#obesity risk factors

[safwantaha11]

How to Fight Obesity: What Every Parent Needs to Know

Overview of obesity and its impact

Obesity is a condition in which a person has an excess amount of body fat. It’s often measured using the body mass index (BMI), which takes into account an individual’s weight and height. A BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.

While it’s natural for everyone to have some body fat, having too much can lead to serious health problems. Obesity is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. It can also have negative impacts on mental health, including an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

There are many different factors that contribute to obesity. Genetics, lifestyle choices such as diet and physical activity, and environmental factors all play a role. The good news is that there are many strategies that can help prevent and treat obesity. The suggestions can include eating a nutritious diet, exercising, and seeking support from healthcare professionals.

By taking steps to prevent obesity and maintain a healthy weight, we can improve our health and well-being. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it — there are many resources available to support you on your journey toward a healthier lifestyle.

Causes of obesity

Obesity is a complex health issue with many possible causes. Some of the most common causes of obesity include:

Unhealthy diet: Eating too many high-calorie, unhealthy foods can cause weight gain and obesity.

Lack of physical activity: A sedentary lifestyle, with irregular or no regular exercise, can lead to weight gain and obesity.

Genetics: Obesity tends to run in families, and certain genetic factors may increase the risk of developing obesity.

Medical conditions: Certain health conditions, like hypothyroidism and Cushing’s syndrome, can lead to weight gain and obesity.

Medications: Some medications, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, can cause weight gain as a side effect.

Psychological factors: Emotional eating and stress can contribute to weight gain and obesity.

Socioeconomic factors: Poverty, limited access to healthy food options, and low levels of education may contribute to obesity.

It’s critical to note that obesity often results from a combination of these and other factors. Different people may be affected by different combinations of causes.

Strategies for prevention

Here are some strategies for preventing obesity:

Eat a healthy diet: This means choosing foods rich in nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Avoid processed and high-fat foods, and limit your intake of sugary drinks and snacks.

Get regular physical activity: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day, such as brisk walking or cycling. You can also include strength training and other types of exercise to improve your fitness and muscle mass.

Practice portion control: It’s wise to be mindful of how much you eat, especially when it comes to high-calorie or unhealthy foods. Using smaller plates or measuring portions can help you control your intake.

Limit sedentary behaviors: Prolonged periods of sitting, such as watching television or working at a desk, can contribute to weight gain. Try to take breaks to move around, and consider standing or walking during long periods of sedentary activity.

Get enough sleep: Adequate sleep is the key to maintaining a healthy weight. Aim for 7–9 hours of sleep per night, and try to establish a consistent sleep schedule.

Seek support: It can be helpful to have the help of friends, family, or a healthcare professional when trying to prevent or manage obesity. Consider joining a weight loss program or seeking the guidance of a registered dietitian or another healthcare provider.

Healthy eating habits

Healthy eating habits are essential to prevent and reduce obesity. This includes choosing nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. It is also wise to limit sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, as well as avoid processed and fast foods. Meal planning and portion control can also help ensure that people get the right amount of calories and nutrients.

Physical activity

Physical activity is an essential component of any weight management program. Regular physical activity can help burn calories and improve overall health. It is recommended that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, as well as strength training at least twice per week.

The Role of Parents in Fighting Obesity

Parents have an influential role to play in preventing and reducing obesity. They can help to create a culture of healthy eating by teaching children about the importance of nutritious food and physical activity. They can also provide a supportive environment by setting a suitable example and encouraging healthy lifestyle habits.

Resources and support

There are a number of resources and support networks available to those looking to prevent and reduce obesity in the UAE. These include government initiatives, such as the Abu Dhabi Health and Wellness Program, as well as private health providers, fitness centers, and community organizations.

Conclusion

The fight against obesity is a critical one that requires the efforts of parents, healthcare professionals, and the community at large. As a parent, you have the opportunity to model healthy behaviors and create an environment that supports your child’s efforts to maintain a healthy weight. This may involve making healthy food choices, encouraging physical activity, and being mindful of your child’s overall health and well-being. It’s also critical to recognize that obesity is a complex issue that can be influenced by a range of factors, including genetics, socioeconomic status, and access to healthful options. By staying informed and seeking support when needed, you can help your child develop the skills and habits they need to live a happy and fulfilling life.

[trendynewsnow]

New Stroke Prevention Guidelines Address Women's Unique Risks

New Guidelines for Stroke Prevention Highlight Women’s Unique Risks In a significant development for stroke prevention, the American Stroke Association has released updated guidelines that for the first time explicitly address the risks faced by women. These guidelines emphasize that certain conditions, such as pre-term births, endometriosis, and early menopause, can elevate a woman’s risk of…

[surinderbhalla]

Breaking Down the Complex Link Between Diabetes and Heart Disease!

Breaking down the complex link between Diabetes and Heart disease. providing valuable insights

Diabetes and heart disease, two of the most prevalent and intertwined health concerns, present formidable challenges to global well-being. Extensive research has unraveled an intricate and complex relationship between diabetes and heart disease. Brace yourself as we embark on a thrilling journey into the depths of the intricate connection between diabetes and heart disease, illuminating the…

[fatliberation]

I totally understand and can empathize with fat activists when it comes to medical fatphobia. But I do think its important to provide nuance to this topic.

A lot of doctors mention weight loss, particularly for elective surgeries, because it makes the recovery process easier (Particularly with keeping sutures in place) and anesthetic safer.

