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Showing posts with label Obesity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obesity. Show all posts

Monday 6 March 2023

brain, Health, Not just fat, Obesity, Obesity is more complex than just overeating, weight

 In conjunction with World Obesity Day yesterday, we take a look at how the understanding of this condition of excess weight has evolved.

We need to avoid weight bias where we make the assumption that people are obese solely because of their own choices. — Photos: 123rf.com

For as long as she could remember, Jane had always been plus-sized.

As a child, her family doted upon her as she was never picky about food and would eat anything given to her.

In school, she was always physically bigger compared to the rest of her peers.

She was often teased by her friends for her body size, but she was constantly reassured by her family that she was just “big-boned”, just like the rest of her siblings and family members.

However, by the time she reached young adulthood, she started feeling more self-conscious about her body size and embarked upon multiple cycles of crash dieting and exercise regimes.

She successfully lost weight a few times; however, each time she lost weight, she would eventually lapse into bouts of uncontrollable binge-eating.

As a result, she constantly struggled to keep the weight off and would always gain back the weight she lost, if not more.

With time, she became resigned to the fact that she was probably fated to be fat for life.

This led to body image issues, self-blaming, and even clinical depression that negatively affected her life and relationships.

The scale of the problem

Jane is not exactly a real person, but her story is very real – a coalescence of the lives of many people struggling with weight issues everywhere.

The global obesity epidemic, aptly coined “globesity”, is arguably one of the most important public health concerns of the late 20th and early 21st century.

As of 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 650 million adults worldwide were obese.

According to the World Obesity Atlas, these numbers are expected to increase, with the global obese population projected to breach the one billion mark by 2030.

It is also no longer news to us that Malaysia is effectively the fattest country in the region.

The 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) reported that one in two Malaysian adults were either overweight (30.4%) or obese (19.7%), and one in three Malaysian children were overweight (15.0%) and obese (14.8%).

On top of this, if we account for the rampant weight gain seen during the Covid-19 movement control order, the current true numbers of obese people in Malaysia is likely even higher.

Traditionally, being overweight and obese has been viewed as a risk factor that increases an individual’s chances of developing metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular (heart) disease, obstructive sleep apnoea, and musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis, among others.

This fact still very much holds true today.

However, in 2014, the American Medical Association declared obesity as a disease state in itself.

This actually had very far-reaching implications.

It effectively changed the way we view obesity – as more than just excessive fat deposition contributing to other diseases.

Obesity itself is now seen as a disease state that requires formal medical attention, proper treatment plans and prevention efforts.

The complexity of obesity

Experts worldwide have been calling for measures to be taken to curb this growing issue for decades, but the rates of obesity have continued to rise regardless.

The idea that obesity is a disease of the brain is gaining traction among scientists as the hypothalamus (in yellow) plays a key role in regulating our appetite and metabolism..The idea that obesity is a disease of the brain is gaining traction among scientists as the hypothalamus (in yellow) plays a key role in regulating our appetite and metabolism.>>

This is because obesity is a very complex issue with a lot of interconnected causes.

In the past, it was assumed that as our society became richer, we had to physically work less to get our food and this led to over-nourishment.

However, we now know that it is overly simplistic to think that obesity develops as a result of an individual just “eating too much”.

Instead, there are often multiple factors beyond our control that contribute to an individual developing obesity.

For example, people who come from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds may not have the financial privilege of accessing healthy food options.

They may also not be educated enough to choose better quality food with their available resources.

Children born into these families with a history of obesity have higher chances of developing obesity later on in life.

This is partly contributed by genetic factors, as well as enduring lifestyle habits inculcated from a young age that may be difficult to change.

Obesity is also closely linked to the development of mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.

People suffering from depression also have a higher chance of developing eating disorders that subsequently lead to obesity.

A lot of these factors form vicious cycles that span generations.

On a population scale, we are living in an increasingly “obesogenic environment”.

This refers to the multiple physical, economic and sociocultural factors that collectively contribute to the development of an obese population.

For example, our built environment promotes a sedentary lifestyle.

Our roads are hardly pedestrian or bicycle-friendly.

Our public transportation system is not optimised, as the lack of last-mile connectivity remains a major hindrance for many.

As a result, most Malaysians are heavily dependent on motorised vehicles to get around, rather than walking or cycling.

Globalisation and industrialisation of the food supply chain have made ultra-processed foods more common now than ever.

Ultra-processed foods refer to those that have gone through a series of industrial processes, often with ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, modified oils, food colouring and other additives to make the final product hyper-palatable.

