Is the Atkins Diet Safe?

Atkins Diet and Weight Loss

The low-carbohydrate high-protein Atkins diet is not safe and should not be recommended for weight loss, state researchers in this week's issue of The Lancet.
In a Case Report Klaus-Dieter Lessnau (New York School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA) and colleagues describe a life-threatening complication of the Atkins diet in a 40-year-old obese woman. The patient, who had strictly followed the Atkins diet, was admitted to hospital for a condition called ketoacidosis. The condition occurs when dangerously high levels of acids called ketones build up in the blood. Ketones are produced in the liver during starvation. A low carbohydrate diet such as Atkins can lead to ketone production, state the authors.
Professor Lessnau concludes: "Our patient had an underlying ketosis caused by the Atkins diet and developed severe ketoacidosis, possibly when her oral intake was compromised from mild pancreatitis or gastroenteritis. This problem may become more recognised because this diet is becoming increasingly popular worldwide."
In an accompanying Comment Lyn Steffen (University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA) states: "Low-carbohydrate diets for weight management are far from healthy, given their association with ketosis, constipation or diarrhoea, halitosis, headache, and general fatigue to name a few side-effects... As researchers and clinicians, our most important criterion should be indisputable safety, and low-carbohydrate diets currently fall short of this benchmark. Professional dietetic associations in the US, Australia, and Europe, emphasize eating healthy foods and being physically active.

On-The-Job Weight Loss: Worksite Programs Work

Employer-sponsored programs for weight loss are at least partially effective at helping workers take off extra pounds, according to a new review of recent studies.
“For people who participate in them, worksite-based programs do tend to result in weight loss,” said co-author Michael Benedict, M.D. Intensity matters, he found. “The programs that incorporated face-to-face contact more than once a month appeared to be more effective than other programs.”
Since most employed adults spend nearly one-half of their waking hours at work, such programs could have enormous potential in making a dent in the obesity epidemic, according to Benedict, a researcher at the Institute for the Study of Health, Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
The systematic review appears in the July-August issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.
Benedict and colleague David Arterburn, M.D., looked at 11 studies published since 1994. Most involved education and counseling to improve diet and increase physical activity and lasted anywhere from two months to 18 months. Forty-six percent of the studies involved low-intensity interventions, 18 percent were moderate intensity and 36 percent were high intensity.
In studies that compared the two groups, participants lost an average of 2.2 pounds to almost 14 pounds, while non-participants ranged from a loss of 1.5 pounds to a gain of 1.1 pounds.
However, it was hard to draw conclusions about weight-loss maintenance, Benedict said. “People who participate in these programs can lose weight but we aren’t really sure what happens after that.”
So far, few data exist to show how much money employers could save if they incorporate worksite weight-loss programs. “Employers want to know that what they’re doing will have a positive return on investment,” Benedict said.
Studies have shown that other worksite health interventions — such as those aimed at smoking cessation and blood pressure reduction — benefit employers financially, usually within only two to three years, Benedict said. “Worksites have a tremendous potential to have a public health impact, but more research is needed.”

Develop a Plan for Lifelong Health, Not Just Short Term Weight Loss

Weight Loss Program

Amid the daily barrage of fad diets and weight loss books, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture: achieving overall good health.
Too often, people adopt the latest diet, which may work for a while, but then they hit weight loss plateaus and ultimately end the diet in frustration.
By putting more emphasis on your health, experts agree that you can raise your overall self esteem, resulting in healthy eating, weight loss and improved health.
It is the official position of the American Dietetic Association that if food is consumed in moderation with appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity, all foods can fit into a healthful diet.
If you have gone from one diet to the next throughout your life, it's time to get back to basics and focus on your overall health.

Determining Healthy Weight for Children

Body mass index, or BMI, is commonly used to measure a person's healthy weight. Does BMI apply to children as well as adults?
Pediatric specialists say the best guide for determining a healthy weight for children is to use growth charts, which provide a range for normal weight and indicate when a child might be over- or underweight for their height. Discuss your child's growth with your pediatrician to clarify any concerns you may have.
Healthy weight is important to children's growth, development and overall happiness. Kids who learn to enjoy a variety of foods and get regular physical activity enjoy childhood and develop a healthful lifestyle.