I feel like its still important to mention those things when advocating for fat folks. Safety is important.

What you're talking about is actually a different topic altogether - the previous ask was not about preparing for surgery, it was about dieting being the only treatment option for anon's chronic pain, which was exacerbating their ed symptoms. Diets have been proven over and over again to be unsustainable (and are the leading predictor of eating disorders). So yeah, I felt that it was an inappropriate prescription informed more by bias than actual data.

(And side note: This study on chronic pain and obesity concluded that weight change was not associated with changes of pain intensity.)

If you want to discuss the risk factor for surgery, sure, I think that's an important thing to know - however, most fat people already know this and are informed by their doctors and surgeons of what the risks are beforehand, so I'm not really concerned about people being uninformed about it.

I'm a fat liberation activist, and what I'm concerned about is bias. I'm concerned that there are so many BMI cutoffs in essential surgeries for fat patients, when weight loss is hardly feasible, that creates a barrier to care that disproportionately affects marginalized people with intersecting identities.

It's also important to know that we have very little data around the outcomes of surgery for fat folks that isn't bariatric weight loss surgery.

A new systematic review by researchers in Sydney, Australia, published in the journal Clinical Obesity, suggests that weight loss diets before elective surgery are ineffective in reducing postoperative complications.

CADTH Health Technology Review Body Mass Index as a Measure of Obesity and Cut-Off for Surgical Eligibility made a similar conclusion:

Most studies either found discrepancies between BMI and other measurements or concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support BMI cut-offs for surgical eligibility. The sources explicitly reporting ethical issues related to the use of BMI as a measure of obesity or cut-off for surgical eligibility described concerns around stigma, bias (particularly for racialized peoples), and the potential to create or exacerbate disparities in health care access.

Nicholas Giori MD, PhD Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University, a respected leader in TKA and THA shared his thoughts in Elective Surgery in Adult Patients with Excess Weight: Can Preoperative Dietary Interventions Improve Surgical Outcomes? A Systematic Review:

“Obesity is not reversible for most patients. Outpatient weight reduction programs average only 8% body weight loss [1, 10, 29]. Eight percent of patients denied surgery for high BMI eventually reach the BMI cutoff and have total joint arthroplasty [28]. Without a reliable pathway for weight loss, we shouldn’t categorically withhold an operation that improves pain and function for patients in all BMI classes [3, 14, 16] to avoid a risk that is comparable to other risks we routinely accept.

It is not clear that weight reduction prior to surgery reduces risk. Most studies on this topic involve dramatic weight loss from bariatric surgery and have had mixed results [13, 19, 21, 22, 24, 27]. Moderate non-surgical weight loss has thus-far not been shown to affect risk [12]. Though hard BMI cutoffs are well-intended, currently-used BMI cutoffs nearly have the effect of arbitrarily rationing care without medical justification. This is because BMI does not strongly predict complications. It is troubling that the effects are actually not arbitrary, but disproportionately affect minorities, women and patients in low socioeconomic classes. I believe that the decision to proceed with surgery should be based on traditional shared-decision making between the patient and surgeon. Different patients and different surgeons have different tolerances to risk and reward. Giving patients and surgeons freedom to determine the balance that is right for them is, in my opinion, the right way to proceed.”

I agree with Dr. Giori on this. And I absolutely do not judge anyone who chooses to lose weight prior to a surgery. It's upsetting that it is the only option right now for things like safe anesthesia. Unfortunately, patients with a history of disordered eating (which is a significant percentage of fat people!) are left out of the conversation. There is certainly risk involved in either option and it sucks. I am always open to nuanced discussion, and the one thing I remain firm in is that weight loss is not the answer long-term. We should be looking for other solutions in treating fat patients and studying how to make surgery safer. A lot of this could be solved with more comprehensive training and new medical developments instead of continuously trying to make fat people less fat.

[mariacallous]

A little bit of alcohol was once thought to be good for you. However, as scientific research advances, we’re gaining a clearer picture of alcohol’s effect on health—especially regarding cancer.

The complex relationship between alcohol and cancer was recently highlighted in a new report from the American Association for Cancer Research. The report’s findings are eye-opening.

The authors of the report estimate that 40 percent of all cancer cases are associated with “modifiable risk factors”—in other words, things we can change ourselves. Alcohol consumption being prominent among them.

Six types of cancer are linked to alcohol consumption: head and neck cancers, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and stomach cancer.

The statistics are sobering. In 2019, more than one in 20 cancer diagnoses in the West were attributed to alcohol consumption, and this is increasing with time. This figure challenges the widespread perception of alcohol as a harmless social lubricant and builds on several well-conducted studies linking alcohol consumption to cancer risk.

But this isn’t just about the present—it’s also about the future. The report highlights a concerning trend: rising rates of certain cancers among younger adults. It’s a plot twist that researchers like me are still trying to understand, but alcohol consumption is emerging as a potential frontrunner in the list of causes.

Of particular concern is the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer among adults under 50. The report notes a 1.9 percent annual increase between 2011 and 2019.

While the exact causes of this trend are still being investigated, research consistently shows a link between frequent and regular drinking in early and mid-adulthood and a higher risk of colon and rectal cancers later in life. But it’s also important to realize this story isn’t a tragedy.

It’s more of a cautionary tale with the potential for a hopeful ending. Unlike many risk factors for cancer, alcohol consumption is one we can control. Reducing or eliminating alcohol intake can lower the risk, offering a form of empowerment in the face of an often unpredictable disease.

