South Coast LapBand http://southcoastlapband.com South Coast LapBand Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:14:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 Medical vs. Surgical Treatments for Obesity http://southcoastlapband.com/medical-vs-surgical-treatments-for-obesity/ http://southcoastlapband.com/medical-vs-surgical-treatments-for-obesity/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:14:01 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=195 Read More]]> Have you ever tried medical therapy for your fight against Obesity? Have you ever had surgery for your fight against Obesity? If you answered yes to either of the two questions, then you will be very interested in the study results found by Dr. Juan P. Valderas and his colleagues published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. They found that gastric surgery increases peptide YY (which controls appetite in the gut) and reduces hunger and appetite, while medical therapy has no change on peptide YY, hunger, or appetite. These findings occurred in study participants after they achieved the same amount of weight loss two months after their method of treatment. This explains the difference in success of medical therapy versus surgical therapy in the fight against obesity!

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Lower your chances of developing Gestational Diabetes and Cesarean section… http://southcoastlapband.com/lower-your-chances-of-developing-gestational-diabetes-and-cesarean-section%e2%80%a6/ http://southcoastlapband.com/lower-your-chances-of-developing-gestational-diabetes-and-cesarean-section%e2%80%a6/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:13:09 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=193 Read More]]> Do you want to have Bariatric surgery, and also want to become pregnant one day? If so, then you should consider undergoing bariatric surgery before becoming pregnant! A study done between 2002 and 2006 by Dr. Anne E. Burke, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, found that obese women who have bariatric surgery before becoming pregnant are three times less likely to develop Gestational Diabetes and have reduced chances of having a Cesarean section than women who become pregnant before undergoing bariatric surgery. In addition, the study concluded that obese women who delivered before undergoing bariatric surgery were more likely to have an Adjustable Gastric Banding surgery than obese women who delivered after undergoing bariatric surgery. Therefore, consider bariatric surgery before planning a pregnancy!

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Do you have a Pre-Teen who is dealing with Obesity? http://southcoastlapband.com/do-you-have-a-pre-teen-who-is-dealing-with-obesity/ http://southcoastlapband.com/do-you-have-a-pre-teen-who-is-dealing-with-obesity/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:11:30 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=191 Read More]]> Everyone knows that adolescence is a time when kids are most sensitive about their body image, but a new study done by Timothy D. Nelson, assistant professor of Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, found that body dissatisfaction is actually occurring much earlier. This study found that overweight pre-teens who experienced a particular kind of teasing about weight tended to judge their bodies more harshly and were less satisfied with their body sizes than pre-teens who didn’t experience getting teased about their weight. This specific kind of teasing can lead to other health and emotional issues such as increased risk of internalizing problems and developing irregular eating behaviors. Therefore, researchers believe that early indentification of children who are targets of being teased about their weight, and intervention efforts targeted at schools, can reduce the harmful effects of being teased about weight.

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Obesity Increases Colon Cancer Mortality http://southcoastlapband.com/obesity-increases-colon-cancer-mortality/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:10:25 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=189 Read More]]> —A study published in the September 2010 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention suggests a link between obesity and an increased risk for colon cancer. Evidence shows that obesity with BMI of at least 30 had a 45% increased risk of dying from colon cancer after the disease is diagnosed in obese postmenopausal women.
They found the distribution of fat was more predictive of mortality than general obesity with BMI of 30. Women with abdominal obesity (larger waist to hip ratio) had a 30-40% greater risk of dying from colon cancer. Interestingly, those underweight women, with BMI less than 18.5, had an 89% increased mortality compared to those of normal weight. The data used was from the Iowa Women’s Health Study, which examined 1096 women who were diagnosed with colon cancer from 1986 to 2005.
Research has shown that excess weight and obesity can increase the risk of many types of cancer, not just colon. The association between higher BMI and increased mortality was especially noticed in cancers of the colon, breast (in women 60 years or older), ovary, cervix, and prostate, and for leukemia.

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Decrease Heartburn by Lying on the Left http://southcoastlapband.com/decrease-heartburn-by-lying-on-the-left/ http://southcoastlapband.com/decrease-heartburn-by-lying-on-the-left/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:09:30 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=187 Read More]]> Sleeping on your side can make can ease chronic heartburn. The difference to getting a good nights sleep is choosing the correct side.

A study in The Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology induced heartburn in subjects by feeding them high-fat meals. Immediately after the meal, they had them sleep on one side or the other for 4 hours and measured the acid in the esophagus.

They found that sleeping on the right side aggravates heartburn. They also found the acid clearance of the esophagus took longer if sleeping on the right side.

No one knows for sure why. But other studies have had similar results.

