Fad diets can work, but experts find no magic slimming bullet

January 13, 2014

Resolutions to lose weight are often made in January yet almost as frequently abandoned as heavy hopefuls find diets that demand fasting, virtually no carbs or liquid food shakes notoriously hard to stick to. But even "fad" diets can lead to a slimmer, lighter New Year for those whose resolve remains robust, according to doctors and nutritionists analysing them.

Gathering for a London conference to review evidence behind popular weight loss diets - at just the time of year when slimming ideas are in peak demand - specialists concluded that food fads such as the hunter-gatherer "Paleo" plan or the 5:2 diet can deliver. But it's hard work. "If it was easy, our species would have died out years ago. As humans we have a default to eat," said Gary Frost, a professor and chair of nutrition and dietetics at Imperial College London. The results of that default are looming large in a global "wave of obesity", he said. According to the World Health Organisation, worldwide obesity - defined as having a body mass index of more than 30 - has nearly doubled since 1980. The latest global figure is that in 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults were overweight.

WAVE OF OBESITY

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 36% of American adults are obese and almost 70% are either obese or overweight. In Britain, a government health study predicts 60% of men, 50% of women and 25% of children will be obese by 2050. Against this background, experts say the search for effective diets must always take account of how easy it is for people to understand and follow, and how likely they are to abide by its restrictions.

Michelle Harvie, a research dietician from the Genesis Prevention Centre at Britain's University Hospital of South Manchester, said that on this front, fasting diets - sometimes called intermittent diets - can be successful. "Energy restriction is difficult to maintain over the long term and people tend to find it easier to follow a diet with intermittent energy restriction," she said. She said that while a regular weight loss plan might require the dieter to take in 25% fewer calories, intermittent diets may suggest two days of a 75% calorie cut interspersed with five days of normal healthy eating. But the key to these diets - such as the 5:2 diet in which followers eat as little as 400 calories on two "fasting" days per week - is that dieters won't succeed if they "pig out" and eat whatever they want on non-fasting days.

Harvie's research shows those who succeed in losing weigh on these diets find the fasting days lead them to also have a lower food intake on normal days - leading to lower calorie intake overall.

HUNTING FOR FOOD

Mark Berry, head of plant biology and biochemistry at the consumer company Unilever's research and development unit, says there are also positive signs in data from studies of "Palaeolithic" or stone-age diets - plans designed to mimic the diet of pre-agricultural hunter-gatherers of that era. A sign of its current popularity is that "Paleo diet" was one of the most "Googled" terms of 2013.

The idea is based around foods that can be hunted, fished or foraged for - meat, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Berry said his research showed little impact on glucose response in the body in people eating a Palaeolithic diet, but did find a significant impact on hormones that signal satiety and tell the brain the eater is full. Alexandra Johnstone of the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, who has been looking into high protein and low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins diet, said these also had a significant impact on fullness feelings - giving them the potential to help dieters control appetite and lose weight. "The high satiety effects of increased protein in the diet seems to be a contributing factor to the success of high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets," she said.

Johnstone cited data showing the amount of weight lost on high-protein diets is around double that lost on a comparable low-fat diet at the six-month mark. But there is little difference in weight loss after one year, as dieters often lose momentum and their resolve to slim down fades. "There's no magic bullet," she said. Judy Buttriss, head of the British Nutrition Foundation, said the evidence for popular diets was clearly nuanced. While there are several that can be used as tools for effective weight loss and maintenance, she said "there's currently no evidence that one is any better than another in the long term".

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Dr G K Sudhakar Reddy
August 4,2020

Being overweight or obese is now recognised as a serious cause of ill health and disability. There is a significant positive association between orthopaedic disorders and the level of obesity causing pain, deformity and difficulty in walking.

Excess body weight accumulation increases pressure on joints, particularly the hips, knees and ankles.

Here are a few type of  arthritis:

Osteoarthritis

It is a condition of damage/ wear and tear of the joint lining or cartilage. Obesity triggers this by loading excessive weight on the weight bearing joints like the knee and the hip. 

Knee Osteoarthritis

This is the most common arthritis especially in the Indian subcontinent.

While walking, an individual exerts 3 to 6 times pressure that of the body weight on the weight-bearing knee joint, which means in an obese with excess body weight, larger forces are exerted, which lead to higher risk of deterioration of cartilage.

In addition, there are excessive fat tissues that produce hormones and other factors that affect the joint cartilage metabolism and cause inflammation of the joints giving rise to joint pathology.  Leptin is one of the hormones causing knee osteoarthritis. 

Hip osteoarthritis

The force exerted across the hip is 3 times that of body weight. Hip osteoarthritis is caused by factors such as joint injury, increasing age and being overweight.    

Hand osteoarthritis

The observation that obese individual has a higher risk in having hand osteoarthritis has led to a hypothesis that the metabolic effect produced by fat tissue is the underlying factor. 

Osteoporosis

It is a progressive bone condition of decrease in bone mass and density (Bone Mineral Density or BMD) which can lead to an increased risk of fracture. Recent research suggests that obesity may accelerate bone loss. It is the amount of muscle mass which is seen in an active person, which accounts for bone strengthening effects and not due to the fat seen in a heavy person.