The relationship between alcohol and cancer risk generally follows a dose-response pattern, meaning simply that higher levels of consumption are associated with greater risk. Even light to moderate drinking has been linked to increased risk for some cancers, particularly breast cancer.

Yet it’s crucial to remember that while alcohol increases cancer risk, it doesn’t mean everyone who drinks will develop cancer. Many factors contribute to cancer development.

Damages DNA

The story doesn’t end with these numbers. It extends to the very cells of our bodies, where alcohol’s journey begins. When we drink, our bodies break down alcohol into acetaldehyde, a substance that can damage our DNA, the blueprint of our cells. This means that alcohol can potentially rewrite our DNA and create changes called mutations, which in turn can cause cancer.

The tale grows more complex when we consider the various ways alcohol interacts with our bodies. It can impair nutrient and vitamin absorption, alter hormone levels, and even make it easier for harmful chemicals to penetrate cells in the mouth and throat. It can affect the bacteria in our guts, the so-called microbiome, that we live with and is important for our health and well-being.

Alcohol consumption is also linked to other aspects of our own health and lifestyle and it’s important not just to consider this alone. Tobacco use and smoking, for instance, can significantly amplify the cancer risks associated with alcohol. Genetic factors play a role too, with certain variations affecting how our bodies metabolize (break down) alcohol.

Physical inactivity and obesity, often associated with heavy drinking, also separately increase cancer risks but on top of alcohol makes this much worse. Despite this, misconceptions persist. The type of alcoholic beverage, be it beer, wine, or spirits, doesn’t significantly alter the cancer risk. It’s the ethanol (the chemical name for alcohol) itself that’s carcinogenic (cancer-causing).

And while some studies have suggested that red wine might have protective effects against certain diseases, there’s no clear evidence that it helps prevent cancer.

The potential risks of alcohol consumption probably outweigh any potential benefits. The takeaway is not that we should never enjoy a glass of wine or a beer with friends. Rather, it’s about being aware of the potential risks and making choices that align with our health goals. It’s about moderation, mindfulness, and informed decisionmaking.

Alcohol has lots of effects not just in terms of causing cancer. A recent large study of more than 135,000 older drinkers in the UK has shown that the more people drink, the higher the risk of death from any cause.

These and similar findings underscore the importance of public awareness and education about the potential risks associated with alcohol consumption. As our understanding of the alcohol-cancer link grows, it becomes increasingly clear that what many consider a harmless indulgence may have more significant health implications than previously thought.

Unfortunately, not many people appear to be aware of these risks. In the US, around half of people don’t know that alcohol increases the risk of cancer. Clearly, a lot of work needs to be done to overcome this lack of awareness.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

The casual ablists are finally connecting dots folks like me connected 4 years ago... (๑ᵕ⌓ᵕ̤)

By Tapatrisha Das

Covid virus can cause myocarditis, which can further push the heart to an attack. Here's why there’s a rise in heart attacks among young adults.

Earlier, heart attacks were thought to be a disease that affected one in later years but not anymore. There has been a disturbing rise in the number of young people suffering from heart attacks. Especially in healthy young adults, this disease has been observed at a more alarming rate. In the last four years, there has been a 66 percent rise in the number of heart attacks in young people in America – with one in every five heart attack patients being under the age of 40. A report on Daily Mail has explored the connection of this trend with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reasons behind alarming rise of heart attacks in young adults The report mentions that many factors are at play in increasing the risk of heart attacks in young and fit adults – drug use, obesity and sedentary lifestyle are some of the main reasons. However, considering the timing, Covid-19 is also suspected to be at play here.

The Covid-19 virus can cause widespread inflammation throughout the body, especially affecting the heart and causing blood clots. During the lockdown, people were bound to stay at home – this further triggered depression, anxiety and stress. These all can trigger heart attack risk.

Impact of covid: The timing of surge in heart attacks is suspected to be directly related to the covid pandemic. The covid virus, once inside the body, can cause the heart to be inflamed – this condition is known as myocarditis. This further makes it hard for the heart to pump blood throughout the body. This condition can damage the heart and make it incapable to pump blood throughout the body. This is when heart attacks become more common.

The Daily Mail report also quoted Dr Susan Cheng, a cardiologist at Cedars Sinai who authored a 2023 study that found heart attack deaths in people 25 to 44 increased by nearly 30 percent during pandemic's early years. She had said back then as well that the connection was 'more than coincidental.'

'Young people are obviously not really supposed to die of heart attack. They're not really supposed to have heart attacks at all…There are a lot of things that COVID can do to the cardiovascular system. It appears to be able to increase the stickiness of the blood and increase... the likelihood of blood clot formation. 'It seems to stir up inflammation in the blood vessels. It seems to also cause in some people an overwhelming stress—whether it's related directly to the infection or situations around the infection—that can also cause a spike in blood pressure.'

[covidsafecosplay]

Article date: October 14, 2024

An observational study of 614,000 US patients suggests a higher risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D) after COVID-19 than after other respiratory infections in patients aged 10 to 19 years.  For the study, published today in JAMA Network Open, Case Western Reserve University researchers used electronic medical records to retrospectively analyze rates of incident T2D in 613,602 hospitalized or nonhospitalized pediatric patients 1, 3, and 6 months after infection with either SARS-CoV-2 or another respiratory pathogen from January 2020 to December 2022.  The median patient age was 14.9 years, 53% were girls, and 57% were White. Half of the patients had COVID-19, and half had another respiratory infection. The risk of new-onset T2D was significantly higher from the day of infection to 1, 3, and 6 months after a COVID-19 diagnosis than other infections (risk ratio [RR],1.55, 1.48, and 1.58, respectively). Boys and girls were at similar risk. Similar results were seen in patients who were overweight or obese (RR at 1, 3, and 6 months, 2.07, 2.00, and 2.27, respectively) and those who were hospitalized (RR, 3.10, 2.74, and 2.62, respectively). A comparable elevation in risk was found 3 and 6 months postinfection after excluding patients diagnosed from diagnosis to 1 month postinfection. The researchers said several factors may be at play.

Read the rest.

[bullshit-tqia]

A list of side effects and risks for mtf estrogen:

This is thanks to a friend, she gets full credit for this post.

"Some takeaways: almost none of the studies report that estrogen does anything positive to male bodies, except lowering blood pressure in young people and stopping balding

Essentially most of the articles were freaking out about how we need more high quality data to determine if estrogen is safe or not, but of the studies I went through:"

Risks associated with estrogen use by men found:

Heart Risks: Venous Thromboembolism (VTE): 9 articles

Myocardial Infarction (MI): 5 articles

Ischemic Stroke: 5 articles

Other Cardiovascular Events: 6 articles

Fertility Risks: 6 articles

Cancer Risks: 8 articles

Key Dangers that evidence found in MTF people:

Dangers to the Heart:

Venous Thromboembolism (VTE): Increased risk reported across multiple studies.

Myocardial Infarction (MI): Elevated risk associated with estrogen therapy.

Ischemic Stroke: Increased incidence observed in studies.

Other Cardiovascular Events: General cardiovascular disease risks

Dangers to Fertility: Impacts on spermatogenesis and testicular health, with some studies noting fertility preservation in a portion of trans women.

Dangers to Cancer Risk: Potential increased risk for breast cancer and other hormone-sensitive malignancies. Dangers that are suspected based on know qualities of estrogen:

Cancer Risks: Potential increased risk for specific cancers beyond breast cancer, such as papillary thyroid cancer and other hormone-sensitive malignancies.

Liver Toxicity: Concerns regarding hepatotoxic effects and liver integrity due to long-term estrogen use.

Cardiac Arrhythmias: Suggested increase in the rates of cardiac arrhythmias in some studies, although direct causation remains unclear.

Gallbladder Issues: Potential association with gallstones and pancreatitis, but more research is needed for conclusive evidence.

Long-term Bone Health: Uncertainty about how long-term estrogen use affects bone density and overall bone health.

Psychiatric Effects: Speculation about possible mood changes or psychiatric effects, though this is often individualized and not well documented.

Metabolic Changes: Concerns about changes in metabolism and body composition, including the risk of obesity, but conclusive links remain to be established.

On regaining fertility after estrogen:

After an average of three years on estrogen, ony 40% of trans women will still be fertile. After discontinuation of hormones, 66% will get their fertility back (with the span of the study), and most of the people observed had impaired semen quality after stopping. The contributing factor may be the age when hormones were started, with older people being more protected.

But hey, I'm just an alarmist.

Sources:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0090429519306302 https://www.cell.com/cell-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00422-0 [1:12 PM] Bock, M. E., et al. "Incidence of Venous Thromboembolism in Transgender Women Prescribed Estrogen." Clinical Chemistry, vol. 65, no. 1, 2019, pp. 57-66. https://academic.oup.com/clinchem/article/65/1/57/5607952.

Keshavarz, M., et al. "Spermatogenesis in Transgender Women." Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0090429519306302.

Bhasin, S., et al. "Estrogens and Tumorigenesis." Prostate, vol. 79, no. 9, 2019, pp. 1027-1033. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pros.23322.

Kearney, T., et al. "Prostate Cancer in Transgender Women." JAMA Network Open, vol. 2, no. 7, 2019. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2820386.

Kley, M. A., et al. "Estrogen and Testicular Health." BMC Urology, vol. 18, 2018, p. 68. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13256-018-1894-6.

Chen, C. L., et al. "Cardiovascular Risks in Transgender Patients." American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, vol. 324, no. 4, 2023, pp. H674-H688. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpheart.00299.2022.

Lee, D. L., et al. "Hematologic Complications of Estrogen Therapy." Annals of Internal Medicine, vol. 167, no. 1, 2017, pp. 46-55. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/M17-2785.

Van Kesteren, P. J., et al. "Long-term Cardiovascular Risks of Hormone Therapy." Circulation Reports, vol. 5, no. 4, 2023. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/circrep/5/4/5_CR-23-0021/_article/-char/ja/.

Naderi, H., et al. "Risks of Cardiovascular Disease in Transgender Women." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 104, no. 8, 2019, pp. 3505-3514. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890623820301295.

Mehta, A., et al. "Estrogen and the Liver." American Journal of Gastroenterology, vol. 115, no. 1, 2020, pp. 15-23. https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2020/10001/S2417_The_Skinny_on_Estrogen_and_Liver_Fat.2417.aspx.

Miller, L. J., et al. "Venous Thromboembolism in Transgender Women." American Journal of Health Promotion, vol. 78, no. 18, 2022, pp. 1674-1680. https://academic.oup.com/ajhp/article-abstract/78/18/1674/6264946. Smith, C. R., et al. "Bone Density in Transgender Patients." Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, vol. 37, no. 4, 2022, pp. 643-650. https://academic.oup.com/jbmr/article/37/4/643/7516770.

