Obesity: what primary care physicians should know

According to the CDC, nearly 78.6 million adults and 12.7 million children and adolescents in the United States are currently obese, which can result in serious health consequences, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

“There is no single or simple solution to the obesity epidemic. It’s a complex problem and there has to be a multifaceted approach. Policy makers, state and local organizations, business and community leaders, school, childcare and health care professionals, and individuals must work together to create an environment that supports a healthy lifestyle,” the CDC’s website states.

Healio.com/Family Medicine presents five “fast facts” on the latest in obesity news that primary care physicians should know.

Abdominal fat linked to greater mortality risk

Normal-weight individuals with more abdominal fat had a greater mortality risk compared with overweight or obese individuals with normal fat distribution, according to recently published data. After controlling for age and BMI, anticipated survival estimates were consistently lower among participants with central obesity, according to the study researchers. Read more.

Dispositional mindfulness may impact obesity, abdominal fat

Individuals who were more aware of and paid more attention to their feelings and thoughts were at lower risk for obesity and had less abdominal fat.

Study results demonstrated that participants were 34% more likely to be obese if their Mindful Attention Awareness Scale scores were less than 4, compared with those with a score of 6, according to a press release. These results remained even after adjusting for age, race, smoking and socioeconomic status. Read more.

Removing processed sugar without cutting calories improves health of obese kids

Over the course of 9 days, obese black and Latino children had lower cholesterol and BP levels after cutting processed sugar from their diets, without restricting their caloric intake, according to recently published data in Obesity. Read more.

Overweight, obesity increase risk for sudden cardiac death in women

Overweight and obesity conferred elevated risk for sudden cardiac death in women throughout adulthood, according to 32-year results from the Nurses’ Health Study. The association was especially prominent in those with severe obesity and when overweight or obesity was present in early adulthood, according to the researchers. After adjustment for confounders, higher BMI updated biennially was associated with greater risk for sudden cardiac death (P for linear trend < .001), researchers found. Read more.

Public transportation linked to lower risk of diabetes, hypertension, body fat

In Japan, individuals who took public transportation were 44% less likely to be overweight, 27% less likely to have elevated BP and 34% less likely to have diabetes, compared with those who drove a car. Read more.