Obesity, sex life, infertility & diabetes

Seema Singh — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:10:00 GMT

Too many correlations here, but they all point to one thing: the war on obesity needs more ammunition.

In a new study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers say hormonal changes and diminished sexual quality of life in obese men are related to the degree of obesity.

"In our study population, we found that lower testosterone levels and diminished ratings for sexual quality of life were correlated with increased Body Mass Index," said Ahmad Hammoud lead author from the University of Utah.

But there's some good news: both these conditions can be improved after gastric bypass surgery. "Subjects who lost weight through bariatric surgery experienced a reduction in estradiol levels, an increase in testosterone levels and an increase in ratings of sexual quality of life."

However, since this relationship is "confounded by bio-psychosocial aspects of obesity", researchers say further studies are required to determine a cause and effect relationship.

In women, obesity can lead to infertility. Obese women have alterations in their ovaries which might be responsible for an egg's inability to make an embryo, says a new study in the same journal.

"Characteristics of eggs are influenced by the environment in which they develop within the ovary," said Rebecca Robker of Adelaide University in Australia and lead author of the study. "Our study found that obese women have abnormally high levels of fats and inflammation in the fluid surrounding their eggs which can impact an egg's developmental potential."

Now, this finding is gender neutral.

It's well known by now that obesity is a major risk factor for type II diabetes. In March issue of Cell Metabolism, researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, report that they have detected a molecular switch in the fat tissue of obese mice which is a critical factor in the development of insulin resistance.

The key protein, called CREB, was earlier found to increase glucose production by the liver during fasting. But now it is shown to be activated in fat tissue of obese mice where it promotes insulin resistance.

The new finding suggests that CREB activity could provide an early warning for obese people predisposed to develop insulin resistance and could eventually lead to new diabetes treatments that would not require weight loss.

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Recession is good for your health

Seema Singh — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:47:00 GMT

Did they say if life gives you lemons, make lemonade?

On the World Diabetes Day on November 14, diabetes care providers are saying "an organized recession in our sedentary lifestyle" can lead to a healthy living.

M.V. Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Centre, one of the oldest referral centre for Diabetes care in the country, with over 200,000 patients registered to-date, says: "Instead of cutting down the expenditure in other activities, a squeeze in the sedentary practice like fast food culture, junk food and other Gen Y habits can show us the way for a healthy living which also can accommodate the lifestyle changes in these lean times."

M.V. Hospital has launched a "Slim & Fit" awareness program for schools across Chennai, in keeping with the theme "Diabetes in Children and Adolescents" chosen by International Diabetes Federation for this year.

Novo Nordisk is organizing a walk in Bangalore to express its solidarity with diabetics and increase awareness among children. This walk would focus on key issues diabetes among children and adolescents and distribute relevant educational material free of cost.

I'm sure other such events/talks are being organized in other cities. However, they shouldn't just confine to one Day, but be pursued round the year, such is the magnitude of the disease. It'd be foolish to expect any significant public money being spent on diabetes control programmes, mainly for two reasons: in a country of limited resources and blinkered long-term plans, communicable diseases have hogged all the political attention (and resources). Diabetes, which is traditionally (and somewhat wrongly) treated as an affliction you invite upon yourself (by eating and leading a profligate lifestyle), will remain a private burden, at least for a long time to come.

Secondly, it's also a disease which can be prevented and managed to a great extent by awareness and information.

So, leading a leaner life, as a principle (or habit, if you will), might make sense because recession, even if it ends, won't ensure "a return to previous rates of economic growth" as Robert J Samuelson says in his forthcoming book : The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence. You can read an excerpt here.

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Lab Rats : diabetes

Obesity, sex life, infertility & diabetes

Recession is good for your health