Tam, D. Y., et al. "Implications of Estrogen on Cancer Risk." Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 12, 2021. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2021.718200/full.

Gupta, A., et al. "Estrogen Therapy and Pancreatitis." The American Journal of Cardiology, vol. 125, no. 12, 2020, pp. 1836-1842. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890623820301295.

Johnson, J. E., et al. "Long-term Effects of Estrogen on Metabolism." Cell Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2022. https://www.cell.com/cell-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00422-0.

[safwantaha11]

Combating Obesity Abu Dhabi: Effective Surgical Options for Weight Loss

Introduction:

 Millions of humans worldwide are impacted via the weight problems pandemic, which poses serious fitness hazards. The bustling city of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, isn't always proof against this pervasive trouble. To tackle obesity and accomplish lengthy-term weight reduction, the metropolis does, but, also provide plenty of cutting-edge surgical treatments. We will speak many of the essential surgical treatments provided in Abu Dhabi in this weblog post, including sleeve gastrectomy, metabolic surgical treatment, weight loss surgery, gastric balloon, and gastric pass.

 1. Abu Dhabi Gastric Bypass: A Procedure That Changes Lives During a gastric bypass surgical procedure, a phase of the small intestine is bypassed and a smaller belly pouch is created. Through proscribing the amount of food that can be fed on and converting how vitamins are absorbed, this system aids in weight loss. Modern clinical centers in Abu Dhabi are home to professional surgeons who carefully and precisely execute gastric pass surgical procedures.

 2. Abu Dhabi Weight Loss Surgery: A Life-Changing Experience Bariatric surgical operation, another call for weight reduction surgical operation, is the umbrella time period for a number of operations meant to assist patients in losing a massive amount of weight. Depending on the precise requirements and health objectives of each affected person, Abu Dhabi gives a variety of weight reduction operations. These operations assist human beings lose weight and enhance their popular fitness by way of decreasing their hazard of developing illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, and coronary heart disorder, that are all related to obesity.

 three. Metabolic Surgery: A Twofold Advantage As a subset of weight reduction surgery, metabolic surgical procedure objectives each weight reduction and advanced metabolic health. Patients with metabolic problems like kind 2 diabetes which might be related to weight problems gain most from this kind of surgery. Competent surgeons in Abu Dhabi's scientific facilities specialise in metabolic surgical procedure strategies, which help patients improve their glycemic manage and satisfactory of existence.

 4. Gastric Balloon UAE: An Alternative to Surgery Gastric balloon remedies are a remarkable desire for all of us searching out a non-surgical weight loss approach. With this minimally invasive remedy, a balloon is inserted into the stomach to promote component control, decrease urge for food, and set off a sensation of fullness. Gastric balloon treatments are available at Abu Dhabi's clinical centers, allowing humans to jumpstart their weight loss efforts without requiring surgical operation.

 5. UAE Sleeve Gastrectomy: Sculpting a Healthier Tomorrow A common weight-loss process called a sleeve gastrectomy includes reducing out a enormous section of the belly to go away the belly smaller and sleeve-shaped. By proscribing the amount of meals that may be eaten, this method enables people lose weight by way of helping them experience fuller sooner. Access to skilled medical doctors who deliver the first-rate post-operative care and sleeve gastrectomy operations is feasible in Abu Dhabi.

In end, obesity is becoming a international difficulty that influences Abu Dhabi as properly. Nonetheless, the ones looking for to combat obesity and achieve lengthy-term weight reduction have get admission to to a lot of contemporary surgical options available inside the city. Specializing in weight loss surgical procedure, metabolic surgical procedure, gastric balloon, sleeve gastrectomy, and different advanced operations, Abu Dhabi's scientific centers offer distinctly qualified medical doctors performing cutting-edge approaches. With the help of those surgical tactics, people can embrace a brighter destiny free from the duties of weight problems and a course to better health and well-being. Remember, it is important to speak with a licensed healthcare issuer earlier than thinking of any surgical procedure with the intention to decide which route of movement is quality for you given your unique state of affairs and medical heritage.

[homoquartz]

Some anti-fatphobia reminders:

weight gain is suggested to be a symptom, not a cause, of disease in recent studies

treating weight alone leads to worse health outcomes

anti-fat stigma results in delayed care, inappropriate treatment, fear of doctors, and mental health problems that all result in negative health outcomes

(and may account for a large portion of negative outcomes for fat people to begin with)

Weight loss is not usually sustained, and yoyo dieting has serious consequences long-term

Body neutrality is shown to be more effective than weight loss in maintaining good health

Stress and poverty are likely causes of both weight gain AND poor health. Yet weight gain is blamed as the cause of poor health.

"obesity" is a null term that is classified as a disease for money reasons. It indicates NOTHING about one's actual health status other than being a risk factor. Other risk factors include where you live, your job, your age, your gender, and height.

✌️ if you're fat i love you

[undead-moth]

I have just discovered the existence of Jamie Lopez, a body-positive activist, because at the age of 37 she has died of heart complications.

Here are some of the results you’ll find if you Google her death:

Unsurprisingly, fatphobes are taking the tragic death of a young woman as an opportunity to shame fat people and spread hate. They lack both empathy and compassion for her. They find her death vindicating, and even comedic. She is not even a human being to them. 

But most importantly, they are using it as an opportunity to insist, as many fatphobes do, that this is the inevitable future all fat people face. They are once again arguing that all fat people are unhealthy and all fat people will die young because of this. In doing so, they are also accusing the fat acceptance movement of claiming that all fat people are healthy and all fat people will live long lives.