Trends In Weight Change Among Canadian Adults

Weight Loss and Gain in Canada
Canadian adults keep putting on weight, but indications are that the pace at which they are gaining has slowed down, according to a new report.
The report was based on data from the National Population Health Survey, a longitudinal survey that has followed the same group of people every two years, on six separate occasions, between 1994/1995 and 2004/2005. Data for height and weight for this survey were self-reported. This study is based on data from 1996/1997 to 2004/2005.
The survey showed that every two years since 1996/1997, adults aged 18 to 64 were heavier on average.
However� � while they continued to gain weight, the amount they put on decreased significantly in the most recent two-year interval, 2002/2003 to 2004/2005.
This downturn was due in part to a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of men who gained weight and a significant increase in the amount of weight loss among women who lost weight.
However, among people who gained weight, the amount they put on actually increased over time.
During the eight years covered by the study, men gained an average of 4.0 kg, while women gained an average of 3.4 kg. While these results appear relatively small, a number of studies have shown that even a small shift in the population distribution toward excess weight may have important consequences for the incidence of weight-related diseases.
Rate of gain slowing
Canadians are still gaining weight, on average. But this report found that the pace at which they are gaining has slowed down.
Over the two-year interval from 1996/1997 to 1998/1999, the average self-reported weight of people aged 18 to 64 increased by 1.0 kg for men and 0.9 kg for women.
Between 2000/2001 and 2002/2003, average gains were higher: 1.1 kg for men and 1.0 kg for women.
Over the next two years, that is, 2002/2003 to 2004/2005, the weight of adults continued to rise. However, the average amount gained was lower: 0.7 kg for men and 0.6 kg for women.
Thus, overall adults were still gaining weight, but statistically significantly less than in the earlier periods.
Weight changes associated with sex, age and level of obesity
Changes in weight were significantly associated with sex, age group and the level of obesity as measured by the body mass index (BMI).
Over the eight years from 1996/1997 to 2004/2005, the average self-reported weight of men and women in all age groups increased.
However, in each two-year interval, younger people aged 18 to 33 experienced significantly greater average gains than did individuals aged 34 to 49. Older adults aged 50 to 64 experienced significantly smaller gains than 34 to 49 year-olds.
The general trend of a decline in the amount of weight gained between 2002/2003 and 2004/2005 applied to men and women in most age groups. The exception was men aged 18 to 33, whose average weight gain in the most recent two-year interval was greater than that in the previous one.
An individual's BMI is associated with how much his or her self-reported weight changed in each two-year interval.
On average, overweight people (BMI from 25.0 to 29.9) gained 0.8 kg less than did people whose weight was in the acceptable BMI range (BMI from 18.5 to 24.9). Obese individuals (BMI 30.0 and higher) gained 1.9 kg less. In fact, during most two-year intervals, people who were obese experienced a mean loss in self-reported weight.
Smaller proportion of men gaining weight
The overall pattern of average change in weight in the last interval (2002/2003 to 2004/2005) reflects a mixture of trends at a finer level of detail. These include a smaller proportion of men gaining weight and greater losses among the women who lost weight.
During each of the first three two-year intervals in the survey, almost half of adults reported that they gained weight. However, between 2002/2003 and 2004/2005 the proportion of men gaining weight fell to 44%.
As well, 32% of men reported a loss in weight between 2002/2003 and 2004/2005, a significantly higher percentage than in the first two intervals.
Among women, the proportion losing weight did not differ significantly from one interval to another.

How Diet Affects The Immune System

Diet and Metabolism
"This study may help explain the link between dietary fat consumption and inflammation and could be one of the critical links between metabolism and immune responses," says senior author Professor Charles Mackay, Director of Sydney's Garvan Institute's Immunology Program.
Our intake of fats (fatty acids) has changed dramatically over the last thirty years. At the same time there has been an increase in inflammatory diseases in the western world " especially asthma, atherosclerosis, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. "We have shown that a subset of white blood cells, called dendritic cells, which initiate immune responses, rely on the fatty acid binding molecule aP2 for their function. It is possible that different fatty acids or their total levels will affect aP2 function in dendritic cells, and hence affect immune responses," explains Mackay.
Professor Mackay added: "What we want to do now is study whether it is the total levels of fats or the different types of fats that alter dendritic cell function, through their binding to aP2. We know that dietary changes can improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and we believe that a 'diet hypothesis' may account for the dramatic changes in inflammatory diseases seen in the western world over the past 30 years -molecules such as aP2 may be one of the clues that will help explain this phenomenon."
Over-activation of dendritic cells can trigger inflammatory diseases. This discovery reveals aP2 is key to that process. Fatty acid binding molecules, such as aP2, have already been identified as promising targets for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. This new research suggests that medicines directed at aP2 would have great potential in inflammatory as well as metabolic diseases.