Obesity in 2008

Obesity continues to be one of the great problems of America.  Unquestionably the most obese nation in the world, America has began to see more and more negative consequences of an obese population.  Politicians have begun to fight obesity, often through legislation.  Americans, on the other hand, must not want the world to think of chubby children eating Cheetos watching cartoons when they imagine America.  Sadly though, this may be the exact image that our nation conjures.  Our fight against the growing problem of obesity may be one of the most defining events of this century.

Adding fuel to the fire is a recent discovery that shows that obesity may act as a safety blanket for cancerous cells in chemotherapy medicine.  To put it simply, fat cells have been found to “protect” cancer cells from destruction via medicine.  The specific cancer studied was leukemia, and when combined with other studies, scientists are convinced that they may have found an answer to why obese children were more likely to relapse.  Cancer is still medicine’s biggest mystery, and this discovery offers scientists significant information about the mysterious disease.  At the University of Southern California, endocrinologist Steven Mittelman conducted an experiment that led to this discovery.  Mittelman injected obese and normal-weighted mice with cells known to cause childhood cancer.  He and his colleagues then treated the mice with a chemotherapy drug and found that the normal-weight mice were less likely to get “full-blown leukemia.”  They then focused their studies on human cell lines and subsequently found that fatty cancer cells were much more likely to resist the chemotherapy drugs.  The two theories derived from these studies are that fat cells either act as a sponge soaking up the positive effects of chemotherapy or send signals that prevent the death of cancer cells.

The discovered link between obesity and cancer has added another reason to the long list of reasons to fight obesity.  Below are some of the other threats of obesity:

- Obesity is extremely dangerous to your health, and can severely affect your life expectancy.  It has been linked to cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and certain types of cancer.   Being obese can make you more susceptible to these diseases and therefore reduce your life expectancy.

- Obesity has been found to reduce life expectancy by 6 or 7 years, and is noted as responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths per year in the United States alone.  Lower BMI obesity has been found to reduce life expectancy by 3-4 years, while extreme obesity may reduce life expectancy by 20 years or more.

- The increased risk in physical and mental conditions is another threat of obesity.  The biggest link of obesity to a medical condition is type 2 diabetes, where excess fat has been found in about 70% of diabetes cases.

- Social stigmization may be another unforseen threat of obesity.  The stigmization of the obese, especially by the common public may cause depression and other mental conditions.

The discovery of the link between cancer and obesity has caused even more concern about the growing problem of obesity around the world.  While cancer still remains cureless, the more we learn about its causes, the better chance we will have of developing preventive measures.

Sleep

Alzheimer’s has always been a mysterious disease.  Scientists have not yet found the cause of Alzheimer’s, let alone a cure or proper treatment of it.  Recent studies show, however, that there may be a correlation between sleep and the progression of Alzheimer’s.  But first, let’s aim for a better understanding of Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is considered the most common form of dementia, usually diagnosed in those aged over 65.  At this point, it is still terminal and incurable.  Alzheimer’s is known to be caused by plaques or tangles in the brain.  The degenerative aspects of Alzheimer’s may be its most defining characteristic, a horrifically slow death brought upon by the degeneration of the senses and loss of memory.  As it is a degenerative disease, the medical community focuses on the management of patients suffering with Alzheimer’s.  Common preventive and management measures include mental stimulation, exercise, and a proper diet.  As you can tell, these measures are anything but technically medical.  Suffice to say, scientists and researchers have been hard at work in clinical trials and experiments to find any breakthroughs regarding the disease.

It is a bit ironic, then, that sleep has been found to correlate with the onset of Alzheimer’s.  Sleep, the most instinctual function of humans, was found to lower the levels of proteins in the brain and spinal fluid that cause the onset of plaques associated with Alzheimer’s.  Conversely, wakefulness was found to raise the levels of these proteins, leading scientists to the conclusion that sleep, or the lack of sleep, may in fact lead to Alzheimer’s.  As the exact cause of these plaques are still unknown, the assumption is made that these proteins can eventually clump and lead to symptoms of Alzheimer’s.  This discovery is big for scientists, who now better understand the onset of Alzheimer’s.  To the everyday public, though, the information acts as a wake up call.  No longer can a workaholic claim that he or she does not need sleep.

When people hear that they may permanently lose brain cells to a lack of sleep, they may reconsider catching up on Survivor after work and catch a few extra winks.  Here are some tips for good sleep that can help you protect your brain:

1.  Exercise daily – Daily exercise can help you get a good night of sleep. Exercise kills two birds with one stone, as it is commonly used for the management of Alzheimer’s.  In addition to these two benefits, exercise is extremely beneficial to your overall health, even if it is not extremely intense.  A brisk 30 minute walk or jog can help your sleep quality and do wonders for your health.

2.  Avoid the bright lights of electronics before you sleep – Using the computer up to the minute before you sleep may make it hard to fall asleep.  This goes the same for watching television.  If possible, keep your sleeping area separate from your electronics.  Stop using the computer at least 30 minutes before you head to bed, it will help your body get ready for the night.

3.  Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and smoking -  Each of these three are commonly consumed on a daily basis, and each of them can cause a sleepless night.  Tobacco smoke and caffeine can stimulate the brain, making it hard to fall asleep.  Alcohol, while seemingly sleep inducing, actually deteriorates the quality of sleep.