From HealthCentral.com:

There are many behaviors seen in children and adults with ADHD that just make sense, when you consider that the core symptoms are, among other things, inattention, impulsivity, distractibility and more. People with ADHD typically are sensory seeking, even though it may not always look that way, especially if the individual has the inattentive sub-type.

For example, many who are impulsive might find themselves having problems in the area of high risk behaviors, such as brief but many sexual encounters, over-spending, and gambling.

A hyperactive individual might get involved in dangerous activities like car racing. Or they might have an exercise addiction.

An inattentive person’s need for stimuli might be harder to see, but usually it’s there. It might be seen in the areas of internet, TV or even video game addiction.

Those who study ADHD and addictions have begun to look at the connection between eating disorders and ADHD and lately and more specifically, ADHD and obesity. For many, eating can be either stimulating or sedating…or even both.

There have been a few studies in recent years showing a correlation between obesity in children/adolescents and having ADHD. However, there has been little research on the possible link between ADHD and obesity in adults.

A new study, recently published in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders, explored why some adults have difficulty staying on weight loss programs. The researchers at the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Toronto (Canada) administered ADHD tests to 75 women who had been referred to an obesity clinic. The average age of the women was 40 and the average Body Mass Index (BMI) was 43, which is considered to be in the severely obese range.
The ADHD tests included self-reports of retrospective childhood symptoms and a rating of current ADHD symptoms.

Their findings were interesting. Compared to the general population, the researchers found that 26.6% of the obese subjects were classified as having ADHD, whereas in the general population, 3-5% of adults are known to have ADHD. The researchers found the statistics significant.
Researchers J.P. Fleming and colleagues wrote: “While the current study does not allow us to ascertain the cause of the deficit, it is striking that a very high percentage of this sample of severely obese women report very substantial problems with the set of symptoms that we classify as reflecting ADHD.”

What prompted the study was an observation that a significant number of obese clients had tremendous difficulty keeping accurate records of their diet planning- planning and preparing their meals- as well as eating and exercising regularly. These observations prompted the team to research the reasons behind this, thus the discovery of the ADHD/obesity connection.

The researchers noted that, “while the current study does not allow us to ascertain the cause of the deficit, it is striking that a very high percentage of this sample of severely obese women report very substantial problems with the set of symptoms that we classify as reflecting ADHD.”

From Time.com:

In a diet-obsessed world, we all have our own dream of the perfect weight-loss solution: a potato-chip diet, a pill that trims belly fat or, best of all, an exercise that builds lots of muscle with little work. The Power Plate, a new workout machine that looks like a doctor’s office scale on steroids, claims to do just that.

According to Power Plate’s manufacturers, if you stand on the machine’s vibrating plates for 10 minutes a day three times a week, you will lose weight, increase bone density and improve your overall health. But is that really possible?

It might be. Unlike the old-fashioned belt exercisers that just shifted skin around, the Power Plate uses whole-body vibration, or WBV, to contract muscles 30 to 50 times per second. While you stand on the moving plates in the bent-knee position recommended for beginners, the continual vibration causes you to tense and relax your muscles to keep your balance. Even without the vibration, you would involuntarily tense and release just to hold the pose. But the WBV forces you to do so up to 50 times more. That’s quite a workout for so little effort.

But to get the most out of the Power Plate, you can’t just stand. The best approach is to perform the same exercises you would do on the floor—squats, tricep dips, push-ups and the like. Your muscles fatigue quicker, so the exercise routine will be shorter, but you’re still not making the plates do all the work. “This is not a magic bullet that helps people lose weight without doing anything,” says Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. “If you are a healthy individual, wbv training should be a supplement to a sensible diet and exercise program.”

And a session of vibration may be not only good exercise but good therapy as well for people with physical ills like arthritis or osteoporosis. George Waylonis, a clinical professor emeritus of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Ohio State University, conducted a study on the effects of wbv on patients with fibromyalgia, a disease that causes constant full-body pain. Waylonis studied the Power Plate and the Galileo, another vibration exerciser, and was impressed by both. “WBV seems to be a way for people in pain to exercise their muscles and ultimately feel better,” he says.

