RSS Feeds

Earth Science

Space Science

Life Science

Fields of Scientific Study

Nanotechnology

Cancer

Definitions of The Fields of Scientific Study

Study links obesity to liver failure

May 25, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Researchers have found that obesity can put patients with acute liver failure at increased risk of mortality and other major complications, according to a new study presented today at Digestive Disease Week® 2006 (DDW). DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

The connection between diabetes and obesity in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been well established; however, little is known about the possible link between these factors and acute liver failure (ALF). Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health-funded Acute Liver Failure Study Group researched this connection and found that although obesity does not appear more prevalent in ALF cases, patients who are obese or morbidly obese have significantly poorer outcomes with ALF. ALF is a serious medical condition in which large portions of the liver quickly become so damaged that the liver is no longer able to function, putting patients at risk of severe complications and death.

Study authors examined 572 patients suffering from ALF and documented body mass index (BMI), prevalence of diabetes and patient outcome. The number of obese patients in the study was consistent with the prevalence of obesity in the general U.S. population. However, the mean BMI score was higher (28.8 versus 26.6) for ALF patients who needed liver transplants or died. In addition, obese ALF patients were almost twice as likely to need a transplant or die as non-obese patients. Finally, obese patients were also more than three times more likely to die post-liver transplant than non-obese patients. Because many of these obese patients have NAFLD, which has been shown to impair liver regeneration, they may have less capacity to regenerate or recover from acute liver failure than their non-obese counterparts.

"While obesity may not be a risk factor for the development of ALF, obese ALF patients are at serious risk of major liver-related complications and death," said Anna Rutherford, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital and lead study author. "Physicians should encourage patients to maintain a healthy weight to help improve their health and outcome."

American Gastroenterological Association

Related Obesity Current Events and Obesity News Articles

Obesity Current Events and Obesity News RSS

STOP Obesity Alliance surveys show doctors, patients share role in weight loss, but ask, now what?
Primary care physicians agree they have a role in addressing obesity, but say they do not have the right weight management resources. Obese or heavier adults take responsibility for weight loss, but adults who need to lose weight may lack information about effective weight loss methods and strategies.

Obesity and passive smoking reduce oxygen supply to unborn baby
Babies born to mothers with obesity and exposed to passive smoking are more likely to have health problems than others.

As Girth Grows, Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death Shrinks
Obesity has long been identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and heart failure. But, a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that being skinny confers no advantage when it comes to the risk of dying suddenly from cardiac causes.

Cellular pathway could provide evidence of how cancer and obesity are linked
The link between obesity and disease has been well documented. There's evidence now that obesity and cancer have a strong link, as they've shown in the United States at least 90,000 cancer deaths a year can be attributed to obesity.

Baby's Obesity Risk: What's Mom's Influence?
Aspiring moms may be advised to achieve a healthy weight before they become pregnant, and to gain only the recommended amount of weight during their pregnancy. Now ongoing studies by Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded investigator Kartik Shankar and colleagues could provide new insights into those recommendations.

Scientific breakthrough in genetic studies of animal domestication
The domestication of animals and plants is the most important technological innovation during human history.

Critical Recommendations Unveiled to Respond to National Public Health Crisis: Deep-Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism
Three critical recommendations from a national workshop have been released to address deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), a growing public health problem estimated to affect nearly 1 million Americans each year.

Study finds that low-income women living in small cities have higher chance of obesity
A recent Kansas State University study found that the availability of supermarkets -- rather than the lack of them --increased the risk of obesity for low-income women living in small cities.

Americans want Uncle Sam's help putting healthy foods on their dinner table
Americans recognize things need to change in the grocery aisle, and they support Uncle Sam's efforts to overhaul what is included in their food and on the packages.

Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages daily linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, increased healthcare costs
More Americans now drink sugar-sweetened sodas, sport drinks and fruit drinks daily, and this increase in consumption has led to more diabetes and heart disease over the past decade, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

