ran by the Department of Health that encourages people to adhere to six healthy lifestyle changes:

• 5 A Day – Advice on how to achieve the recommended 5 daily portions of fruit and vegetables.
• Watch the salt– How to cut down on salt intake and keep it under 6g per day for adults.
• Cut back fat – Information about primarily the saturated fat in foods and how to cut down. It is worth remembering the average male should not consume over 30g of saturated fat per day, whilst it is just 20g of saturated fat per day for women.
• Sugar swaps– Information about sugar in foods and healthier alternatives.
• Choose less booze – Advice on how adults can meet the government lower-risk guidelines, with a free downloadable app to track your drinking.
• Get going every day – The importance of an active lifestyle and how both children and adults can keep active easily and inexpensively.

Those wanting to get involved with Change4Life will receive plenty of useful information, recipes, tools, tips, and games for the kids. After you have registered you will also get a free welcome pack – one for the whole family, or one just for you.

For those unsure where their local groups or clubs are for fun activities that will keep you fit and healthy, there is an excellent facility for finding such activities on the Change4Life website. Here you can tick what specific interests you want to get involved in, such as Adventure/Outdoor (e.g. Archery, Cycling & more) or Watersports (e.g. Canoeing, Diving & more) within a specified distance and the search results will provide an A-Z list of nearby venues to get active.

The NHS Choices website also offer a fantastic comprehensive A-Z guide to common health topics, such as weight loss, within the Live Well area of the website.

In the weight loss area of the NHS Live Well website, you can find information about the many different diet plans out there, such as the 5:2 diet and the Paleo diet, there are tips on how to understand food labels in order to make healthier choices when shopping, a list of the worst culprits for added sugar in our diet and there is also an interactive body mass index (BMI) tool to see if you are a health weight for your height. Those wanting to lose weight can also sign up for free email support and help stay motivated in their goals.

For all you dieters out there still trying to shift those last few lbs from the festive period, it might be worth considering the calorie intake of all the alcoholic drinks you are consuming as opposed to what is often deemed to be a dieter’s worst nightmare – chocolate.

Bridget Jones, the much loved heroine played by Renee Zellweger in the films, was known to binge on chocolate and ice cream during times of stress in her chaotic love life, but British researchers wanted to find out more information about any potential obstacles to people trying to slim down so that efforts can be made in the future to avoid dieting pitfalls.

The researchers from Birmingham University monitored eighty men and women, all of whom were either attempting to lose weight or keep off weight they had previously lost. Each person was provided with a mobile phone to record an electronic diary of a temptation or craving they encountered.

Their emotions were also assessed, for example how exactly they were feeling at the time of the craving and whether they actually succumbed and consumed that particular craving.

On average, each person was faced with 11 occasions where they had the temptation to abandon their healthy eating over the duration of one week, giving in over half the time. ‘Bad’ foods were unsurprisingly most appealing during times of stress or severe hunger.

Interestingly, those in the study were found more likely to give in to alcohol than binge on sugary treats or have giant servings of meals, indicating that it is booze which could be the main villain in regards to losing weight and keeping it off.

Birmingham University researcher Dr Heather McKee led the study, published in the Annals of Behavioural Medicine, and she suggests a reason for this; that dieters often grossly underestimate the number of calories in alcoholic drinks.

Not many people may be aware but just a single glass of wine is equivalent to the calories contained within 4 cookies and a pint of lager is about as calorie-laden as a slice of pizza. In addition, the NHS warn that merely 5 pints of lager per week totals an estimated 44,200kcal over the course of a year – similar to a person eating 221 doughnuts.

Also, did you know that only 2 large glasses of white wine will gobble up around of a fifth of the recommended daily calorie intake for a woman? If you didn’t, you might have to be careful before opening that second bottle of wine in the future.

Dr McKee discovered evening time is when people are more likely to give in to temptations because of willpower decreasing during the course of the day. This could be due to the relaxing environment of a pub or your own home.

Dr McKee believes it will make be easier for dieters to succeed in their goals if more work was conducted into what makes people give in to cravings and temptations and thus abandon their healthy lifestyle.

She said: “Just like a muscle, willpower can become fatigued.  But, with regular practice, it can grow stronger over time.”

Her tips include making sure treats are hidden out of view and not giving up every ‘luxury’ all at the same time, as this can prove difficult.

She says: “You can engineer your environment to make it less tempting. For instance, put the office biscuits out of sight so you don’t have a constant reminder of a temptation that you have to resist multiple times throughout the day which eventually wears down one’s self-control and makes you more likely to give in. Secondly, it’s best that when trying to avoid temptation to try not to give up everything at once. For example, often in January or at lent people give up sweets, chocolate, alcohol etc. all at once. This is too much strain on your self-control and makes you much more likely to lapse than if you focus on training one aspect, such as cutting down alcohol.  When feel confident at that, starting to work on other temptations.”

