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For most of human history, the rich were well-fed and rarely worked whereas the poor were often overworked and underfed. Yet in 21st century America, many of our poorest citizens resemble the rich of the past because they rarely work and suffer from the ‘Diseases of Affluence’ — obesity and diabetes (Fig. 1). This unprecedented reversal in the relation between labor, diet, and disease is an unintended consequence of America’s ‘War on Poverty’.When our nation’s poor were overworked and underfed, it was sound public health policy — morally, physiologically, and economically — to provide food and material support. However, as...

In a Nutshell * An oral compound called TOFA caused significant weight and fat loss in obese mice without reducing food intake or causing muscle loss, setting it apart from current obesity drugs. * TOFA worked by boosting how much energy cells burn, rather than suppressing appetite, and it also improved blood sugar, harmful blood fats, and fatty liver disease. * When combined with semaglutide or tirzepatide, TOFA outperformed either drug alone, and animals maintained their weight loss longer after TOFA treatment ended compared to semaglutide. ============================================================================================== Millions of Americans struggling with obesity have placed their hopes in a new...

Support Free Republic Some of the posts from this blog are reposted on the premier conservative site "Free Republic" and your host supports FR regularly. Join me in supporting this quarter's fundraising effort... Newsdump Alert: US Canada Trade Talks Break Down Late Friday night Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing a suspension of trade talks with the US. Carney's move followed a statement days ago from US President Donald Trump claiming a deal with Canada had been reached and dropping planned US tariffs... Newsdump Update: Fed Judge Strikes Down Trump Administration Migrant Visa Ban... The music nd my music collection...

IN SOME PARTS of the West, children of healthy weight have become the exception. In poor countries, childhood obesity is spreading faster than ever before. The problem is not new: the percentage of overweight children around the world crept up in the 1980s, as junk food became a dietary staple. But the trend today is alarming. A report by UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s agency, published on September 10th, found that the number of school-aged children who are obese is, for the first time, higher than those who are severely undernourished (see chart 1). One-fifth of children aged 5-19 are...

Key Points Eli Lilly said its next-generation drug cleared a crucial late-stage trial in patients with obesity, delivering significant weight loss across doses. The results bring Lilly one step closer to filing for approval of the weekly injection, called retatrutide, which works differently from existing injections and pills. The highest dose of retatrutide helped patients lose 28.3% of their weight — or 70.3 pounds — on average over 80 weeks. ==================================================================== VIDEO AT LINK........ Eli Lilly on Thursday said its next-generation drug cleared a crucial late-stage trial in patients with obesity, delivering significant weight loss across doses. The results bring...

After decades of stigma, researchers are studying cannabis and its compounds like never before. As regulations and restrictions ease in many parts of the world, including the US, this controversial plant and its ancient health claims are finally being put to the test. For many years now, scientists have noticed that some cannabis users tend to have lower body weight and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who don't use cannabis. That is somewhat unexpected, as cannabis is known to trigger the 'munchies', or an appetite for food, in those who use the drug. Now,...

A new global analysis published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology reports that cases of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) have surged 143% since 1990, reaching an estimated 1.3 billion people in 2023, according to the study, as reported by registered dietitian Molly Knudsen. The condition, driven by metabolic risk factors including high fasting plasma glucose, high body mass index (BMI), and smoking, is projected to affect 1.8 billion people by 2050 unless interventions are implemented, researchers stated. Liver cancer cases are expected to nearly double from 870,000 in 2022 to 1.52 million by 2050, with MASLD identified as...

AbstractDietary interventions are the first-line treatment for overweight individuals (OW) and individuals with obesity (OB) who have high-normal blood pressure (BP) or grade I hypertension, particularly when they are at low-to-moderate cardiovascular risk (CVR). However, current guidelines do not specify the most effective dietary approach for optimising cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes in this population.This study aimed to compare the effects of a low-calorie, high-protein ketogenic diet (KD) versus a low-calorie, low-sodium, and high-potassium Mediterranean diet (MD) on BP profiles assessed via ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM). It also evaluated changes in anthropometric measures, metabolic biomarkers, and body composition measured by bioelectrical...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday revealed that childhood and teen obesity rates in the U.S. have reached record highs in recent years. The first report details how the CDC’s researchers found that 40.3 percent of adults 20 and older were found to be obese, which included 9.7 percent who have severe obesity and another 31.7 percent who are classified as overweight. This report was conducted between August 2021 and August 2023. Between 1988 and 1994, when the second report was being surveyed, researchers found that almost 23 percent of adults 20 years and older were...

Charity Pierce, who appeared on the TLC show My 600-lb Life, has died at age 50 after reportedly suffering from various health ailments. Pierce passed away with loved ones by her side at 1:20AM on Tuesday, a family source told TMZ. The source said various medical conditions had resulted in Pierce being placed in hospice care for the past month or two. symbol 00:55 02:24 Read More The health issues included lymphedema and fluid buildup in her lungs, with the source saying the fluid was a possible factor in her death. A cause of death is not yet known. Pierce,...

