In the News: A Drug Commonly Used to Treat Asthma May Also Trim Waistlines.

by Michelle McGuinness

A study published Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine found a link between the drug, amlexanox, and weight loss in mice. The drug not only slimmed down obese mice, but also improved their insulin sensitivity.

"Because of its record of safety in patients, amlexanox may be an interesting candidate for clinical evaluation in the treatment of obesity and related disorders," the researchers said.

The researchers conducted the study at the University of Michigan's Life Sciences Institute. Sunday, the university said the study seemed to confirm that two genes were inhibited – genes thought to play crucial roles in maintaining metabolic balance.

According to the report by the university, the two genes – IKKE and TBK1 – are believed to put the brakes on metabolism, preventing people from burning calories. Dieters often run into problems when their bodies adjust to reduced caloric intake by slowing down their metabolisms.

But amlexanox, the researchers believe, can inhibit those two genes that cause the slow-down, thereby allowing dieters to burn more calories and maintain a faster metabolism even as they take in fewer calories.

Amlexanox has been on the market in Japan for more than 25 years, but the researchers were cautious about predicting how humans would respond to the drug as a weight loss aid.

It is not yet clear if the effectiveness of the drug in obese mice would translate to a breakthrough for humans who are obese or have diabetes.

Gary Taubes: Why We Get Fat

Now on order for me at Amazon.

Science writer Gary Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat and possibly the country’s most prominent critic of the reigning theories on the obesity epidemic, has founded a non-profit research outfit of his own, he writes in the journal Nature.

Under the headline “Treat obesity as physiology, not physics,” he argues that the idea that obesity is simply a product of overeating and “calories in, calories out” has gotten us where we are today: Overweight or fat, many of us. He backs an alternate theory:

The alternative hypothesis — that obesity is a hormonal, regulatory defect — leads to a different prescription. In this paradigm, it is not excess calories that cause obesity, but the quantity and quality of carbohydrates consumed. The carbohydrate content of the diet must be rectified to restore health.


This conclusion is based on endocrinology that has been understood for 50 years: insulin regulates fat accumulation, and blood levels of insulin are effectively determined by carbohydrate intake. The more easily digestible are the carbohydrates we eat (the higher their glycaemic index) and the sweeter they are (the higher their fructose content) the higher are our blood insulin levels, and the more fat accumulates.

If this is true, it suggests that the obesity epidemic was caused at least in part by the research community’s failure to understand the nature of the disease, and by the food industry’s exploitation of that failure.

But is it true? Or is it the case, as conventional wisdom has it, that these competing hypotheses of obesity have been rigorously tested, and the energy-balance hypothesis has simply won out?

That’s what Taubes and colleague Dr. Peter Attia will be trying to figure out at the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI) in San Diego. So far, they’ve found a lot of flaws in previous research, and are aiming to organize some studies of their own.

Walk It Off: Nordic Walking Poles

A gal at work bought some Nordic Walking Poles. I caught the spirit and bought some for myself on eBay. The poles are demonstrated here on this web photo of two fellow pole walkers. I have to ramp up my metabolism somehow.

Nordic Walking Pole

One mile of Nordic walking engages the abdominal muscles and contracts the lateral muscles.
The ergonomic handles of the Nordic Walking poles absorb the shock and vibration when hiking on city concrete.

When you use exercise walking poles you will be reducing lower joint impact because the Nordic pole handles transfer the energy to help prevent joint injuries while giving you a full upper body workout too.

See more on the benefits of Nordic walking





Types of Nordic Walking Poles
Walking poles come in different composites, lengths, and weights. Aluminum are light and the carbon fiber are heavier. If you want your Nordic walking poles for mostly hard surface and high milage, you may want to consider a pole with a higher proportion of carbon fibre.
Nordic walking poles come with wrist straps and / or grips. When utilizing the straps with proper technique they are used to travel the pole instead of having to tightly grip the handle. The strap styles can be looped, a sling type, or a fingerless glove.

Nordic walking pole tips have rubber tips or metal tips. The rubber is used for hard surfaces like city concrete and the metal tip is for trails, ice and snow.

When deciding on what Nordic walking pole to buy, determine your uses of the poles and while considering your budget ensure there are replacement parts available. It won’t do you any good to be waiting 6 – 8 weeks for a part while the season is wasting away.

Nordic Pole Length
Adjustable walking poles are telescopic and adjusted for your height.
A non-adjustable shaft Nordic walking pole will need to ordered at the exact length you require.

The length of the poles is critical to your technique so take a couple of minutes to figure out what pole size you need
Convert your height from inches to centimeters and multiply by 0.68 and round DOWN to the nearest pole size.
Other things that may determine the appropriate pole length are hip impairments and leg length and the terrain you will be walking on. A shorter pole may be recommended in these cases but you still get to decide which is most comfortable for you.

Obesogen

From Wiki:
Obesogens are foreign chemical compounds that disrupt normal development and balance of lipid metabolism, which in some cases, can lead to obesity. Obesogens may be functionally defined as chemicals that inappropriately alter lipid homeostasis and fat storage, change metabolic setpoints, disrupt energy balance or modify the regulation of appetite and satiety to promote fat accumulation and obesity.


For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesogen