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A new study in France has found out the following:

- Obesity means reduced sexual activity and poor sexual health.
- Unplanned pregnancies among the obese are four times higher than those of normal weight women even if the obese has fewer sexual partners – because of lack of counseling, and because a lot of doctors don’t pay too much attention on sex life and weight.
- Obese men have greater odds of impotence and have higher risks of contracting STD.
- Obesity spurs low self esteem social stigmatization and they are more likely to choose sexual partners in the internet, and were more likely to watch pornography. They prefer their partners to be obese as well. They are more comfortable searching the internet rather than meeting them through friends, or networks, or in different social organizations because of low self esteem and social stigma.

Dr. Sandy Goldbeck-Wood, associate expert in psychosexual medicine at the Camden and Islington Mental Health Trust in the U.K. says that there is a need to further qualitative studies on what drives obese people to behave as such – that answers are more likely to be complex given the differing psychological, social, and biological aspects surrounding the attitude.

It was also recommended that doctors must hone the skill, sensitivity, and courage to ask their patients about their weight and their sex lives because obese women have different contraceptive needs which are most of the time complex. Most doctors don’t pay too much attention on the sexuality of the obese and often assume that because they are obese, they fall into the misconception that obese people don’t have a sex life.

[Medical News Today] – A McMaster study has established that at least 2 glasses of milk after weight lifting and exercise will make you gain more muscle and lose more fat compared to drinking sugar-based energy drinks to replenish lost liquids after a heavy workout. These medical results are now published in the June release of Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise.

Stu Philips, a professor of McMaster University’s Department of Kinesiology notes, “Resistance training is not a favorite exercise among women, but the health and weight loss advantages are enormous: strength of bones, muscles, and metabolic health are improved than other exercises combined. There are also wrong perceptions looming around that dairy products increase fat when results show that milk can even increase muscle mass and lose more fat. Size of fat loss is surprising, but it’s what medical results show. We are still investigating the direct causes, but the convenient combination of calcium, better protein, and vitamin D are all found in milk.”

The study looked into a 12-wee period of monitoring women in their exercise, particularly those who are not keen on resistance training. Two hours prior the exercise, women were advised not to consume anything but water. One group consumed about 500mL of fat-free milk after the heavy workout and another group took sugar-based energy drinks an hour after the workout. Training included bench presses, chest fly, seated lateral pull down, abdominal exercises without additional weight, leg presses and hamstring curls, and were monitored daily by their respective trainers on a one on one basis to ensure compliance.

It was proven that the group who drank milk did not gain any weight as they gained leaner muscle compared to the group who consumed the sugar-based energy drinks. It was then concluded that leaner muscle compensated a more effective fat loss. Given these astonishing results, a larger clinical study is now being conducted with regards to weight loss trials – all focused on the combination of resistance training and milk consumption as it has greatly improved health and body composition.
The Dairy Farmers of Canada and the CIHR funded this research done by McMaster University. The said university is considered to be one of the Top 100 universities worldwide, and has a stellar reputation of innovation of discovery and learning.

Health experts have warned young women that conformity to fad diets bring them to further trouble. Teenagers relying heavily on fad diet plans do not necessarily get all the nutrients they need for growth into adulthood.

Experts reviewed about 110 different diet schemes and have researched how British young women eat these days, and have discovered that an alarmingly large number is not getting the right nutrition vital for a healthy adulthood. Crucial vitamins are missed out, and more than half of school aged girls from 11-18 are not getting their recommended nutritional vitamins that will help them in eventual pregnancy and later adulthood.

The numbers are quite disconcerting. More than 50% are not getting enough iron which helps them evade the risks of iron-deficiency anemia, and abnormal fetal growth in their later pregnancies; 16% are not receiving iodine, and 30% are missing out on potassium. Deficiency in vitamin D and zinc are also reported problems – vitamin D is required for an unborn child’s bone development, and zinc is required for a healthier blood.

Since weight loss is always a recurring concern, from adolescence to late adulthood, diets do not improve even after they reach retirement. It has been reported as well that only a small percentage of women take nutrients as important health considerations, while a larger percentage would rather lose weight and look slim than stay healthy.

In older women, zinc deficiency and a lack of vitamin D was a particular problem. Pregnant women need vitamin D to strengthen their unborn child’s bones and ensure that they are not born underweight.

Even as women approach retirement, their diets do not improve. As women get older, they need more vitamin D to prevent brittle bones but the collective research seems to suggest that only a third of women over 65 are getting their recommended daily allowance.

This study has been conducted from the Manchester Metropolitan University after being commissioned by the Health Supplements Information Service, an independent organization concerning primarily on national health. Conclusions have been made that fad diets can be in place as long as proper nutrients are still being received, and fad diets will only be as bad if these important multivitamins are ignored.

The answer is a resounding YES. A study has been conducted for this purpose which clearly shows that paid dieters are far more likely to lose weight and maintain it than those who are not paid to do it.