How losing weight helped one woman’s asthma symptoms

Sally, 45, a hairdresser from Aldington in Kent, was horrified when the nurse at her asthma clinic requested that she step onto the scales.

Like many other women, Sally had decided to avoid all scales out of fear, but stepping onto them gave her a startling shock – she could be officially classed as ‘obese’ weighing 11st at only 5 ft 2in tall.

“They saw on my notes that I suffered from asthma, but this was the first time anyone in the medical profession had weighed me”, she says.

“The problem was that I didn’t feel fat because the weight had crept on so gradually during and after my pregnancies. Then when the children left things on their plates, I’d pick at the leftovers.”

As her weight increased, Sally was finding it more difficult to control her asthma symptoms, meaning even doing basic things such as walking  up the stairs and looking after  her children, Maizie, now 12, and Merrin, nine, left her breathless.

What Sally didn’t realise is that weight loss is the key for an overall improvement in health for those overweight or obese, but especially so for asthmatics. Studies have shown that people with asthma who are also overweight or obese could see an improvement in their symptoms if they lose weight and this should be included in any asthma management program.

The asthma clinic nurse that Sally spoke to then recommended she should lose weight and would no doubt see an improvement to her asthma symptoms.

Sally says: “It was a real wake-up call. I knew that I had to do something about it or my asthma would just get worse because I would become more immobile and reluctant to exercise.”

Deborah Waddell, clinical lead nurse at the charity Asthma UK, explains: “Obese people find their asthma much harder to control.”

Asthma began for Sally following a severe episode of flu at the age of 19 – Upper respiratory infections are typically caused by cold and flu viruses and are a one of a number of triggers for asthma.

Her asthma gradually got worse. “Getting up the stairs was very scary because the wheezing was so loud.  And it stayed at the same level in my 30s and into my 40s. I couldn’t run after the children at the park.”

Sally now uses a brown preventer inhaler every morning for protection and a quick-acting blue reliever Ventolin inhaler when symptoms start to arise. Sally’s symptoms worsen during the winter, when feeling stressed, or when coming into contact with pet hair.

Despite the fact many people with asthma tend to avoid all exercise on fear of it triggering an attack, Sally began an exercise regime, which has actually been a huge benefit as asthma can boost the lung capacity in asthmatics.

She now goes running three times a week for four miles, attends a weekly spinning class and cycles for journeys where the car is not a necessity.

“I lost a stone-and-a-half in eight months and it made a huge difference,” says Sally. “It really brought the asthma under control and made the attacks less frequent and less severe – I have just one a month instead of three a week. When I was 11st, my body was struggling to  cope with the weight, especially climbing stairs, but the fitter you are, the stronger your  lungs become.”

The post-Christmas battle with the bulge has begun!

Firstly, Medical Specialists Pharmacy hopes everybody has had a brilliant Christmas with friends, family and loves ones. We hope you have recovered from the frenetic, fast-paced and chaotic last few days and are settling down back to normality!

The period of the year that follows Christmas and runs into the following year is a particularly busy one for Medical Specialists. Our patient base spanning thousands upon thousands, usually expands as quickly as the waistlines of many who are seeking our help!

Yes, this is the time when all those mince pies, all those chocolate treats on offer, that fatty/sugary Christmas pudding and the endless supply of alcohol at the work Christmas party, will all make their presence felt – on the scales.

It is thought the average Brit consumes two or three Christmas dinner servings, taking in 2,300 calories in the process. This means women are consuming 115% of their recommended daily intake of calories and for men, it is 92%.

However, even prior to the festive period, most Brits will lose an average of 3lbs, usually to look their best for parties or other social events. This is all well and good until you learn that this is typically followed by severe overindulgence and a 6lb gain in weight. It seems the excess of food and alcohol simply catches up to all of us rather quickly and explains why ‘go on a diet’, ‘lose weight’, or ‘exercise more’, are included on many people’s list of New Year’s Resolutions.

Weight loss is achieved relatively easy enough, theoretically. With the right positive mind-set and willingness to achieve it, together with adopting a healthy diet and weight loss aid such as Xenical or Alli, shifting those post-Christmas pounds is rather doable.

A lax approach with food and inevitable slight weight gain is generally expected around the festive period, and sometimes hard to avoid when work colleagues are offering you treats on a regular basis. Weight gain can be reversed through dieting, however what happens when you have a lax and careless approach with regards to your sexual health?

As mentioned earlier, many want to look their best for parties and social events, which means the likeliness of attracting a sexual partner has suddenly increased somewhat. Unfortunately, sensible attitudes to sex suddenly go out the window at this time of year as people get swept up in the party atmosphere. Alcohol consumption spirals, along with sheer carelessness.  Condoms and other contraception simply don’t get used or are forgotten about in the heat of the moment, and a whole host of problems are created.

