Long Warm-Ups for Track and Field Can Sabotage Race Performance

Low intensity warm-ups enhance athletic performance and long warm-ups can sabotage it. University of Calgary Faculty of Kinesiology researcher Elias Tomaras says the idea came to him while watching track and field sprinters warm-up for a race. "If you watch sprinters, short distance speed skaters or cyclists before their race, they will often warm-up for one to two hours, including several brief bouts of high intensity exercise. From an exercise physiology point of view, it seemed like it might be pretty tiring."

Many coaches and physiologists believe that a longer warm up provides an increase in muscle temperature, acceleration of oxygen uptake kinetics, increased anaerobic metabolism and a process called postactivation potentiation of the muscles. However, very few studies have studied if warm ups has a detrimental effect on performance.

As it turns out, the warm-up is one of the more contentious issues in high-performance sport. Different coaches have different theories and not a lot of quality research has been done to identify the optimal warm-up. Tomaras' study, published recently in the Journal of Applied Physiology suggests that at the very least, athletes may want to lower the intensity and reduce the amount of time that they warm up.

"Our study compared a standard warm-up, with what we termed an experimental warm-up," explains Tomaras. "We interviewed a number of coaches and athletes to come up with the traditional warm-up."

The experiment involved high performance sprint cyclists performing a traditional warm-up lasting about 50 minutes with a graduated intensity that ranged from 60 to 95 per cent of maximal heart rate before ending with several all-out sprints. The experimental warm-up was much shorter at about 15 minutes, and was performed at a lower intensity, ending with just a single sprint. The researchers conducted a number of tests following each warm-up to accurately measure the athlete's power output and fatigue.

"What we found, was that the shorter warm-up resulted in significantly less muscle fatigue and a peak power output that was 6.2 per cent higher. This represents a substantial improvement for an elite athlete," says Tomaras. "On the basis of this study I would suggest that sprint athletes should start thinking about adopting a shorter and less strenuous warm up for better performance."

Naringenin nano advance may boost weight loss

By Nathan Gray, 26-May-2011


Related topics: Research, Antioxidants, carotenoids, Phytochemicals, plant extracts, Weight management

A nano-complex of the grapefruit compound naringenin and cyclodextrin may help to substantially reduce the absorption of fat and sugar in the body, say researchers.

A new study, published in PLoS One, reports that the delivery of the naringenin is boosted by its inclusion with cyclodextrin in a nano complex.

The research team, based at both Harvard and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, found their complex increases the absorption of naringenin by 11 times. They reported that a single dose given to rats before a meal reduced the generation of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) by 42 per cent, whilst insulin sensitivity was boosted by 64 per cent.

“The complex is special in that it is taken just before a meal, as a preventative measure,” said Dr. Nahmias, lead author of the study.

The authors claim that their research is the first demonstration that a dietary supplement can change the way our body can react beneficially to a meal. They added that the inclusion of sugary cyclodextrin in the nano-complex means that naringenin is “no longer such a bitter pill to swallow.”

Naringenin

Nahmias and his colleagues said that in recent years, polyphenols, and flavonoids in particular, “have emerged as a class of natural products shown to have anti-oxidant, anti-atherogenic, and normolipidemic effects.”

They noted that one of the most abundant flavonoids is the citrus flavonoid-glycoside naringin, which is broken down into naringenin.

Previous research has previously shown that naringenin, responsible for the bitter taste in grapefruits, could potentially be used in the treatment of diabetes, arteriosclerosis and hyper-metabolism. However, the Nahmias and co-workers noted that the absorption of naringenin in its natural form is very low.

They said that the potential for the use of naringenin “is limited by its low solubility and minimal bioavailability, owing to its largely hydrophobic ring structure.”

The authors noted that cyclodextrins have been used to improve the solubility of hydrophobic drugs with similar structures to naringenin.

The new study examined the potential for beta- cyclodextrins to enhance the solubility, and intestinal uptake of naringenin.

Study details

Hydroxypropoyl-beta-cyclodextrin was reported to increase the solubility of naringenin by over 400-fold, whilst its transport across a model of the gut epithelium was improved by 11-fold.

“Moreover, when the complex was administered just prior to a meal it decreased VLDL levels by 42% and increased the rate of glucose clearance by 64% compared to naringenin alone,” said Nahmias and colleagues.

“Combined with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin's strong safety record, our results suggest that cyclodextrin-naringenin complexes could be used to efficiently deliver the flavonoid,” they added.

The researchers said that patents for further development have been applied for by Harvard University and Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University, and clinical tests are now under way in the United States.



Source: PLoS ONE

Published online ahead of print, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018033

“Enhancement of Naringenin Bioavailability by Complexation with Hydroxypropoyl-β-Cyclodextrin”

Authors: M. Shulman, M. Cohen, A. Soto-Gutierrez, H. Yagi, H. Wang, et al

Children Who Sleep Less Are More Likely to Be Overweight, Study Finds

Young children who do not get enough sleep are at increased risk of becoming overweight, even after taking account of lifestyle factors, finds a study published online in the British Medical Journal.

Several studies have shown a relatively consistent relation between shorter sleep duration and increased body weight in children, but doctors are still not sure how sleep and body composition interact in early childhood and whether this shows cause and effect.

So a team of researchers in New Zealand set out to investigate whether reduced sleep is associated with differences in body composition and the risk of becoming overweight in young children.

They identified 244 children who were taking part in The Family Lifestyle, Activity, Movement and Eating (FLAME) study in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Each child's weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and body composition were measured every six months from 3 to 7 years of age. Sleep habits and physical activity levels were assessed by accelerometry (the children wore a belt carrying a device that monitors body movement) and dietary intake by questionnaire at 3, 4 and 5 years.

Other factors, such as birth weight, mothers' education, income, BMI, smoking during pregnancy and ethnicity were also recorded because of known links with BMI in children.

Average sleep duration was about 11 hours per day at all three ages.

The results show that young children who sleep less are at a significantly increased risk of having a higher BMI by age 7, even after controlling for other risk factors that have been implicated in body weight regulation.

Each additional hour of sleep per night at age 3 to 5 years was associated with a reduction in BMI of 0.49 and a 61% reduction in the risk of being overweight or obese at age 7.

In a child of average height, this corresponds to a difference of 0.7kg body weight. While this might seem minor at an individual level, the benefits for public health, if applied at the population level, are considerable, say the authors.

More importantly perhaps, the reductions in BMI were due to differences in fat mass, rather than any effect on fat-free mass, showing that poor sleep has negative effects on body composition.

They suggest that reduced sleep may increase dietary intake and may also influence energy expenditure, leading to reduced exercise.

In conclusion, it appears that sleep is an important determinant of future body composition in young children, say the authors. They recommend that appropriate sleep habits should be encouraged in all children as a public health measure, and call for more studies to determine whether more sleep or better sleeping patterns impact favourably on body weight and other health outcomes.

This view is supported in an accompanying editorial by Professor Francesco Cappuccio and Associate Professor Michelle Miller from the University of Warwick. They say that, not only may prolonged lack of sleep be a direct contributor of overweight and obesity in children, it could also have other effects on long term health.

They call for future research to explore new behavioural methods to prolong children and adults' sleeping time, and suggest that, in the meantime, it would do no harm to advise the general public of all ages that a sustained curtailment of sleeping time might contribute to long term ill-health in both adults and children.

Gestational Diabetes Can Be Predicted Seven Years Before Pregnancy With Blood Sugar and Body Weight, Study Suggests

A woman's risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy can be identified up to seven years before she becomes pregnant based on routinely assessed measures of blood sugar and body weight, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the online issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., studied 580 ethnically diverse women who took part in a multiphasic health checkup at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between1984 and 1996. The researchers looked at women who had a subsequent pregnancy and compared those who developed gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during pregnancy to women who did not have GDM.

The study found that the risk of GDM increased directly with the number of adverse risk factors commonly associated with diabetes and heart disease (high blood sugar, hypertension and being overweight) present before pregnancy. In addition, the authors found that adverse levels of blood sugar and body weight were associated with a 4.6-fold increased risk of GDM, compared to women with normal levels.

The study is among the first to look at routinely measured cardio-metabolic risk factors before pregnancy in women who later became pregnant and developed GDM. The research provides evidence to support pre-conception care for healthy pregnancies as noted in a 2006 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That report suggested that risk factors for adverse outcomes among women and infants can be identified prior to conception and are characterized by the need to start, and sometimes finish, interventions before conception occurs.

Women who develop GDM during pregnancy are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes after pregnancy, previous research has shown. GDM is defined as glucose intolerance that typically occurs during the second or third trimester and causes complications in as much as 7 percent of pregnancies in the United States. It can lead to early delivery and Cesarean sections, and increases the baby's risk of developing diabetes, obesity and metabolic disease later in life.

"Our study indicates that a woman's cardio-metabolic risk profile for factors routinely assessed at medical visits such as blood sugar, high blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight can help clinicians identify high-risk women to target for primary prevention or early management of GDM," said lead author Monique Hedderson, PhD, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.

Although the established risk factors for GDM are older maternal age, obesity, non-white race/ethnicity, giving birth previously to a very large baby and a family history of diabetes, these risk factors are absent in up to half of women who develop GDM. This study is significant because it gives a better understanding of pre-pregnancy predictors of GDM that may help identify women at risk and get them into intervention programs before pregnancy to prevent GDM and its associated risks, researchers said.

Co-authors of the current study include Jeanne A. Darbinian, MA, Charles P. Quesenberry, PhD, and Assiamira Ferrara, MD, all from the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.

Obesity Epidemic Fuelled By Decrease In Workplace Physical Activity

Decrease in physical activity in many occupations over the last 50 years, and not just a change in calorie consumption, has contributed significantly to the obesity epidemic in the United States, according to a new study published this week in the journal PLoS ONE.

The study was the work of scientists from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, part of the Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge, and colleagues from other research centers.

Lead researcher Dr Timothy Church, who holds a John S. McIlhenny Endowed Chair at Pennington Biomedical, told the press that:

"Yesterday's jobs have been replaced by sitting or sedentary activity."

"In the last fifty years, we estimate that daily occupation-related energy expenditure has decreased by more than 100 calories per day, and this reduction accounts for a significant portion of the increase in mean US body weights for women and men," he explained.

Using data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to calculate mean body weight and job-related energy expenditure, Church and colleagues estimated that only 20% of jobs in US private industry today demand a moderate level of physical effort, compared with 50% in the early 1960s.

They also estimated that compared with 50 years ago, today's average American burns 100 fewer job-related calories a day.

Using computer models, they then predicted how much extra weight today's workers would carry from burning fewer calories at work, compared to workers of 50 years ago, and the results came quite close to what today's workers actually weigh.

For example, from 1960-62 to 2000-06, they estimated that the job-related energy expenditure for men went down by 142 calories a day. From the NHANES data they saw that the average male worker in 1960-62 weighed 76.9 kg, so they added to this weight the effect of burning 142 fewer calories a day and arrived at an average weight of 89.7 kg for 2003-06: very close to the NHANES figure of 91.8 kg.

The results for women were similar.

Church and colleagues concluded that their findings suggest changes in calorie intake cannot be the only reason for the weight gain in the American population.

"The causes of the obesity epidemic are a hotly debated issue, particularly in regard to the relative importance of diet and physical activity," said Church.

"Our data provides further support to the importance of including both diet and physical activity in discussions related to be both the causes and potential solutions of the on-going obesity epidemic," he added.

In their discussion, the researchers acknowledged the strengths and weaknesses of the study. A major strength was that it used nationally representative data, on both the obesity and the occupation data. They also used a well-known and accepted method for assigning energy expenditure intensity levels to occupation categories.


However, a potential weakness is that the same method was applied across all five decades, without taking into account the possibility that due to changes in working practices and new labor-saving technology, some of the occupation categories may have shifted to different levels of intensity of energy expenditure.


But, the effect of this potential weakness is to suggest that the estimates in this study may actually be under rather than over: perhaps the daily calorie usage due to job-related activity has gone down even more than this study proposes.

Another potential weakness, and there is insufficient data to eliminate its effect, is that the focus on energy expenditure intensity was based purely on type of occupation and not other factors related to the job such as type of travel to work, total sitting time, use of stairs, and so on. Also, there may be some misclassification of energy use across types of occupation: for example, some agricultural and manufacturing workers' jobs may be less physically demanding than some jobs in the services sector.

But the researchers are confident, given this potential weakness, that they were able to minimize the effect of such misclassification because they were very conservative in assigning the energy expenditure intensities to the various occupations.

In 2008, new federal advice on exercise suggested that men and women should do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity.

However, only 1 in 20 Americans appears to be achieving this level. The researchers suggest if all American workers were to reach this target, then it would make up for the reduction in job-related energy expenditure over the last five decades.

"Trends over 5 Decades in U.S. Occupation-Related Physical Activity and Their Associations with Obesity."

Timothy S. Church, Diana M. Thomas, Catrine Tudor-Locke, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Conrad P. Earnest, Ruben Q. Rodarte, Corby K. Martin, Steven N. Blair, Claude Bouchard.

PLoS ONE 6(5): e19657. Published online 25 May 2011.

DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0019657



Additional source: Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Vitamin D Increases Speed of Sperm Cells, Researchers Discover

Vitamin D is important for optimal reproductive function in both animals and humans. It has long been known that serum vitamin D level is important for reproductive function in various animals, but now researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen University Hospital have shown that this relationship can also be demonstrated in humans.

A new study conducted in 300 normal men showed a positive correlation between the percentage of motile sperm and serum vitamin D levels. The study was recently published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction, and showed additionally that stimulation of human spermatooza in the laboratory with activated vitamin D can increase their forward movement.

More studies needed

"Our study is not sufficient and should not be used to change existing treatment practices. However, it uncovers some of the functions of vitamin D and generates new hypotheses. This is an intriguing finding, because it suggests that vitamin D has an effect on sperm movement and function," explains Martin Blomberg Jensen from Copenhagen University Hospital.

"However, this finding is not sufficient in determining whether vitamin D supplements may improve sperm quality in normal or infertile males. This study is one in a line of studies indicating that vitamin D is necessary for male reproduction," says Martin Blomberg Jensen.

Need for intensifying reproductive research

Today, there is no known medical treatment proved to improve semen quality in well-designed randomised trials, although several papers have shown numerous positive associations between various drugs such as antioxidants, zinc, various vitamins etc. and semen quality.

"Low semen quality may have numerous causes, but it often has a fetal origin similar to some male genital malformations and testicular cancer. However, this study indicates that factors in adult life may also play a role for semen quality," says Professor Anders Juul from the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen University Hospital's Department of Growth and Reproduction.

"It is important to find all factors of importance, because semen qaulity in Danish men is at a low level and contributing to a very high incidence of fertility problems among Danish couples," says Anders Juul.

The authors conclude that there is a need to intensify reproductive research to identify relevant factors and conduct placebo-controlled trials to clarify whether vitamin D supplements are beneficial for infertile men.

Protein Drinks After Exercise Help Maintain Aging Muscles

A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal shows that what someone drinks after exercise plays a critical role in maximizing the effects of exercise. Specifically, the report shows that protein drinks after aerobic activity increases the training effect after six weeks, when compared to carbohydrate drinks. Additionally, this study suggests that this effect can be seen using as little as 20 grams of protein.

"It is not a mystery that exercise and nutrition help slow the aging process," said Benjamin F. Miller, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. "Studies such as ours help to explain how exercise and nutrition work so that we can better take advantage of those pathways to slow the aging process."

To make this discovery, scientists recruited 16 participants age 37 and older and instructed them to exercise on treadmills for 45 minutes three times a week for six weeks. After each bout of exercise, one group was given a protein drink and another group was given a carbohydrate drink. To measure the making of new structures in the muscle, metabolic pathways were measured using heavy water labeling. Subjects consumed heavy water, which becomes incorporated into many synthetic processes allowing measurement of the rates at which different components of the muscle are being made. Using ultra-sensitive mass spectrometry methods, scientists took muscle samples at the end of the six weeks and were able to determine how much of the muscle and its component pieces were new. In this case, new proteins, DNA, and membranes were measured. This showed that endurance exercise, commonly prescribed for older people for a healthful lifestyle, induces positive changes in skeletal muscle structure.

"If you want to age gracefully, this study shows that proteins taken after exercise keep your muscles strong and fit," Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. "You've got to feed your body with the proper nutrients after a work-out. Fortunately, protein shakes are cheap, readily available and some say taste good."

Losing More Than 15 Percent of Body Weight Significantly Boosts Vitamin D Levels in Overweight Women

Overweight or obese women with less-than-optimal levels of vitamin D who lose more than 15 percent of their body weight experience significant increases in circulating levels of this fat-soluble nutrient, according to a new study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

"Since vitamin D is generally lower in persons with obesity, it is possible that low vitamin D could account, in part, for the link between obesity and diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes," said Caitlin Mason, Ph.D., lead author of the paper, published online May 25 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. "Determining whether weight loss helps change vitamin D status is important for understanding potential avenues for disease prevention," said Mason, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division.

According to the National Institutes of Health, vitamin D plays many important roles in the body. It promotes calcium absorption and is needed for bone growth and bone healing. Along with calcium, vitamin D helps protect older adults from osteoporosis. The nutrient also influences cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduces inflammation. Many gene-encoding proteins that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis (programmed cell death) are modulated in part by the vitamin.

The year-long study -- one of the largest ever conducted to assess the effect of weight loss on vitamin D -- involved 439 overweight-to-obese, sedentary, postmenopausal Seattle-area women, ages 50 to 75, who were randomly assigned to one of four groups: exercise only, diet only, exercise plus diet and no intervention.

Those who lost 5 percent to 10 percent of their body weight -- equivalent to approximately 10 to 20 pounds for most of the women in the study -- through diet and/or exercise saw a relatively small increase in blood levels of vitamin D (about 2.7 nanograms per milliliter, or ng/mL), whereas women who lost more than 15 percent of their weight experienced a nearly threefold increase in vitamin D (about 7.7 ng/mL), independent of dietary intake of the nutrient.

"We were surprised at the effect of weight loss greater than 15 percent on blood vitamin D levels," said senior author Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Hutchinson Center's Prevention Center and principal investigator of the study. "It appears that the relationship between weight loss and blood vitamin D is not linear but goes up dramatically with more weight loss. While weight loss of 5 percent to 10 percent is generally recommended to improve risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugars, our findings suggest that more weight loss might be necessary to meaningfully raise blood vitamin D levels."

About 70 percent of the participants had less-than-optimal levels of vitamin D when the study began; at baseline, the mean blood level of vitamin D among the study participants was 22.5 ng/mL. In addition, 12 percent of the women were at risk of vitamin D deficiency (blood levels of less than 12 ng/mL).

The optimal circulating range of vitamin D is thought to be between 20 and 50 ng/mL, according to a recent data review conducted by the Institute of Medicine, which found that blood levels under 20 ng/mL are inadequate for bone health and levels over 50 ng/mL are associated with potential adverse effects, such as an increased risk of developing kidney stones.

Vitamin D is naturally found in some foods, such as fatty fish, and is produced within the body when skin is exposed to sunlight. According to the Institute of Medicine, just 10 minutes of sun a day is enough to trigger adequate vitamin D production. The estimated average requirement via diet or supplementation is 400 international units per day for most adults.

"It is always best to discuss supplementation with your doctor, because circulating levels can vary a lot depending on factors such as age, weight, where you live, and how much time you spend outdoors," Mason said. Vitamin D levels tend to decrease as people age and are generally lower among those with dark skin.

It is thought that obese and overweight people have lower levels of vitamin D because the nutrient is stored in fat deposits. During weight loss, it is suspected that the vitamin D that is trapped in the fat tissue is released into the blood and available for use throughout the body.

"Vitamin D is found in several different forms in the body and its pathways of action are very complex, so the degree to which vitamin D becomes available to the body as a result of weight loss is not well understood," Mason cautioned.

A possible link between vitamin D deficiency and chronic diseases, including cancer and heart disease, is also not well established. "More targeted research ongoing at the Hutchinson Center and elsewhere aims to better understand whether vitamin D plays a specific role in the prevention of these chronic diseases," McTiernan said. To that end, McTiernan is recruiting Seattle-area obese and overweight postmenopausal women for a separate new study to assess the impact of vitamin D on weight loss and breast cancer risk factors.

Lecithin Component May Reduce Fatty Liver, Improve Insulin Sensitivity

A natural product called DLPC (dilauroyl phosphatidylcholine) increases sensitivity to insulin and reduces fatty liver in mice, leading Baylor College of Medicine researchers to believe it may provide a treatment for prediabetic patients. DLPC is an unusual phospholipid and a trace component of the dietary supplement lecithin.

Studies in mice soon showed that DLPC could stimulate LRH-1 activity. In addition to a small increase in bile acid levels, DLPC improved regulation of glucose and fat within the liver. A report on this work appears in the current issue of the journal Nature. Moore is collaborating with Dr. Lawrence Chan, director of the Diabetes and Endocrine Research Center at BCM, on a pilot study to find out how well DLPC works in patients with prediabetes.

"We know it works well in mice," said Moore. The link of LRH-1 to bile acids may contribute to its effect on glucose levels and fat because small, non-toxic increases in bile acid levels can improve metabolic disorders.

Dr. Jae Man Lee, then a graduate student in Moore's laboratory, first proposed screening compounds to see which activated LRH-1. He found that DLPC, a structurally unusual phosphatidylcholine (a form of phospholipid that is important in the formation of cell membranes) enhanced LRH-1 activity in cells.

In mice, DLPC induced the production of bile acid enzymes and lowered fat in the liver. It also increased levels of bile acids and regulated glucose or sugar circulating in the blood. In two kinds of mice that had resistance to insulin, DLPC also decreased fatty liver and lowered glucose levels in the blood. However, DLPC had no effect in mice that had no LRH-1 in the liver.

Effect on insulin resistant mice was striking

"Their overall body weight was not changed," said Moore. "But they had improved sensitivity to insulin (which helps keep glucose levels in check) and less fatty livers. We are interested in why it gets rid of the fat in the liver."

DLPC decreased the levels of proteins associated with formation of fatty acids and triglycerides, including a key regulator called SREBP-1c that encourages the deposition of fat in tissues.

"DLPC is a natural product," said Moore. "Lecithin is a mixture of many compounds but DLPC is one of them."

Clinical study underway

The ongoing clinical study, which involves people who are overweight but not diabetic, employs an approved form of DLPC that is used in liposomes, little globules of fat that take drugs into the body. An initial glucose tolerance test to determine how sensitive the people are to insulin at the start of the study is followed by another after the subjects take DLPC or a placebo for two months. Neither the patients in study nor the physicians know who is getting DLPC and who is getting the placebo.

Others who took part in the basic science research include Dr. Yoon Kwang Lee and Jennifer L. Mamrosh of BCM, Dr. Scott A. Busby and Dr. Patrick R. Griffin of Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida and Dr. Manish C. Pathak and Dr. Eric A. Ortlund of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. (Yoon Kwang Lee is now at Northeastern Ohio Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rootstown, Ohio).

Funding for this work came from the National Institutes of Health, the Alkek Foundation, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Robert R.P. Doherty Jr. -- Welch Chair in Science.

High-Fat Diet During Pregnancy Programs Child for Future Diabetes, Study Suggests

A high-fat diet during pregnancy may program a woman's baby for future diabetes, even if she herself is not obese or diabetic, says a new University of Illinois study published in the Journal of Physiology.

"We found that exposure to a high-fat diet before birth modifies gene expression in the livers of offspring so they are more likely to overproduce glucose, which can cause early insulin resistance and diabetes," said Yuan-Xiang Pan, a U of I professor of nutrition.

The high-fat diet that caused these changes was a typical Western diet that contained 45 percent fat, which is not at all unusual, he said.

"In recent years, the American diet has shifted to include many high-energy, high-fat, cafeteria-type, and fast foods," he noted.

Because the epigenetic marks can be easily evaluated, Pan hopes that the study will give doctors a diagnostic tool to screen newborns born with this propensity so they can help children keep their blood sugar in a normal range and give them their best chance of avoiding diabetes.

In the study, Pan and doctoral student Rita Strakovsky fed obesity-resistant rats either a high-fat or a control diet from the first day of gestation. Because the animals were not obese before the study began, the scientists were able to determine that diet alone had produced these effects.

"At birth, offspring in the high-fat group had blood sugar levels that were twice as high as those in the control group, even though their mothers had normal levels," Strakovsky said.

The high-fat offspring also had epigenetic modifications to genes that regulate glucose metabolism. One of these modifications, the acetylation of histones, acts by loosening the DNA, making it easier for the gene to be transcribed, she said.

Pan said these epigenetic marks would not be erased easily. However, if people were aware of them, they could change their diet and lifestyle to compensate for their predisposition, delaying or even preventing the development of diabetes.

"We'd like to see if diet after birth could alleviate this problem that was programmed before birth," he said.

Although their study points to using epigenetics as a diagnostic tool, Strakovsky stressed the importance of making dietary recommendations for pregnant women more available so they are able to prevent this health problem.

"Obstetrics patients rarely see a dietitian unless they're having medical problems like gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia. Doctors now tend to focus on how much weight a woman should gain in a healthy pregnancy. Although healthy weight gain is extremely important, nutritional guidance could be invaluable for all pregnant women and their babies," she said.

Pregnant women should consume a balanced diet low in saturated fats, which are usually found in fattier cuts of meat, fast foods, pastries, and desserts. But they should also consume appropriate amounts of healthy fats, including good sources of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, which are important for their baby's brain and neuron development.

Cold-water fish that are low in mercury, flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, soybean and cod liver oils, walnuts and winter squash are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Eggs, corn oil, whole-grain bread, poultry, and sunflower seeds and oil provide omega-6 fatty acids.

"Until now we didn't realize that a mother's diet during pregnancy had a long-term effect on the metabolic pathways that affect her child's glucose production," Pan said. "Now that we know this, we urge pregnant women to eat a balanced low-fat diet that follows government guidelines. Then a woman can prime her child for a healthy life instead of future medical struggles."



The study was funded by the USDA.

A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain

A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain


Posted March 22, 2010; 10:00 a.m
 
by Hilary Parker
 
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/
 
A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.




In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.

"Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests," said psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. "When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight."


In results published online Feb. 26 by the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, the researchers from the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute reported on two experiments investigating the link between the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity.


The first study showed that male rats given water sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup in addition to a standard diet of rat chow gained much more weight than male rats that received water sweetened with table sugar, or sucrose, in conjunction with the standard diet. The concentration of sugar in the sucrose solution was the same as is found in some commercial soft drinks, while the high-fructose corn syrup solution was half as concentrated as most sodas.

The second experiment -- the first long-term study of the effects of high-fructose corn syrup consumption on obesity in lab animals -- monitored weight gain, body fat and triglyceride levels in rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup over a period of six months. Compared to animals eating only rat chow, rats on a diet rich in high-fructose corn syrup showed characteristic signs of a dangerous condition known in humans as the metabolic syndrome, including abnormal weight gain, significant increases in circulating triglycerides and augmented fat deposition, especially visceral fat around the belly. Male rats in particular ballooned in size: Animals with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained 48 percent more weight than those eating a normal diet.

"These rats aren't just getting fat; they're demonstrating characteristics of obesity, including substantial increases in abdominal fat and circulating triglycerides," said Princeton graduate student Miriam Bocarsly. "In humans, these same characteristics are known risk factors for high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, cancer and diabetes." In addition to Hoebel and Bocarsly, the research team included Princeton undergraduate Elyse Powell and visiting research associate Nicole Avena, who was affiliated with Rockefeller University during the study and is now on the faculty at the University of Florida. The Princeton researchers note that they do not know yet why high-fructose corn syrup fed to rats in their study generated more triglycerides, and more body fat that resulted in obesity.

When male rats were given water sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup in addition to a standard diet of rat chow, the animals gained much more weight than male rats that received water sweetened with table sugar, or sucrose, along with the standard diet. The concentration of sugar in the sucrose solution was the same as is found in some commercial soft drinks, while the high-fructose corn syrup solution was half as concentrated as most sodas, including the orange soft drink shown here. (Photo: Denise Applewhite)

High-fructose corn syrup and sucrose are both compounds that contain the simple sugars fructose and glucose, but there at least two clear differences between them. First, sucrose is composed of equal amounts of the two simple sugars -- it is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose -- but the typical high-fructose corn syrup used in this study features a slightly imbalanced ratio, containing 55 percent fructose and 42 percent glucose. Larger sugar molecules called higher saccharides make up the remaining 3 percent of the sweetener. Second, as a result of the manufacturing process for high-fructose corn syrup, the fructose molecules in the sweetener are free and unbound, ready for absorption and utilization. In contrast, every fructose molecule in sucrose that comes from cane sugar or beet sugar is bound to a corresponding glucose molecule and must go through an extra metabolic step before it can be utilized.

This creates a fascinating puzzle. The rats in the Princeton study became obese by drinking high-fructose corn syrup, but not by drinking sucrose. The critical differences in appetite, metabolism and gene expression that underlie this phenomenon are yet to be discovered, but may relate to the fact that excess fructose is being metabolized to produce fat, while glucose is largely being processed for energy or stored as a carbohydrate, called glycogen, in the liver and muscles.

In the 40 years since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup as a cost-effective sweetener in the American diet, rates of obesity in the U.S. have skyrocketed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1970, around 15 percent of the U.S. population met the definition for obesity; today, roughly one-third of the American adults are considered obese, the CDC reported. High-fructose corn syrup is found in a wide range of foods and beverages, including fruit juice, soda, cereal, bread, yogurt, ketchup and mayonnaise. On average, Americans consume 60 pounds of the sweetener per person every year.

"Our findings lend support to the theory that the excessive consumption of high-fructose corn syrup found in many beverages may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic," Avena said.

The new research complements previous work led by Hoebel and Avena demonstrating that sucrose can be addictive, having effects on the brain similar to some drugs of abuse.

In the future, the team intends to explore how the animals respond to the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in conjunction with a high-fat diet -- the equivalent of a typical fast-food meal containing a hamburger, fries and soda -- and whether excessive high-fructose corn syrup consumption contributes to the diseases associated with obesity. Another step will be to study how fructose affects brain function in the control of appetite.



The research was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service.



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Heart Failure Risk Lower in Women Who Often Eat Baked/Broiled Fish

The risk of developing heart failure was lower for postmenopausal women who frequently ate baked or broiled fish, but higher for those who ate more fried fish, in a study reported in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.

In a large-scale analysis, women who ate the most baked/broiled fish (five or more servings/week) had a 30 percent lower risk of heart failure compared to women who seldom ate it (less than one serving/month).

Previous research has found that fatty acids (omega-3) in fish -- EPA, DHA and ALA -- may lower risk of cardiovascular disease by decreasing inflammation, resisting oxidative stress and improving blood pressure, cardiac and blood vessel function.

This study showed that they type of fish and cooking method may affect heart failure risk. The researchers found that dark fish (salmon, mackerel and bluefish) were associated with a significantly greater risk reduction than either tuna or white fish (sole, snapper and cod).

In a similar analysis, eating fried fish was associated with increased heart failure risk. Even one serving a week was associated with a 48 percent higher heart failure risk.

"Not all fish are equal, and how you prepare it really matters," said Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., senior author of the study. "When you fry fish, you not only lose a lot of the benefits, you likely add some things related to the cooking process that are harmful."

Other research has shown that frying increases the trans fatty acid (TFA) content of foods, which is associated with increasing risk for heart disease. In this study, however, the researchers did not find an association between TFA and heart failure risk.

Lloyd-Jones and his team examined self-reported dietary data from 84,493 postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. They then divided study participants based on the frequency and type of fish consumption. Two groups of fish intake were defined: baked/broiled fish or fried fish. The baked/broiled fish group consisted of canned tuna, tuna salad, tuna casserole, white fish (broiled or baked), dark fish (broiled or baked) and shellfish (not fried). The fried fish group consisted of fried fish, fish sandwich and fried shellfish.

They conducted their analysis based on data from 1991 through August 2008. During an average follow-up of 10 years, 1,858 cases of heart failure occurred.

Most participants (85 percent) were Caucasian, 7 percent African-American and 3 percent Hispanic. Their average age was 63 at baseline.

Participants whose diets included more baked/broiled fish tended to be healthier and younger than their counterparts who ate fried fish. They were more physically active and fit, more educated and less likely to smoke, have diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease (irregular heartbeat and coronary artery disease). Furthermore, their diets contained more fruits and vegetables, less unhealthy, saturated and trans fatty acids and more beneficial fatty acids, which are found in fish and in non-marine foods such as nuts, seeds and certain vegetable oils. Consumption of fried fish was associated with higher body mass index (a weight-to-height ratio), higher energy intakes (calories) and lower fiber consumption. Consumption of other fried foods besides fish was adjusted in the analysis.

While previous studies have linked omega-3 fatty acids to a decrease in some types of heart disease, their precise relationship to heart failure risk was unclear. Researchers sought to clarify the connection between fish and heart failure risk in postmenopausal women.

"Baking or broiling fish and eating it frequently seem to be part of a dietary pattern that is very beneficial for a number of things," said Lloyd-Jones, associate professor, preventive cardiologist and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "In this case, we demonstrated that it's associated with heart failure prevention. This suggests that fish is a very good source of lean protein that we ought to be increasing as a proportion of our diet and decreasing foods that contain less healthy saturated and trans fats."

The results of this study are consistent with previous findings in studies of older American and Swedish populations, he said, "but the new study adds the interesting results on darker fish. They also suggest that baked/broiled fish is associated with reduced risk of heart failure through mechanisms other than reducing risk for a heart attack, a precursor to heart failure in some people."

In the United States, heart failure affects about 5.7 million people. Although the heart continues to function in this disease, it's unable to pump blood efficiently enough to meet the body's needs. Heart failure has many different causes, including smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, overweight, lack of physical activity and poor diet. It's often treatable with lifestyle changes, medicine or surgery.


Co-authors are: Rashad J. Belin, Ph.D., M.S.C.I.; Philip Greenland, M.D.; Lisa Martin, M.D.; Albert Oberman, M.D.; Lesley Tinker, Ph.D.; Jennifer Robinson, M.D.; Joseph Larson, M.S.; and Linda Van Horn, Ph.D., R.D. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute funded the study.

Studies show no meaningful difference between high fructose corn syrup and sucrose

Contact: David Knowles

202‑331‑1634
Corn Refiners Association


Studies show no meaningful difference between high fructose corn syrup and sucrose : Obesity and diabetes rates continue to rise despite decline in consumption of sweeteners



WASHINGTON – A comprehensive review of research focusing on the debate between High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and other sweeteners presented today finds there is no evidence of any significant variation in the way the human body metabolizes HFCS as opposed to standard table sugar, or any difference in impact on risk factors for chronic disease.

James M. Rippe, MD, founder and director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute and professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Central Florida, presented a summary of recent research entitled -- "High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sucrose and Fructose: What Do We Really Know?" – at the American Society of Hypertension (ASH) Annual Meeting in New York City. Dr. Rippe was invited to present his findings on a panel focusing on nutrition and cardiovascular prevention, an issue that ASH recognizes as important on the subject of hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Based on Dr. Rippe's review of a series of randomized, prospective studies, there is no evidence of adverse impacts from consumption of normal levels of either sucrose or HFCS on weight, ability to lose weight, or increased risk factors for chronic disease, nor were other differences found between the two sugars. Furthermore, a review of current research in this area shows that an individual is no more likely to experience obesity or chronic diseases by consuming HFCS as opposed to other sweeteners such as table sugar.

"While there has been a lot of media attention lately focused on the claims that HFCS is somehow more likely to cause obesity and chronic disease than other sweeteners, the evidence simply does not support those claims," said Dr. Rippe. "Recent research shows that individuals who consumed normal levels fructose have seen no adverse effects on their weight or triglycerides."

Also somewhat surprising, the United States Department of Agriculture has reported that while average daily caloric consumption has risen steadily over the last several decades, along with the rates of obesity and diabetes according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average daily caloric consumption of sweeteners, including HFCS, has actually decreased over the last decade.

In the mid-1970s, the average American diet contained less than 2,200 calories per day. By 2008, that average increased by approximately 500 calories to nearly 2,700 calories per day – a 22 percent jump. By contrast, since 1999 the average of total sugar-added calories consumed per capita per day actually decreased from over 500 calories per day down to just over 450 – a 10 percent decrease. During that same period, there was a dramatic spike in the calories from added fats and a consistently high calorie intake from flour and cereal products.

"In the case of HFCS, while consumption increased steadily over two decades in the United States beginning in the 1970s, it peaked around 1999 and has been declining ever since. Yet, we see the incidence of obesity and diabetes in the U.S. continues to rise or remain steady during that time" said Dr. Rippe. "Meanwhile, we have seen obesity and diabetes epidemics in regions of the world where little or no HFCS is available."

For more information on added sugars, please visit www.SweetSurprise.com.

CRA is the national trade association representing the corn refining (wet milling) industry of the United States. CRA and its predecessors have served this important segment of American agribusiness since 1913. Corn refiners manufacture sweeteners, ethanol, starch, bioproducts, corn oil, and feed products from corn components such as starch, oil, protein, and fiber.



Visit us on the Web at www.Corn.org

Why Caffeine Can Reduce Fertility In Women

Caffeine reduces muscle activity in the Fallopian tubes that carry eggs from a woman's ovaries to her womb. "Our experiments were conducted in mice, but this finding goes a long way towards explaining why drinking caffeinated drinks can reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant," says Professor Sean Ward from the University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno, USA. Ward's study is published today in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

Human eggs are microscopically small, but need to travel to a woman's womb if she is going to have a successful pregnancy. Although the process is essential for a successful pregnancy, scientists know little about how eggs move through the muscular Fallopian tubes. It was generally assumed that tiny hair-like projections, called cilia, in the lining of the tubes, waft eggs along assisted by muscle contractions in the tube walls.

By studying tubes from mice, Professor Ward and his team discovered that caffeine stops the actions of specialised pacemaker cells in the wall of the tubes. These cells coordinate tube contractions so that when they are inhibited, eggs can't move down the tubes. In fact these muscle contractions play a bigger role than the beating cilia in moving the egg towards the womb. "This provides an intriguing explanation as to why women with high caffeine consumption often take longer to conceive than women who do not consume caffeine," says Professor Ward.

Discovering the link between caffeine consumption and reduced fertility has benefits. "As well as potentially helping women who are finding it difficult to get pregnant, a better understanding of the way Fallopian tubes work will help doctors treat pelvic inflammation and sexually-transmitted disease more successfully," says Professor Ward. It could also increase our understanding of what causes ectopic pregnancy, an extremely painful and potentially life-threatening situation in which embryos get stuck and start developing inside a woman's Fallopian tube.



Sources: Wiley-Blackwell, AlphaGalileo Foundation.

Researchers Discover Link Between Obesity Gene And Breast Cancer

New research aimed to better identify the genetic factors that lead to breast cancer has uncovered a link between the fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) and a higher incidence of breast cancer. According to the study conducted at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, people who possess a variant of the FTO gene have up to a 30 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer. Research to identify why the link exists is ongoing, but experts say the finding takes us one step closer to personalized medicine based on genetic risk which would allow for better monitoring and prevention of illness, as well as targeted treatment.


"This is a fascinating early finding, which fits with the known connections between obesity and breast cancer," said Virginia Kaklamani, MD, oncologist at Northwestern Memorial, co-director of the Cancer Genetics Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and lead author of the study.

Each individual carries the FTO gene, but only 18 percent have this variant of the gene. Kaklamani, who specializes in cancer genetics, says testing for the FTO variant is not available currently, but it may be available in the future, similar to how genetic testing for the BRCA gene mutation exists today.

"Ten years ago we didn't know about the BRCA gene mutation which has been linked to breast and ovarian cancer. Today, we offer genetic testing and a specialized clinic for those at risk in order to minimize their risk and detect any indication of cancer early," said Kaklamani, who is also an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "This knowledge helps us better identify who is at an increased risk so one day, we can counter that risk through preventative measures and advanced screening."

The research, published in BMC Medical Genetics is part of an ongoing group of studies to further knowledge of genetic risk factors for breast cancer.



Source:

Northwestern Memorial HealthCare

Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Fat Loss Tips And Tricks 2 Sleep and Fat Loss.

Strength training does more than bulk up muscles

Strength training does more than bulk up muscles

Obesity And Niacin Intake

Dietary factors have long been known to play a major role in the development of obesity. The global increasing prevalence of obesity suggests that there should be some common changes in diet worldwide. In fact, a significant, yet, often neglected worldwide change in dietary factors in the past few decades is the food fortification-induced marked increase in the content of niacin. However, the effect of long-term exposure to excess niacin on human health remains unclear.

A research team from China examined the role of excess nicotinamide in glucose metabolism using co-loading of glucose and nicotinamide test. They proved that excess niacin intake-induced biphasic response, i.e., insulin resistance in the early phase and hypoglycemia in the late phase, may be a primary cause for the increased appetite in obesity. Their study will be published on May 21, 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

The study also revealed for the first time that the obesity prevalence among US children and adolescents increased in parallel with the increase of the per capita niacin consumption with a 10-year lag, in which niacin fortification-induced sharp increase in niacin contents in grain products may play a major role. Reducing niacin intake and facilitating niacin elimination through sweat-inducing physical activity may be a key factor in the prevention and treatment of obesity.

It seems that the long-term safety of niacin fortification needs to be carefully evaluated.

Reference:

Li D, Sun WP, Zhou YM, Liu QG, Zhou SS, Luo N, Bian FN, Zhao ZG, Guo M. Chronic niacin overload may be involved in the increased prevalence of obesity in US children. World J Gastroenterol 2010; 16(19): 2378-2387



Source:

Ye-Ru Wang

World Journal of Gastroenterology

Low Carb Diet Better For Cardiovascular Health Than Low Fat Diet

Researchers from of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University, Philadelphia have revealed that after a two-year comparison, a low-carb diet fares about as well as a low-fat diet with regards to weight loss, but low-carb improves cardiovascular risk factors more.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine, explained that cardiovascular risk factors, such as blood pressure and lipid (cholesterol) levels responded better with the low-carb diet. Both diets produce identical weight loss when coupled with comprehensive behavior treatment

Put simply - it appears that both diets are equally good for losing weight, but the low-carb diet protects you from potential coronary heart diseases more effectively.

The findings may come as a surprise to many people who instinctively link low-carb with worsening cardiovascular risk factors.

Three hundred and seven patients were randomly assigned to either a low-carbohydrate (n=153) or low-fat (n=154) diet with behavior treatment. Weight at two years was the primary outcome, but other effects were measured throughout the study period.

At 3, 6 and 12 months, the participants were evaluated for:

Weight

Serum lipid concentrations

Blood pressure

Urinary ketones

Bone mineral density

Body composition

Among the participants in the two diet groups, the researchers found:

Weight - no differences at any point during the study. About 7% loss of weight at two years in both groups.

Body composition - no differences at any point during the study

Bone mineral density - no differences at any point during the study

Good cholesterol levels - double the increase among the low-carb group compared to the low-fat group at two years. 23% and 11% respectively.

Gary Foster, PhD, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University, Philadelphia, said:

I think an important outcome from a study like this is to think about which diets fit best for which people. This study would suggest that perhaps for those with low HDL-cholesterol levels to begin with, that a low-carbohydrate approach to weigh loss may have some dvantages.

