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Obese men undergo significant hormonal changes and experience markedly worse sex lives – but stomach-stapling surgery can correct those troubles, a recent small study showed.
   
“Previous studies have found that obesity is correlated to lower sperm count and can be associated with infertility, but we wanted to know if obesity was biologically associated with an unsatisfying sex life, and if so, could it be reversible,” the study’s lead author, Ahmad Hammoud, of the University of Utah, said in an Endocrine Society news release. “Our results show that the answer to both questions may be yes.”

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Obesity has become an epidemic crisis in United States! The problem is further aggravated by the serious threat obesity has on our society. This was evident by a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2004. Researchers found, looking at the top 10 causes of preventable death in the US, that obesity came a close second to smoking, causing 400,000 deaths yearly! The projection is that obesity will soon surpass smoking as the number one killer in our country!

Medical, behavioral, and nutritional interventions are many; and while they are the way to go for the overweight individuals, it has become clear that for the morbidly obese patients (>80 pounds over IBW, Ideal Body Weight), these interventions alone, fail to provide a long term meaningful weight loss.

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This article touches on some important points related to healthy eating.  It is true that psychological factors play an important role in our eating patterns – when, what, and how much we eat. 

There are many chemical factors at work as well.  For instance, the hunger we feel at the end of a complete meal when the dessert tray is brought around is related to the endocannabinoid system.  This is the same system in our body that is stimulated when exposed to marijuana and explains the insatiable appetite that often accompanies use of that drug.  That’s right, just the sight of sweets at the end of a meal can affect the same areas of our brain as the drug itself and cause us to suddenly experience more hunger and crave that chocolate cake.    

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- Blog Post: Dr. Elliot Goodman M.D. - June 4, 2009

This latest study in Circulation Research reveals some striking new data. You don’t necessarily have to be overweight to develop atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.

The study suggests that danger is the chronic inflammation of the arteries caused by eating fatty foods and is independent of high cholesterol or triglyceride levels.

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We often hear about the physical causes and effects of obesity, but we rarely hear about the emotional and psychological factors. Today, obesity is no longer diagnosed only during middle age - it's becoming the norm to hear that young people in their 20's are dealing with the disease. Obviously, poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to the onset of obesity, but what's going on behind the scenes?

We know that overeating is the main cause of obesity, but few know what leads to this increase in food intake. The answer is simple: stress. Many young people today live a hectic lifestyle full of stress and anxiety. To cope with the constant physical and emotional drain, many people turn to one of life's simplest pleasures: food.

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- Blog Post: Dr. Elliot Goodman, M.D. - May 20, 2009

Dramatic underproduction of a particular liver biochemical seems to be the cause of the pathologically high blood-fat levels associated with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome in obese mice, a recent study found. Metabolic syndrome is a disorder that places its sufferers at greatly increased risk for cardiovascular disease, and is marked by the intersection of several symptoms, including belly obesity, high blood pressure and high blood fats.
   
The research, done by Stephan Herzig and his colleagues at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, or DKFZ), was published in the journal Diabetes.

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Is there an obesity gene? Research demonstrates that there is. In fact there may be several genes that contribute to obesity.

The INSIG2 gene controls insulin. It inhibits the synthesis (manufacturing in the body) of fatty acid and cholesterol. People with a sequence variation near the gene seem less able to inhibit the synthesis of fatty acid and cholesterol. The end result is a tendency to accumulate more body fat. Another culprit gene is a variant version of the FTO gene. People who have this gene tend to eat more to satisfy their appetites. And the children with this gene have a tendency to gain excess fat.

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The epidemic of obesity has huge ramifications. One of which is the cost to the healthcare system dealing with the ever widening range of medical complications associated with being overweight.

The study from Newcastle University looked into complications to newborns. Here are a few of the potential complications associated with obesity and pregnancy to the mother.

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In an advance that has implications for new anti-obesity and anti-cancer drugs, a “movie” has been made of how a molecular complex in the human cell performs a “dance” in which it dramatically changes shape to promote all of the stages of fat synthesis.
   
The various enzymes that make fat are actually integrated into a rapidly metamorphosing unit called fatty acid synthase.

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In a fascinating study in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology,  scientists explored the creation of fat through a structure called fatty acid synthasase. While this is pure research with no immediate clinical application it does open a window into how fats are formed from carbohydrates. A deeper understanding of how this happens can ultimately lead to the development of inhibitors that would help block the conversion of carbohydrates into fat. This research always begs a somewhat difficult question. To what extent are people who overweight at fault. Or rather the question is how should a person feel about being overweight. This is an a critical question because how a person feels about their weight can go a long way to how they try to deal with it, either through diet, exercise, or surgery.

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- Blog Post: Dr. Elliot Goodman, MD April 22, 2009