Weight Wins has so far paid thousands of pounds to overweight people in a campaign to address the problem of obesity. People will sign up for a pound-for-pound plan where payment comes in for every pound lost, and are even provided cash incentives should they be successful in maintaining such weight loss.

NHS strongly supports this scheme that the former has provided easy access to these paid dieters in terms of assistance from NHS dieticians, even helping them out in their selection of weight loss methods which are the most appropriate and most effective basing from their individual medical histories.

Rewards do vary. The length and the term of the weight loss plan selected define these cash rewards where paid dieters can receive from £80 to £3,000. When University of Hertfordshire independently conducted an audit, it was found out that more than 700 paid dieters have lost 1 stone at the average. A highly unequal comparison to those who are dieting without receiving monetary compensation that the most weight lost is about 51 lb on traditional dieting methods.

The measuring standard used by judges on whether or not a dieting plan is effective is based on at least losing 5% or more of their weight – whilst observing that the paid program has 1 participant losing about 8 stone.

Though many criticisms abound regarding long term effects on national obesity, it has been observed that taxpayers are better off with the weight loss. Costs to treat obesity and obesity-related illnesses are skyrocketing, and it has been projected that in 20 years or more obesity could disable the NHS.

The Department of Health has been presented with strategies that to effectively address the problem of obesity, monetary incentives must be introduced. The US has already put in similar strategies and a lot of private companies are already offering monetary rewards for employees successful in their weight loss campaigns. The DoH, however, says that the scheme will need more conclusive evidence before the nation could implement such financial rewards just to motivate and to nationalize weight loss campaigns.

[The Online Clinic UK] – Newcastle University experts have discovered that the fiber found in sea kelp (called alginate) could be a powerful cure in the struggle against obesity. It was found that the said fiber reduces the fat update in the body by about 75%. These experts used an “artificial gut” to find out how different natural fibres influenced fat digestion.

Alginate is already being used as thickener in some processed foods. It was Dr. Brownlee, head of the research team, noted that if this has been added to biscuits, yogurt, or bread, about 75% of fat will only pass through the body. Taste tests done were encouraging of the results and further concluded that clinical trials should now be in place to make this finding conclusive. It was in this light that a lot of slimming pills sold over the counter today did not pass through these clinical trials, and only a few can claim they have enough of this medical backing.

There is one pill which already makes use of alginate as a primary ingredient which is Appesat, an appetite suppressant manufactured by Goldshield. The pill effectively reduces appetite as clinical trials suggest, though in a different notion that it could be just the seaweed sending messages to the brain of satiety and that the stomach is already full.

The National Obesity Forum is naturally skeptic. Heading the organization, Dr. David Haslam tells the BBC that without any positive results coming out of rigorous trials, the findings will remain to be just as interesting as they are without any conclusive proof.

(MedicalNews, April, 2010) – University of Alberta researches have conducted research showing general perceptions about thin and fat people. If a thin person is seen lying down or “couch potatoing”, the thin person is not perceived as lazy. But when a fat person is seen on the couch watching TV, general perception concludes that he is absolutely lazy without any motivation to lose weight.

“These stereotypes need to be addressed,” says Tanya Berry, lead researcher from the Univerity of Alberta’s Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. “It will never mean necessarily that a thin person is healthy nor an overweight person never exercises.”
Tanya Berry, from the U of A’s Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, says these stereotypes about overweight people need to be addressed. Berry says just because a person is overweight, it doesn’t mean they don’t exercise, and just because a person is thin, it doesn’t mean they are fit and healthy.

These common perceptions were scientifically examined and explained by having a group of participants looking at a number of pictures that would flash on the screen. After a photo flashes, the word LAZY appears and the participants are asked the color of each word. Participants responded quickly to say the color of the word upon seeing a thin couch potato. When faced with a photo of an overweight couch potato, the participants paused. Berry then concluded that this delay in response is attributed to an automatic stereotype settling in – as the participants think about the person being lazy rather than focusing on the color of the word.

This research was deemed important because as Berry connotes, “Stereotypes greatly influence how people behave, and the more awareness of this stereotype can help people counter the negative influences about themselves and how people perceive them.”

The results of this study, as it changes perception, can spell complacency for those who need to stay fit. It’s in fact a dangerous notion that it’s okay and acceptable to remain fat and keep on with the sedentary lifestyle.

(MedicalNewsToday April 2010) – Australian scientists were able to demonstrate that even a little weight loss can reverse damaging effects seen in the immune cells of obese and overweight people.

From Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Dr. Alex Viardot and Associate Professor Katherine Samaras found the results showing how the immune system is weakened by fat. There was an 80% reduction of the pro-inflammatory T-helper cells and the reduced activation of other immune cells circulating around the body. This study has been published at the prestigious Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism; results of which are also published online.

The immune system needs all the cells to properly function to protect the body from germs, microbes, and other invaders. These all need to exist in a determined balance to function properly and to protect Excess body fat can well tip off this sensitive balance and cause the immune system to create cells to attack rather than to protect.

