"The results I experienced from 26 days at the Perfect Health Retreat were nothing short of miraculous. I had been struggling with chronic fatigue for probably a decade or more. I’d been gaining 5-10 pounds a year and was up to 240 pounds at my heaviest. My sleep cycle was chaotic. I was tired so much of the time that when I did get a burst of energy (usually late at night) I’d often stay up all night at the computer to try to be productive. But then I’d sleep through the entire next day. And some days I’d force myself to function on only 2-3 hours of sleep. I was keeping myself going with Diet Coke, drinking up to 2 liters or more a day. I had been told by my doctor that I was pre-diabetic, my triglycerides and bad cholesterol were too high, my good cholesterol and Vitamin D were too low, and several hormones were out of whack."
“No healthy pattern of increased weight”
It has previously been suggested that some obese people can be healthy. Certainly, many enjoy and active life and appear healthy. But, does overweight and obesity increase the risk of cardiovascular events and death? To study this further, researchers at University of Toronto evaluated 8 studies with a total of 61,386 participants and grouped them into 6 BMI/metabolic status categories: "BMI (normal weight/overweight/obesity) and metabolic status (healthy/unhealthy)." Healthy vs. unhealthy was "defined by the presence or absence of components of the metabolic syndrome by Adult Treatment Panel III or International Diabetes Federation criteria."
Not surprisingly the researchers found the group with lowest risk was the nomal weight were metabolically healthy group. The normal weight metabolically unhealthy, and the overweight, or obese had an "elevated risk all-cause mortality and/or cardiovascular events." The authors concluded:
"Compared with metabolically healthy normal-weight individuals, obese persons are at increased risk for adverse long-term outcomes events in the absence of metabolic abnormalities, suggesting that there is no healthy pattern of increased weight."
How healthy is your heart?
People were considered to have optimal heart health if they met the following criteria: They did not have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes; they were not overweight, underweight or obese; they did not smoke; they did at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week; and they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
Few Americans Have 'Healthy' Hearts
MyHealthNewsDaily
THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION, PART 2 - CHOICES
The second section of the four part series of THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION focuses upon choices that individuals can and do make that affect their weight control and ultimately their health. According to the National Institutes of Health $800Million is currently budgeted annually for research on the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of obesity in the U.S. best current research evidence shows that small changes in lifestyle can produce small weight loss that yields positive results for current and long term health. The National Weight Control Registry identified the following characteristics of persons who maintain a weight loss:
- 78% eat breakfast every day
- 75% weigh themselves at least once a week
- 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week
- 90% participate in physical activity daily
The obesity epidemic is overwhelming our resources as a nation- but we can each do our part to fix it. For more information visit Part Two, Choices.
Do hunter-gatherers really burn more calories per day?
Daily activity of the Hadza. Image: Andreas LedererI often see persons in the office with neurological complaints such as headaches, dizziness, difficulty with memory and thinking, or alterations in mood that also have a BMI (Body Mass Index) in the obese category. A common reason offered for not being able loose weight is their inability to exercise.
Conventional wisdom holds that hunter-gathers maintain a normal weight through a combination of the Paleolithic diet and an active lifestyle that burns more calories. According to a new multi-institutional study, Hunter-Gatherer Energetics and Human Obesity published in the July 25 of Plos ONE, this conventional wisdom seems to be incorrect. As described by Science Codex:
The research team behind the study, led by Herman Pontzer of Hunter College in New York City, along with David Raichlen of the University of Arizona and Brian M. Wood of Stanford measured daily energy expenditure (calories per day) among the Hadza, a population of traditional hunter-gatherers living in the open savannah of northern Tanzania. Despite spending their days trekking long distances to forage for wild plants and game, the Hadza burned no more calories each day than adults in the U.S. and Europe. The team ran several analyses accounting for the effects of body weight, body fat percentage, age, and gender. In all analyses, daily energy expenditure among the Hadza hunter-gatherers was indistinguishable from that of Westerners. The study was the first to measure energy expenditure in hunter-gatherers directly; previous studies had relied entirely on estimates.
However, this does not mean you shouldn’t exercise:
The authors emphasize that physical exercise is nonetheless important for maintaining good health. In fact, the Hadza spend a greater percentage of their daily energy budget on physical activity than Westerners do, which may contribute to the health and vitality evident among older Hadza. Still, the similarity in daily energy expenditure between Hadza hunter-gatherers and Westerners suggests that we have more to learn about human physiology and health, particularly in non-Western settings.
