We tend to blame obesity on gluttony – but that’s exactly backward:
Although people struggling with obesity tend to have less-responsive reward pathways—they even have fewer dopamine receptors—overeating makes the problem worse, further reducing the pleasure from each bite. Like an alcoholic who needs to consume ever-larger quantities of liquor to achieve the same level of intoxication, individuals with “hypofunctioning reward circuits” are forced to eat bigger portions in search of the same level of satisfaction. It’s an addiction with diminishing returns.
Full WSJ article by Jonah Lehrer worth reading.
ObamaCare Exchanges Will Cost $111 Billion More Than Predicted Just Last Year. No one knows why.
$323,000 was spent on a man with “do not resuscitate” and “desire for a natural death” orders — during his last 10 days of life. HT: Sarah Kliff
Here is the correct link for the “Attorney General Eric Holder…”
Researchers at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine are studying the theory that nutrition and exercise can be affected by a person’s genetic makeup…The Studies question long-held beliefs about food selection and weight loss. For example, could 1,000 calories of turkey cause more weight gain in some people than 1,000 calories in cashews? If so, could a person lose weight through food selection without cutting calories?
Since 1960, American adults have, on average, gained 28 pounds. That’s the equivalent of a small child. In his new book, Heavy: The Surprising Reasons America Is the Land of the Free — and the Home of the Fat, Richard McKenzie details what he believes are the economic causes of this increase:
The rise of women’s lib? McKenzie claims this is because more women today work outside the home (60%, up from 33% in 1950), leaving them little time to prepare healthier meals for their families:
Instead of the chicken stewed all day on the stovetop, the family understandably opts more and more frequently for prepackaged frozen chicken fingers or chicken dinner at the nearby restaurant. Time and money may be saved, but not calories, as processed and prepackaged foods as well as restaurant menus tend to be more calories-rich than home-produced meals without processed ingredients.
This is by way of Robin Hanson, who provides further commentary:
The law mandates that local governments and employers add a waist measurement test to the annual mandatory check up of 40-75 year olds. For men and women who fail the test and exceed the maximum allowed waist length of 33.5 and 35.4 inches, they are required to attend a combination of counseling sessions, monitoring through phone and email correspondence, and motivational support.
Scott Sumner writes: In “Babies by Design,” Ronald Green claims:
Studies of identical twins reared together or apart indicate that much obesity may be caused by hereditary factors. In technical terms, the heritability of obesity, the percentage of observed variation among people that is attributed to genes, is very high, somewhere between 50 and 80 percent.
There is also a kindness gene:
People with a certain gene trait are known to be more kind and caring than people without it, and strangers can quickly tell the difference, according to US research published on Monday.
The variation is linked to the body’s receptor gene of oxytocin, sometimes called the “love hormone” because it often manifests during sex and promotes bonding, empathy and other social behaviors.
Happiness is also genetic, according to an article in The Economist:
Serotonin is involved in mood regulation. Serotonin transporters are crucial to this job. The serotonin-transporter gene comes in two functional variants—long and short. The long one produces more transporter-protein molecules than the short one. People have two versions (known as alleles) of each gene, one from each parent. So some have two short alleles, some have two long ones, and the rest have one of each.
The adolescents in Dr. De Neve’s study were asked to grade themselves from very satisfied to very dissatisfied. Dr. De Neve found that those with one long allele were 8% more likely than those with none to describe themselves as very satisfied; those with two long alleles were 17% more likely.
So is empathy:
People who have two copies of the G allele are generally judged as more empathetic, trusting and loving.
Those with AG or AA genotypes tend to say they feel less positive overall, and feel less parental sensitivity. Previous research has shown they also may have a higher risk of autism.
Future obesity may be predicted at 3.5 years of age.
Interest groups spend millions on TV ads targeted at the super committee. (Kaiser video)
Obama’s answer to the doctor shortage: nurses.
Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. A Gallup poll found that 86% of full-time workers are overweight. A report in Health Affairs by Kenneth Thorpe, shows that 7% weight loss in just a small segment of the older adult population (60-64 year olds) could save Medicare as much as $15 billion. And the savings could be up to $35 billion if those individuals lost 10% of their body weight.
Despite this, last year the FDA rejected three new obesity therapies — Qnexa, Contrave, and Lorqess — the most promising of which, Qnexa, has been shown to bring about sustained weight loss greater than 10% of a person’s body weight. The FDA wanted additional evidence of the drugs were safe and effective in the short term; and evidence showing long-term weight loss. The rub is that the ingredients in two of the three therapies are known to be safe — they’re already FDA approved and widely available for treating migraines, depression, and other conditions. The first of the three drug makers is now going back to try again, having resubmitted its application for FDA approval.
Arguably, the main reason the FDA is hesitant to approve an obesity drug is because it considers nothing as safe for controlling weight as diet and exercise. However, diet and exercise generally fail. And there are few medications available — most of which are ineffective. That leaves surgery, a drastic step for many with a relatively high risk of death.
Without prescription weight-loss drugs, people turn to over-the-counter remedies, many of which are not very safe either. These include highly-caffeinated energy drinks that can raise blood pressure and herbal remedies bought on the Internet, many of which come from China and actually contain active ingredients that have been banned by the FDA.
An NPR-Thompson Reuters Health Poll, which asks whether those who smoke and those who are overweight should be charged more for health insurance:
A solid majority — 59 percent — say that smokers should pay more for health insurance than nonsmokers… Americans aren’t too keen on higher charges for people who are overweight or obese. Some 69 percent are opposed to that, leaving 31 percent in favor.
