Obesity rising in Europe

The number of overweight people in Europe is rising and there is an especially worrying trend of increasing childhood obesity and in the number of people who are grossly obese, according to recent studies.

Europe is facing major health and social burdens and the rise in obesity is reaching "epidemic" proportions, the 15th European Congress on Obesity in Budapest was told on Sunday.

Estimates show there are around 1.1 billion overweight people in the world, of whom 312 million are obese, and that in Europe 10-20 percent of men are obese and almost half the population is overweight.

Some 30 percent of children in Britain are obese or overweight, and percentages are rising in southern Europe, while in new European Union states in eastern Europe, rates of obesity are surging at a time when health spending is being curtailed.

"More than 80 percent of children who are already obese will stay obese as adults," said Martin Fried of Prague’s Charles University, who authored a major study on the effect of surgery on obese patients.

Fried estimates that there are around 11 million Europeans who are grossly obese, with a body mass index of 40 or more.

Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight in which normal weight is in a BMI range of 18.5-24.9.

Obese people are far more likely to suffer early deaths, have health problems like type-2 diabetes, and have a lower quality of life, as well as being unable to participate in work, Fried told journalists on the sidelines of the conference.

Fried said surgery was increasingly a workable solution for obese adults and that far from competing for health resources, it was better than for example continuing to treat type-2 diabetes with drugs, as surgery offered a once-and-for-all solution for 80 percent of cases after six months to a year.

In Britain, which has one of the highest levels of childhood obesity in Europe, a study showed that community-based programs had a major impact on overweight and obese children.

Results of a 9-week trial program conducted by University College London (UCL) and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children involving 107 families showed significant improvements in BMI, waistlines, lifestyle and self-esteem.

These results were sustained over 12 months, the study said.

"Obesity costs the nation 7 billion pounds a year. This popular community-based program has the potential to underpin effective national strategies for obesity treatment and preservation," said Professor Alan Lucas of UCL’s child health department.

Severely Obese Are Fastest Growing Segment of Overweight Americans

The proportion of severely obese Americans -- those with a body mass index of 40 or more -- increased by 50 percent from 2000 to 2005, twice as fast as the increase in moderate obesity, a new study finds.

During that same period, the proportion of overweight people (BMI of 30 or more) increased by 24 percent, and the proportion of those with a BMI of 50 or more increased by 75 percent. In the past 20 years, the largest percentage increases have occurred in the heaviest weight groups, the RAND Corporation study said.

Body mass index, or BMI, is a ratio of weight to height. A typical severely obese man weighs 300 pounds at a height of 5 feet 10 inches, while a typical severely obese woman weighs 250 pounds at a height of 5 feet 4 inches.

"The proportion of people at the high end of the weight scale continues to increase at a brisk rate despite increased public attention on the risks of obesity and the increased use of drastic weight loss strategies, such as bariatric surgery," report author Roland Sturm, a RAND economist, said in a prepared statement.

The study concluded that three percent of Americans are severely obese. health costs for severely obese people are expected to be double that of normal weight people, while health costs for moderately obese people are expected to be 25 percent more.

From 1998 to 2003, the number of bariatric surgeries in the United States increased from 13,000 to 100,000. An estimated 200,000 bariatric procedures were done in the United States in 2006, the study said.

"The explosion in the use of bariatric surgery has made no noticeable dent in the trend of morbid obesity," Sturm said.

He said the study findings suggest that severe obesity is not a rare condition among certain genetically vulnerable people but, rather, is an integral part of the U.S. population’s weight distribution. As the entire population becomes heavier, there are more and more severely obese people.

RAND is a nonprofit research organization. The study is expected to be published later this year in the journal Public Health.

Number of morbidly obese growing rapidly

People who are 100 pounds or more overweight are the fastest-growing group of overweight people in the United States, researchers reported on Monday.

They found the proportion of the severely obese was 50 percent higher in 2005 than it had been in 2000 — a startling rate of growth.