Bottom line: The type of food consumed matters tremendously! The key factor in loosing weight is what you select at the grocery store or restaurant! Low-grade chronic inflammation resulting from the modern diet and the impact of modern foods on the brain's regulation of eating behavior are the prime suspects in the obesity epidemic. Returning to the ancestral human diet is the most powerful tool for reclaiming a normal weight.
Related Links
- An "Insight of the Decade": Chronic inflammation kills
- Inflammation impairs frontal lobe brain function
- Paleolithic Nutrition: Chronic Inflammation
- Getting fatter on the typical Western diet
- New hypothesis: Acellular carbohydrates promote obesity
- “Fascinating insight”: Inflamed cells circulating in bloodstream
- Paleolithic Nutrition: Diabetes and the Modern Diet
- Success Stories
New hypothesis: Acellular carbohydrates promote obesity
Ian Spreadbury of the Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada published “a novel hypothesis of obesity” in the May 2012 issue of Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy. (Abstract & PDF link)
He compares the cellular carbohydrates of the ancestral diet with the acellular carbohydrates of “flours, sugars, and processed foods.” The key issue is carbohydrate density:
Due to being made up of cells, virtually all "ancestral foods" have markedly lower carbohydrate densities than flour- and sugar-containing foods, a property quite independent of glycemic index.
Replacing refined grains with whole grains doesn’t seem to help much:
Whole grains are mooted to be healthier than refined grains, yet comparisons between grain consumption habits in industrialized societies indicate the effects of replacing refined grains with whole grains yield only modest improvements to health.
The dense acellular carbohydrates of modern foods may trigger obesity (known to be associated with low-level inflammation) by inflamming the GI track:
The present hypothesis suggests that in parallel with the bacterial effects of sugars on dental and periodontal health, acellular flours, sugars, and processed foods produce an inflammatory microbiota via the upper gastrointestinal tract …” (emphasis added)
A diet of grain-free whole foods with carbohydrate from cellular tubers, leaves, and fruits may produce a gastrointestinal microbiota consistent with our evolutionary condition, potentially explaining the exceptional macronutrient-independent metabolic health of non-Westernized populations, and the apparent efficacy of the modern "Paleolithic" diet on satiety and metabolism.” (emphasis added)
Success story: Jennifer avoids gastroplasty
Happily, I am no longer considering gastric bypass surgery. All of my hard work has paid off with a 100 pound loss. In fact, based on my current health and body fat percentage, I no longer qualify for bypass surgery. In the future, I know that there will be obstacles, but I also know that I will continue to lose. The goal is to shed 60 more pounds. Losing 100 pounds has been the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done. Along the way, there have been celebrations and tears, but I’ve never regretted the cookie I didn’t eat.
Jet fuel & obesity
About 5 million more is spent every year in the jet fuel needed to fly heavier Americans, compared with 1960 weights.
Gary Taubs
The New Obesity Campaigns Have It All Wrong
Newsweek, May 14, 2012
Obesity in adults linked to cognitive dysfunction
Duke University and CDC predict 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030. The impact on the nation's health (and economy) will be significant. Obesity is associated with many modern diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and sleep apnea. Other associations include migraine headaches, increased brain pressure (pseudotumor cerebri), rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammation of the brain's frontal lobes and hypothalamus.
Obesity is measured using the Body Mass Index (BMI) and is calculated by dividing body weight by the square of the height. As noted by Medscape Neurology, BMI “is the most common means that clinicians use to define obesity.”
Central obesity, obesity of the abdomen, is also harmful to health. The extra adipose tissue collects below the skin (subcutaneous adipose tissue) and around the abdominal organs (visceral adipose tissue). While many of us grew up thinking extra fatty tissue was harmless, it is now understood that the adipose tissue of central obesity represents a “pathogenic tissue compartment” (a compartment of tissue that can make us sick).
In a study published in March 2012 issue of Age and Ageing, Dae Hyun Yoon MD, PhD and associates looked at the whether obesity, as measured by BMI, and central obesity affected brain function.
In 250 patients, 60 years of age or older, the amount abdominal fatty tissue (both visceral and subcutaneous) was measured on an abdominal CT scan and compared to the results on the MMSE-KC, a Korean diagnostic scale similar to the Mini-Mental State Examination that measures cognitive function. The researchers discovered that persons 60-70 years of age with a high BMI or high visceral obesity had significantly more difficulty with memory and thinking. According to Medscape Medical News:
After controlling for age, sex, education, hypertension, and diabetes, high BMI and being in the top tertile for visceral adipose tissue area were significantly associated with poor cognitive performance in those up to age 70 years.