This completely ignores a few things:

1) If Jamie Lopez had been thin and died of the same health complications at the same age - which is the case for some thin people (remember, there is not a single health condition that exclusively fat people get or die of) - this would not therefore be indicative that their weight caused their death. Everyone would agree that it was the heart complications, not the weight that killed that person. Heart complications have been “linked” to fatness but never indisputably proven to be caused by it, and so it does not make sense to say that her weight, rather than heart complications killed her. And if someone wants to argue that it’s still her weight that killed her, because her weight put her at risk for heart problems, remember that being tall, being old, and/or being a man are risk factors for heart complications yet when a tall person, old person, or a man dies from heart complications we don’t insist they actually died of being tall or being old or being a man.

2) Had Jamie Lopez lived to be 100 this would have never proven to fatphobes that you can be fat and healthy. This is evident when other fat people live long healthy lives, even really fat people who live really long lives, and no one ever holds them up as “proof” that it’s possible to be fat and healthy. Even if millions of fat people, even very fat people, live to be very old - which millions do - it means nothing to these people. Statistically, “morbidly obese” people and underweight thin people have the same mortality rates, and people in the overweight and obese categories actually live the longest, longer even than their “healthy weight” counterparts. This has never changed the minds of fatphobes. But one single fat person dying young confirms their preconceived bias that all fat people are unhealthy and die young.

3) Neither the fat acceptance movement nor HAES advocates claim that all fat people are healthy. In fact, HAES advocates only argue that it’s possible to be healthy or unhealthy at any size, meaning that it’s possible to be fat and healthy, just as it’s possible to be thin and unhealthy, or vice versa. They are not insisting on a black-and-white dichotomy that puts one group in Always Unhealthy or Always Healthy. That’s what fatphobes are doing. They’re the ones making blanket statements about the combined health of entire communities, placing one in “Always unhealthy” (fat people) and one in “Always healthy” (thin people).

And the fat acceptance movement is not even about health. Fat acceptance advocates for the acceptance of fat people REGARDLESS OF health, meaning that fat people have the right to baseline human respect even if every single one of them is horribly unhealthy. Yet Fatphobes continue to debate fat acceptance activists by attempting to prove that all fat people are unhealthy. This is because they think that this gives them the right to hate and ridicule fat people. That is why it is so important that fat people be unhealthy to them, and why they never acknowledge that fat acceptance isn’t about health anyway. They need their excuse.

But it isn’t an excuse. It doesn’t matter if every single fat person is fat because they eat too much and exercise too little. It doesn’t matter if every single one of them could lose weight and maintain that weight loss if they simply worked hard enough. And it doesn’t matter if every single fat person is unhealthy and going to die at the age of 37 of a heart attack.

Fat people are people and people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. That is what fat acceptance is about.

Jamie Lopez died young which is already unfortunate. And now she will be mocked for who knows how long by people who despise her for, essentially, being imperfect in a way they personally don’t like. Whether it be because she was fat, or because she was unhealthy, that’s the reason people will use to justify the inhumane ridicule of a human being who never harmed them, never wronged them, never even spoke to them - and now, isn’t even alive to defend herself against them. 

I can’t describe the grief I feel for this person who, until a couple of hours ago, I didn’t even know existed, who was dead before I’d ever even heard her name.

I hope she rests in peace while the people who shame her rot in hell.

[scientia-rex]

Hi Dr. Kristophine!

So I'm in nursing school and something one of my instructors said about obesity really bothered me and IK you're a doctor who Actually Knows about weight as it pertains to health so I wanted to see if you'd weigh in (pun not intended)

She said, in reference to cancer risk factors,

"poor nutrition, especially one that is high in saturated fats, increases your risk for obesity which increases your risk for cancer... Physical activity, again obesity is a risk factor for multiple disease processes, cancer being one of them... So being immobile increases your risk for obesity which increases your risk for certain cancers."

When I heard that in our lecture vids, to me it seemed like she was using the wrong variables to connect poor diet and lack of exercise to cancer

[disclaimer: this instructor is dangerously incompetent, often wrong in her lectures, no one ever does well on her exams because she doesn't teach properly, and my other instructors for that class are accumulating evidence to get her removed from that position] so I don't take much of what she says as legit, but I'd like to know WHY its illegitimate, if it is

If you don't feel like addressing this all yourself, I'd also appreciate you throwing some resources at me to read

What she’s doing is looking at a set of interconnected variables and assuming a causal relationship. This is dangerous—I would cover why, but I don’t teach psych stats labs anymore—and what she should probably be saying instead is that being sick tends to go with being fat, rather than that being fat causes being sick. To the best of my knowledge, no one has proposed a clear pathway by which being fat would lead to cancer. Now, fat tissue does make estrogen, which raises risk for some cancers—but lowers it for others, and protects bone density, so it’s always a personalized discussion in patients I’m looking at putting on estradiol.

Now, there are definitely dangerous things you can do with diet. Trans fatty acids are more likely to lead to vascular health problems than good old fashioned natural butter. But “diet—>fat—>cancer” is just bullshit, and if any of my beloved haters out there want to produce high-quality and compelling evidence to the contrary, go right ahead.