Low back pain

Low back pain from degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine is one of the most disabling conditions in the community and overweight and obesity have the strongest association with seeking care for low back pain.

Managing Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis

Life style changes

If one is overweight, try to lose weight by doing more physical activity and eating a healthier diet. Regular exercise keeps you active and mobile and builds up muscle, thereby strengthening the joints and can improve symptoms. 

Pain Killers

Painkillers help with pain and stiffness for short term. They don’t affect the arthritis itself and won’t repair the damage to your joint. Creams and gels can be applied directly onto painful joints.

Nutritional Supplements

Glucosamine and chondroitin are nutritional supplements. Animal studies have found that glucosamine can both delay the breakdown of and repair damaged cartilage. However, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of glucosamine in humans and one can expect only a mild-to-moderate reduction in pain

Joint injections

If pain from osteoarthritis is severe joint steroid injections are injected into the joints that can reduces swelling and pain. The injections can start working within a day or so and may improve pain for several weeks or months. 

Hyaluronic acid injections, which help to lubricate your knee joint also give short term relief. In early stages. Stem cell treatment or cartilage regeneration procedures are being tried in young people with small defects, however it is still experimental and lacks long term evidence.

Surgery

May be recommended if you have severe pain or mobility problems.

Arthroscopy

If one has frequent painful locking/stiffening episodes especially in the knee joint, an operation to wash out loose fragments of bone and other tissue as joint can be performed by a minimally invasive key hole procedure called Arthroscopy.

Arthrodesis

If hip or knee replacement is not suitable, especially in young people who do heavy manual work, one can consider an operation known as an arthrodesis, which fuses your joint in a permanent position. This means that your joint will be stronger and much less painful, although you will no longer be able to move it.

Osteotomy

In young, active people in whom a knee joint replacement would fail due to excessive use one can consider an operation called an osteotomy. This involves adding or removing a small section of bone either above or below your knee joint.  This helps realign your knee so your weight is no longer focused on the damaged part of your knee. An osteotomy can relieve your symptoms of osteoarthritis, although you may still need knee replacement surgery eventually as you grow old

Joint replacement surgery

Joint replacement therapy is most commonly carried out to replace hip and knee joints. It involves replacing a damaged, worn or diseased joint with an artificial joint made of special plastics and metal.

For most people, a replacement hip or knee will last for at least 20 years, especially if it is cared for properly and not put under too much strain.

Dr G K Sudhakar Reddy is a Sr Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Citizens Speciality Hospitals, Hyderabad

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Agencies
May 5,2020

The lockdown forced by the coronavirus in India has had some unexpected but positive fallouts: It has brought families together and reduced corporate politics, says an expert working in the field for the past decade.

"Today the whole world is on lockdown because of COVID-19, and all that we read, talk and hear is about life and death. We can't deny that the times are tough and the future is uncertain. But I would like to turn the coin and see the other side: the positive side," Shikha Mittal, Founder Director of Be.artsy told IANS in an interview.

Be.artsy is one of India's leading social awareness enterprises which deals with emotions at work and promotes arts as a communication tool for workplaces.

"In the 21st century, personally and professionally, people are practising politics over humanity, competition over collaboration, and have lost touch with themselves due to materialistic desires. During the lockdown, we are forced to confront our existing daily lives, and two interesting things that we can ponder upon, have emerged.

"First, have we ever looked at our family with the same lens as we are using today? What is it that we are doing differently with family today, and what can we do to carry our actions of today into our tomorrow? This is the premise of the #aajjaisakalcontest" that Be.artsy has launched across India.

The aim is "to encourage people to share one habit or life skill that they never practiced earlier, but post Covid-19 would like to continue and enjoy".

How did Be.artsy come about?

"I used to be in the corporate world, earning promotions and greater responsibility. However, the work conditions in those days were unfriendly to women and I had faced many instances of sexual harassment and workplace harassment in the six years of my corporate career. And that's when I had an epiphany."

Be.artsy's most popular programmes are on Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) and on Financial Literacy which makes young people financially independent and better prepared to face the corporate world. "We know that a stitch in time (of planning for the future) saves nine (debt trap, dependence, health emergencies, expenses exceeding income, no savings, families without support, retirement in poverty, lost dreams, extravagance). This can only be achieved by sensitisation," Mittal explained.

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Agencies
June 20,2020

The World Health Organisation has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is entering a "new and dangerous" phase. Thursday saw the most cases in a single day reported to the WHO.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the day had seen 150,000 new cases with half of those coming from the Americas and large numbers also from the Middle East and South Asia, the BBC reported.

He said the virus was still spreading fast and the pandemic accelerating.

He acknowledged people might be fed up with self-isolating and countries were eager to open their economies but he said that now was a time for extreme vigilance.

Maria van Kerkhove, technical lead of the WHO's COVID-19 response, told a press conference the pandemic is "accelerating in many parts of the world".

"While we have seen countries have some success in suppressing transmission and bringing transition down to a low level, every country must remain ready," she said.

Mike Ryan, the head of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said that some countries had managed to flatten the peak of infections without bringing them down to a very low level.

"You can see a situation in some countries where they could get a second peak now, because the disease has not been brought under control," he said.

"The disease will then go away and reduce to a low level, and they could then get a second wave again in the autumn or later in the year."

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