Extreme Loneliness Worse for Health Than Obesity and Can Lead to an Early Grave, Scientists Say

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Feeling extreme loneliness on a long-term basis can be worse than obesity in terms of increasing the potentially lethal health risks that lead to premature death, scientists said.

Chronic loneliness has been shown to increase the chances of an early grave by 14 per cent, which is as bad as being overweight and almost as bad as poverty in undermining a person’s long-term wellbeing, a study has found.

As more people live longer, they are spending a bigger part of their lives feeling lonely. This is having a significant impact on their physical as well as mental health, the researchers found.

Loneliness is also becoming more common as people live alone or become isolated from relatives and friends, especially in retirement. Research has shown that at any given time between 20 and 40 per cent of older adults feel lonely. » | Steve Connor, Chicago | Sunday, February 16, 2014

Mexico to Tackle Obesity with Taxes on Junk Food and Sugary Drinks

Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico

THE GUARDIAN: President calls for hour of exercise per day and a 'change of culture' as Mexico has higher rates of adult obesity than the US

Mexico has become the standard bearer in the global fight against obesity, after parliamentarians passed a law imposing significant new taxes on junk food and sugary drinks.

The vote by congress is a triumph for the anti-obesity crusade of President Enrique Peña Nieto, who will now sign the measures into law. As the legislation was passed, he called for a "change of culture" in his country, including the incorporation of at least an hour of exercise for all Mexicans every day. Mexico has higher rates of adult obesity even than the United States, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation this year – 32.8% against 31.8% of Americans.

"We can't keep our arms crossed in front of a real overweight and obesity epidemic," the president said. "The lives of millions of Mexicans are literally at risk."

Taxes on unhealthy foods and sugary drinks such as colas and lemonades have been introduced by a few other countries in Europe and Scandinavia, but often subtly. Mexico has confronted the food and drink industry head on, resisting tough lobbying and warnings that raising prices would do nothing to help the country's economy.

But the government has taken the long view – that the potential economic harm from reduced junk food and soft drink sales now is insignificant compared to the damage in ten years time if obesity continues at the current rate. The healthcare burden of diabetes and heart disease in Mexico is already huge and increasing. Some 9.2% of children in Mexico now have diabetes. » | Sarah Boseley, health editor | Friday, November 01, 2013

Food Fix: US Corporations Fuel Obesity with Addictive Ingredients

US obesity rate has become a key health concern affecting one in three adults. Some say the phenomenon is a direct result of the tricks food companies use, to get consumers addicted to their products. RT's Marina Portnaya reports.

It Is A Slow Metabolism After All: Scientists Discover Obesity Gene

THE INDEPENDENT: Mutations in "KSR2" gene prevent cells from processing glucose and fatty acids, scientists find

Obese people who claim they have a “slow metabolism” may have a point after scientists discover a gene that for the first time links being overweight with reduced metabolic activity.

Researchers from Cambridge University found that mutations in a gene known as KSR2 reduce the ability of cells to metabolise glucose and fatty acids, which provide energy.

These gene mutations are also more common in people with severe obesity than in the general, non-obese population, they found.

It has long been suggested that some people may be predisposed to obesity because of a “slow metabolism” but this is the first time that scientists have been able to identify a definite genetic basis for such an idea.

“It was something that most of us didn’t quite believe could happen because there wasn’t much evidence for it until now,” said Professor Sadaf Farooqi of the University of Cambridge.

“Up until now, the genes we have identified that control body weight have largely affected appetite. This gene also increases appetite but it is also causes a slow metabolic rate,” Professor Farooqi said.

“KSR2 is different in that it also plays a role in regulating how energy is used in the body. In the future, modulation of KSR2 may represent a useful therapeutic strategy for obesity and type-2 diabetes,” she said. » | Steve Connor | Science Editor | Thursday, October 24, 2014

96-Stone Man: Saudi King Orders Airlift

YAHOO NEWS!: Khalid Shaeri weighs the same as two baby elephants or eight average-sized men

A Saudi man weighing 96st (610kg) has been airlifted to hospital after being unable to leave his bedroom for two-and-a-half years.

Khalid Mohsin Shaeri, 20, was flown from the southern city of Jazan to a hospital in Riyadh on King Abdullah's orders.