[transmutationisms]

never really gave much thought to it until now but it is so weird to experience disordered eating tendencies solely cause of food insecurity but all i ever really heard about it was how its related to beauty standards etc, and so i never really took ot seriously and developed some very shitty habits due to food inaccessibility.

do you maybe have some articles or anything worth checking out about that side of eds? thanks in advance, love your blog so much!!

When the researchers sat down and started analyzing the results, they found almost linear correlations between eating disorder symptoms and food insecurity. A replication study in 2019, conducted in an even larger population at the same food bank, found almost identical results. “It was some of the saddest and most beautiful data that I had ever seen,” Becker said.

Her work challenged preconceptions about what eating disorders actually were.

Singh, the New York dietician, said those preconceptions stem from the fact that people who have eating disorders and can afford to seek help tend to be wealthier. And most research is done on patients who show up in clinics.

Food insecurity never even entered the picture of how psychology and psychiatry conceptualized an eating disorder, Singh said. As a result, starving yourself to lose weight was considered a disorder, but no one thought about starving yourself to ensure your family had enough to eat.

Results suggested that individuals in the child hunger insecure group had the highest levels of eating disorder symptoms. Seventeen percent of individuals in this group had a clinically significant eating disorder, compared with 9.4% in the food insecure group, 2.6% in the household food insecure group, and 2.9% in the not food insecure group. Binge eating, overeating, night eating (waking up to eat a large amount of food with distress at night), vomiting, laxative/water pill use, skipping at least two meals in a row, exercising harder than usual because of eating too much food, and weight/shape concerns were all more common in the child hunger food insecure group than the other three groups. There were no differences between groups for the eating disorder symptoms based on sex, race, or ethnicity. Similarly, internalized weight stigma and worry was greatest in the child hunger group.

There are several implications for this study. First, these data reiterate that eating disorders do not discriminate on the basis of socioeconomic status. Individuals who are food insecure need to be considered in future research in order to fully understand risks that are specific to this population (e.g., food restriction for any reason). Second, prevention, intervention, and treatment programs need to be designed so they can reach individuals who do not have the money to access these programs. For example, current treatments for eating disorders are primarily delivered face-to-face with a trained clinician, which is difficult to disseminate to a wide range of individuals. Finally, although not directly assessed, anti-obesity programs may negatively affect individuals who are food insecure and overweight or obese, given that internalized weight stigmatization was high in a proportion of these individuals. Additional research in this population will be critical to better understand risk factors for eating disorder symptoms in this understudied population.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eat.22735 (<-link to study discussed above)

Many people (incorrectly) believe that eating disorders (ED) are more prevalent in the higher socioeconomic status (SES) groups. Studies conducted in the 1960s and 70s corroborate this statement; however, their methods may have biased the results. Recent studies using health questionnaires distributed to large heterogeneous populations have shown that EDs equally effect all people, regardless of SES. These studies have also demonstrated that females of the lower SES group report higher rates of disordered eating behavior (vomiting, use of diet pills, diuretics, or laxatives as a means to lose weight).

[bojackhorsemanobviously]

The creators of bojack sure gave my boy so many problems he needs a VET FAST.

Buck Knee

 This is a forward deviation in which the knee is set too far forward in relation to the leg. Even though over at the knees is a structural fault, many horses with this condition have long, productive performance careers.  This is either congenital (they were born with it) or can be result of an injury to the check ligament or tendons in back of the knee. If a horse has buck knees, the knee will be forward of the line that divides the foreleg in half. This makes the horse susceptible to bowed tendons.

Splay Foot

A term used to describe a horse that stands with its toes pointing out (laterally) . More common in horses with a base wide conformation. Also known as duck footed.

What is a ewe neck in horses? a thin neck with a concave arch occurring as a defect in dogs and horses. These horses will often struggle to build a healthy topline and will look “ewe necked”. Horses with over used neck muscles can benefit greatly from massage, stretching and mobilization exercises. Pain relief can be achieved if the muscles can relax and move normally

Wall eye

In horses, a blue coloured eye is called a “wall eye”. Horses may have two blue eyes or could have one blue and one brown eye. The blue colour is caused by lack of pigmentation in the iris.

Horse with wall eye. eye unable to open normally. equine eyes are extremely sensitive and will develop an intense inflammatory response to damage or irritation, meaning that the initial problem can quickly escalate to scarring and possibly ultimately to blindness2.

FAT HORSES

When a horse gains excess body weight as fat (adipose tissue), their performance and use declines. Bearing excess body weight impacts hoof health by weakening the hoof wall, heel buttress, and bars of the foot. Obesity is a risk factor for developing osteoarthritis and other joint problems.

SWEETS

Feeding a healthy horse three or four sugar cubes is unlikely to cause a significant glucose spike; however, for a horse with uncontrolled IR, PSSM, or a laminitis history, feeding sugar cubes isn't a risk worth taking. Skip the sugary treats, too, if your horse is overweight, especially if he has a cresty neck

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

By Hugo Francisco de Souza

New research shows that COVID-19 survivors, especially older adults and non-hospitalized patients, are at an increased risk for chronic fatigue syndrome—underscoring the need for comprehensive care for vulnerable populations.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Infection and Public Health, researchers carried out a retrospective cohort study comprising 3,227,281 pairs of patients with and without COVID-19 from a larger dataset of over 115 million patients to investigate the associations between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) infections and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) risk, particularly in the presence of comorbidities.

