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| Posted: 14 May 2005 02:35 | |
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Posts: 25 Join Date: May 2005 |
Dr. Caroline Apovian's dieting patients wanted to know: Is it true? Is being overweight actually good for you? They were reacting to a recent bombshell study that concluded that obesity kills fewer Americans than once thought, and that moderately overweight people actually seem to live slightly longer than the lean-bodied. Apovian, director of nutrition and weight management at Boston Medical Center, has answered her confused patients in recent days -- like many other besieged doctors around the country -- with a tart no. ''I tell them they still have the risk of disease if they're overweight," she said. ''Just because you don't die early doesn't mean your quality of life isn't going to suffer. I mean, why would you want to be diabetic?" The obesity study released last month by federal government researchers -- finding that excess weight causes about 26,000 American deaths annually, rather than as many as 400,000 according to previous estimates -- has provoked a messy fracas among scientists, government officials, and the food industry, while generating considerable confusion among Americans. In advertisements and press releases, the food industry and others have used the new results to try to frame obesity as an over-hyped crisis promulgated by scolds in the medical establishment. Some obesity researchers, led by an influential cadre in Boston, have attacked the recent study as flawed, while fretting that the widely publicized data could cause Americans to grow complacent in their weight loss efforts. Many local doctors and nutritionists, meanwhile, have urged their patients to ignore the clamor, arguing enough evidence exists to establish that being overweight or obese raises the risk for a host of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, which can be treatable but are still serious. At the center of the controversy is the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which a year ago issued the 400,000-death estimate, then revised it slightly downward in January after errors were found in the methodology, and now has lowered it dramatically based on the most recent study. Some critics in the food industry and academia contend that the CDC ignored early signs that its death estimates were flawed to avoid undermining its ongoing crusade against obesity. But CDC officials said the numbers have been changing because of improved research methods, with the results of a better study replacing those of an inferior one. The latest numbers could again be revised, they said, as federal scientists continue to analyze the data. ''I can assure you that there was no pressure from anyone" to hype inflated estimates of deaths related to obesity, said Dr. George Mensah, acting director of the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. There is no dispute over the rapid increase in the percentage of Americans who are overweight and obese, the term physicians use to describe people who are severely overweight. Nearly two-thirds of American adults now fall into one of these categories. But estimating how many people die prematurely because of their weight problem is difficult for several reasons. Death certificates typically list the disease that is the immediate cause of death, and rarely mention obesity. And there is still much scientists don't know about how obesity harms the body, so they have to make educated guesses, based on surveys, about how many deaths are attributable to being overweight. The controversy began March 10, 2004, when federal researchers published data indicating excess weight caused about 400,000 deaths annually, placing it among the nation's top killers, second only to smoking. CDC officials issued dire warnings, and urged the nation to act. The agency had months earlier launched a high-profile effort against obesity. But just over a year later, that estimate was supplanted by a surprising, almost counterintuitive result. The new study, based on more recent and nationwide survey data, was published April 20. It indicated obesity causes about 112,000 annual deaths. Moreover, it found that being overweight, the category between normal weight and obese, actually reduces the number of deaths by about 86,000 -- meaning obesity and overweight taken together annually cause an estimated 26,000 net deaths. The researchers wrote that the lower estimate may reflect advances in medical care that the older data did not capture. Even if obese people became sick, new medicines and treatments sustained them, they suggested. The study generated international headlines. The Center for Consumer Freedom, a group funded by the food and restaurant industry, took out ads in several major newspapers and magazines that dismissed the notion obesity was epidemic, instead calling it hype. ''There's been a rhetorical barrage about obesity from certain people in the government," said Dan Mindus, a senior analyst for the group, who added that obesity is a problem, but not as serious as some public health officials and physicians contend. ''Some of the solutions that people are offering have gotten out of control," he said, referring to proposed junk food taxes and lawsuits against food makers. Paul Campos, a University of Colorado law professor and author of ''The Obesity Myth," said the study represented a sharp rebuttal to anti-obesity efforts. ''We're being hectored constantly about this supposed health epidemic, which is actually not happening at all," he said. But the CDC's Mensah, who oversaw an internal agency review of the initial obesity study, said the new data hardly mean obesity is a negligible health risk. ''I think it would be wrong for anyone to say that obesity is no longer an important issue," he said. ''There is a very, very strong scientific consensus that being overweight is associated with high blood pressure and diabetes." This point was emphasized by numerous doctors and scientists: A substantial amount of evidence indicates that being overweight or obese elevates the risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer, as well as numerous other less lethal ailments including sleep apnea, gallbladder disease, and osteoarthritis. Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, has done considerable research establishing the health risks of weight gain and she believes the latest government study is flawed. A study she published in November 2004 indicated that the higher a person's body mass index is, the higher the risk of death from various afflictions, a seeming contradiction of the new government obesity study. She said she was worried publicity about the latest CDC study would hamper anti-obesity efforts around the county, including a pending Massachusetts bill that would require healthier food and drink in schools. ''There's worry that legislators will become complacent about the obesity epidemic," said Manson, adding that several state lawmakers had called her with similar concerns. A number of local researchers -- the Boston area has many of the nation's most prominent nutrition and obesity specialists -- took issue with the techniques used in the study. Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health called it ''flawed and deeply misleading." He said the study failed to adequately filter out people who were lean because of weight loss caused by some underlying disease. This, he said, inflated the death rates for lean people, and made overweight people appear to fare better in comparison. The study's authors said they examined this possibility, concluding it probably did not affect the results, though adding that more study of the issue was needed. The debate has produced considerable confusion among patients, said local doctors, who have been fielding a steady stream of inquiries over the past two weeks. ''It's actually great to have conversations about it because a lot of the sound bites that you pick up from news coverage are actually misleading," said Dr. Alison Hoppin, associate director of the pediatric program at Massachusetts General Hospital's Weight Center. Apovian at Boston Medical Center said many Americans may use the latest obesity news to rationalize their unhealthy lifestyles. ''Those people out there who have been unable or unwilling to make lifestyle changes are going to take this as another reason why they don't have to lose weight," she said. ''But people already suffering from disease, they know how bad it can be." |
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| Posted: 10 Jun 2005 09:01 Last Edited By: Gelfey | |
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Posts: 1 Join Date: Jun 2005 |
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well i am agree with the information with this message . most of the americans now are in the grip of this horriable condition. but we have to think for new things and possible way throught which we can eliminate this situation.
well there are a lot of resources rae available on www where u can find a lot of information on weight loss. last week i visited http://www.slimtour.com one of such resource which i supposed the better for weight loss. Here i found a lot of info. on weight loss and various tips and info about drugs you can opt and their precauction. |
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