Dr. Yoon explained:
Visceral adipose tissue is more metabolically active than subcutaneous adipose tissue and is thought to have a stronger influence on insulin resistance, among other things. It has long been considered as a pathogenic tissue compartment and this research shows a positive association between visceral adipose tissue area and low cognitive functioning. (emphasis added)
Contrary to popular belief, excess fat does not just sit there; it produces inflammatory substances that affect a variety of bodily functions. The extra fat impacts how the brain works; or, in this situation, doesn’t work.
Staffan Lindberg MD, PhD, writing in his medical textbook Food and Western Disease: Health and nutrition from an evolutionary perspective, notes that “overweight was extremely rare among hunter-gatherers.” As he shows, increasing evidence is pointing to the ancestral diet as the best model for reclaiming health.
To learn more about the ancestral human diet, consider these Ancestral Diet Resources. Also, take a look at the response in BMI and central obesity of these two dedicated Paleo advocates! (Unconquerable Dave and Diana)
Go Paleo to reduce and then get rid of obesity. Keep your brain sharp.
If you are on a special diet for health reasons, discuss the Paleo diet with your doctor before making changes. Also discuss with your doctor if you have high blood pressure or diabetes since your medications may need to be lowered. Also, if you are on Coumadin or have hemochromatosis, discuss this diet with your doctor before you start.
Did we start loosing willpower in the late 1970's?
If you, or someone you know, have become obese, you may have received "friendly" advice that it is all about will power. Somehow, if you just will it, you can loose weight. After all, the problem is with you. You are either eating too much, or not exercising enough. You will likely also hear the same message from your doctor. Our food producers love this answer. Hey, if you are obese, it is not their fault. It's the lack of willpower.
As the chart above suggests, many of us must have lost our willpower in the late 1970's. That's when obesity started going up.
Although willpower is a factor in many human activities, this view of obesity simply does not ring true. The increase in the average weight of the population since the late '70s is not due to lack of willpower. It is due to the increased availability, and marking, of increasingly low-quality food and its effect on the brain.
Thus, the solution is not more willpower, although it always helps. The solution is knowledge. The more we understand that low-quality food is becoming the overwhelming component of the typical modern diet, and, the more we understand this diet increases the likelihood of chronic diseases, the more we recognize we must make our own nutritional decisions instead allowing our culture to lead us astray.
But, how do we begin? Especially when there are so many, often contradictory, diets being recommended. We can start by trying to reproduce the diet of our ancestors. After all, those living before agriculture and animal husbandry were often taller and healthier than we are. As best as can be determined, they did not suffer from the modern chronic preventable diseases that the CDC reports currently accounts for about ¾ of healthcare spending - hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution can’t be discarded without consequences.
Its time to learn about ancestral human nutrition on our own: not an easy task. Fortunately, there are many guides to help us along the way. For those new to the ancestral diet, the next post will provide links to resources to help you get started. For those already enjoying its benefits, there is still more to learn.
Quote: Adiposity causes inflammation of the hypothalamus
Adiposity is associated with chronic low-grade systemic inflammation and increased inflammation in the hypothalamus, a key structure in feeding behavior.
In other words, excess fatty tissue in obesity harms the hypothalamus, the brain structure that regulates feeding behaviour, and makes it more difficult to control overeating. Through inflammation, excess fatty tissue takes control. The solution, a non-inflammatory diet such as the Paleo diet.
Related links:
Quote: More work for the primal / Paleo community
It is bad news. Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 15%. Now, 38 states have rates above 25%. It's a huge shift, and it's relentless.
James Marks, MD, MPH
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
PlosBLOGS: "The Anthropology of Obesity"
Evolutionary analysis can prove indispensable when considering endemic obesity rates – obesity can be viewed as a problem resulting from the contrast between Paleolithic genetic programming and the present-day obesogenic environment.
PlosBLOGS: Neuroanthropology just posted a bibliography on obesity arranged in the following topics:
- Evolution and Obesity
- Biocultural Perspectives
- Social Determinants of Health
- Change in Diet
- Obesity Culture
- Health Behaviors
- Economic Influences
- Neuroanthropology Posts
Diets changed from Paleolithic times through the agricultural and industrial revolutions. With the advent of globalization it is of no surprise that change is being observed in food acquisition, consumption, and preparation patterns. Obesogenic environments are on the rise with the homogenization of diet that occurs initially with an increase in consumption of traditional food items, and the subsequent introduction of fast foods, convenience foods, and industrialized food items that are nutritionally devoid.
This is a great post and resource. Check it out.