Foster added:

"At the end of the day, behavior interventions are key. Dieters should be less concerned about what diet they follow, and more concerned with employing effective behavioral strategies, such as recording what they eat, logging their exercise, and limiting the triggers for overeating, like watching TV or eating in the car.


"Weight and Metabolic Outcomes After 2 Years on a Low-Carbohydrate Versus Low-Fat Diet - A Randomized Trial"

Gary D. Foster, PhD, Holly R. Wyatt, MD, James O. Hill, PhD, Angela P. Makris, PhD, RD, Diane L. Rosenbaum, BA, Carrie Brill, BS, Richard I. Stein, PhD, B. Selma Mohammed, MD, PhD, Bernard Miller, MD, Daniel J. Rader, MD, Babette Zemel, PhD, Thomas A. Wadden, PhD, Thomas Tenhave, PhD, Craig W. Newcomb, MS, Samuel Klein, MD

Soda Consumption Linked To Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Other Health Concerns

Drinking too much soda could have health consequences ranging from weight gain to osteoporosis to kidney problems, according to the August issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource.

Soda was once considered an occasional treat, but consumption has steadily increased over the last three decades. Many Americans drink soda every day. Demand is so great that manufacturers produce enough soda to supply the average man, woman and child in America with more than 52 gallons each year.

Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource looks at possible health effects of sipping too much soda. For example, studies have found an association between Americans' soda-drinking habits and the rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes in adults and children.

Sugar overload: Many concerns about soda center on sugar. One 12-ounce soda typically has nine teaspoons of sugar and 140 calories. Research has shown that adults and children who regularly drink beverages high in sugar tend to have higher calorie intake overall and experience weight gain. As weight increases, so does the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Diet soda no better? Although diet sodas are low in calories, nutrition surveys have shown that those who drink them don't always eat healthier or lose weight. Some data suggest that the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks may increase sugar cravings and encourage poor food choices.

Metabolic syndrome: A study in the journal Circulation found that middle-aged adults who drink one or more regular or diet sodas daily had an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome - a cluster of conditions that includes high blood pressure, excess weight gain around the waist, high cholesterol and insulin resistance.

Osteoporosis: Consumption of milk, an important source of calcium, may be less for someone who prefers drinking soda. Lower calcium levels can increase the risk of osteoporosis, a condition in which bones are weak and prone to fracture. It's possible that the phosphoric acid and caffeine found in soft drinks may promote the loss of calcium in bones.

Kidney stones: Some evidence indicates that sodas are linked to the formation of kidney stones. Drinking two or more diet or regular sodas in one day may increase the risk of chronic kidney disease.

For those trying to lose weight or improve their diet, forgoing soda or indulging only on occasion may be wise. In other cases, cutting back may be a good idea, especially for those who drink more than one soda a day.


Source:

Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource

Two Cups Of Water Before Each Meal Enhanced Weight Loss In Clinical Trial

Researchers reporting the results of a clinical trial at a conference in the US said they found participants who drank two cups of water before each meal lost an average of 5 pounds more weight over a 12-week calorie controlled diet than those who followed the same diet but did not drink the water.

Dr Brenda Davy, associate professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, and senior author of the study, told the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) that is taking place in Boston 22 to 26 August, that theirs was the first randomized controlled trial to show that increasing water intake is an effective way to lose weight.

The study, which is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, is a follow-on from an earlier one where Davy and her team found middle aged and older people consumed between 75 and 90 fewer calories per meal if they drank two cups of water just before they started eating.

In the latest study, Davy said they found:

"Over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake."

She urged people to cut down on sugary, high calorie drinks and drink more water:

"It's a simple way to facilitate weight management," said Davy.

Davy said while there are lots of anecdotal reports, some going back a long time, that water can help people lose weight, there is surprisingly little scientific evidence. Some studies have alluded to it, but this is the first "gold standard" clinically controlled trial to have looked at the claim by comparing those that did and those that did not drink water before meals.

For the study, Davy and colleagues enrolled 48 adults aged from 55 to 75 years and randomly assigned each to one of two groups: the water drinkers and the non-water drinkers.

The water drinkers drank two 8-ounce cups of water just before they started to eat each meal, while the non-water drinkers did not. An 8-ounce cup is half a pint, or just under a quarter of a litre (237 ml).

Both groups ate a low-calorie diet during the 12 weeks of the study. Over this period, the water drinkers lost an average of 15.5 pounds (7 kg) while the non-water drinkers lost 11 pounds (5 kg).

Davy said the reason drinking water before the meal works is simply because it has zero calories but you have the sensation of feeling partly full before you even start eating, resulting in fewer calories consumed during the meal.

She also said replacing sweetened calorie rich drinks during the day with water is also a good way to reduce calorie intake. For example a 12-ounce can of regular soda (about 350 ml) has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, or 150 calories.

Official bodies like the National Academies' Institute of Medicine, an agency that advises the Federal Government, say healthy people should let natural thirst guide them on how much water to drink, but they generally recommend this should result in about 9 cups of fluids a day, including water, for women and 13 cups for men.

However, drinking too much water can be dangerous and results in a rare but serious condition called water intoxication, warned Davy.



Source: American Chemical Society.

Carbohydrate Content of Diet and Rate of Fat Loss and Muscle Retention

If you're not careful with how you design and follow your fat loss program, you could end up in worse than from where you started. Loss of muscles is very common. Fitness magazines that would like nothing more than to keep you as a customer will print the wrong information month after month to make sure your fat, continue buying the magazine, and support their advertisers. Honesty is hard to find in the fitness / health industry. One of the lies magazines continue to write is that carbohydrates help spare muscle during a diet. Combine that lie with the lie that low calorie diets are required to lose fat, and that you must exercise with super high-intensity, you can quickly see how people have a hard time achieving their body composition goals. The same magazines conveniently forget to tell you those carbohydrates spare fat cells, and that low calories diets upregulate enzymes that make losing fat very difficult. Later on this week I will be doing a video on YouTube detailing some of the bad advice and protocols usually followed when trying to lose fat and gain muscle, but today I want to show you a study that deals with fat and muscle loss.

In a nine week study done in 1971, scientists put eight male subjects to compare three diets containing the same amount of calories (1800 calorie per day) and same amount of protein (120 grams per day) differing only in carbohydrate content (30, 60, and 104 grams per day (as the calories from carbohydrates went down, the fat calories went up, the total calories and total protein grams remained constant). After nine weeks on the 30 -, 60 -, and 104 -gram carbohydrate diets, weight loss was 35.6, 28.2, and 26.2 pounds,respectively, and the fat loss accounted for 95, 84, and 75 percent of the weight loss, respectively. Notice that the lower the carbohydrates, and the higher the fat, the greater reduction in fat and less loss of muscle. The higher carbohydrate group lost more muscle, so magazines and books that tell you carbohydrates are protein sparing during low calorie dieting are lying to you.

TIPS: low-carbohydrate / ketogenic diets are more effective than higher carbohydrate / low fat diets for fat loss and protecting muscle loss. That being said, this isn't where I usually start a client. I prefer to clean up the diet by making better food choices, optimizing your exercise program and lifestyle. You can get quite far in your fat loss and fitness efforts with basic modifications. Low-carb / ketogenic diets become favorable when your current plan isn't working fast enough, losing muscle, and all else fails. I will also suggest that you always include exercise (preferably resistance training) when trying to lose fat and gaining muscle.

If you require any help with diet and / or exercise, please contact us at workoutsolutionscoach@gmail.com. For more information follow our fat loss blog http://workoutsolutions.blogspot.com and on Facebook at Fat Loss Tips and Tricks.




Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5312319

Fat Loss Tips and Tricks : Repetition Speed for Fat Loss

One of the most common questions I receive is “how fast should I be doing my repetitions in weight training exercises”? Well, if your goal is to increase muscle mass lose fat, get stronger, and increase both anaerobic and aerobic capacity, increase resting metabolic rate, then my answer is that you should never intentionally slow down your repetition speed. Scientific journals from even decades ago have proven that faster repetitions will give you better results than slower repetitions, but we still see fitness magazines, fitness books, and online news sources still advocating the use of slower versus faster rep speeds, but are they right? NO!


Let’s take a quick look at a repetition: The raising of the weight is called the concentric contraction, where the muscle shorten and the lowering of the weight is known as the eccentric contraction, where the muscle fibers lengthen. Basically speaking, muscle is comprised of type I endurance fibers, and type 2 strength fibers. We know that the type 1 fibers are always activated during movement, and the extent of recruitment of the type 2 strength fibers is determined by the speed of the movement and the load. So, let’s check out a tweet by Prevention magazine.