This is demonstrated in the fact the Family Planning Association (FPA) say their sexual health hotline is at its busiest in January as worried individuals contact them about an unplanned pregnancy or an apparent sexually transmitted infection they have contracted.

Rebecca Findlay of FPA, spoke last year about the issue, saying: “The helpline tends to go quiet before Christmas as everyone is busy and out partying, but calls then peak in January. Most people call about STIs or unintended pregnancy.”

If women have unprotected sex and are forgetting to take daily their daily contraception of Marvelon or Yasmin, this could result in many of the pregnancy concerns reported to the FPA, especially if condoms are not being used as well – which also massively reduce the risk of STIS. Condoms should be used with or without the daily contraception pill for this very reason and if you are worried, we are able to provide you with a clamelle chlamydia test kit that you can conduct in the comfort of your own home, or even a morning after pill. The morning after pill can actually be taken up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse has taken place.

Therefore, perhaps showing more care for your sexual health could be one of your New Year’s Resolutions should you decide to create some, like 7 million others will do, as the New Year gives everybody the perfect chance for self-improvement.

So what are the common resolutions we tend to make? Some old-age common resolutions include the health-oriented goals such as quitting smoking, joining a gym, cutting down on alcohol and eating less chocolate.

In recent years, as our daily lives have become faster paced and frantic, this has reflected on the introduction of some surprising resolutions, and less emphasis on ones that were previously more highly prioritised.

Instead, there are more aims influenced by our increasing time spent on social media, with ‘Socialise more in real life rather than Facebook’ making it in at number 21 of the 2012 LA Fitness poll of 2,000 people to find what they wanted to achieve for 2013.

The top 30 New Year’s Resolutions were found to be:

1. Read more books
2. Save more money
3. Lose weight
4. Redecorate
5. Take better photos
6. Go travelling
7. Sell old unwanted stuff on eBay
8. Buy a tablet
9. Organise photos
10. Do something for charity
11. Spend more time with kids
12. Buy a Sunday paper
13. Less TV time
14. Connect my computer to my TV
15. Leave work on time more often
16. Less time on Facebook
17. Totally revamp my wardrobe
18. Try a new hairstyle
19. Get a six-pack
20. Eat less chocolate
21. Socialise more in real life rather than Facebook
22. Drink less alcohol
23. Buy less coffee from Starbucks/big chains
24. Start my own business
25. Tell someone I have feelings for them
26. Quit smoking
27. Gain a promotion
28. Learn how to use Twitter
29. Run a half or full marathon
30. Call people more than text

Whatever your hopes and aspirations are for 2014, Medical Specialists wishes you luck in your journey to get there. However, you do not have to make that journey alone and we are here to help. Whether this be through smoking cessation medication to help you to quit, or through directing you to a weight loss forum where you can share your experiences and diet tips with others in a similar position, our patients’ needs are always at the core of everything we do. Good luck and a have a great New Year!

Over a third of 60-70 year olds are battling the bulge

Scottish researchers claim that despite being a problem mainly associated among younger people, obesity is more widespread than first thought and over a third of 60 to 70-year-olds are now at a dangerous weight level.

The team involved in the new study also discovered that the amount of males aged 18 to 22 with a waist measurement in excess of 40 inches (102 cm), has doubled, increasing from 4.6% to 10.7%.
Meanwhile, the number of women in the same age bracket who have a waist size greater than 34.5 inches (88 cm) has almost tripled, increasing from 9.25% to 24.4%.

The team from the University of Glasgow analysed statistics from the Health Survey of England and the Scottish Health Survey, contrasting information relating to 1994 to 1996 against similar facts from 2008 to 2010.

They found that the total number of people with a body mass index (BMI) reading of more than 30 (I.e. classified as ‘obese’) had risen 5 to 15% on average, with an evident peak at age 60 to 70. Up to 38% were obese over both sexes.

The peak was seen at five to ten years later than what was observed during 1994 to 1996 for men, and but was no different for women.

Prevalence of BMI over 30 has doubled in young English men (to 10.7%) and tripled in young Scottish males (to 12.1%). Women fared worse though with 17.8% in England having a BMI of over 30 and 20.1% in Scotland.

Waistlines are clearly expanding at a fast rate, with researchers finding the percentage of people having a ‘large’ waist circumference – 102 cm/40 inches for men, 88 cm/34.5 inches for women – spiralling from 30% to 70% for men aged 80 to 85 and for women between the ages of 65 and 70.

It seems Scots are gripped in an even worse obesity crisis than their English counterparts as the prevalence of a large waist circumference increased fourfold to 12.7% in young men, and almost fivefold in women, to 28.2%.

