 |
|
AGA Institute takes leadership role in exploring obesity and its complications
May 15, 2007Special issue of Gastroenterology focuses on incidence, origin and associated diseases of obesity
Due to the gastrointestinal tract's role in body weight regulation, gastroenterologists should work closely with other medical disciplines to oversee and coordinate the care of obese individuals, according to an American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute Obesity Task Force Report. The Report was published in a special 13th issue of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA Institute, that focuses on the growing problems related to obesity and nutrition. The special issue of Gastroenterology presents a series of articles on the epidemiology of obesity, pathophysiology, associated disease and management.
An estimated 1.6 billion adults worldwide are overweight (body mass index [BMI]>25) and 400 million are obese (BMI>30), and potentially as many 20 million children are overweight. As obesity becomes an increasingly global problem, it is harder for government, institutions and individuals to continue to consider obesity as a problem of personal choice that can be controlled and even reversed by deciding to eat less and exercise more. The incidences of diabetes and other debilitating diseases attributable to obesity continue to rise along with the negative impact on healthcare budgets and various sectors of the economy leading to changing attitudes about the obesity epidemic.
"As the AGA Institute Obesity Task Force examined the current and potential roles of the gastroenterology community in addressing the severe worldwide problem of obesity and its complications, we were encouraged to find a growing commitment to obesity-related research and development within the federal government, pharmaceutical and medical device industries," according to Lee M. Kaplan, MD, PhD, co-chair of the Obesity Task Force and director, Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center.
A better understanding of the origins and development of obesity provides a framework for evidence-based treatment the disease. As new and exciting research continues into the causes, prevention and treatments for obesity, the role played by the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is becoming more defined. This understanding will lead to novel endoscopic, pharmacological and nutritional therapies for obesity as well as changes in policies and societal practices related to obesity.
"Due to the widespread effects of obesity on a person's health, it is urgent that the AGA Institute collaborates with other leading medical organizations to encourage a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of our patients to most affectively address their health needs," said Dr. Kaplan.
The research found in this special issue of Gastroenterology was chosen to emphasize the multidimensional problems of obesity and to outline the integrated approach needed to understand the extent of the problem, causes and health and socioeconomic consequences of obesity. Several papers of note include:
* "The Epidemiology of Obesity" - Katherine M. Flegal, PhD, National Center for Health Statistics, and colleagues review the epidemiology of obesity, highlighting controversies surrounding adiposity (quality or state of being fat) measurement, ethnic differences, childhood obesity and diseases associated with obesity.
* "Gut Hormones and Appetite Control" - Stephen R. Bloom, MD, Imperial College of London and colleagues review the role played by gut hormones in appetite and weight by regulating when and how much individuals eat for every meal.
* "Obesity, Inflammation and Insulin Resistance" - Steven E. Shoelson, MD, PhD, Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School and colleagues discuss the potential roles for inflammation in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
* "The Role of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disturbances in Cancers of the Colon, Prostate and Pancreas" - Edward Giovannucci, MD, Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues review the evidence for and against a connection between obesity and cancers of the colon, prostate and pancreas, and offers possible mechanisms.
* "Lifestyle Modification for the Management of Obesity" - Thomas A. Wadden, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues discuss the importance of and strategies for lifestyle modification for the treatment of obesity, including the effectiveness of various diets, exercise and behavioral therapies.
* "Drug Treatment and the Overweight Patient" - George A. Bray, MD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and colleagues discuss drug treatments for overweight patients including currently available and impending treatments.
* "Bariatric Surgery: A Review of Procedures and Outcomes" - Bruce M. Wolfe, MD, Oregon Health & Science University, and colleagues discuss surgical procedures for weight loss, criteria for patient selection and outcomes.
* "AGA Institute Obesity Task Force" Report - Lee M. Kaplan, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School and co-chair of the Obesity Task Force, and colleagues present the findings and recommendations of the Task Force based on the papers presented in Gastroenterology.
"We believe the papers presented in this issue of Gastroenterology provide a comprehensive picture of the current thinking and research in overweight and obesity," according to Dr. Kaplan. "We hope that all medical disciplines reviewing this report gain a better understanding of the disease that will help them in the treatment of their patients."
American Gastroenterological Association
"As the AGA Institute Obesity Task Force examined the current and potential roles of the gastroenterology community in addressing the severe worldwide problem of obesity and its complications, we were encouraged to find a growing commitment to obesity-related research and development within the federal government, pharmaceutical and medical device industries," according to Lee M. Kaplan, MD, PhD, co-chair of the Obesity Task Force and director, Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center.
A better understanding of the origins and development of obesity provides a framework for evidence-based treatment the disease. As new and exciting research continues into the causes, prevention and treatments for obesity, the role played by the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is becoming more defined. This understanding will lead to novel endoscopic, pharmacological and nutritional therapies for obesity as well as changes in policies and societal practices related to obesity.
"Due to the widespread effects of obesity on a person's health, it is urgent that the AGA Institute collaborates with other leading medical organizations to encourage a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of our patients to most affectively address their health needs," said Dr. Kaplan.
The research found in this special issue of Gastroenterology was chosen to emphasize the multidimensional problems of obesity and to outline the integrated approach needed to understand the extent of the problem, causes and health and socioeconomic consequences of obesity. Several papers of note include:
* "The Epidemiology of Obesity" - Katherine M. Flegal, PhD, National Center for Health Statistics, and colleagues review the epidemiology of obesity, highlighting controversies surrounding adiposity (quality or state of being fat) measurement, ethnic differences, childhood obesity and diseases associated with obesity.
* "Gut Hormones and Appetite Control" - Stephen R. Bloom, MD, Imperial College of London and colleagues review the role played by gut hormones in appetite and weight by regulating when and how much individuals eat for every meal.