These foods are commonly high in calories and easily over-consumed.

They are generally mass-produced and marketed by large companies, and are often much cheaper and more readily available compared to whole, nutritious food options.

As we start to understand more about obesity, it has become increasingly clear that it is, in essence, a disease of the brain.

The hypothalamus located in the brain plays a key role in regulating our appetite and metabolism.

The satiety centre in the hypothalamus is largely responsible for controlling our sensation of hunger.

When an individual develops obesity, the accumulation of excessive fat tissue actually leads to a host of hormonal changes within the body.

These hormonal changes not only suppress the satiety centre and increase hunger, but also slow down our metabolism rate.

Essentially, our body has a weight “setpoint”, and will try to revert to this setpoint despite our best efforts.

These underlying biological mechanisms are largely out of our voluntary control.

They also explain why people with obesity who embark on lifestyle changes to lose weight tend to hit a plateau after an initial weight loss.

In fact, after some time, they may regain some of the weight they lost initially.

Weight bias

The easy availability and affordability of ultra-processed foods is part of the obesogenic environment that makes it easy to gain excess weight. — TNS 
The easy availability and affordability of ultra-processed foods is part of the obesogenic environment that makes it easy to gain excess weight. — TNS

It is precisely because of these underlying complexities that we should be careful not to indulge in weight bias.

Weight bias, or weight stigma, refers to negative attitudes, beliefs and judgments toward individuals who are overweight and obese.

In other words, we have to avoid the over-simplistic assumption that people with obesity are the way they are as a result of their “poor life choices”.

This stigma is very common because body weight is a physical characteristic that is visible and is often the first thing we notice about a person.

Studies have shown that even doctors are guilty of weight bias.

These can range from explicit behaviours, such as outright fat-shaming and teasing, to implicit beliefs, such as seeing someone who carries excessive weight and immediately considering them to be lazy, undisciplined or unmotivated.

Shaming individuals with weight-related issues does not motivate positive behavioural changes.

Instead, it often leads to the development of unhealthy behaviours such as compulsive exercise, as well as eating disorders such as cycling between extreme fasting or dieting, and episodes of binge eating.

Worse still, when this becomes internalised, an individual believes that they deserve the stigma and discriminatory treatment because of their weight.

Internalised weight bias is strongly associated with unhealthy eating patterns, poor body image, low self-esteem and depression.

Striking a balance

Conversely, this by no means indicates that we should normalise obesity or dismiss the deleterious health effects associated with it.

Instead, an individual’s body fat excess needs to be objectively taken into context as one part of their overall health.

The body positivity movement promotes acceptance of all body types, shapes and sizes, and not assigning self-worth solely to outward appearances.

This need not be mutually exclusive with taking obesity seriously as a public health emergency requiring urgent attention.

Over the last few decades, there have been major advances in the medical treatment of obesity.

Bariatric surgery has long been proven to be very effective, but it comes with its own set of complications.

New medications have been developed to specifically target the hormonal changes in obesity and induce very effective weight loss.

However, these medications are still very expensive and may not be widely available.

It also does not take away the fact that prevention is still better than cure.

Once established, obesity is very difficult and arduous to treat due to the reasons explained above.

Preventing obesity requires a concerted effort.

Government policies need to be drafted holistically, keeping in mind that economic and structural development often have indirect population-wide health consequences in the long run.

The food industry needs to be regulated for responsible manufacturing and marketing practices.

Society as a whole also has a collective responsibility to recognize that obesity is a disease and consciously adopt a healthy culture to address and prevent it.

The theme for World Obesity Day 2023 is “Changing Perspectives: Let’s Talk about Obesity”.

It is apt that we keep the conversation going, correct misconceptions, end stigma, and collectively shift towards a rational and sustainable strategy to tackle this perennial issue.

Dr Lim Quan Hziung is a lecturer and internal medicine physician training to become an endocrinologist at University Malaya. For more information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this article. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information. 

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Wednesday 6 April 2016

Supersized and overweight civil servants

The public waiting their turn for services at a government department. - Filepic

When those two words describe a nation's public sector, it means it's truly a burden on taxpayers.

POOR civil servants! If you watched Disney’s animated film Zootopia, you would have caught the hilarious scene where the heroes, a rabbit and a fox, rushed to the Department of Motor Vehicles to check out a licence plate, only to get very, very slow service from the sloths manning the counter.

It would appear this stereotyping of civil servants’ work ethic is universal, which is why the parody tickled audiences everywhere.

