Health/Fitness « Weekly Gravy

Hundreds of thousands of people are jumping on the Ozempic bandwagon and taking prescription medications to slim down, while others swear by intermittent fasting and other diet fads, but new research shows that they’re all likely barking up the wrong trees. There isn’t any shortcut or magic bullet to losing weight, keeping it off, and improving your health, a new study of more than 20,000 people affirms. “Most adults slowly gain weight over decades of their life but turn to drastic, often dangerous, means to decrease body weight,” said study author Colleen Spees, an associate professor of medical dietetics at Ohio State University in Columbus. “Indeed, non-evidence-based diet practices are on the rise in large part due to social media influencers and popular actors.” Take the craze surrounding the injectable type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, she said. “Although it is not U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved for weight loss, individuals without diabetes are now taking Ozempic in hopes of rapid weight loss,” Spees said. Does it work? Yes, at least in the short term, she said. “Once individuals discontinue the use of this medication, their appetite returns along with the weight they lost while using it,” Spees added. For the study, researchers compared behaviors of more than 20,300 U.S. adults who were part of a national health and nutrition survey from 2007 to 2016. They… read on > read on >

Quitting smoking may leave you with more money for food. Having a tobacco smoker quit is not just a boon to lung health. In poorer families, it can also help prevent hunger, according to new research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. “We aimed to explore if tobacco cessation could improve food security,” said lead author Kaitlyn Berry, a PhD candidate. “Tobacco is expensive and addictive; in the U.S., on average, a pack of cigarettes currently costs about $8 — $240 per month for a pack-a-day smoker. “This means that when someone quits smoking, they can save a lot of money that could instead be used for other expenses,” Berry added in a school news release. Tobacco use and hunger are major threats to U.S. public health, according to the study. They inequitably affect low-income households and people of color. About 10% of all U.S. households don’t have enough food. Roughly one-third of households below the poverty line had hunger issues in 2021, the researchers reported. At the same time, people who are socially disadvantaged are more likely to smoke cigarettes, partly because of aggressive marketing by the tobacco industry to low-income groups. Uneven access to smoking-cessation programs is another contributor. The research team noted that 20% of adults with a household income under $35,000 smoke cigarettes. Yet only 6% of adults… read on > read on >

“Mindfulness” practices may help parents of young children with autism manage their daily stressors, and it could benefit their kids in the process, a preliminary study suggests. Parenting is stressful, and studies show that parents of kids with autism often have particularly high stress levels. Autism is a developmental brain disorder that, to varying degrees, impairs communication and social skills. Some kids have milder difficulties, but others are profoundly affected — speaking little, if at all, and getting wrapped up in repetitive, obsessive behaviors. Some children have intellectual disabilities, while others have average or above-average IQs. There are various therapies and services to help improve daily functioning and quality of life for kids with autism. But they typically do not address parents’ stress and coping skills, said Rachel Fenning, the lead researcher on the new study. Traditionally, she noted, there’s been something of an assumption that services that benefit children with autism will also help ease parents’ stress. But that is not necessarily true, since parents can be dealing with all kinds of challenges, said Fenning, who directs the Claremont Autism Center at Claremont McKenna College, in Claremont, Calif. The stressors can range from problems accessing autism services or learning how to implement a child’s therapy strategies at home, to the bigger-picture issues of balancing work and home life, paying the bills and more. So… read on > read on >

Of all the skin cancers, melanoma is the one that scares doctors and patients the most. Luckily, there are now several options for treatment should you be diagnosed with this aggressive, sometimes deadly, cancer. Melanoma affects over 1 million Americans, and its rates have risen significantly in the past 30 years, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Here, experts explore what melanoma is, along with its causes, risk factors and key symptoms. Plus, you’ll learn about melanoma’s stages, types and treatments. What is melanoma? The American Cancer Society (ACS) explains that cancer occurs when cells begin to grow out of control. Melanoma is a type of cancer that starts in the pigment-making cells, known as “melanocytes.” While not as common as other forms of skin cancer, it is more serious. “Melanoma is more aggressive and more likely to spread to the lymph nodes,” said Dr. Hugh Greenway, a dermatologic surgeon with Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center and Scripps Clinic in California. “It’ll spread to the liver, to the brain and throughout the body if not checked.” According to the AAD, ultraviolet light from the sun or tanning beds is the cause of melanoma. Risk factors include: Blistering sunburns Tanning bed use Light skin, light-colored eyes, or red or blond hair Moles that are asymmetrical or large Time in the sun without protection Numerous… read on > read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is once again warning consumers to avoid muscle-building “supplements” that are anything but a safe alternative to steroids. In an advisory sent out last week, the agency said it continues to receive reports of serious side effects linked to selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). The compounds mimic some of the effects of testosterone, and have long been under study for treating muscle-wasting and bone loss caused by certain medical conditions. None have been approved by the FDA, however, and the agency stresses that SARMs are drugs, not dietary supplements. Still, online companies are marketing SARM-containing products, with the help of social media. “Online vendors and social media influencers are using social media to make SARMs seem safe and effective,” the FDA said in its warning. Based on the reports the agency is receiving, that is far from the case: SARM-containing products are linked to sometimes life-threatening effects such as heart attacks, strokes and liver failure. Other side effects include testicular shrinkage, sexual dysfunction, fertility problems and even psychosis. The FDA has been warning consumers about the risks for years, and taken action against some companies that illegally market the products. But, experts said, because people are getting SARMs online from overseas companies, the problem is hard to tackle from the supply side. And from the consumer side, it may… read on > read on >