Professor Mike Lean, whose research has been published in the International Journal of Obesity, commented: “People are growing fatter later in life, with waist sizes rising more persistently than BMI which may indicate increased loss of muscle mass in old age. Within the 14-year period of this study, we also are seeing more young people entering adult life already obese, and more older people have adverse body composition. The continuing rise of waist circumference in older age groups is evidence of continued body fat accumulation and redistribution into older age, which is a major public health concern. The proportion of people with a ‘normal’ BMI has dropped to only about 15 per cent of UK adults by the age of 65. This rather small proportion now includes unhealthy people who have illnesses that have caused weight loss or prevent weight gain, as well as those who are genuinely healthy and active. So older people with an apparently ‘healthy’ BMI are not all healthy.”

Professor Lean added: “The use of BMI alone as a measure for adiposity in this age group may be misleading and using waist circumference might be better for identifying adverse changes in body composition.”

20% tax on sugary drinks could ease Britain’s obesity crisis

Researchers say that if a 20% tax was slapped onto all sugary drinks then this would help to bring down the total number of obese adults in the UK by an estimated 180,000.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the researchers from Oxford and Reading argue that the 20% tax on Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Fanta and other sugar-sweetened drinks, would help to curb the worrying rise in sales of such drinks which they say is merely adding fuel to the fire of the nation’s obesity crisis.

The authors of the paper have spent time to calculate both the financial impact of introducing a 20% tax, and how much effect it could have in regards to trying to curtail the problem of obesity.

Dr Adam Briggs, lead study author from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University, said their research has shown that taxing sugar-sweetened drinks “is a promising population measure”.

He commented: “Sugar-sweetened drinks are known to be bad for health and our research indicates that a 20% tax could result in a meaningful reduction in the number of obese adults in the UK. Such a tax is not going to solve obesity by itself, but we have shown it could be an effective public health measure and should be considered alongside other measures to tackle obesity in the UK.”

Dr Briggs and colleagues modelled the health effects of a 20% by using the information extracted from several separate surveys. These surveys had provided data on the trends of drink purchases, drinks consumption, and the prevalence of obesity throughout the UK.

They calculated that a 20% tax would equate to a 60p can of 330ml Coca-Cola now costing 72p, and help to cut the number of overweight adults in the UK by 0.9% (285,000 adults) and reduce the number of obese adults by 1.3% (180,000) adults. The tax would also result in roughly 40p being added to the cost of two-litre bottle.

The age group most effected would likely be those aged 16 to 29 the researchers say, as these typically consume a lot more sugary drinks in comparison to other age groups.

Because it is merely the over 30s who would be impacted by the introduction of the tax, this has led to some groups arguing that the tax would be misguided and simplistic, not having much of an impact on older people who could actually benefit most from losing weight.

Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, argued that soft drinks should not be blamed for Britain’s obesity problems.

He said: “There’s ample evidence to suggest that taxing soft drinks won’t curb obesity, not least because its causes are far more complex than this simplistic approach implies. Indeed, the latest official guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence points to the need to look at overall diet and lifestyle. Trying to blame one set of products is misguided, particularly when they comprise a mere 2% of calories in the average diet.”

In addition, Tom Sanders, professor of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, argued that the findings of the study were somewhat “naive”.

He said: “Most nutritionists agree it would be better to drink water than sugar-sweetened beverages. However, many consumers like sweet drinks and if they could not afford to buy sugary fizzy drinks they can always revert to drinking tea with added sugar as in the past. The cost of sugar-sweetened beverages is currently so low that any price increase would be so marginal that it would be unlikely to affect intake.”

However, the facts do not lie when it comes to fizzy drinks and the fact remains that a typical sugary drink still contains a shocking six to 15 teaspoons of sugary. Just one teaspoon of sugary works out at around 16 calories and 4g of sugar. On top of this, a regular consumption of the drinks has been linked to an increase in the risk of tooth decay and diabetes as well as obesity.

In fact, earlier this year doctors led calls for a tax on sugary drinks, in addition to other recommendations such as the number of fast food outlets close by to schools and colleges to be severely limited and a ban on junk food advertising before the watershed.

Health watchdog warn doctors not to blame obese patients for being fat

Doctors have been warned to refrain from blaming and pointing the finger at patients for being overweight or obese.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have created new draft guidance for tackling obesity, and in particularly the correct manner in dealing with obese patients. In the past NICE have asked doctors to actually stop saying the word “obese” as it may be deemed “derogatory”.

All doctors, GPs and other health professionals should now strive for a more sensitive tone which is “respectful” and “non-blaming” as this will “minimise harm”, according to the health watchdog.
Rather than looking at short-term and temporary weight loss, the guidance on lifestyle weight management programmes will aim to help overweight and obese people to both lose weight and then maintain the healthier weight, focusing on achievable goals, with positive long-term lifestyle changes.

NICE advise that more patients should be referred “lifestyle weight management” programmes such as Weight Watchers as programmes which thoroughly assess their diet, levels of activity and behaviour may save money in the long-term. Specifically, adults with a BMI in excess of 30 kg/m² and those identified as overweight or obese through the NHS Health Check or other services should be referred to these programmes.