It has been shown that abdominal fat primarily accounts for the production of pro-inflammatory cells that does all the damage.

Associate Professor Samaras notes further, “Obesity is one of the major causes of Type 2 diabetes including some cancers, where excess weight disorders affect about 50% of adult Australians. This situation already reached to crisis levels, and the general public must be informed that since excess fat promotes the growth of inflammatory cells that harbor a lot of serious illnesses, it affects the immune system, it also affects their survival.”

“Lose weight of about 6kg and the immune cells that protect will go back. It has been shown for the first time that the very adverse effects of inflammatory cells are reversed with weight loss.” Samaras concludes.

Note however that this is not your end-all magic cure to lose weight. It’s just the perfect sports drink that Nature can provide.

Coconut water is a staple in the Tropics and it’ has recently grabbed the attention of sports enthusiasts and athletes around the world as a perfect and cheaper alternative to artificial sports drink – sending the West’s soft drink industry into a frenzy.

This coconut water is not the thick white milk coming from a mature coconut but it’s the clear watery juice of a young coconut. Surprisingly, it’s a lot more refreshing, it’s naturally sweet, and it’s a powerful antioxidant with 10times more antioxidants than your regular artificial sports drink. It also replenishes lost electrolytes more after a high-impact workout. It doesn’t contain any artificial sugar or coloring that most sports drinks have – the extra sugar being one of the major culprits of weight gain.

But how can it be used for weight loss? This drink as provided by Nature can indeed improve your metabolism without the negative effects of extra sugar. It cleanses the kidney (this is why it’s a natural treatment for urinary tract infections), boosts the immune system, and you are provided extra energy. You are sure to lose weight if you drink this after a heavy workout since it replenishes your lost electrolytes faster than water or any other drink.

How can you be sure it’s safe? Coconut water has been used as an intravenous fluid because the composition of which is similar to human blood plasma. It is the only natural substance that can be directly injected into the blood stream. It’s also an excellent source of calcium where it has about 15 times more potassium than any other sports drink.

Are there any side effects? Apart from the fact that it’s a great weight loss secret, there is no reported side effect primarily because it comes from a natural source. It’s also a good detox drink to get rid of all the junk consumed during the week, and with the extra energy provided by the improved metabolism, you are on your way to a quicker weight loss if you drink this after an intense workout.

Seems far-fetched? Believe it, since hot and cold baths can indeed improve a lot of things in the body that you may not know about – improved energy from the detoxification and increased circulation, plus the eliminating of negative energy. And once your energy level improves, the faster you can lose weight.

Here’s how it works. Since most of us are accustomed to warm showers, try something else. Start with a hot water blast for 3 minutes, then alternate it with a cold shower after. Shower with hot water first (hot, not boiling or scalding hot), then rinse off with cold water. The whole idea may seem intimidating for those living in the coldest regions, but it won’t be so bad after hearing about its health benefits. The water temperatures have to be extreme for the health benefits to work. It’s a good remedy to clear all the dump – the toxins inside the body, the stress, and all the negative energy.

But how does it work? The extreme temperatures make your muscles contract and expand which provides for the detoxification of toxin traces. Once the toxins are squeezed out by this muscle contraction, your circulation is improved, and the benefits start working. One can never underestimate the advantages of a body being cleared from all the toxins, filth, and clumps, which primarily accounts for a lot of cancers, tumors, and infections that the body may sometimes feel overwhelmed to remove.

Once you are detoxified and your circulation is greatly improved, losing weight will now be a lot easier. Since your cells and organs are working at their optimum levels, all cleared from the filth, fat is burned faster, and carbohydrates are easier metabolized for more energy instead of getting accumulated over time as excess fat. It won’t be too difficult now to exercise or to at least increase your physical activity for a faster weight loss campaign.

[BBC News] – US doctors found out that low carbohydrate diets were better in decreasing blood pressure compared to weight loss pills, in a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Those who received counseling were better off losing their weight and still reducing some of their prior medications than those who didn’t.

About 146 people took part in this study and most of them had varying health problems that may affect their weight loss goals. Research from the Veterans Affairs Medical Centre and Duke University Medical Centre proved that about 47% in the low-carbohydrate diet category were successful in cutting out their blood pressure medication than those on orlistat and a low fat diet who comprised of about 21%, proving the importance of consultation in terms of weight loss and a high blood pressure that may affect the goal.

Though both weight loss methods effectively reduced waist sizes, glucose and cholesterol levels, it was seen however that a low-carbohydrate diet had additional benefits. Good news to those who wanted to lose weight but on blood pressure medication, because it entailed lesser costs and not much side effects.

The Importance of Counseling

The same participants of this study were offered a weight lose consultation programme as well. The only 15 who attended were seen to have lost more weight of about 15% from those who didn’t.

Those who used over the counter drugs without consultation however, were exposed to cardiovascular risks.

The British Heart Foundation noted that this small study only reinforced the message that weight loss, when not taken in with consultation may further expose them to risk factors of stroke or a heart disease.