Posted on 03/07/2023 2:22:59 PM PST by nickcarraway
The study carried out by Rambam researchers found that there is no connection between the amount of insulin in children and their tendency to obesity.
Carbohydrates have taken a lot of flak in recent years, but they are not all bad and are not necessarily responsible for causing obesity, according to a new study at Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa.
Simple carbs like white bread, pasta and rice, corn syrup and all types of sugar – whose beneficial nutrients have been eliminated – are digested quickly.
The study was conducted by Rambam researchers led by Dr. Rana Halloun, a senior endocrinologist in the pediatrics department of Rambam’s Ruth Children’s Hospital, and has just been published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism under the title “Adipose tissue insulin resistance is not associated with changes in the degree of obesity in children and adolescents.”
She and her colleagues argue that their work undermines the prevailing theory about the connection among a high-carbohydrate diet, weight gain and the obesity epidemic.
“We found that there is a very large variation in the insulin levels. Some of the children had normal insulin levels and some very high...We found that insulin is not a measure that predicts obesity.”
They found that there is no connection between the amount of insulin in children and their tendency to obesity, and no connection was found between the sensitivity of adipose tissue (body fat) to insulin and weight gain. “The conclusion that follows from this is that weight gain is linked to the number of calories consumed, and apparently in a low-carb diet, fewer calories are ultimately consumed,” she said.
Carrying out the research
The study, which followed 600 overweight children with an average age of 12 and an average weight of over 80 kilos for two years, reinforced the notion that it is not important whether the source of the calories is in carbohydrates or other food components and makes it clear that the number of calories in each meal is what determines whether you gain weight or not.
The causes of obesity are an important target for research, with the goal being to better understand the mechanisms that play a role in obesity in order to improve dealing with the phenomenon, either with the help of developing new drugs or through more accurate dietary recommendations.
Today there are two leading theories on the question of what causes weight gain, Halloun explained. “The most accepted assumption hangs obesity on the energy balance – we live in a world with many stimuli and a lot of availability of fast food and processed food. Because of this, we eat more, and at the same time, we also move less and expend less energy. Thus, when we take in more calories and expend less, we gain weight.”
A second theory focuses on the activity of adipose tissue and the effect of certain types of foods on weight gain,” Halloun added. “According to this theory, when we eat food high in carbohydrates, it is quickly absorbed into the blood and causes weight gain sharp in the blood sugar level, which causes an increased secretion of insulin. Insulin is the substance that allows the body's cells to absorb the sugar into them to use it as fuel.”
But according to this idea, fat tissue cells are especially sensitive to insulin, and in response to an increase in the insulin level, the fat cells absorb the sugar faster than other cells and turn it into fatty molecules.
"We live in a world with many stimuli and a lot of availability of fast food and processed food. Because of this, we eat more, and at the same time, we also move less and expend less energy. Thus, when we take in more calories and expend less, we gain weight.”
As a result, blood sugar levels drop again at a rapid rate, causing the body to recognize the drop in sugar level as a lack of food and trigger the feeling of hunger again. Then we go back to eating more than we need, with the difference accumulating as extra body fat. Therefore, according to this theory, a high-carb diet is more fattening than a high-protein diet.
Several assumptions are derived from the theory. The first is that the higher the level of insulin in the blood, the greater the tendency to obesity. To find out if this theory is true, together with her colleague Prof. Ram Weiss who is a global expert in the field of obesity, Halloun conducted sugar-loading tests for the children participating in the study and tested the insulin levels in their blood.
“We found that there is a very large variation in the insulin levels. Some of the children had normal insulin levels and some very high, she explained. “What was not found was any relationship between the different insulin levels and the degree of weight gain in the two years after the test. We found that insulin is not a measure that predicts obesity.”
Does lower blood sugar lead to eating more?
