A link between homophobia and weight loss?

Last month, the delicious tasting cookie brand Oreo posted an image of a rainbow-layered cookie, accompanied with the word Pride in support of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender Pride month in the US

In a matter of hours, the gay cookie generated over 100,000 likes and nearly 20,000 comments, ranging from admiration of the brand for promoting tolerance and love and of course quite a few comments calling for boycotts.

Busybody group One Million Moms wrote in their campaign to boycott not only Oreo but their mother ship brand Kraft.

The group said: Kraft needs to hear from you. Supporting the homosexual agenda verses remaining neutral in the cultural war is just bad business. If Christians cannot find corporate neutrality with Kraft then they will vote with their pocketbook and support companies that are neutral.

While overall Oreos support of Pride has been well received, YouTuber Franchesca Leigh Ramsey has come out with a important announcement that finds a link between homophobia and weight loss.

This is great watch below.

Here is the original post:
International: Lose weight with homophobia!

People with a high body mass index who lose weight reduce the risk of health problems such as diabetes or heart disease. Image: Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./Blend Images/Corbis

From Nature magazine

After 13 suspenseful years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a pill that could help to fight the US obesity epidemic.

Belviq (lorcaserin) is no wonder drug, but it can help people to lose about 34% of their body weight when combined with a healthy diet and exercise. The drug has been approved for use by obese people with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, and for a subset of overweight people (with a BMI of more than 27) who have health conditions such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

Its a start in the right direction, says Abraham Thomas, head of endocrinology at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, who chairs the FDAs Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee. We dont have the tools to really treat obesity.

Developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals of San Diego, California, Belviq faced a high bar for safety. In 1997, the weight-loss drug fenfluramine was pulled from the market for causing heart-valve problems. In the past two years, the FDA has rejected a total ofthree obesity drugs because of concerns over safety or lack of efficacy. The FDA advisory committee recommended in March that all obesity drugs should go through tests for cardiovascular risks, which would extend already lengthy clinical trials.

The FDA had already rejected Arenas first application for approval of Belviq in September 2010 because the compound seemed to produce tumours in rats and because the company could not statistically rule out an increase in the risk of heart-valve problems. Similar to fenfluramine, Belviq suppresses food cravings by mimicking the effects of serotonin in the brain, making people eat less and feel full. However, Belviq seems to activate only the serotonin 2C receptor in the brain, not the serotonin 2B receptor that is present in heart muscle.

The FDAs turnaround this week came after Arena performed echocardiograms in nearly 8,000 people to measure heart-valve function, which revealed that there was no increase in heart-valve abnormalities among those taking the drug. The firm has agreed to run six post-marketing studies, including a long-term cardiovascular trial, and patients with congestive heart failure are advised not to take the drug.

I felt the benefits outweighed the risk, says Ida Johnson Spruill, the consumer representative on the FDA advisory committee and a diabetes specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. One-third of adults in the United States are obese, so regulators must balance the risks of a new weight-loss drug with the health consequences of obesity, including rising diabetes rates.

Weighing the benefits Compared to the placebo, Belviqs efficacy is about the same as that of orlistat, which was first approved in 1999 and blocks the uptake of fat calories. A 90-kilogram patient on Belviq loses, on average, an extra 3 kilograms (67 pounds) or so after a year. The good minimum weight loss would be in the 1015-pound range, notes endocrinologist Peter Savage of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, That doesnt mean that people who lose 58 pounds dont do well.

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Weight-Loss Drug Wins U.S. Approval

NEW YORK, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Weight Watchers International, Inc. (WTW) applauds the updated clinical guidelines from the USPSTF that, when implemented, increase the number of adults screened for obesity as well as referrals to intensive, multicomponent behavioral interventions, including community-based programs.

The USPSTF found that effective interventions were of high intensity (no fewer than 12 sessions in a year) and successful interventions include multiple behavioral management activities, such as group sessions, individual sessions, setting weight-loss goals, improving diet or nutrition, physical activity sessions, addressing barriers to change, active use of self-monitoring, and strategizing how to maintain lifestyle changes.