Cox proportional hazard models revealed that patients with prior SARS‑CoV‑2 infections were at increased risk of contracting CFS (HR = 1.59), with adults above the age of 65, Asians (HR = 1.75), females, and those with comorbidities including diabetes, obesity, hypertensive disease, and hyperlipidemia being identified as the highest risk populations. The omicron variant was associated with slightly higher CFS risk (HR = 1.40) than older SARS‑CoV‑2 strains (alpha HR = 1.33, delta HR = 1.40), with risk levels for Omicron similar to Delta, despite Omicron typically causing milder acute illness.

Furthermore, contrary to previous studies, this research found that non-hospitalized patients had a higher risk of developing CFS (HR = 1.64) compared to those who were hospitalized (HR = 1.22), challenging assumptions that more severe initial infections increase long-term fatigue risk.

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains one of the worst in human history, infecting more than 700 million humans and claiming more than 7 million lives in only four years. While social distancing measures and vaccination campaigns have substantially curbed disease spread and dampened infection severity, many COVID-19 survivors report persistent or novel symptoms that cause debilitation for months or years following initial infection recovery.

Alarmingly, these conditions, collectively termed “long COVID,” are estimated to plague up to 78% of survivors, leaving them with chronic chest pain, lung diseases, muscle aches, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). While studies aimed at establishing the association between SARS‑CoV‑2 infection and CFS risk have been carried out, none have evaluated the effects of covariates, particularly comorbidities and other preexisting medical conditions.

A growing body of evidence suggests the positive feedback loop between long COVID and other chronic conditions, observing that the presence of one increases the risk and severity of the other. Furthermore, long COVID is a multi-organ condition, highlighting the need for comprehensive, extensive cohort investigations into the associations between CFS and long COVID risk factors.

The present study uses an extensive cohort (COVID-19 cases; n = 3,227,281 pairs) across a spectrum of infection severity, age, sex, race/ethnicity, vaccination status, and comorbidities to establish the risk associations between prior COVID-19 infections and CFS risk. Study data was obtained from the United States (US) TriNetX database, a collaborative network comprising electronic health records of more than 115 million patients, between January 2020 and December 2023. Participant selection was carried out by first identifying CFS patients from the database (n = 3,227,281) and then 1:1 propensity score-matching (PSM) matching them with CFS-free patients (non-COVID-19 controls).

Relevant data included demographics, infection and comorbidity diagnoses, ongoing medications, procedures, and laboratory test results. Covariates under investigation included age, sex, COVID-19 vaccination status and disease severity, hypertensive diseases, race, ischemic heart diseases, hyperlipidemia, cerebrovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and depression. Patients were further divided into subcohorts based on the wave (alpha, delta, or omicron) of initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. The outcome of interest was medically confirmed CFS diagnoses.

Standardized Mean Differences (SMD) were used to compare covariates across COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 participants, with Kaplan–Meier analysis computing CFS incidence rates and univariate Cox proportional hazard models computing hazard ratios (HRs; CFS risk) in case and control cohorts.

Study findings

Of the 115,675,909 patients represented in the TriNetX database, 3,227,281 were confirmed to have experienced a prior COVID-19 infection and were included as cases. All cases were 1:1 PSM to COVID-free controls, doubling the size of the study dataset. Cases were predominantly female (54.4%), White (58.7%), and had a history of hypertensive disease (17%). Furthermore, obesity (8.1%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (7.8%), hyperlipidemia (14.2%), and depression (5.5%) were frequently observed as COVID-19-associated comorbidities.

SMD analysis and HRs revealed that COVID-19 patients presented both higher incidence (~0.6%) and risk (~59%, HR = 1.59) of CFS compared to non-COVID-19 ones. Notably, significant variable-associated differences in CFS risk were observed, with patients aged 65 and older (HR = 1.74), female sex (HR = 1.62), and Asian (HR = 1.75) patients revealed to be at highest CFS risk. Unvaccinated patients (HR = 1.62) were found to be more likely to contract CFS than vaccinated (HR = 1.25) ones. Contrary to previous research, non-hospitalized patients had a significantly higher risk of developing CFS (HR = 1.64) than those hospitalized (HR = 1.22), which may suggest that early medical care during acute infection mitigates long-term fatigue risk. This is one of the first reports of race/ethnicity altering post-COVID-19 CFS risk.

Omicron and delta variant patients were found to be at slightly higher CFS risk (HR = 1.40, respectively) compared to alpha variant patients (HR = 1.33), with Omicron showing similar risk levels to Delta despite typically causing less severe acute illness. Infection severity outcomes on HR ranged from 1.22 (the most severe infection requiring immediate hospitalization) to 1.64 (no hospitalization required).

Conclusions

The present study uses a cohort of more than 6 million patients to elucidate the risk associations between COVID-19 and its comorbidities and subsequent CFS risk. Supporting previous research, the study established a higher CFS risk (HR = 1.59) in COVID-19 patients compared to their COVID-19-free counterparts. Unlike earlier studies, this research highlighted the significant influence of race, with Asian patients showing the highest CFS risk (HR = 1.75), and emphasized the importance of comorbidities, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) also contributing to increased risk (HR = 1.43), in addition to the known comorbidities of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

The findings on hospitalization severity were unexpected, as non-hospitalized patients had a significantly higher risk of developing CFS (HR = 1.64) compared to those hospitalized on the same day (HR = 1.22), suggesting that prompt medical care during acute infection may mitigate long-term fatigue risk.

Together, these findings provide a comprehensive evaluation of the landscape of CFS risk, helping clinicians better understand the needs of COVID-19 patients and potentially improving their quality of life.

Study Link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034124002934