Obesity is linked to a huge range of serious health problems such as type-2 diabetes, certain cancers (e.g. breast and prostate cancer), arthritis, heart disease (from smoking and high cholesterol), infertility, asthma, back pain, depression and kidney disease.

NICE say that such conditions, and the many more that have been linked to obesity, place a massive strain on the already stretched NHS, costing an estimated £5.1 billion each and every year and “placing a huge strain on the health service”.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of the centre for public health at Nice, said: “Being overweight or obese can have serious consequences for an individual’s health, not only physically with increased risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, but it can also affect their mental health as a result of stigma and bullying or discrimination. Levels of obesity in England are rising, with a little over a quarter of adults classified as obese and a further 41% of men and 33% of women overweight.
Professor Kelly continued: “This is a huge proportion of our population. This new draft guidance focuses on the provision of effective lifestyle weight management services and makes a number of recommendations to ensure that the providers of programmes whether from the private, public, or voluntary sector follow good, evidence-based practice.This draft guidance isn’t about quick fixes, it is about ensuring lifestyle weight management services support people in the long-term. Programmes that address diet, activity and behaviour change can help people who are obese lose weight but they are only cost-effective if the weight is kept off.”

Obese mum loses 10 stone by using her house as an assault course

A mother of three lost a staggering 10 stone after using aspects of her home as an assault course to do exercises each day.

Gemma Howden, 28, was desperate to slim down after seeing her weight spiral to 19 stone, with a dress size of 26.

However, Gemma couldn’t afford an expensive gym membership so decided to be creative in her quest to shed the pounds and used the only means she had – her house, and the objects inside it!

She used an old baby gate placed at the foot of her stairs as a hurdle and jumped back and forth over the gate hundreds of times each day. Gemma also used her stairs as a stepping course and even did star jumps in front of the TV in her living room.

Not owning any weights or dumbbells, Gemma simply utilised tins of baked beans and spaghetti hoops as weights and lifted them during her tough daily exercise regime.

This would be have effective as it is important to incorporate strength exercises into cardio to more efficiently lose weight and tone up as well, and Gemma looks incredible after her impressive efforts.
Reminiscing to her heavier days, Gemma says: “I was absolutely enormous, I couldn’t bare to look in the mirror or have my photos taken. I hated the sight of myself so much I wouldn’t pose for pictures with my kids. To curb my unhappiness I’d stuff myself with a Chinese takeaway for four and then tuck into a giant slab of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk.”

Gemma got the motivation to kick-start a weight loss plan and turn her life around after looking through old photo albums and realising she wasn’t actually in many of the pictures with her children.
She says: “I felt so sad and I realised I was too ashamed to be in pictures because I was such a fat blob. I am 28 and I felt 65. I was puffing and panting everywhere.”

Gemma did her punishing exercise regime literally hundreds and hundreds of times to lose weight, beginning by running up and down the stairs. Whilst her children were watching TV in the living she would be jogging on the spot and after putting them to bed she would do hundreds of reps with large tins of beans and spaghetti.

Gemma’s weight loss story should be an inspiration to anyone looking to lose weight and is a shining example that results can be attained with the willpower and motivation to succeed. Weighing at a healthy 9 stone, she has binned her baggy t-shirts and now wears tight fitting dresses.

She added: “I’d pull the curtains to stop the neighbours seeing me in action – it would have been so embarrassing. But the results have paid off and now I’m ten stone lighter. Now I’m no longer the fat mother at the school gates and my kids’ friends don’t make fun of me. I feel absolutely amazing. When I tell people I lost 10 stone after turning my house into a boot camp they don’t believe it. But it’s absolutely true. I’m living proof that you don’t need a gym to shed the weight. A few cans of baked beans and a baby gate will do just the same job.”

If you are motivated by Gemma’s incredible story and want to lose weight, this can be achieved through weight loss aids in addition to adopting a healthy lifestyle. The prescription medication Xenical is suitable for those with a BMI over 27, whereas there are other medications that do not require a prescription such as Alli and XLS-Medical Fat Binder. To be suitable for Alli or XLS-Medical Fat Binder you must have a BMI of over 25. To find out more information on how to obtain them, visit the ‘Obesity’ area of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy website.

Regular exercise could lead to weight gain

Are you attending the gym for what you assume are sufficient workouts for keeping weight gain at bay – only  to find that the lbs. are actually creeping on you?

If so, you are not alone and a new survey has actually surprisingly discovered that over a quarter of recently enlisted gym-goers actually gain weight soon after starting to attend regular sessions at the gym. The primary reason for the weight gain is because soon after beginning to exercise at the gym, people to tend to reward themselves with ‘treats’ after working out, negating the main reasons for exercising in the first place!