‎"Do strength-training exercises in slow motion. This works each muscle fiber harder so you get firmer, faster." May 10 2011-05-19



Does slow motion weight training work each muscle fiber harder? Definitely not! Do you think your using more muscles when walking slow or fast? Do you think you’re using more muscles when throwing a ball fast or slow? Science has already proven the answer, you use more muscle fibers when performing a movement faster, so how can slow motion training train each muscle fiber harder when both the speed of motion and the load dictate which fibers will be used, and how many will be recruited? During slow motion training you will be using less weight, less muscle, and all this adds up to less muscle gained, less strength gained, less calories burned, in short, slowing down your repetition speed has to be one of the worst recommendations in health magazines today.

In one study, performing faster repetitions resulted in 11% more calories burned during the exercise, and 5% more calories burned post exercise in comparison to slower repetitions. So would doing slow speed repetitions be ideal for the person using weight training to burn calories? Clearly not! Another thing to consider here is that, when using a sufficient load and a powerful rep speed, you damage more muscle fibers, and then the fibers rebuild themselves into bigger, stronger fibers. This remodeling of the muscle fibers comes with a great expense in calories. Bigger muscles burn more calories during the day.

But it gets better, studies that compare fast versus slow repetitions always show faster reps more beneficial for gaining muscle across both fiber types and getting stronger, and these studies have been done on people through wide range of ages. Now why is this significant? Remember those type 2 strength fibers I talked briefly about? Yes, those are the fibers we lose as we age, especially from our legs. One study using leg exercises, showed absolutely no gains in muscle size from elderly patients using slow movements, but the elderly group performing faster powerful repetitions gained a significant amount of muscle, predominately type 2 fibers (11% more), the ones we lose as we age. You hear how exercise can have an anti-aging effect, well; it seems from various studies that faster, more powerful contractions offer much more anti-aging benefits than slow repetition training. On another note, using explosive rep speed has also been correlated to a higher levels of anabolic hormones like growth hormone and testosterone, both important for health, fitness gains, and both hormones drop with aging. At least we know with certainty, that explosive reps will increase anabolic hormones, will slow training do that? No studies that I’m aware of to prove yes or no, but it doesn’t look like it would matter much given the so many positives of faster versus slower repetitions.

To conclude my brief review on the top, I want to finish off with the eccentric portion of the rep. Many so called experts recommend we slow down the negative rep, but studies also prove that you will get more out of a faster negative speed than a slower one. One study using eccentric styled reps only, fast versus slow speed found that muscle increased 13% with the fast negatives versus 8% with the slow ones. In the future I will discuss the difference between pure concentric versus pure eccentric movements, but for now I will just say that during a traditional repetition, one that includes both concentric and eccentric actions, slowing down the speed during the negative portion will result in less fitness gains, so keep both concentric and eccentric fast.

If you new to weight training please don’t jump straight into fast explosive movements. Not that I consider it dangerous, this recommendations has more to do with learning the exercise, performing it correctly, learning how to feel and properly contract the muscles being trained. If you bypass all this, you may run the risk of cheating, using too much momentum, and since the tension won’t be properly placed on the muscles, your fitness gains will be much less gained. It’s best to start off with a moderate speed and work your way up the ladder.


‎"Do strength-training exercises in slow motion. This works each muscle fiber harder so you get firmer, faster." Sorry Prevention magazine, you’re wrong.

I hope you found this video interesting and helpful. For more tips and tricks stay tuned here for more videos, and my Fat Loss Tips and Tricks page at facebook, my blog, and at twitter, I’ll post all the urls in the comment box.

For consultations, one on one personal training, phone, email, video and online training, check out my services at my blog page, or send me an email to see how I can be of help to you.

Cheers to great health and happiness, I’m George Tsanis Workout Solutions

What New Research Shows About Liposuction

Liposuction has become one of the most popular plastic surgeries in the country. It has been around since 1974 and there are now more than 450,000 operations a year. But does the fat come back? A recent study by Teri L. Hernandez, PhD, RN and Robert H. Eckel, MD, at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that the fat eventually returns within one year, and is redistributed to other areas of the body, especially the upper abdomen. There was further redistribution around the shoulders and triceps of the arms.

"The fact that fat returned is of great interest to us as scientists. It supports the idea that levels of body fat are very tightly regulated by mechanisms we have yet to uncover," said Eckel. "This was the hypothesis we were testing and it was confirmed. In rodents when fat is removed it returns, and after weight loss in humans most everyone regains the weight. We think the brain somehow knows how much fat is on board and responds in a manner to regulate that weight. That's why preventing obesity is so important".

The study was a difficult one to execute because fat must be measured precisely with expensive scans that require multiple resources and considerable manpower. The University of Colorado is one of a handful of institutions that could facilitate this type of highly controlled study. Obesity researchers said that they are not surprised the fat came back. Data in animal models have shown that after surgical removal of fat, it tends to return to other areas. The liposuction study performed at the University of Colorado is the first randomized controlled trial in humans.

"We must emphasize that liposuction surgery is not a weight loss procedure. Our research participants are wonderful women who sought to change their shape through liposuction. Despite fat returning, their cosmetic shape benefit was retained and they have been very happy with their surgery results," said Hernandez.



This paper was published in the latest issue of Obesity.



Source:

Jackie Brinkman

University of Colorado Denver

Ronald McDonald Stays, Despite Growing Childhood Obesity In The USA

Despite receiving a request from 550 healthcare workers to cease targeting children in its marketing campaigns of fast foods, Jim Skinner, McDonald's Chief Executive, said "Ronald McDonald is going nowhere."

A group of nuns (The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia in partnership with Corporate Accountability International) had headed a proposal that would asses McDonald's policy responses to public concerns about the association between fast food consumption and childhood obesity and its subsequent health consequences.

McDonald's board of directors turned down the motion of getting rid of Ronald. They argued that the company offers variety, nutrition information and directed its messages to children in a responsible manner. They added that part of the democratic process is having choice, something they do not want to deny their customers.

Statement by Dr. Don Zeigler

Dr. Don Zeigler, Director of Prevention & Health Promotion at the American Medical Association and Adjunct Professor in Preventive Medicine at Rush University wrote in Corporate Accountability's website that as a health professional he is concerned, because today, health care services and facilities are inundated with patients suffering conditions linked to their eating habits.

He quotes WHO (World Health Organization), saying the world faces a slow motion catastrophe of non-communicable diet-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. He associates these diseases and conditions with the promotion and consumption of sugars, sodium and fats - ingredients that are abundant in fast foods.

He calls this epidemic tragic because it is almost entirely preventable. He accuses McDonald's marketing techniques of playing a considerable role in bringing about this problem. According to WHO, Dr. Zeigler added, policies to reduce fast food and junk food marketing to children are essential if we really want to reverse this (obesity) trend.

It is wrong to continue claiming that lack of parental responsibility is the root of the problems when hundreds of millions of dollars are spent marketing fast foods directly towards children - such marketing strategies interfere with and undermine parental efforts to promote healthy eating.

Kelle Louaillier, Executive Director of Corporate Accountability International, said:

"McDonald's has long left a critical element of its annual earning reports off the books - the spiraling costs to our children's health and the healthcare system from its business practices. Starting with this landmark resolution, it's time the corporation stopped attempting to nutri-wash away the costs of its marketing and overall business practices to shareholders and the public."


Written by Christian Nordqvist

Does Eating Give You Pleasure, or Make You Anxious?

While most people have a great deal of difficulty in dieting and losing weight, particularly if a diet extends over many months or years, individuals with anorexia nervosa can literally diet themselves to death. In fact, this disorder has a very high death rate from starvation. A new study sheds light on why these symptoms occur in anorexia nervosa.

Perhaps the most puzzling symptom of anorexia nervosa -- a disorder that tends to occur in young women -- is the refusal to eat, resulting in extreme weight loss. While most people have a great deal of difficulty in dieting and losing weight, particularly if a diet extends over many months or years, individuals with anorexia nervosa can literally diet themselves to death. In fact, this disorder has a very high death rate from starvation. A new study, now online in the journal International Journal of Eating Disorders, sheds light on why these symptoms occur in anorexia nervosa.

Most people find eating to be a pleasant and rewarding experience. In contrast, people with anorexia nervosa often say that eating makes them more anxious, and food refusal makes them feel better. Research over the past decade has provided new insights into the brain mechanisms that are associated with the rewarding aspects of eating. One of these brain chemicals is dopamine, which is released when people or animals eat tasty foods.

A study led by Walter Kaye, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, used a brain imaging technology called positron emission tomography (PET), which permits visualization of dopamine function in the brain. In order to provoke dopamine levels in the brain, scientists administered a one-time dose of the drug amphetamine, which releases dopamine in the brain.

In healthy women without an eating disorder, amphetamine-induced release of dopamine was related to feelings of extreme pleasure in a part of the brain known as a "reward" center. However, in people who had anorexia nervosa, amphetamine made them feel anxious, and the part of the brain that was activated was, instead, a part of the brain that worries about consequences.