"As the world's leading provider of weight management services provided within communities, we're thrilled the USPSTF continues to recognize the efficacy of behavior-based solutions," said Karen Miller-Kovach, Chief Scientific Officer, Weight Watchers International. "Through more than 20,000 Weight Watchers meetings around the country every week, we remain committed to being an accessible, scalable, affordable and most important, effective option for communities and workplaces throughout the U.S. to help treat obese and overweight adults."

Weight Watchers also commends the USPSTF for recognizing the importance of screening and referral by primary care physicians. A growing body of research that was part of the USPSTF review process in updating the recommendation shows that physician referral to a community-based program like Weight Watchers is a powerful combination. In fact, Weight Watchers has published more than 70 publications over the past 15 years that demonstrate the efficacy of the Weight Watchers approach to weight loss and long-term health.

For example, a September 2011 study published in The Lancet (i) showed that a partnership between primary care physicians and the Weight Watchers program works. The one-year global study demonstrated that overweight and obese participants who were referred to Weight Watchers by a health care provider lost, on average, more than twice as much weight as those in the standard care group. The data demonstrates how a brief intervention by a health care provider including referral to Weight Watchers can be successful on a large scale in helping those with excess weight to achieve medically significant health benefits from losing weight.

In addition, research conducted in Birmingham, UK, and funded by NHS (National Health Service South Birmingham), examined the effectiveness of eight weight management options in a randomized, controlled 12-week trial with follow-up after one year.(ii) The study found that community-based weight management programs are more effective and more cost-effective than health professional primary care-based weight management counseling alone. In fact, the only groups in the trial that achieved statistically significant and sustained weight loss were those participating in group, community-based programs.

"More than 72 million Americans are obese(iii) but there are only 246,000 primary care physicians in the U.S.(iv), a ratio of nearly 300 obese adults for every one physician," says David Kirchhoff, CEO of Weight Watchers International. "Obviously, the obesity epidemic cannot be contained within the confines of the doctor's office. We stand ready to help physicians help their patients in the battle against weight-related chronic disease."

The updated recommendations, which were published online June 26, 2012 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, recognize this, stating "Although intensive interventions may be impractical within many primary care settings, patients may be referred from primary care to community-based programs for these interventions."

The Weight Watchers approach aligns with the recommendations as follows:

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Weight Watchers Applauds Updated U.S. Preventative Services Task Force Guidelines that Support Community-Based ...

New Zealand consumers face a long wait before they know if they can get a weight-loss pill which has been approved in the United States. It is the first to be given the legislative nod by US health regulators in 13 years.

Anti-obesity pill Belviq was designed to block appetite signals in the brain, making patients feel fuller with smaller amounts of food.

Manufacturer Arena Pharmaceutical is targeting adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, or those with a BMI of 27 who also have high blood pressure, type-two diabetes or high cholesterol.

BMI estimates how much body fat a person has by dividing weight by height squared. A healthy BMI score is between 18.5 and 26.

In the United States, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) reviewed the safety of the drug in three trials lasting between 52 and 104 weeks. It involved more than 8000 overweight people.

Those who took Belviq for up to 12 months lost three to four percent more of their body weight than those who took a placebo. Possible side effects included migraines, depression and memory lapses.

Medsafe has not received an application for consent to distribute Belviq in New Zealand, Ministry of Health media advisor Anna Chalmers said.

Before a medicine is approved here an application must be lodged outlining its safety, quality and efficacy.

How long it took to be approved depended on how quickly the applicant addressed deficiencies or concerns raised, she said.

It would then have to be considered for funding by Pharmac, the government drug-buying agency.

See the original post:
Anti-obesity pill won't hit NZ yet

By Dr. Emily Coatney-Smith, Contributing Writer Updated 7:41 AM Monday, July 2, 2012

Now that we have covered the rising concern for obesity in our pet population, we can explore weight loss in our pets.