Similarly, the theory also assumes that those who will have lower blood sugar levels after eating will be more inclined to eat again and therefore gain weight. To examine this, the team divided the children into those whose blood was found to have low sugar levels after sugar loading and those whose blood had high sugar levels. Again, no difference was found in the tendency to gain weight in the two years of follow-up between the two groups.
They then sought to conduct a more in-depth examination of the function of the fat cells and their possible role in the obesity process. “We wanted to check if there is a connection between the degree of sensitivity of the fat cells to insulin and obesity.
"If children’s fat tissue is more sensitive to insulin and therefore more inclined to absorbing the sugar from the blood and turning it into fat – as the theory assumes – the child is indeed more likely to gain weight. Even in this case, they found no connection between the degree of sensitivity of the adipose tissue to insulin and the weight gain.”
There is a need for follow-up studies to examine the question over a longer period of time, Halloun concluded. “But the findings undermine the correctness of the theory that emphasizes the role of carbohydrates and fat tissue in the process. degree of obesity in children and adolescents.”
This would seem to support my argument that the current obesity problem in children and youth is primarily caused by a largely sedentary lifestyle in which very few calories are burned by exercise. When I was growing up in the 1960’s, there were very few really obese kids in school. We had actual PE classes and almost all the kids would engage in various physical activities for a couple hours after school and all day in the summer. Most of us were skinny and couldn’t gain much weight if we tried. The parents didn’t even want the kids in the house until dinner time.
And when those street lights went on...the dash for home began.
Stop the soda and chips. Sometimes...but not often when I was a kid...but I’m 79.
“according to a new study at Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa.”
...and paid for by the Israeli Carbohydrate Society.
It’s sugar. But that’s what carbs become.
I don’t believe it’s because of a lack of exercise. Exercise, while beneficial for other things, doesn’t burn enough calories to really affect weight gain or loss materially unless you’re an olympic athlete. The old saying that ounces are lost in the gym and pounds lost at the table applies. It’s something to do with the food, whether that’s because of all the processed crap we eat now or we’re just overeating because of too large portion sizes.
LOL. Love it!
I saw a video of Mama Cass from back in the sixties and she wasn’t nearly as fat as I remember her being A lot of women walking down any given street today are as fat and many a hell of a lot fatter.
“LOL. Love it!”
I have no clue in this case*, but very often that is what happens.
*I have to deal with a bunch of stalkers over Ukraine, so they’ll probably pick this up too.
Oh boy!!
The sketti/tater diet is back!!
Trying to put my thoughts in coherent order ....
Yes, calories increase weight when consumed in large, excess numbers no matter the source. 2000 calories of chips, pickles, or chicken is the same amount of calories but it’s what happens while that source is in the body that is of more interest. Sugar and carbs - especially the “bad” ones are what cause most diseases according to sources I have read extensively and agree with. Bad, sticky oils, too.
Those of us who have tried and appreciate Keto, fasting, and lower carb eating in general appreciate the feeling of more energy, less brain fog, less inflammation, better gut health, fewer prescriptions.
This study is a big “duh”. No kidding. Quel surprise. Eating excess calories is a bigger factor than eating carbs.
research brought to you by
hostess twinkies
One can dream.
I’ve always thought a lot of it was genetics.
I was 180 or so in college, now starting my 3rd score of age I’m about 205. Probably have not varied much more by 10 pounds up or down on that gradually increasing linear line. That’s no matter what I’m eating or drinking, intermittent fasting or not.
Then there is my wife’s unfortunate in law. She was a slim 130 or so when she got married at about 19 and I swear in the first year of marriage slapped on 25 pounds. She has been 300 plus pounds now for decades. She is immune to diets, fasting etc. (exercise is difficult as she has ankle and knee problems not surprisingly) She simply stays huge.
Heyyyy. Lot a good falafels in Haifa.
How about simple carbs being less filling, leading to more overeating?
Her obesity was immortalized in song: "And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass"
Maybe seed oils?
In general I would say overeating is the cause.
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