More such research is certainly needed, but Power Plates can already be found in select gyms, rehabilitation centers and private homes. The machines are expensive: $3,500 for the home unit and $9,250 for the gym model, so some of the private owners are people with names like Madonna. (Soloflex has a simpler version of the Power Plate that sells for just $395.) But if you can’t afford the cost—or the space—for such a bulky bit of hardware, look for the units to show up at a gym near you soon.

From BBC.Co.Uk:

The number of US adults following a healthy lifestyle has fallen in the last two decades despite increasing public health campaigns, a study shows.

A review of two studies stretching back to 1988 found the proportion of obese adults has crept up to over a third.

Levels of exercise also fell, as did consumption of fruit and vegetables.

The American Journal of Medicine study found those with health problems were no more likely to follow a healthy lifestyle than their fitter peers.

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina compared two large-scale studies covering the period 1988 to 2006.

During those 18 years, the percentage of adults aged 40-74 years with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 rose from 28% to 36%.

“If we want all Americans to achieve the health benefits of a healthy lifestyle, then all members of society must take action.” said Dr Steven Galson, Acting US Surgeon General
The number of people exercising three times a week or more fell from 53% to 43%, while the number of people eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day fell by nearly 40%.

At the same time, smoking levels remained the same and moderate drinking slightly increased.

Overall, researchers found, the number of people adhering to all five “healthy habits” – including maintaining a healthy weight and stopping smoking – decreased from 15% to 8%.

This drop “demonstrates that the amount of emphasis by the current health system on prevention and healthy lifestyles may be insufficient,” wrote lead author Dana King.

“The implications of the decreasing rates of healthy lifestyle habits include the possibility of an upswing in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and increase in the number of aging persons with disability and decreased quality of life due to the burden of chronic disease.”

Dr Steven Galson, the acting US surgeon general, said: “There is clearly a lot of work that needs to be done.

“If we want all Americans to achieve the health benefits of a healthy lifestyle, then all members of society must take action including parents, educators, community leaders, government as well as the individual.

“Together we can help Americans understand the severity of obesity, the efforts being made to address it, and how to maintain a healthy weight and live a healthy lifestyle.”

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health commented: “This is a wake-up call for the UK. What happens in America often happens over here a few years later.”

From MedpageToday.com:

Eating a lot of fat can lead to insulin resistance but, surprisingly, so will adding meat-based protein to the diet.

Action Points

Explain to interested patients that the adverse impact of a high-fat diet on insulin sensitivity is well known.

Note that this study suggests that a diet including fat and branched-chain amino acids — found in dairy product and meats — may also induce insulin resistance.
That’s the implication of a range of observations in lean and obese humans, followed by experiments in rats, according to Christopher Newgard, Ph.D., of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and colleagues.

The human studies showed that obese people had several metabolic differences from their leaner counterparts, including increased levels of the so-called branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine, Dr. Newgard and colleagues wrote in the April issue of Cell Metabolism.

Those amino acids — some of the 20 building blocks of protein — are found in large amounts in dairy products and red meat.

The animal studies showed that rats fed a diet high in fat and branched-chain amino acids gained only a little more weight than animals fed a normal chow diet, while those on a high-fat diet only gained significantly more.

But the rats eating fat and protein were as insulin resistant as the animals fed a high-fat diet.

“Insulin resistance occurred in animals with a diet high in the branched-chain amino acids, but only if they were ingested along with a high level of fat in the diet,” Dr. Newgard said in a statement.

But, he added, “I want to be clear that our animal data suggest that there is nothing wrong with obtaining protein from sources that are high in branched-chain amino acids, as long as you are not eating beyond what your energy needs are.”

Problems may arise, though, “if you add a lot of unneeded protein to a fatty diet,” he said. “The ancient Greeks were right: everything in moderation.”

The researchers set out to understand metabolic, endocrine, inflammatory, and physiologic differences between obese and lean subjects.

In a cohort of 73 obese and 67 lean volunteers, they measured 19 hormones involved in energy balance and fuel homeostasis, four pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, variables such as insulin sensitivity, body composition, and resting metabolic rate, and a range of more than 100 metabolites.

As expected, the obese volunteers were significantly less insulin sensitive than their lean counterparts. The homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index was 2.3 times higher than in lean controls, which was significant at P0.0001.

And in a subset of participants who had intravenous glucose tolerance testing, the insulin sensitivity index was 2.1-fold higher in lean subjects, which was significant at P0.001.

But the key finding was that obese volunteers had a “signature” — consisting of branched-chain amino acids and their metabolites — that was significantly associated with a higher HOMA index (at P0.001).

Because of that observation, Dr. Newgard and colleagues fed rats on three different diets — a standard chow, a high-fat diet, and a diet high in fat and branched-chain amino acids.

After 13 weeks, the high-fat rats were 70% heavier than they were at the start, compared with 51% and 49% for the fat/protein and standard chow animals, respectively. The difference between the high-fat group and the others was significant at P0.039.

The difference in weight gain between the two high-fat groups was mainly caused by rates of food intake — rats in the high-fat group ate an average of 746 kilocalories a week compared with 666 for the animals getting fat and protein. (The chow-fed rats averaged 782 kilocalories a week, but were more active than the fat/protein animals, accounting for the similar weight gain.)

The fat/protein group had increases of up to 150% in leucine and isoleucine and 109% in valine, compared with the other two groups.

Despite gaining weight at a rate similar to the chow-fed animals, the rats fed high fat and protein were as insulin resistant (on glucose and insulin tolerance tests) after 15 weeks as the high-fat-fed animals.

To rule out the possibility that it was the fat and not the branched-chain amino acids that were responsible, the researchers conducted a second feeding test.

Three groups of animals were allowed to feed at will on standard chow, a high-fat diet, and a high-fat diet with additional branched-chain amino acids.

A fourth group was fed a high-fat diet, but only allowed to eat as much as their counterparts in the high-fat/protein group.

As expected, the fourth group had body weights identical to the high-fat/protein group and not significantly different from the chow-fed animals.

But intravenous glucose tolerance testing showed clear insulin resistance in the high-fat and fat/protein group, but not in the other two groups, demonstrating that moderate fat intake is not enough to induce insulin resistance, the researchers said.

Dr. Newgard and colleagues said more research is needed before dietary advice can be given but, overall, the results suggest that “in the context of a dietary pattern that includes high-fat consumption, (food containing branched-chain amino acids) may make an independent contribution to development of insulin resistance and diabetes.”

From: USA Today.com

Weighing too much may take as much as a decade off your life, according a new analysis of studies that involved 900,000 people.
Adults who are obese — about 40 or more pounds over a healthy weight — may be cutting about three years off their lives, mostly from heart disease and stroke.

BETTER LIFE: Fitness and nutrition briefs
Those who are extremely obese, about 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight, could be shortening their lives by as many as 10 years, the study found. Being extremely obese is similar to the effect of lifelong smoking, says Richard Peto, one of the lead researchers and a professor of medical statistics at Oxford University in England.

Study co-author Gary Whitlock, an epidemiologist at Oxford, says, “Obesity causes heart disease and stroke by pushing up blood pressure, mucking up blood cholesterol and triggering diabetes.”

Overall, about 66% of adults in the USA are either overweight or obese. About one-third of people in the USA are obese, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or greater. BMI is a measure based on height and weight.

The researchers and their colleagues examined the findings of 57 studies involving about 900,000 adults who were followed for 10 to 15 years. Most of the people lived in the USA or Western Europe. The scientists analyzed 70,000 deaths.

Among the findings reported online today and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet:

•Above a healthy weight, every 5-point increase in BMI increases the risk of early death by about 30%.

•People who are overweight but not obese, with a BMI between 25 and 29.9, could be shortening their life span by a year.

•People with the lowest risk of dying early are in the high end of the healthy weight range with a BMI of about 22.5 to 25.

This is a “valuable study that provides a much clearer picture of the risk associated with various levels of being overweight or obese,” says Michael Thun, emeritus vice president of epidemiological research at the American Cancer Society.

“What is particularly worrisome in the United States is that more than a third of people now qualify as obese, and a subset of people are becoming progressively more obese. Once you gain weight, it’s hard to lose it and easy to gain more. So the goal to stop your weight gain now.”

Both obesity and smoking are dangerous to your health, Thun says.

“There has been an artificial horse race between obesity and smoking over which is worse. This is fundamentally silly.

“If you continue to smoke, it takes an average of 10 years off your life. Being very obese has about the same effect.”