The "rescue" plan had to wait for six months until a specially-made bed was delivered from the US.

Saudi Arabia's health ministry worked with civil defence and the Saudi Red Cross to organise his evacuation after part of his home was demolished so he could be brought down from the second floor. (+ video) » | Sky News | Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Men Who Made Us Fat

Around the world, obesity levels are rising. More people are now overweight than undernourished. Two thirds of British adults are overweight and one in four of us is classified as obese. In the first of this three-part series, Jacques Peretti traces those responsible for revolutionising our eating habits, to find out how decisions made in America 40 years ago influence the way we eat now.

Fault Lines: Fast Food, Fat Profits: Obesity in America (2010)

Obesity in America has reached a crisis point. Two out of every three Americans are overweight, one out of every three is obese. One in three are expected to have diabetes by 2050.

Minorities have been even more profoundly affected. African-Americans have a 50 per cent higher prevalence of obesity and Hispanics 25 per cent higher when compared with whites.

How did the situation get so out of hand?

Two-thirds of Australians 'Obese'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two-thirds of Australia's adult population are overweight or obese, a study has found, with rates continuing to climb despite a drop in smoking and drinking.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said people were continuing to pile on the kilos despite other findings indicating a switch to healthier habits.

The study found two thirds of the population are now classified as overweight or obese, which had increased over the past four years.

"The proportion of overweight adult Australians has increased by more than two percentage points, meaning that nearly two-thirds of the population are now classified as overweight or obese," said statistician Paul Jelfs.

The figure compares to 56.3 percent in 1995 and 61.2 percent in 2007-08. » | Telegraph reporters | Monday, October 29, 2012

Disney Joins Fight Against Obesity
Obesity is a big concern among US children, with nearly one-third of them either overweight or obese. Junk food marketing is a contributory factor to such problems, according to the Washington-based Institute of Medicine. Now, Walt Disney, one of the world's largest mass media companies, has decided to join the fight against obesity. The company, known for its popular theme parks, plans to ban commercials for junk food on its widely watched children network Disney TV, radio, web channels - and inside the theme parks themselves. Al Jazeera's John Terrett reports from Washington.

Inside Story Americas: Who Is to Blame for the US Obesity Epidemic?
As billions are spent treating obesity related diseases, we take a look at the US food industry lobby.

As America's Waistline Expands, Costs Soar
REUTERS.COM: U.S. hospitals are ripping out wall-mounted toilets and replacing them with floor models to better support obese patients. The Federal Transit Administration wants buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on steering and braking. Cars are burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more a year than if passengers weighed what they did in 1960.

The nation's rising rate of obesity has been well-chronicled. But businesses, governments and individuals are only now coming to grips with the costs of those extra pounds, many of which are even greater than believed only a few years ago: The additional medical spending due to obesity is double previous estimates and exceeds even those of smoking, a new study shows.

Many of those costs have dollar signs in front of them, such as the higher health insurance premiums everyone pays to cover those extra medical costs. Other changes, often cost-neutral, are coming to the built environment in the form of wider seats in public places from sports stadiums to bus stops.

The startling economic costs of obesity, often borne by the non-obese, could become the epidemic's second-hand smoke. Only when scientists discovered that nonsmokers were developing lung cancer and other diseases from breathing smoke-filled air did policymakers get serious about fighting the habit, in particular by establishing nonsmoking zones. The costs that smoking added to Medicaid also spurred action. Now, as economists put a price tag on sky-high body mass indexes (BMIs), policymakers as well as the private sector are mobilizing to find solutions to the obesity epidemic. » | Sharon Begley | NEW YORK | Monday, April 30, 2012

America’s Front Lines Clash with Bottom Lines on Obesity

Jamie Oliver Brands Andrew Lansley Obesity Plan as 'Patronising Rubbish'
THE GUARDIAN: Health secretary sets out 'national ambition' to cut 5bn calories a day from Britons' daily diet

Andrew Lansley's announcement of a push to get the nation to cut 5bn calories a day from its diet was immediately slammed by health experts on Thursday, and branded "worthless, regurgitated, patronising rubbish" by Jamie Oliver.