Now Malaysians have another reason to make fun of their civil servants: they’re too fat. At least the ones in Putrajaya are, according to the 2015 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) which showed it has the highest rate of overweight and obese citizens.

It’s an established fact that Putrajaya is populated overwhelmingly by government employees, which means those living and serving in the very heart of the nation’s administrative capital are rather unhealthy.

That’s a bummer because, design-wise, Putrajaya got it right. It was a winner in the 75,001­ to 150,000-population category for the Whole City Award under the International Awards for Liveable Communities 2012.

In the paper submitted for the awards, Putrajaya boasted of having “lush greeneries surrounding buildings, infrastructure, (12) parks and gardens.” What’s more, the same paper took into account the need to keep Putra­jaya folks fit and healthy.

It noted that 28% of the residents had a normal BMI (Body Mass Index), 36.3% were overweight, 27.4% obese and 8.3% were even underweight. That was in 2011.

Just four years later, 37% of Putrajayans are said to be overweight and their obesity rate is 43%, according to the NHMS findings.

These are alarming jumps and more so when there were efforts like the Healthy Parks, Healthy People programme to get the residents to exercise to stave off lifestyle diseases like hypertension and diabetes. Among the activities was the Putrajaya Inter-Park Ride monthly cycling event.

So what gives? Why are Putrajayans and Malaysians on the whole so fat? We hold the title of Fatties of South-East Asia; some reports say the whole of Asia.

Some people may, in a perverse way, hail having an overly well-fed population as a sign of a nation’s prosperity. After all, the fattest people in the world are the Americans.

A How’s Life? 2015 Report by the Organisation for Economic Coopera­tion and Development ranked the United States as the nation with the most obese population. It also had the fattest children and the unhealthiest teenagers by a wide margin.

The findings are said to be a blow to the Obama administration and First Lady Michelle Obama because they have been championing this cause for years, including reducing sugar and salt from school lunches.

So if both the US and Malaysian Governments couldn’t stem the fat tide in their respective countries, who can? I would say it’s still the government and we the people.

What we have is a terribly bloated public sector. The Star, quoting Prime Minister’s Office statistics, pointed out that at 1.4 million employees, it’s the largest civil service in South-East Asia.

Supersized and overweight. That’s a double whammy and the kind of Malaysian Book of Records we don’t need. So for a start, how about really downsizing the civil service? After all, why do we need so many civil servants to serve a population that’s way smaller than those in neighbouring countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand?

Next, I support calls to make it mandatory for civil servants to lose the fat and stay healthy. This is especially so for those who have yet to develop serious illnesses like diabetes. If need be, withhold promotions and salary increases if they don’t meet this KPI.

The reason why I am pushing for this is because civil servants get free medical services in government hospitals and clinics, even after retirement.

That’s a longstanding benefit which I don’t object to, since my retired police officer father is a beneficiary. But with a large, unhealthy government workforce, you can imagine the humongous medical bill we taxpayers are burdened with.

If nothing is done, it will become a bigger burden because, as doctors have warned, 20 years from now, those overweight and obese citizens will be suffering from all sorts of illnesses from stroke, heart disease and kidney failure to diabetes.

All that “will increase the health budget to an unsustainable level,” Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Ashok Zachariah Philip told The Star.

Thanks to my role as the primary caregiver to my elderly parents who suffer from various illnesses, I know how scarily expensive medical care can be for those without access to free treatments.

As a private sector employee, I am grateful to be working for a company that gives me good medical coverage. But I have also bought my own health insurance to prepare for the day when I retire and lose my safety net. In the meantime, I work at staying healthy and medication-free.

As I said, I do not begrudge the medical benefit for government servants. What I do begrudge are those who take it for granted, instead of taking responsibility for their own well-being.

If the Government can work on getting its workforce in shape, non-public sector citizens too can do their part by eating less and more healthily and getting off our butts.

Admittedly, it’s hard now to go out for a run or even a stroll because of the current heat wave and haze. But we can try taking the stairs instead of the lift, drink more water than teh tarik and yes, eat less of our beloved nasi lemak.

Proud as we are that Time magazine ranked it as the ninth healthiest breakfast in the world, we know better. A dish that tastes that good cannot be healthy!

I leave this thought with you: The OEDC report, which measures the personal and economic health of nations, found that the United States indeed topped the chart in personal wealth and even the number of rooms in American homes.

So yes, they have the wealth but where’s the health?


By June H.L. Wong
So Aunty, So What?