More Obesity Current Events and Obesity News Articles

	Fat Politics: The Real Story behind America's Obesity Epidemic by J. Eric Oliver (Author) It seems almost daily we read newspaper articles and watch news reports exposing the growing epidemic of obesity in America. Our government tells us we are experiencing a major health crisis, with sixty percent of Americans classified as overweight, and one in four as obese. But how valid are these claims? In Fat Politics, J. Eric Oliver shows how a handful of doctors, government bureaucrats, and health researchers, with financial backing from the drug and weight-loss industries, have campaigned to create standards that mislead the public. They mislabel more than sixty million Americans as "overweight," inflate the health risks of being fat, and promote the idea that obesity is a killer disease. In reviewing the scientific evidence, Oliver shows there is little proof that obesity...
	Handbook of Obesity Treatment by Thomas A. Wadden PhD (Editor), Albert J. Stunkard MD (Editor) The contemporary successor to the editors' earlier Obesity: Theory and Therapy, this comprehensive handbook guides mental health, medical, and allied health professionals through the process of planning and delivering individualized treatment services for those seeking help for obesity. Concise, extensively referenced chapters present foundational knowledge and review the full range of widely used interventions, including self-help, behavioral, and cognitive-behavioral approaches; pharmacotherapy; and surgery. Provided are state-of-the-art guidelines for assessing obese individuals for health risks and for mood and eating disorders; treatment algorithms for tailoring interventions to the severity of the client's problem; details on adjunctive interventions for improving body image and...
	The Obesity Epidemic: Science, Morality and Ideology by Michael Gard (Author), Jan Wright (Author) Increasing obesity levels are currently big news but do we think carefully enough about what this trend actually means? Everybody – including doctors, parents, teachers, sports clubs, businesses and governments – has a role to play in the ‘war on obesity’. But is talk of an obesity ‘crisis’ justified? Is it the product of measured scientific reasoning or age-old ‘habits of mind’? Why is it happening now? And are there potential risks associated with talking about obesity as an ‘epidemic’? The Obesity Epidemic proposes that obesity science and the popular media present a complex mix of ambiguous knowledge, familiar (yet unstated) moral agendas and ideological assumptions.
	The Evolution of Obesity by Michael L. Power (Author), Jay Schulkin (Author) In this sweeping exploration of the relatively recent obesity epidemic, Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin probe evolutionary biology, history, physiology, and medical science to uncover the causes of our growing girth. The unexpected answer? Our own evolutionary success. For most of the past few million years, our evolutionary ancestors' survival depended on being able to consume as much as possible when food was available and to store the excess energy for periods when it was scarce. In the developed world today, high-calorie foods are readily obtainable, yet the propensity to store fat is part of our species' heritage, leaving an increasing number of the world's people vulnerable to obesity. In an environment of abundant food, we are anatomically, physiologically,...
	Killer at Large Starring: Bill Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Pollan, Mike Huckabee, Tom Harkin Directed By: Steven Greenstreet Obesity rates in the United States have skyrocketed over the last twenty years, with no end in sight provoking former Surgeon General, Richard Carmona to state that "obesity is a terror within. It is destroying our society from within and unless we do something about it, the magnitude of the dilemma will dwarf 9/11 or any other terrorist event that you can point out..." As this epidemic of obesity reaches out into even the most remote corners of the globe, only one thing seems clear, the issue is more complex than you could ever imagine. Seeking to trace the problem to it's root, we find ourselves in the African Savannah 4 million years ago where we discover how our hunter gatherer ancestry, when mixed in with our modern environment of convenience, stress and abundance has...
	Understanding Obesity: The Five Medical Causes (Your Personal Health) by Dr. Lance Levy (Author) Consumer text aims to empower the reader to deal with the real causes of obesity. Covers underlying conditions, such as mood disorders, chronic tiredness, chronic pain, chronic gastrointestinal discomfort, or binge eating disorder. Softcover.
	Eating Disorders and Obesity, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Handbook by Christopher G. Fairburn DM FMedSci FRCPsych (Editor), Kelly D. Brownell PhD (Editor) This unique handbook presents and integrates virtually all that is currently known about eating disorders and obesity in one authoritative, accessible, and eminently practical volume. From leading international authorities, 112 concise chapters encapsulate the latest information on all pertinent topics, from biological, psychological, and social processes associated with risk, to clinical methods for assessment and intervention. The contents are organized to highlight areas of overlap between lines of research that often remain disparate. Suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter replace extended references and enhance the practical value and readability of the volume.
	Obesity Epidemiology by Frank Hu (Editor) During the past twenty years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. An estimated thirty percent of adults in the US are obese; in 1980, only fifteen percent were. The issue is gaining greater attention with the CDC and with the public health world in general. This book will offer practical information about the methodology of epidemiologic studies of obesity, suitable for graduate students and researchers in epidemiology, and public health practitioners with an interest in the issue. The book will be structured in four main sections, with the majority of chapters authored by Dr. Hu, and some authored by specialists in specific areas. The first section will consider issues surrounding the definition of obesity, measurement techniques, and the...
	The Fattening of America: How The Economy Makes Us Fat, If It Matters, and What To Do About It by Eric A. Finkelstein (Author), Laurie Zuckerman (Author) In The Fattening of America, renowned health economist Eric Finkelstein, along with business writer Laurie Zuckerman, reveal how the U.S. economy has become the driving force behind our expanding waistlines. Blending theory, research, and engaging personal anecdotes the authors discuss how declining food costs—especially for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods—and an increasing usage of technology, which make Americans more sedentary, has essentially led us to eat more calories than we burn off.
	Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Obesity: A Clinician's Guide by Zafra Cooper DPhil DipPsych (Author), Christopher G. Fairburn DM FMedSci FRCPsych (Author), Deborah M. Hawker PhD DClinPsy (Author) The first cognitive-behavioral treatment manual for obesity, this volume presents an innovative therapeutic model currently being evaluated in controlled research at Oxford University. From leading clinical researchers, the approach is specifically designed to overcome a major weakness of existing therapies: posttreatment weight regain. The book details powerful ways to help patients not only to achieve weight loss, but also to modify the problematic cognitions that undermine long-term weight control. Drawing on strategies proven effective with such problems as binge eating, the manual contains everything needed to implement the treatment: intervention guidelines, case examples, and reproducible handouts and forms.