Faced with a mounting obesity crisis that a succession of government initiatives on exercise have failed to turn around, the health secretary and the chief medical officer, Sally Davies, issued a "call to action" on diet, pointing out that alcohol contributed 10% to our calorie intake.

Lansley urged individuals to eat less and eat more wisely, and promised to talk to the food industry about voluntary cuts in the calorie content of processed food and drinks.

But the new plan, which Lansley termed a "national ambition" rather than a strategy, drew immediate derision from food campaigners and doctors. "Simply telling people what they already know – that they need to eat less and move more – is a complete cop-out," said Oliver.

The TV chef and food campaigner added: "This whole strategy is just worthless, regurgitated, patronising rubbish.

"Any of us could walk into any primary school in the country and find plenty of eight-year-olds with more creative solutions to these problems. It's a farce." He called for the government to make real change and then legislate and finance it. » | Sarah Boseley, health editor | Thursday, October 13, 2011

Only in America! Fatty Food as Lifestyle Choice
Welcome to the Heart Attack Grill, a Texan restaurant that celebrates cholesterol.

The pick of the menu? The quadruple bybass burger.



Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports on how some people are choosing to buck the politically correct healthy eating trend.

British Men among Fattest in Europe
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: British men are among the fattest in Europe, while as a nation we do less exercise than almost every other nation on the planet, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The study, into the rise of heart and lung disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes, ranked UK men as the third fattest in Europe, with 67.8 per cent of males 15 or over either overweight or obese.

Only Greece (77.5 per cent) and Malta (73.3 per cent) are fatter.
Globally, British men are the 21st fattest of 192 countries while our women fare much better, at the 51st fattest.

However, contrary to the lean 'Crocodile Dundee' image Australian men like to portray, they are significantly fatter than their British cousins. More than three in four (75.7 per cent) of Australian men are overweight or obese, WHO reported. Read on and comment » | Stephen Adams and Martin Beckford | Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Fettleibigkeit wird zur Volkskrankheit
SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Laut einer Studie der Organisation für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung ist jeder Zweite übergewichtig. Die meisten fettleibigen Menschen leben in den USA und Mexiko.


MAIL ONLINE: Why are men getting so tubby? : The average British man has piled on A STONE in a decade. Yes greed and laziness are to blame but there are other, more worrying forces at play... >>> John Naish | Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Verbunden / Related hier and here

Übergewicht ist in Deutschland fast Normalzustand
WELT am SONNTAG: Die Bundesregierung will mehr gegen die weit verbreitete Fettleibigkeit unternehmen – alarmiert durch neue Zahlen.

Das neue Jahr hat begonnen, die guten Vorsätze sind gefasst. Ganz vorn rangiert dabei der Entschluss, endlich die überflüssigen Pfunde loszuwerden. Studien zeigen: Die Deutschen haben eine Schlankheitskur auch dringend nötig: Schon 15 Prozent der Kinder und Jugendlichen bringen zu viele Pfunde auf die Waage. Mit dem Alter nimmt der Anteil der Übergewichtigen dramatisch zu. Beim Eintritt ins Rentenalter sind heute sieben von zehn Frauen und Männern zu dick. Und der Anteil der Fettleibigen wächst. Die Kluft zwischen dicken und dünnen Deutschen wird immer größer.

Ein Teil der Bevölkerung ernährt sich gesund und achtet auf sein Gewicht. Wer aber ohnehin schon zu viel wiegt, kümmert sich nicht um Kalorien und langt noch kräftiger zu. "Die Dicken werden immer dicker", sagte Professor Helmut Heseker, Präsident der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ernährung (DGE), der "Welt am Sonntag". Übergewicht sei "in einer Überflussgesellschaft inzwischen fast der Normalzustand", warnte Heseker. >>> C. Ehrenstein und M. Hollstein | Sonntag, 02. Januar 2011

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Les Américains veulent maigrir : BONNES RÉSOLUTIONS | Dans un pays où l’obésité affecte un adulte sur trois et un enfant sur cinq, combattre le surpoids permettrait aussi de réduire la dépense, à l’échelle des individus et pour la société en général. >>> ATS | Dimanche 02 Janvier 2011

SKYNEWS.COM.AU: Obesity ad campaign wanted >>> | Sunday, January 02, 2010

China’s Growing Obesity Epidemic

Mideast Comes Up with New Anti-smoking Laws
THE TIMES OF INDIA: The Middle East, long associated with the ubiquitous waterpipe, is intensifying an anti-smoking drive as several Arab countries ban the practice in public places, even if success looks difficult.

From Beirut to Cairo, cigarettes are smoked everywhere, not just in cafes and restaurants, but in banks, ministries and even hospitals.

Egypt, the most populous nation in the Arab world and the heaviest smoker, announced on Thursday its intention to make the Mediterranean city of Alexandria the country's ‘first smoke-free city.’

But the health ministry did not say how it planned to achieve this goal.

An existing law that prohibits smoking in public places is frequently flouted -- notably by civil servants and police.

Nearly 40 per cent of Egyptian men smoke, the vast majority of them throughout the day, according to a report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in January.

On top of this, at least 70 per cent of those questioned for the survey said they were subjected to passive smoking at home or in the workplace.

Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are also looking to kick the habit, having all passed anti-smoking legislation in recent months.

In January, the Emirati president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, ordered a ban "on smoking in public transport and closed public places."

Within the UAE, Dubai took the lead, introducing smoking restrictions as far back as 2007. >>> AFP | Sunday, June 13, 2010

Saudi Arabia: Smoking Cigarettes
BLOG – STUFF SAUDI PEOPLE LIKE: It’s well known that when you start a habit when you’re young; it is really hard to get over it. A lot of Saudis start smoking at a young age, usually their first experiment with cigarettes will be with their peers in schools. From hiding in school’s restrooms to standing behind buildings, smoke comes out from every part of the schools. Most teenagers who smoke carry pack of cigarettes in one pocket and a bottle of cologne in the other. No matter how much you wear cologne or drink half of the bottle, in the end parents always find out that you smoke.

Every year the price of cigarettes go up, but that doesn’t matter. Saudis will put down money and finance a pack of cigarette, in order to get the nicotine in their system. It’s the illusion of the cool image that is associated with cigarette, makes Saudis want to smoke. Watch any Saudi smoke, from the way he holds the cigarette to the way he blows the smoke, as if he is in a Hollywood movie that is playing in a slow motion. Comment >>> saudislike | Monday, August 17, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: Heart attack hospital admissions have fallen since the smoking ban: The number of people admitted to hospital for heart attacks has dropped by an average of 100 a month since the introduction of the smoking ban in England, research shows. >>> Sam Lister, Health Editor | Wednesday, June 09, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Thousands of heart attacks 'prevented by the smoking ban': Thousands of heart attacks have been prevented by the smoking ban, according to the first study of its kind. >>> Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent | Wednesday, June 09, 2010

AFP: Unhealthy Scots 'living dangerously': study – LONDON — Scottish people are putting their lives at risk with an unhealthy lifestyle of heavy smoking, high alcohol intake and poor diet, health experts warned on Friday.

Scientists looked at five major risk factor to determine the general health of the Scottish population -- smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, poor diet, physical inactivity and being overweight.

They found that nearly the whole adult population (97.5%) fell into at least one of those categories, the experts wrote in the online journal BMC Public Health. >>> | Friday, June 11, 2010

Mauritania's 'Wife-fattening' Farm
BBC: Obesity is so revered among Mauritania's white Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force-fed to obtain a weight the government has described as "life-threatening".

A generation ago, over a third of women in the country were force-fed as children - Mauritania is one of the few African countries where, on average, girls receive more food than boys.

Now only around one in 10 girls are treated this way. The treatment has its roots in fat being seen as a sign of wealth - if a girl was thin she was considered poor, and would not be respected.

But in rural Mauritania you still see the rotund women that the country is famous for. They walk slowly, dainty hands on the end of dimpled arms, pinching multicoloured swathes of fabric together to keep the biting sand from their faces.

"I make them eat lots of dates, lots and lots of couscous and other fattening food," Fatematou, a voluminous woman in her sixties who runs a kind of "fat farm" in the northern desert town of Atar, told BBC World Service's The World Today programme. >>> Pascale Harter, BBC, Mauritania | Monday, January 26, 2010

BBC audio