"This is the first study to demonstrate a biological reason why individuals with anorexia nervosa have a paradoxical response to food," said Kaye. "It's possible that when people with anorexia nervosa eat, the related release of the neurotransmitter dopamine makes them anxious, rather than experiencing a normal feeling of reward. It is understandable why it is so difficult to get people with anorexia nervosa to eat and gain weight, because food generates intensely uncomfortable feelings of anxiety."

Importantly, this study was of people who have recovered from anorexia nervosa for at least a year, suggesting that the feeling provoked may be due to pre-existing traits, rather than a response to being at an extremely low weight.

In terms of impact on treatment strategies, there are no currently proven treatments that reduce core symptoms in anorexia nervosa, such as eating-induced anxiety. According to the researchers, even though food is accompanied by severe anxiety, it is still critical to eat and gain weight in order to effectively treat this disorder.



Contributors to the study include Ursula F. Bailer, MD, Medical University of Vienna and UCSD Department of Psychiatry; Vikas Duvvuri, MD, PhD, UCSD Department of Psychiatry; and Rajesh Narendran, MD, W. Gordon Frankle, MD, Michael L. Himes and Chester A. Mathis, PhD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. These results have been published on line in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.



The study was supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Prince Foundation.

Many Women Have Been On 'More Than 20' Diets

Women are being warned about the dangers of yo-yo diets after a UK-wide survey revealed that more than one in five women have been on at least five diets and regained weight and many have been on at least 20 diets without keeping the pounds off.

The survey of more than 2,300 people, conducted by Slimming World and YouGov, reveals that 21 per cent of women have yo-yo dieted at least five times, 11 per cent have done it at least 10 times and six per cent have dieted and put the weight back on again more than 20 times.

The yo-yo diet figures have been released by Slimming World to mark European Obesity Day (Saturday, May 21) which this year is using the theme 'stop yo-yo' to raise awareness of "the dangerous cycle of repeated loss and regain of body weight and its dramatic effects on mental and physical health"[1].

Dr Jacquie Lavin, Slimming World's Head of Nutrition and Research, says: "Yo-yo diets can be both unhealthy for the body and psychologically upsetting as repeated cycles of weight loss and weight gain cause feelings of failure and a loss of confidence in your own ability to make changes.

"In recent years the UK has seen a huge rise in the number of faddy diets promising rapid weight loss through things like cutting out food groups, following unbalanced eating plans and only consuming liquid foods. However in reality these diets can rarely be kept up in the long term as hunger, feelings of deprivation or other possible side effects force people who follow them to give up and go back to their old way of eating, causing them to put any weight they lost back on again.

"The good news is it's never too late to break the yo-yo cycle and losing weight and keeping it off can be easier than you think. Building confidence in your own ability to make lasting changes is the first step and many people find that having the support of other slimmers who have been through similar experiences can help them realise that they aren't to blame for their previous weight gain.

"While fad diets tend to be based around tiny food portions or banning certain foods, latest research suggests a diet of satiating low energy dense foods like fruit and vegetables, pasta, potatoes, rice, fish and lean meat is more effective for long-lasting weight loss. These foods fill you up and are naturally low in calories. Avoiding feelings of deprivation by enjoying the odd glass of wine or chocolate treat without feeling guilty is also important to long term success."



Source

Slimming World

Stone Age Diet Good For People With Diabetes Type II

If you suffer from Diabetes Type II you might consider following the diet of Stone Age humans, according to scientists from Lund University, Sweden. In a human trial, researchers found the people with type II diabetes who followed an Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) diet for three months managed their carbohydrate consumption much better.

Early humans did not consume cereals, dairy products, refined fat or sugar - agricultural products. There was no agriculture at that time - agriculture has only been around for a relatively short period of time. Until not that many thousands of years ago, we had been consuming fish and lean meat, nuts, vegetables and fruit - the sustenance of the 'hunter gatherer'.

In a human study, Staffan Lindeberg and team compared two groups of volunteers - they all had diabetes type two. All of them suffered from glucose intolerance, i.e. they experienced raised blood sugar after consuming carbohydrates. They all suffered from coronary heart disease. One group of 14 consumed a Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) diet, while the other group of 15 consumed a Mediterranean diet - both groups for three months. The Mediterranean diet included whole-grain cereals, diary products (low fat), fruit, healthy refined fats, salt and vegetables.

After three months this is how the two groups compared:



Paleolithic Group

-- Rise in blood sugar after consuming carbohydrate was significantly lower.

-- All the participants had normal blood glucose.



Mediterranean Group

-- Rise in blood sugar after consuming carbohydrates remained pretty much the same.



The researchers said the Paleolithic group's better glucose tolerance was not linked to changes in waist size or body weight. They are convinced that their improved handling of carbohydrate intake was due to their diet, rather than total calories consumed or whether or not they lost weight.

The Paleolithic group consumed more fruit and no grains or dairy. The researchers suggested that perhaps, rather than looking at calorie intake, we should consider avoiding some of the foods that have entered our diet in the latter part of our evolution - this includes many of our modern foods.

Some geneticists have said it takes about one million years for genes to change so that an animal can adapt to its environment completely - agriculture has not been around for that long.



Lund University, Sweden

Rigorous Exercise And Extreme Dieting Can Predispose Females To Osteoporosis

Women who follow strict exercise and diet regimens may harm their body's ability to form new bone, which can lead to osteoporosis later in life. Researchers recommend that the more women exercise, the more they need to eat to stay healthy.

"Thousands of women severely restrict their diet and practice rigorous exercise programs for fitness and weight control," said Anne Loucks, professor of biological sciences at Ohio University and lead author on the new study. "Because some don't see obvious signs of undernutrition, such as a disrupted menstrual cycle, they may think they're eating enough. If their diet does not supply enough energy to fuel their exercise level, though, they may be harming themselves. They need to replenish those calories."

Earlier studies showed that too few calories (low energy availability) disrupts the reproductive system and impairs bone formation in teens and college-age females. If a young woman's menstrual cycle stopped, it was considered a warning sign of bone loss.

Although the reproductive system is much less dependent on energy availability in slightly older women after they stop growing, these women remain at risk for bone loss, according to new findings presented today by Loucks and Ohio University undergraduate student Aiden Shearer at the Endocrine Society annual meeting in Toronto.

The researchers restricted the caloric intake of two groups of women with regular menstrual cycles and normal body fat over five days. Participants exercised for nearly two hours each day. One group ranged in age from 18 to 23 years, and the other was aged 26 to 32. Scientists know that bone formation continues in adulthood, as old bone is continually being replaced with new bone.

In both age groups, two bone formation markers were suppressed, suggesting that low energy availability continues to impair bone formation in adults as well as adolescents.

"Appetite is not a good indicator of how much female athletes should eat, and neither is a regular menstrual cycle," warned Loucks, pointing out that low bone density puts women at higher risk for stress fractures and can lead to osteoporosis.

The study was funded by the U.S. Army, Ross Laboratories and the Ohio University Provost's Undergraduate Research Fund.


Contact: Andrea Gibson

Ohio University

Sleep Problems May Affect Your Diet

Sleep problems can influence a person's diet. Those who don't get enough sleep are less likely to cook their own meals and, instead, opt to eat fast food. It is the lack of nutritional value of this restaurant-prepared food that may cause health problems for these people in the long-run, according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2007, the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

Mindy Engle-Friedman, PhD, of the City University of New York, surveyed nine females and 12 males, all undergraduates who completed a "sleep and eating habits" questionnaire. For seven days, the participants completed diaries, with each entry detailing how much sleep they got the night before and what they ate the following day.

Preliminary findings showed that individuals reporting problems with total sleep time, sleep latency and awakenings were more likely to eat restaurant-prepared or fast food rather than food made at home on day two than were individuals with no reported sleep problems. Further, individuals with sleep problems were also less likely to eat food prepared at home on days four and seven.

"Persons with sleep complaints are less likely to eat at home. These meals may require less effort and may be less healthful than meals prepared at home. Over time, persons with sleep complaints may have weight or health problems related to their nutrition," said Engle-Friedman.

The amount of sleep a person gets affects his or her physical health, emotional well-being, mental abilities, productivity and performance. Recent studies associate lack of sleep with serious health problems such as an increased risk of depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Experts recommend that adults get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night to maintain good health and optimum performance.

Persons who think they might be suffering from a sleep disorder are encouraged to consult with their primary care physician, who will refer them to a sleep specialist.

The annual SLEEP meeting brings together an international body of 5,000 leading researchers and clinicians in the field of sleep medicine to present and discuss new findings and medical developments related to sleep and sleep disorders.

More than 1,000 research abstracts will be presented at the SLEEP meeting, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The four-day scientific meeting will bring to light new findings that enhance the understanding of the processes of sleep and aid the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea.



Contact: Jim Arcuri

American Academy of Sleep Medicine