Diet company Forza Supplements quizzed 1,000 gym users on their diet and exercise habits, finding that a staggering 39% merely burn around 300 calories during each visit to the gym.

To put this into perspective, that amount of exercise would not even be enough to burn off the calories in a bar (62.5g) of Snickers, which has 319 calories, and is only just sufficient enough to burn off the calories in a twin bar of Twix (58g), which has a total of 284 calories.

If people are not aware of the calories in such treats, in addition to those in other ‘reward’ foods such as crisps, or even a glass of wine (about 109 calories), it can mean gym goers are liable to put on weight over time. Interestingly, 42% believed that regular exercise meant they should be able to deviate from their diet plans.

The poll discovered that people attending regular gym sessions gave them a ‘feeling of complacency’ which impacted their ability at adhering to a recommended calorie intake per day.

It was found that 26% actually put gain weight following regular exercise, whilst almost a half (49%) reported no changes in their weight, whilst only 25% actually said they managed to lose weight.

Also found in the survey was the fact that the majority of exercise enthusiasts usually go to the gym on average between three and four times a week, and whilst there they then exercise for between 40 minutes and an hour on average.

For every ten gym users, four will burn between 300 and 500 calories in a gym session. Only a quarter however only burn off between 200 to 300 calories, whilst 10% burn just 100 to 200 calories and 4% less than 100 calories. Perhaps the last two groups should ask themselves why they bother to attend the gym!

A reason why going to the gym could cause people to put weight on is that exercising is causing an increase in metabolism and increasing people’s appetites. In fact, over half surveyed (53%) claimed their gym sessions had managed to significantly boost their appetites.

Nearly half also admitted they exercise prior to a night out on the town to ‘compensate’  for the huge amount of calories they are inevitably going to consume during the course of the night through alcohol. Many party-goers also tend to finish their night in the nearest takeaway and burgers, pizzas and kebabs can then add hundreds of calories on top of the calories within the alcohol.

Luisa Zissman, runner-up in The Apprentice, commented: “Who hasn’t had a guilt inspired exercise session? We all do it – work out furiously in the gym to get brownie points ahead of a night on the town. You know you are going to consume a stack of calories by boozing and drinking – so why not burn off a load beforehand.”

96 stone man airlifted to hospital on the orders of a Saudi Arabian king

A man with the weight of two baby elephants was flown to hospital in a specially-equipped plane on the orders of a Saudi Arabian king.

Khalid Mohsin Shaeri, from Saudi Arabia, who officials say weighs an incredible 1,345 lbs (96 stone), had to be evacuated from the second floor of his apartment complex via a forklift truck. Once this was accomplished, the charitable King Abdullah covered the costs of the plane journey to hospital for Mr Shaeri for emergency treatment due to a variety of obesity-related health problems.

Due to his heavy weight, 20-year-old Mr Shaeri has been unable to leave his bedroom for two and a half years, within his apartment on the second floor of a building in the southern Saudi city of Jarzan.
King Abdullah had initially Mr Shaeri to be transported to hospital back in February of this year, however treatment was postponed for six months until a specially made bed could be constructed for him in the United States.

After the king’s orders, Saudi Arabia’s health ministry worked together with the civil defence and the Saudi Red Cross to begin the evacuation process. This resulted in a section of Mr Shaeri’s building being demolished to get him out.

If the reports in Saudia Arabia are correct, Mr Shaeri’s 1,345 lb weight will make him the second heaviest man on record.

Images released from the operation show Mr Shaeri sitting in bed whilst civil defence employees are lifting the bed up onto a forklift truck. One person even holds an umbrella to shield the sun’s rays from Mr Shaeri. Following this, he was taken to the local airport by ambulance and then flown on the specially-equipped plane to the King Fahd Medical City in the Saudi capital of Riyad.

Mr Shaeri’s cousin Naser Makke spoke of the relief that Khalid has finally been able to receive the treatment he required, and thanked the king for his generosity.

He said: “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time, the King, may God protect him and give him the long life, had given his instructions to the ministry of health to do all the arrangements to transfer the patient for treatment in a safe way.”

Saudi health minister Dr Abdullah al Rebeeah commented that King Abdullah had demanded the rescue operation take place as a “humanitarian gesture”, adding: “It is one of the King’s traits that he always demonstrates whenever someone is in need. Once the ministry received the royal order it formed a medical team specialized in intensive care to work out the best plan to transfer the case to Riyadh and handle it as best as possible medically.”

Mr Shaeri’s future and indeed lifespan, now depends on his willingness to begin the long road to recovery and a successful weight loss plan. However, this story highlights how obesity can dramatically affect a person’s life if left untreated and able to spiral out of control, regardless of where in the world they are. This man was left a prisoner in his own home because of his weight and without urgent weight loss will no doubt be a ticking time bomb for a whole range of obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, skin infections and gallstones.

