Research Weighs in on Obesity: 8 New Studies

1. Not So Fast.

Alternate-day fasting has become popular for weight loss, weight maintenance, and cardioprotection, but the practice was no more effective than daily calorie restriction for obese adults in a clinical trial. No significant differences were found in blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, insulin resistance, C-reactive protein level, or homocysteine concentrations.

2. Ill Health at the Heart of "Healthy Obese".

So-called healthy obese persons-those having normal markers of metabolic health even with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or higher-are at higher risk for heart disease than the general population. In patient records for persons regarded as healthy and obese, the risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure were increased 49%, 7%, and 96%, respectively.

3. A Case of Beer vs Water.

Energy imbalance is the main cause of obesity, researchers noted, citing excessive caloric intake through food and beverages as a key contributor. So they assessed the intake of 17 beverage items through a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Replacing 1 serving of beer or sugar-sweetened soda with 1 serving of water per day was related to a lower incidence of obesity and, in the case of beer, there was greater weight loss over a 4-year period.

4. Too Fat, or Not Too Fat.

The association between BMI and socioeconomic outcomes (eg, wages, being married) is shaped by gender, race, and cohort rather than simply being above a specific threshold of BMI, Cornell researchers found. “BMI is a flawed measure of actual body fat because it is not sensitive to differences in mass that are due to fat versus muscle or bone,” they stated. “The biological and social costs of being or being judged as ‘too fat’ cannot be conceptualized or measured in the same way.”

5. Body Fat Measures Predict Kidney Disease.

Researchers compared the association of CT and anthropometric measures of obesity with kidney outcomes (kidney function [KF] decline and chronic kidney disease) in older patients. CT measures included visceral abdominal fat and subcutaneous adipose tissue; anthropometric measures included waist circumference and BMI. Estimates of KF decline risk provided by anthropometric measures appeared to be as consistent as those obtained with CT.

6. Depression Gets a Head Start.

The risk of major depression developing at some point in life more than triples if a child is overweight at age 8 or 13 years. The chances of depression quadruple when excess weight is carried over a lifetime (as a child and as an adult) compared with only as an adult.

7. Eating on the Mind.

Mindfulness, specifically mindful eating (increasing awareness and focus on eating), may be an effective approach to achieving weight loss. Mindful eating includes paying attention to hunger and satiety cues, planning meals and snacks, eating as a singular activity, and focusing on how food tastes. Participants who completed an online, 15-week weight management program that incorporated mindful eating lost more weight than those in a control group (1.9 kg vs 0.3 kg).

8. Physical Activity May Modify Genetic Effects.

Researchers waned to identify genetic variants whose effects on adiposity are modified by physical activity. They found evidence of interaction with physical activity for the strongest known obesity risk-locus in the FTO gene. They also identified 11 novel adiposity variants, suggesting that accounting for physical activity or other environmental factors that contribute to variation in adiposity may facilitate gene discovery.