Dogs

First, find an appropriate calorie food and then feed the correct amount. There is an unbelievable variety ofcompanies with just as many types of foods.And most brands do not give the exact calories or exact percentages for the protein, fat or fiber content. With a little investigating that information can be obtained directly from the company on its website. Once the right food is found, then the amount of food should be calculated based on the calories of the food and the weight of the dog. The dog should be fed for its ideal weight, not its current weight. Second, limit the treats and human food that are given throughout the day. Find lower- calorie treats and breakthem into smaller pieces.

Third, it is very hard to just rely on food management to control their weight.

Walking helps, but so does more strenuous exercise like playing fetch or playing with other dogs.

Cats

Weight control is much more difficult in cats because rarely can you get a cat to exercise,especially as it gets older. Some cats love to chase laser lights or feather toys, so those might work.

It also can be difficult when there are multiple cats in one house. Onecat may need to lose weight.Another cat may only need to maintain weight. And yet another cat may havetrouble gaining weight. So just leaving one food out for all the cats is a bad idea, as the cat that needs to lose weight will be the one eating the most.

Restrict calories, but also find the right type of food. Some cats do better with a high-protein, low-carbohydrate food, while others do better with a high-fiber diet.

See more here:
Helping pets slim down a weighty matter

After 13 suspenseful years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a pill that could help to fight the US obesity epidemic.

Belviq (lorcaserin) is no wonder drug, but it can help people to lose about 34% of their body weight when combined with a healthy diet and exercise. The drug has been approved for use by obese people with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, and for a subset of overweight people (with a BMI of more than 27) who have health conditions such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

Its a start in the right direction, says Abraham Thomas, head of endocrinology at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, who chairs the FDAs Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee. We dont have the tools to really treat obesity.

People with a high body mass index who lose weight reduce the risk of health problems such as diabetes or heart disease.

Jose Luis Pelaez, Inc./Blend Images/Corbis

Developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals of San Diego, California, Belviq faced a high bar for safety. In 1997, the weight-loss drug fenfluramine was pulled from the market for causing heart-valve problems. In the past two years, the FDA has rejected a total ofthree obesity drugs because of concerns over safety or lack of efficacy. The FDA advisory committee recommended in March that all obesity drugs should go through tests for cardiovascular risks, which would extend already lengthy clinical trials.

The FDA had already rejected Arenas first application for approval of Belviq in September 2010 because the compound seemed to produce tumours in rats and because the company could not statistically rule out an increase in the risk of heart-valve problems. Similar to fenfluramine, Belviq suppresses food cravings by mimicking the effects of serotonin in the brain, making people eat less and feel full. However, Belviq seems to activate only the serotonin 2C receptor in the brain, not the serotonin 2B receptor that is present in heart muscle.

The FDAs turnaround this week came after Arena performed echocardiograms in nearly 8,000 people to measure heart-valve function, which revealed that there was no increase in heart-valve abnormalities among those taking the drug. The firm has agreed to run six post-marketing studies, including a long-term cardiovascular trial, and patients with congestive heart failure are advised not to take the drug.

I felt the benefits outweighed the risk, says Ida Johnson Spruill, the consumer representative on the FDA advisory committee and a diabetes specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. One-third of adults in the United States are obese, so regulators must balance the risks of a new weight-loss drug with the health consequences of obesity, including rising diabetes rates.

Compared to the placebo, Belviqs efficacy is about the same as that of orlistat, which was first approved in 1999 and blocks the uptake of fat calories. A 90-kilogram patient on Belviq loses, on average, an extra 3 kilograms (67 pounds) or so after a year. The good minimum weight loss would be in the 1015-pound range, notes endocrinologist Peter Savage of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, That doesnt mean that people who lose 58 pounds dont do well.

Read the original post:
Weight-loss drug wins US approval