“The proportion of people at the high end of the weight scale continues to increase at a brisk rate despite increased public attention on the risks of obesity and the increased use of drastic weight loss strategies such as bariatric surgery,” said Roland Sturm, an economist at Rand Corporation, a nonprofit research institute.

“The explosion in the use of bariatric (weight-loss) surgery has made no noticeable dent in the trend of morbid obesity,” Sturm added in a statement.

The researchers found that based on self-reported height and weight, which tends to underestimate the weight part, 3 percent of Americans are already severely obese — defined as having a body mass index of 40 or higher.

Body mass index is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of a person’s height in meters.

The researchers, whose report will be published later this year in the journal Public health, found that the proportion of Americans with a BMI of 30 or more increased by 24 percent between 2000 and 2005.

The proportion of people with a BMI of 40 or more increased by 50 percent and the proportion of Americans with a BMI of 50 or more increased by 75 percent.

The number of bariatric procedures, which include stomach stapling and stomach bypass surgery, rose to an estimated 200,000 in 2006 from 13,000 in 1998.

More than 30 percent of Americans are overweight, with a BMI between 25 and 29, and another 30 percent on top of that are obese, defined as having a BMI of 30 or above.

Overweight people have higher risks of heart disease, diabetes and some cancer, and obesity makes the risks much more imminent.

High Protein Liquid Diets They Do Work for Some

Obesity, diets and weight loss methods of every kind are talked about in the media every day. Little wonder. It’s estimated that 34 million Americans are obese, meaning they weigh 20% more than their ideal weight.

Almost every overweight person has lost weight - or made an attempt to diet - at one time or another by investing in some combination of diet and exercise. In the 1970’s, high protein liquid diets became a short-lived fad. Currently, however, their popularity is on the rise, with some positive results. Liquid diet products have drastically improved in the last 30 years, with their complete protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber, vitamin and mineral supplements.

There are medically sponsored and/or supervised weight loss programs, as well as over-the-counter high protein liquid diet products. Optifast, Medifast, and HMR are among the most popular supervised diet programs, which usually also include education and group support. New Life, Atkins, and Slim Fast are among the companies that provide popular over-the-counter or mail order high protein products. There is also at least one very inexpensive on-line interactive support group and message board that has proven very helpful to those who are using a high protein liquid diet, either on their own or in a supervised program.

How does a liquid diet work? What makes it successful? What’s the advantage over other diets?

Some doctors prescribe high protein liquid diets for their patients unable to digest solid foods, but the vast majority of liquid dieters are drinking their meals every day solely to lose weight. Most doctor-supervised high protein liquid dieters are consuming 400-800 calories a day. Those on a liquid diet without doctor supervision are generally encouraged to opt for a higher caloric intake of at least 1000 calories a day. To begin with, their "meals" consist only of a high protein shake that’s also high in fiber. Most also take a high quality multi-vitamin each day.

One reason these diets work, at least in the short run, is because there are no food choices to be made. In essence, the liquid dieter is completely removed from a food environment as far as having to "stress" over eating goes. For the most part, the shakes have improved in taste, and they are much more convenient than preparing a meal. They also give a morbidly obese person a rapid jump start to weight loss, which can be helpful motivation to "keep going."

The most successful programs and individual dieters are those who combine their weight loss "food plan" with a behavior modification and exercise plan. Typically, a program will limit the use of the high protein all liquid diet to a few weeks or months, and then begin a plan of healthy food reintegration, along with an exercise plan, if one has not already been implemented. The number of calories is increased, but still relatively low - perhaps 1,000 to 1,200 per day. When the dieter reaches their desired weight, a maintenance plan is put in place, where the dieter is eating and making healthy choices on their own.

As with any plan to lose weight, studies have repeatedly found that losing weight and keeping it off will seldom happen without long-term changes in food choices, exercise, and behavioral modification to help some address addictive and unhealthy behaviors, poor habits, etc. When combined with medical supervision, group support, education, and behavioral modification, high protein liquid diets are something to consider if all else has failed.