* "Obesity, Inflammation and Insulin Resistance" - Steven E. Shoelson, MD, PhD, Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School and colleagues discuss the potential roles for inflammation in the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
* "The Role of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disturbances in Cancers of the Colon, Prostate and Pancreas" - Edward Giovannucci, MD, Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues review the evidence for and against a connection between obesity and cancers of the colon, prostate and pancreas, and offers possible mechanisms.
* "Lifestyle Modification for the Management of Obesity" - Thomas A. Wadden, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues discuss the importance of and strategies for lifestyle modification for the treatment of obesity, including the effectiveness of various diets, exercise and behavioral therapies.
* "Drug Treatment and the Overweight Patient" - George A. Bray, MD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and colleagues discuss drug treatments for overweight patients including currently available and impending treatments.
* "Bariatric Surgery: A Review of Procedures and Outcomes" - Bruce M. Wolfe, MD, Oregon Health & Science University, and colleagues discuss surgical procedures for weight loss, criteria for patient selection and outcomes.
* "AGA Institute Obesity Task Force" Report - Lee M. Kaplan, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School and co-chair of the Obesity Task Force, and colleagues present the findings and recommendations of the Task Force based on the papers presented in Gastroenterology.
"We believe the papers presented in this issue of Gastroenterology provide a comprehensive picture of the current thinking and research in overweight and obesity," according to Dr. Kaplan. "We hope that all medical disciplines reviewing this report gain a better understanding of the disease that will help them in the treatment of their patients."
American Gastroenterological Association
Obesity Current Events and Obesity News RSSDaycare may double TV time for young children, study finds
In a new study, the amount of television viewed by many young children in child care settings doubles the previous estimates of early childhood screen time, with those in home-based settings watching significantly more on average than those in center-based daycares.
Patient's weight not linked to success of fibroid surgery
Obese patients are no more likely to have post-operative complications than those of average weight when undergoing robotic surgery to remove uterine fibroids, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital.
Scripps research scientists find new link between insulin and core body temperature
A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a direct link between insulin-a hormone long associated with metabolism and metabolic disorders such as diabetes-and core body temperature.
Night Beat, Overtime and a Disrupted Sleep Pattern Can Harm Officers' Health
A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep.
Fat collections linked to decreased heart function
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that fat collection in different body locations, such as around the heart and the aorta and within the liver, are associated with certain decreased heart functions.
Teens' mental health affects how long they stay in school, new study shows
Queen's University researcher Steven Lehrer has won a prestigious international award in recognition of his contributions to health economics.
Playing sport up to the end of pregnancy is healthy for the baby and the mother
Contrary to more conservative customs, exercising up to the end of pregnancy has no harmful effect on the weight or size of the foetus.
Harvard nutrition expert offers family physician group no-cost alternative to funding from Coca-Cola
Leading Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) nutrition and health researcher Walter Willett, M.D., Dr. P.H., has written a letter to the President-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) offering an alternative to the organization's decision, announced in October, to accept a six-figure grant from the Coca-Cola Company to develop web content on beverages and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
New paper describes connections between Circadian and metabolic systems
A paper by University of Notre Dame biologist Giles Duffield and a team of researchers offers new insights into a gene that plays a key role in modulating the body's Circadian system and may also simultaneously modulate its metabolic system.
Aileron collaborates study in Nature: Stapled peptides inhibit Notch1 transcription factor
This research validates the potential for Stapled Peptides to modulate key intracellular biological targets, such as transcription factors, that have not been addressable with current small molecule or biologic drug modalities.
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... |
 |
The Obesity Epidemic: Science, Morality and Ideology by Michael Gard (Author) The Obesity Epidemic adds a much-needed voice of skepticism to the increasingly alarmist debate about weight and health. Gard and Wright show that "obesity" is above all a deeply problematic cultural and political concept, making clear that the social meaning of fat is determined largely by moral and ideological agendas -- agendas that are all the more powerful because they cloak themselves in the mantle of objective science and public health. Indeed, this book demonstrates how and why concepts such as "science" and "health" are themselves far more problematic than those who invoke them like to admit. THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC is a superb contribution to the sociology of knowledge, and an essential text for anyone who wants to understand the current moral panic over fat. |
 |
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... |
 |
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... |
 |
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,... |
 |
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Obesity: A Clinician's Guide by Zafra Cooper DPhil DipPsych (Author), Dr. 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. |
 |
Eating Disorders and Obesity, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Handbook by Dr. 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. |
 |
Fat - What No One Is Telling You Starring: Mary Dimino, Meredith Vieira, Brian Wansink, America Bracho, Rosie Dehli Directed By: Andrew Fredericks Also With: Mary Dimino (Writer), Deidre Sheehan (Producer), Felice Firestone (Producer), Jessica Bari (Producer), Linda Spain (Producer), Naomi S. Boak (Producer), Robert B. Sturm (Producer), Ted Hinck (Producer), Tom Keleher (Producer), Tom Spain (Producer), Tom Spain (Writer) |
 |
Handbook of Obesity: Clinical Applications, Third Edition by George A. Bray (Editor), Claude Bouchard (Editor) Handbook of Obesity: Clinical Applications, Third Edition is the premier reference for physicians and researchers in the field of obesity. Written by leading scientists and clinicians, this handbook offers unparalleled depth and breadth of coverage concerning this growing global and chronic disease that affects and exacerbates comorbid conditions including diabetes and heart disease. This Third Edition is full of many revisions including: The sections Etiology and Pathophysiology have been updated to reflect state-of-the-art advancements in the prevalence, etiology, and pathophysiology of obesity New chapters have been added and revisions made to the subjects of genetics, molecular biology, endocrine determinants of obesity, the metabolic... |
 |
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... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |