Puget Sound Surgical Center

A recent report published by CNN suggests that older women with excessive fat deposits around their thighs experience more memory deterioration than women who are more round. The primary reason for this is the type of fat that is situated around the thighs and hips compared to the fat that’s located around the waist.

Medical scientists have differentiated multiple kinds of fat which release hormone cytokines. These cytokines can cause inflammation in the body which can affect a woman’s memory. The accumulation of thigh fat has a high concentration of cytokines and may also contribute to the formation of plaque in the blood stream, which restricts blood flow to the brain, and be linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

There have been many issues regarding the accuracy of the BMI method of which a person’s body fat is measured. Accordingly, the BMI method uses a measurement of weight as it relates to a person’s height to calculate body fat. Unfortunately, this method has shown itself to be flawed. Athletic people with a higher percentage of muscle and elderly people who lose height with age are often miscalculated and considered obese by the BMI standard.

The BMI continues to be the primary testing standard in most health agencies because it’s inexpensive and easy to do.

A recent study published by the Journal Pediatrics, suggests that a relatively easy and understandable measurement could be used in place of the BMI which uses the neck circumference as a determinate for total body fat.

More often than naught, a wide neck is often related with obesity type conditions like diabetes, sleep apnea and hypertension. It has also been studied for potential obesity related problems like heart disease as well.

The primary issue of the BMI method of testing for body fat is that it doesn’t properly measure the central fat. However, using the BMI method is a good start and then utilizing other methods to either backup or question it’s findings.

The World Health Organization has projected that over seven hundred million adults will become obese by 2015. With obesity comes the risk of contracting type 2 diabetes.

In a race to develop drug therapy treatments, several pharmaceutical companies are close to releasing versions of their weight loss pills for obese patients with diabetes. Orexigen Therapeutics Inc the makers of Contrave, Vivis Inc. the makers of Qnexa and Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. the makers of Lorcaserin, are all attempting to bring new obesity drug treatments to the market with a FDA regulatory decision expected in the fall of 2010 on the feasibility of approval.

Initial studies have proven to be promising with patients losing as much as 5% of their body fat during the initial studies. Besides losing weight, patients also received the benefit of reducing their blood glucose levels as compared to placebo test groups.

These initial findings show the potential for drug therapy on obese patients to help control their weight as well as their blood sugar levels.

In a recent ABC news report, Dr. Val Jones of Better Health, discusses simple tips in which people can lose weight and keep the weight off. Some tips include:

Eating breakfast
Exercise and Dieting
Wear a pedometer to make sure you are walking at least 10,000 steps a day
Getting a good nights rest

Learn more in this video.

One of the most difficult thing for people who have undergone weight loss surgery is to adjust to their new way of eating. Foods that were prior favorites may not digest properly or produce undesirable affects once eaten. Nutritional requirements also need to be addresses as well. However, food does not have to be a process of survival and can still be enjoyed by those who have had some form of weight loss surgery. These including restrictive procedures like the Lap-Band and vertical sleeve gastrectomy as well as malabsorption procedures including gastric-bypass and duodenal-switch.

The following recipies were shared from Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery and are sure to be a great addition to any post bariatric patient.

Berry Blend Sparkler

A Berry Blend Sparkler is a fruity tasting drink that is healthy, refreshing and a sure choice for any lunch or dinner beverage,.

Combine one packet of Berry Blend Drink Mix with your choice of either 8 ounces of diet 7-up soda or diet seltzer into a blender. Blend on low for 10 seconds, and then serve over ice. You may garnish the beverage with a fresh mint if you desire.

Nutritional Information for Berry Blend Sparkler

Calories: 100
Protein: 15g
Carbohydrates: 7g
Fat: 1.5g

Sweet Potato Fruit Patties

For a super sweet dish “Sweet Potato Fruit Patties” is a must. This dish is very delicious, it is also both diet-friendly and post-bariatric surgery friendly.

In a single dish, combine one package of Vanilla Creme Pudding with 1/2 cup of cooked sweet potato that has been mashed, (canned sweet potato’s work as well), with 1/2 of a mashed banana, two tablespoons of crushed pineapple, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and a 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg into a mixing bowl. Combine ingredients by mixing and then flatten batter into five patties. Over medium heat, cook each patty in a frying pan until golden brown and crisp. Top with artificial sweetener or sugar-free maple syrup, and serve.

Nutrition Information for Sweet Potato Fruit Patties:

(per serving)

Calories: 216
Protein: 14g
Carbohydrates: 38g
Fat: 3g

Creamy Spinach Chicken

This rich creamy chicken and garden vegetable combination is ideal for any lunch or dinner meal, and is both diet and post-bariatric surgery friendly.

Bringing four ounces of water to a boil and add in one package of Cream of Chicken Soup with Vegetables, add in either one cup precooked frozen leaf spinach or broccoli, and an 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder. Stir well and let thicken. Pour sauce mixture over two ounces of pre-cooked, boneless chicken breast.

Nutritional Information for Creamy Spinach Chicken

Calories: 202
Protein: 34g
Carbohydrates: 13g
Fat: 2.5g
Fiber: 5g

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

For a wonderfully delicious desert we start with one packet of Chocolate Pudding with Marshmallows and Chocolate Chips. Prepare the pudding according to the package directions. When finished, open up a package of Golden Butter Pretzels and proceed with dipping each pretzel into the prepared pudding and then placing it on a sheet of wax paper. Then, freeze your chocolate covered pretzels for 40 minutes, and serve.

Nutritional Information for Chocolate Covered Pretzels

(per recipe (15-20 pretzels per package)

Calories: 200
Protein: 24g
Carbohydrates: 16 g
Fat: 4 g
Fiber: 5 g

A recent report published by the European Health Journal stated that impoverished people are more likely to become obese than those who are wealthy.

The study is in direct contradiction of the idea that in Europe, poverty results in starving people. This is in direct contrast to some African countries where the least expensive foods are also the least nourishing, lacking proper calorie intake – resulting in starvation. However, in Europe and other western cultures, the least expensive foods are also the most calorie dense so the impoverished are more at risk to becoming obese.

Healthier food, by contrast, are more expensive, and during the current global recession many of the poor have been forced to eating processed starches like pasta and rice as a common everyday staple – which once consumed is converted to sugar. A continual diet of starch causes the body to store fat and increases the desire to eat as well – perpetuating the rise in obesity.

The food choice of the poor, out of necessity, has also been responsible for an increase in Type 2 related diabetes. With the continual global increase in health care costs and a projected increase in obesity related illnesses, society needs to wake up and pay attention to this fact and look for alternatives ways to properly feed the poor or pay heavily later to treat the affects of obesity as it relates to their diets.

The epidemic of obesity may be greater than most people realize since traditional methods to measure excessive body fat have been determined to be less accurate than thought. In a recent study, researchers have discovered that the traditional measurement of excessive body weight using the Body Mass Index method or BMI is not accurate.

An astounding sixty six percent of patients studied were labeled obese due to a new measurement called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry or DEXA for short. Before being measured only 20% of the study patients were categorized as obese using the BMI method.

These findings were presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocarinologists meeting in Boston, MA.

According to one researcher, who labeled the BMI as the “Baloney Mass Index,” stated, “It’s very likely that obesity is a much bigger epidemic than the 300 million people that are determined to be obese by the World Health Organization.” Right now roughly 23% of all Americans are considered obese by their Body Mass Index. If the ratios remain true, from the test subjects of over a 1000, the percentage could be as high as 60%.

The BMI method relies strictly on math to calculate a formation of excessive fat in the human body. The DEXA scans, however, use a direct measurement of the body fat percentage. The system can spot fat exactly in every part of the body.

This system is particularly effective for those that are considered thin but unfit. This condition is known as normal weight obesity, from which a persons BMI is fairly low but they have a high percentage of body fat compared with other body mass tissue like muscle.

This thin but unfit condition produces higher risk of cholesterol problems, including hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.

A recent report from CNN details the high probability of cancer related illnesses as a result of obesity.

According to the report by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) the following are percentage increases for specific cancers as they relate to obesity:

• 49% of Endometrial Cancers
• 35% of Esophageal Cancers
• 28% of Pancreatic Cancers
• 245 of Kidney Cancers

Learn more about obesity related illnesses in this video from CNN.

A new agreement with the Canadian Health Care system will allow Canadians to cross the boarder into the United States and have weight loss surgery performed. Canada is ill-equipped to handle bariatric weight loss surgery compared to the US. It will also help decrease the amount of time it takes for a Canadian patient to receive treatment. Currently, Canadians waiting to receive weight loss surgery are on a five year waiting list.

A recent report, published by Fox News, details the social and lifestyle changes of food portion distortion. Since the 1960′s food portions have increased by three times resulting in the average American waste size increasing almost as much thanks to aggressive marketing campaigns by the food industry. Terms like “SuperSize,” “MegaSize,” and “Jumbo” permeate the food industry and unfortunately this has resulted in a rise of morbid obesity and other health related issues in Americans today.