Weight loss can be achieved through weight loss aids in addition to adopting a healthy lifestyle. The prescription medication Xenical is suitable for those with a BMI over 27, whereas there are other medications that do not require a prescription such as Alli and XLS-Medical Fat Binder. To be suitable for Alli or XLS-Medical Fat Binder you must have a BMI of over 25. To find out more information on how to obtain them, visit the ‘Obesity’ area of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy website.

Australia’s obesity rates are on the rise

The UK and U.S. are two of the most obvious nations that spring to mind associated with the words: ‘obesity crisis’. However, there are numerous other countries in the developed world that are also apparently fighting a battle against the bulge.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Reform Council has today released its fourth report on the National Healthcare Agreement, showing that although smoking rates appear to be slightly improving, there are a ‘staggering’ number of Australians who are now overweight or obese.

According to statistics within the report, during the period 2011-12, a shocking 63% of Australians were either overweight or obese. This figure had risen by 2% from the four years prior to this. In total, it was determined 35% of the population were overweight and 28% were obese. Moreover, 7.6% of children in Australia were deemed obese, with an extra 17.7% being overweight.

According to NHS definitions, you are overweight if you have a body mass index (BMI) that is between 25 and 29. A BMI of between 30 and 40, results in an ‘obese’ classification.  Obesity levels for the whole of the UK could be comparable after a survey published in 2012 discovered that approximately just over a quarter of all adults (26%) in England are classified as obese. In addition, around 61.3% of adults in England either overweight or obese and 30% of children aged between 2 and 15. All statistics for England appear to roughly match those found in the new Australian report.

The COAG chairman John Brumby, was dismayed by Australia’s weight problem, saying: “It’s concerning to see that so many Australians are overweight or obese.”

The report has also urged the government to start taking the issue of obesity more seriously and take steps to tackle the problem, “but the fact that the situation is getting worse suggests that it needs urgent attention from our governments to prevent flow-on effects across the system. The news here is something that should be of concern to us all and concern to policy makers across Australia. We all know that obesity is contributing to the burden of chronic disease in Australia. It affects individuals, it affects workplaces, it affects productivity,” says Brumby.

The findings were not all doom and gloom however, and Brumby was clearly delighted with what he described as the ‘stand out result’ – a sustained decline in Australia’s national daily smoking rate in 2011-12 to 16.5%.

In 2007-08 this figure stood at 19.1% and in 1989-90 it was 28.4%, so progress is gradually being made and the number is slowly moving towards COAG’s aim of just 10% by the year 2018.

Could obesity and type 2 diabetes be treated with gut bacteria?

A particular type of gut bacteria has been found to help reverse obesity and type 2 diabetes in animal studies; perhaps paving the way for new treatments for both health problems. Type 2 diabetes is most commonly connected to obesity and maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most effective ways of reducing the risk of developing the disease.

The Research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, demonstrates how mice were given a broth that contained a single species of bacteria, and there were subsequently huge benefits to their health.

The bacteria studied and which was administered to the mice, was the Akkermansia muciniphila – usually comprising of around 3-5% of gut bacteria. However, these levels are found to decrease in obese individuals.

Professor Patrice Cani and his team at the Catholic University of Louvain, in Belgium, wanted to focus firstly on mice that were eating a lot of fat and were obese and/or had type 2 diabetes. Researchers noted that the mice quickly gained two to three times extra fat compared to the leaner mice that were eating a more ‘normal’ diet.

However, giving the unhealthier mice oligofructose prebiotics – a dietary supplement that boosts the number of beneficial bacteria – this helped restore the Akkermansia muciniphila back to healthy levels.

These mice then gained a quicker metabolism and the rodents found themselves losing excess weight, reduced inflammation and lowered their insulin resistance; a symptom associated with type 2 diabetes.

The bacteria had worked at thickening the gut’s mucus barrier. This prevents some material from being transferred into the blood from the gut. In addition, the Akkermansia muciniphila had managed to alter chemical signals emanating from the digestive system, leading to changes in the processing of fat in other areas of the body.

Interestingly, similar findings were also achieved when researchers included a certain type of fibre in the diet of the mice and levels of Akkermansia muciniphila then increased.

Prof Cani commented on the study findings, saying: “Of course it is an improvement, we did not completely reverse the obesity, but it is a very strong decrease in the fat mass. I don’t think it’s feasible that you can eat cream cakes and chips and sausages all day long and then eat bacteria to reverse all that. It is the first demonstration that there is a direct link between one specific species and improving metabolism.”

Prof Cani said it was ‘surprising’ how merely one species of gut bacteria has such a positive impact when there are actually thousands within the gut, adding that the bacteria-based therapy may hopefully be utilised as a prevention method or as a treatment option for obesity and type 2 diabetes in the near future.

Woman sheds 17st in one year, stunning those who used to bully her

A young mother of two from Chatham, Kent, has without doubt left her high school bullies eating their words, after losing an incredible 17 stone in just one year.