Many people who successfully lost weight on Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonist drugs are having trouble weaning themselves off the injectables, according to the BBC, because the hunger for food comes roaring back with a vengeance — and hence the pounds start creeping up again, hinting that patients are likely to develop life-long dependencies on the substances. “For the first 38 years of my life, I was overweight — now I’m six stone (38kg) [83 pounds] lighter,” Tanya Hall, a Wegovy user who can’t get off the drug, told the news organization. “Therefore, there’s part of me that feels like...

Soybean oil appears to cause obesity in mice by producing oxylipins that alter liver metabolism and fat processing. Only mice with altered enzymes avoided weight gain, suggesting genetics and modern diets play a major role. Credit: Shutterstock Soybean oil is the most commonly used cooking oil in the United States and appears in a wide range of processed foods. Research is now shedding light on how this highly consumed ingredient contributes to obesity in mice. In a University of California, Riverside experiment, most mice fed a high-fat diet rich in soybean oil put on substantial weight. A separate group of...

Excess weight or obesity boosts risk of death by anywhere from 22% to 91%—significantly more than previously believed—while the mortality risk of being slightly underweight has likely been overestimated, according to new CU Boulder research. The findings, published Feb. 9 in the journal Population Studies, counter prevailing wisdom that excess weight boosts mortality risk only in extreme cases. The statistical analysis of nearly 18,000 people also shines a light on the pitfalls of using body mass index (BMI) to study health outcomes, providing evidence that the go-to metric can potentially bias findings. After accounting for those biases, it estimates that...

Lizzo believes we, as a society, must “undo the effects of the Ozempic boom” because plus-sized women are being “erased.” The musician, 37, took to Substack on Sunday to share an essay titled, “Why is everybody losing weight and what do we do? Sincerely, a person who’s lost weight.” Lizzo, who began shedding pounds in the fall of 2023 following a very public harassment and hostile work environment scandal, confessed that the ordeal made her “deeply suicidal.” (snip) “We’re in an era where the bigger girls are getting smaller because they’re tired of being judged. And now those bigger girls...

U.S. — The American Medical Association announced the long battle with American obesity had finally come to an end thanks to EBT benefits running out amidst the ongoing government shut down. "The government being shut down is the best thing that could ever have happened to the health of the American people," said Dr. Anton Scout, a pediatrician and AMA board member. "People can't afford to get fat anymore." EBT benefits are designed to assist lower-income families with basic needs like buying soda, paying for the Internet, and going to zoos. The program has long been criticized for encouraging emotional...

A new study shows that waistlines are widening almost everywhereIT WAS NOT that long ago that more of the world’s people had too little to eat than ate too much. Now the scales have tipped. A study published on February 29th in the Lancet , a medical journal, shows that more than 1bn people were classified as obese in 2022, the latest year for which data are available. The researchers based their findings on the weight and height measurements of more than 220m people from roughly 190 countries. They found that obesity rates have doubled among adults since 1990 and...

A new analysis of two large clinical trials reveals that a higher weekly dose of semaglutide (7.2 mg) can drive significantly greater weight loss and metabolic improvements in adults with obesity, including those with type 2 diabetes. Credit: Shutterstock =========================================================================== High-dose semaglutide drives greater weight loss. Safety remains favorable but needs further study. A weekly semaglutide dose of 7.2 mg has been shown to markedly enhance weight loss and improve health outcomes for adults with obesity, including those who also have type 2 diabetes (T2D). Evidence from two large, international phase 3 clinical trials, published in The Lancet Diabetes &...

Nine former CDC directors accuse RFK Jr. of undermining public health. They allege Kennedy disregarded proven treatments, focused on unconventional ones and hampered vaccination support. Two Republican senators sharply disagreed over the recommendation towards a hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. In a harsh rebuke of public health policies enacted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accuse him of putting America’s health at risk. Former directors and acting directors of the CDC under both Republican and Democratic administrations outlined their complaints in a guest essay in...

Southwest Airlines will soon require travelers who don’t fit within the armrests of their seat to pay for an extra one in advance, part of a string of recent changes the carrier is making. The new rule goes into effect Jan. 27, the same day Southwest starts assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can either pay for an extra seat in advance with the option of getting that money back later, or they can request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the carrier’s new policy, a refund is still possible but no longer guaranteed. In a statement Monday, Southwest...

Cancer deaths linked to obesity more than tripled in the U.S. during the past two decades, a new study says. Deaths linked to the 13 types of obesity-related cancer rose to 13.5 deaths per million from 3.7 deaths per million between 1999 and 2020, researchers reported Sunday at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco. “Obesity is a significant risk factor for multiple cancers, contributing to significant mortality,” said lead researcher Dr. Faizan Ahmed of Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune City, N.J.