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Artificially Sweetened Soft Drinks Linked to Pre-term Delivery http://southcoastlapband.com/artificially-sweetened-soft-drinks-linked-to-pre-term-delivery/ http://southcoastlapband.com/artificially-sweetened-soft-drinks-linked-to-pre-term-delivery/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:08:42 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=185 Read More]]> Participants were 59,334 women enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort from 1996 to 2002. The goal of the study was to evaluate the association between consumption of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drinks and preterm delivery.
Women avoid sugar- sweetened soft drinks because they have been linked to a number of adverse health outcomes such as high weight gain. Artificially-sweetened soft drinks are often promoted as an alternative, but the safety of artificial sweeteners has been disputed, and consequences of high intakes of artificial sweeteners especially for pregnant women have been minimally addressed.
The study compared daily consumption of sugar- sweetened soft drinks vs. artificially-sweetened soft drinks in pregnant women. They found that daily intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with an increased risk for preterm delivery regardless of the women’s weight, whether normal or obese.
They did not find this association of preterm delivery with those women who consumed sugar-sweetened carbonated or noncarbonated soft drinks.
They conclude that further studies are needed to reject or confirm these findings.
The study was reported in the September 2010 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Psychiatric Illness has no Negative Effect on Weight Loss after Bariatric Surgery http://southcoastlapband.com/psychiatric-illness-has-no-negative-effect-on-weight-loss-after-bariatric-surgery/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:07:50 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=183 Read More]]> New research shows that overweight patients with psychiatric diagnoses lose similar amounts of weight after bariatric surgery compared to those without mental illness.
Patients suffering from depression, anxiety, or any psychiatric diagnosis did not statistically differ in weight loss compared to those patients without a psychiatric diagnosis, according to a study presented at the 31st Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in April 2010.
The study included 61 men (61%) and women (39%) who underwent gastric bypass (41%) and laparoscopic band surgery (59%) between 2003 and 2008. Psychological examination revealed 54% suffered from depression, 28% anxiety, and 69% had at least 1 psychiatric diagnosis, which included psychosis and bipolar.
Before surgery, the patients had a mean body mass index (BMI) of 48.2. After surgery, there was a mean weight loss of 68.5 lbs. Participants were followed for 2 years.
“There is a feeling [among practitioners] that patients with psychiatric diagnoses will fare poorly [with bariatric surgery], but the study showed no statistically significant difference” from patients without a diagnoses, study investigator Angela Banitt, MA, a doctoral student at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, told Meds cape Psychiatry.
“You don’t want to rule out patients with depression or anxiety because they may do just as well as someone who doesn’t have these conditions,” she added.

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Obesity Affects Breast Cancer Outcomes http://southcoastlapband.com/obesity-affects-breast-cancer-outcomes/ http://southcoastlapband.com/obesity-affects-breast-cancer-outcomes/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:07:08 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=181 Read More]]> A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, which included over 53,000 women in Denmark, showed that the risk of distant metastasis from breast cancer was increased 46% in obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 and the risk of dying of breast cancer was increased by 38% after 30 years.
The current study adds to the existing evidence that obesity is associated with poor outcomes in breast cancer. Patients should be made aware of the adverse impact obesity has on decreasing the efficacy and poor outcomes of treatment and should be counseled about the potential importance of lifestyle changes to improve weight control.
Obesity may reduce the efficacy of endocrine therapy. They point out that both endocrine and metabolic changes that are associated with obesity are reversible by weight reduction.
Losing at least 10% of body weight has been shown to reduce serum concentrations of estradiol, leptin, and insulin, and losing weight also increases concentrations of sex hormone–binding globulin and adiponectin, they note. In addition, weight reduction in obese individuals leads to a reduction in levels of proinflammatory cytokines.
Therefore, weight reduction to a healthier BMI is a prevention strategy that may improve the prognosis of patients with breast and other cancers and increase the effectiveness of treatment.

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A Wireless Device To Treat Obesity? http://southcoastlapband.com/a-wireless-device-to-treat-obesity/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:06:14 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=179 Read More]]> An implantable device similar to a pacemaker has received approval in Europe for commercial marketing. Called the abiliti (R) system, this device, following minimally invasive surgery, sends a low level electrical impulse to the stomach whenever a person eats or drinks. This stimulation is supposed to make the person feel full causing them to eat less. There are no restrictions in the types of foods allowed and the side effects of nausea reported in gastric bypass or gastric banding are avoided.

The system is said to automatically record when the patient eats, drinks, and exercises and the information can be viewed via a wireless connection. This information can be of benefit to the physician and patient to view patterns of behavior and develop treatment strategies to achieve better outcomes for weight loss.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 1.6 billion people are overweight and 400 million are obese. Diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and heart disease are a few of the health problems associated with obesity. Weight loss surgery has proven effective for some suffering from obesity but impose some lifestyle restrictions and side effects. The abiliti system may be an alternative for some.
The original article was featured in “Medical News Today”, an online medical news source, posted on January 11, 2011.

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Vitamin D May Protect Against Autoimmune Diseases http://southcoastlapband.com/vitamin-d-may-protect-against-autoimmune-diseases/ http://southcoastlapband.com/vitamin-d-may-protect-against-autoimmune-diseases/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 08:05:11 +0000 https://southcoastlapband.com/?p=177 Read More]]> Most experts believe the RDA or Recommended Daily Allowance for vitamin D of 200 IU (International Units) for those younger than 50 years old and 600 IU for 70+ years old per day are too low.

A study published in Genome Research (8/10) supports the idea that vitamin D interacts with the genes involved with cancer and certain autoimmune diseases.
Experts say 2000 IU may be the optimal dose to prevent diseases like multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s, lupus, colorectal cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Vitamin D levels can be raised in the body by sunlight exposure and foods like fish and fortified milk, but as many as half of the U.S. population is deficient. The use of sunscreen has reduced sun exposure and most people do not get sufficient amounts from their diet.
Blood levels of the vitamin are measured as 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Levels below 20 nanograms per milliliter are generally considered deficient. Levels between 30 and 40 nanograms per milliliter may be the goal to reducing the risk of acquiring autoimmune diseases and certain cancers.
The impact of 2000 IU of vitamin D on 20,000 subjects for 5 years will be studied soon. We will soon have a better understanding of the optimal doses of vitamin D and the optimal blood levels associated with the best balance of benefits and risks. But currently there are many unanswered questions.

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