Student Emma Burton, 22, at one time tipped the scales at a massive 27 stone and was a size 32 dress. Emma was even forced to wear custom-made uniform during her school years which further fuelled the cruel taunts from bullies.

She says: “I was verbally and physically bullied for years, all the way through secondary school,’ she added. ‘The whole school had a nickname for me. I was known as “The Burtonator” – because everyone said I was built like the Terminator. I was enormous. I had a specially made man’s blazer, as my mum couldn’t buy one big enough for me. It was a 50-inch chest, the same size as a bodybuilder. But since I’ve lost weight, I’ve seen some of the girls who made my life hell and they didn’t even recognise me. It was the best feeling in the world to go over and introduce myself. Their jaws hit the floor when they realised who I was.”

Despite the satisfaction of being able to flaunt her enviable new figure to her past tormentors, Miss Burton says the primary factor that inspired her weight loss was simply for her children; Liam, three, and Jennifer, 15 months. Seeing pictures of herself holding Liam following his birth also spurred her on as she was horrified at how she looked in the photos, saying she wanted to ‘rip them up’.

Emma could finally begin her mission to shed the pounds after Jennifer’s arrival and she subsequently adopted a strict weight loss plan that restricted her to consuming soups and shakes for a period of time, prior to the slow and measured integration of ‘real’ food back into her diet.

Now a music student at the University of Kent, Emma has completely revamped her previously unhealthy food choices such as pizzas and crisps, and instead enjoys chicken salads and grilled meat. In addition, a staggering eight cans of fizzy drink Vimto per-day has now been replaced by the often-recommended intake of eight glasses of water per-day.

When her daughter Jennifer had reached the age of one, Emma had slimmed down to a much healthier weight of 10st 9lb, and was delighted at now being able to fit into a size 10 dress.

She comments: “I’ve been hugely overweight my whole life and never in a million years did I think I’d be able to go clothes shopping in a normal shop, let alone buy a size 10. I lost weight so quickly, and once it started coming off it was easy to keep going. I used to be so embarrassed to be seen by other people, I’d avoid going out. I did all my shopping online. Now, I love going shopping – especially for new clothes. I love being able to take my baby out for long strolls in her pram and not be out of breath. My family and friends even struggle to recognise me in a crowd sometimes.”

Perhaps upon seeing how amazing Emma looked, it appeared her school bullies were remorseful and she found it in her heart to forgive them, adding: “They couldn’t apologise enough for how they treated me. But I lost the weight for me and my children, not for them.”

Dieters beware of their ‘Fat O’clock’!

If you are trying to stick to a healthy diet to lose excess weight, be cautious of Sunday evenings! According to the findings of a new survey, the three hour time period between 7pm and 10pm is when we are most likely to give-in to our cravings, banish our diets and eat typically high-calorie ‘comfort food’ like biscuits and crisps.

The European food company Forza, quizzed hundreds of customers on their eating habits and found Sunday evenings were the worst times for us to eat food containing high fat and high sugar, with almost half (48%) admitting that they overate most often during that time.

Another dangerous time for healthy eaters appears to be just before many of us finish a typical working day, with 28% of those who completed the survey claiming that the two hours between 3pm and 5pm was when they most ate ‘bad’ foods.

The third most common time when our diets go out the window is later in the afternoon – between 5pm and 7pm – as 13% said that is the point when they will probably cave-in and eat high-calorie treats.

One discovery from the survey will perhaps surprise nobody, but many of us will choose the weekend as our time to comfort eat. In particularly, it is Sundays (selected by 16%) when diets are most often forsaken and junk food is consumed.

It was found that 12% of those surveyed would typically comfort eat on a Monday. This could be either for a sugar-boost after a hectic weekend or simply to get over those Monday blues from being back in work!

Judging from the survey’s answers, the majority of over-eating seemed to be during or after dinner time as respondents said they were more likely to consume more than two units of food extra after a meal. A unit was regarded as a packet of chips, a cookie, a piece of toast, or a chocolate snack.

Dinner time for over-eating was chosen by 6%, followed by supper (22%), lunch (16%) and breakfast (a mere 3%). Clearly not enough of us are taking into account the golden rule of breakfast being the most important meal of the day.

Around a third (34%) of comfort eaters scoff two units after feeling hungry.  Over a fifth (22%) said admitted to consuming three units when hungry and one unit by 17%.

Worryingly, 11% claimed that have between four and five units, and 8% even manage to consume more than five units of ‘bad’ food when they are feeling hungry.

Forza chief executive Lee Smith said: “Fat O’clock is a nightmare for all dieters. It’s that time when you are especially vulnerable and the only thing that is going to stop your cravings is padlock on the pantry. It is useful for everyone to know the exact times of those danger spots so that they can eat more sensibly on those days.”