U.S. regulators are urging Americans to avoid Apetamin, an illegal drug used for weight gain and figure enhancement. The substance, typically sold as a syrup, is manufactured overseas, illegally imported and isn’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It contains a potent antihistamine called cyproheptadine, which requires a physician’s prescription in the United States. American consumers may find Apetamin online, on social media or in some retail stores, but they should not use it, the FDA warned in an agency news release. Among its dangerous side effects are potential overdose, sedation, cognitive impairment, dizziness, low blood pressure, disorientation and confusion, hallucinations, convulsions, and decreased breath and heart rates. It may lead to coma or death, the FDA said. The substance also decreases mental alertness, which may affect a person’s ability to drive a car or operate machinery. This strong antihistamine may be dangerously strengthened when taken with alcohol and other central nervous system depressants, such as hypnotics, sedatives, tranquilizers and anti-anxiety medications, the FDA said. Reports to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System found young adults had taken Apetamin and experienced nervous system disorders, cardiac disorders and liver injury, the agency said. In one published report, someone who took Apetamin daily for six weeks developed autoimmune hepatitis. A chronic disease, this condition is treated with corticosteroids and immune system suppressors. It may cause… read on > read on >

A mind-reading device seems like science fiction, but researchers say they’re firmly on the path to building one. Using functional MRI (fMRI), a newly developed brain-computer interface can read a person’s thoughts and translate them into full sentences, according to a report published May 1 in Nature Neuroscience. The decoder was developed to read a person’s brain activity and translate what they want to say into continuous, natural language, the researchers said. “Eventually, we hope that this technology can help people who have lost the ability to speak due to injuries like strokes or diseases like ALS,” said lead study author Jerry Tang, a graduate research assistant at the University of Texas at Austin. But the interface goes even further than that, translating into language whatever thoughts are foremost in a person’s mind. “We also ran our decoder on brain responses while the user imagined telling stories and ran responses while the user watched silent movies,” Tang said. “And we found that the decoder is also able to recover the gist of what the user was imagining or seeing.” Because of this, the decoder is capable of capturing the essence of what a person is thinking, if not always the exact words, the researchers said. For example, at one point a participant heard the words, “I don’t have my driver’s license yet.” The decoder translated… read on > read on >

Scientists report that brain scans of long COVID patients show abnormal activity in areas related to memory. The scan results validate the concerns of these patients, who feel like they’re experiencing fatigue, trouble concentrating and memory issues, even though their scores on thinking tests don’t show it. “We were able to show that even though they were able to do the task — they did everything correctly — the brain was functioning in a way that shows that it’s compensating,” said lead researcher Dr. Linda Chang, a neurologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “The brain actually is using different parts of the brain to do the work. That means the normal brain network is not functioning as well.” Chang and her research team studied this in 29 people who had been infected with COVID about seven months earlier, nine of them hospitalized for their illness. Each patient had at least one ongoing neuropsychiatric symptom. The study group was matched with a control group of 21 people with no known history of COVID infection. In addition to the functional MRI scans, each participant performed tests to evaluate thinking and memory skills, emotional health, movement, pain, fatigue, depression and anxiety. “It takes them so much more effort to do it. We are showing that the brain has to work harder in order to perform… read on > read on >

Getting bariatric surgery may help someone lose weight and reduce their risk for obesity-related cancers by more than half. New research to be presented at a conference of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) found that patients who had sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass or gastric band procedures developed less obesity-related cancer over a 10-year follow-up period. About 4% developed these cancers compared to 8.9% who didn’t have the surgeries, the study found. The findings will be presented at an AGA meeting in Chicago and online May 6-9. “The primary benefit people consider when they think about bariatric surgery is weight loss and the accompanying physical and psychological benefits, such as improved blood pressure and diabetes,” said lead author Dr. Vibhu Chittajallu, a gastroenterology fellow at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals in Cleveland. “This study adds to the building evidence that the significant weight loss associated with bariatric surgery may have a protective effect against cancer formation as well,” he said in a meeting news release. For their study, researchers compared more than 55,700 patients with obesity who had these surgeries with the same number of similar patients who did not have surgery. They adjusted for risk factors that play a role in cancer formation, including smoking history, alcohol use, heart disease, hormone therapies and other health issues. In all, more than 2,200 of the… read on > read on >

Fewer U.S. adults are smoking cigarettes, as rates dropped again last year, according to federal health officials. In all, 1 in 9 American adults smoked cigarettes last year, an all-time low, and a significant change from the 1960s when 42% smoked. The results weren’t all positive, the Associated Press reported, as vaping rose to about 1 in 17 adults. For 2022, use of electronic cigarettes was about 6% compared to 4.5% the year before. These preliminary findings are from a survey of more than 27,000 adults by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings are sometimes revised after further analysis. “I think that smoking will continue to ebb downwards, but whether the prevalence of nicotine addiction will drop, given the rise of electronic products, is not clear,” Dr. Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora, told the AP. For nearly 40 years, Samet has been a contributing author to the U.S. Surgeon General’s reports on smoking and health. The preliminary findings for 2022 pegged the percentage of adult smokers in the United States at 11%, down from about 12.5% the year before, the AP reported. While more adults smoke cigarettes than vape, the opposite is true for minors. About 14% of high schoolers used e-cigarettes last year, compared to about 2% who smoked traditional cigarettes, according to… read on > read on >