Aunty likes this quote by humourist Jarod Kintz: Obesity isn’t as cool as it used to be, back in the earlier centuries. Before it was a reflection on your gross income. Now it’s just gross. Feedback to aunty@thestar.com.my

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Tuesday 5 April 2016

Putrajaya the obese-city! Address obesity urgently

Two men cycling in front of the Palace of justice in Putrajaya

Malaysia has the highest percentage of overweight people in South-East Asia and the bulk of them are in Putrajaya. A survey has found that two out of five Malaysian civil servants are obese. The news is not good for the country’s health.

KUALA LUMPUR: It has been long known that Malaysia is the fattest country in South-East Asia. Now, it has been proven that the administrative capital of Putrajaya has the highest rate of overweight and obese people in the country.

Findings from the 2015 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) placed Putrajaya as the city with the highest percentage of overweight, obese and abdominally obese people in the country.

The study also suggests that the administrative capital’s population has a 37% chance of being overweight, while the obesity rate stood at 43%.

Even more startling, the NHMS said government and semi-government employees took the cake as those struggling most with obesity, with a 40.3% rate.

This could mean two out of every five of Malaysia’s civil servants may be obese.

Malaysia’s civil service has 1.4 million employees, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, and is the largest civil service in South-East Asia.

Other obesity demographics pointed out in the survey were Indians (43.5%), married adults (33.8%) and those who only studied up to secondary school (32.1%).


The findings put the Government in a rather red-faced situation, as it works on reversing the climbing number of obese and overweight Malaysians.

“As the number of people with obesity increases, the nation now is facing an upward surge of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases,” the survey concluded, describing the Malaysian obesity epidemic as alarming.

Although a review of public health policy was not necessary now, it opined, the Government was asked to provide more supportive environments for Malaysians to lead healthier lifestyles.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Ashok Zachariah Phillip agreed, saying that the life of a typical government servant did not afford them much time or money to stay healthy.

“If you look at the strata, it’s usually the lower grade workers who are overweight because it takes money to keep fit. Government workers go to work at 7am, come back at 7pm and have no time between work and family to even think of exercising,” he said.

It doesn’t help either that basic essentials like white rice, sugar and oil are staple Malaysian diets and are unhealthy, he said.

“For us doctors, this could be a real headache 20 years down the road. We are going to have a growing population with stroke and heart disease, and kidney failures that will increase the health budget at an unsustainable level,” he added.

The Government needs to look into setting up more gyms in agencies and dish out incentives for employees to fight the bulge.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the figures were worrying.

“I don’t think the people are in the best state of health,” he said.

He said general sedentary work has a correlation to obesity, a trend which government agencies, namely the police, were trying to counter.

“The police recognised this recently and have taken some effort to make sure they have lean policemen. They will try to take action to meet this target,” Dr Subramaniam said yesterday.

Malacca and Perlis are the states with second and third highest obesity rates. Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan were the slimmest states.

By Micholas Cheng The Star

Address obesity urgently




AMID the current heat wave, not only are we blue over the greens (The Star, April 4) with highland vegetables wilting and Ipoh’s famous pomelos shrinking in size, schoolchildren are also getting more obese with the sound advice from the authorities to stay indoors.

Presumably, many children will go in droves to air-conditioned malls and fast food restaurants for meals, which naturally will add to the problem of obesity.

Doctors say obesity is defined as the condition of being very overweight and having a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or higher. The BMI is a measure of the weight relative to the height.

Evidently, obesity is manifested in the abdominal fat around the waist of children and adults as well.

But we should not get unduly worried with the adults because they are mature and knowledgeable enough to take responsibility for their health.

However, the innocent children’s health is undeniably our responsibility. Like it or not, we are accountable and answerable for the obesity problem in their adult life.

Today we can see the startling increase in the number of obese children across the country. Yet many parents unfortunately are seemingly too busy to check their children’s diet, let alone their daily exercise like the recommended walk of up to 10,000 steps a day.

Perhaps schools should voluntarily take up the task of creating awareness about the high risks and health hazards of obesity.

One practical way is to do routine short workouts: get students to burn calories by doing some exercises in the school assembly or in class every day – even some stretching exercises will suffice.

Certainly, this will increase their metabolic rate, thus strengthening their mental ability to learn; reducing levels of stress and depression; and suppressing the appetite.

When the heat wave is over, I would say it is the ethical and moral responsibility of the school authorities to bring back the Physical Standard Tests for all students like the good old days and mobilise all the staff to run selected athletic events such as the 100m, 200m, long jump, high jump and shot putt. Set certain standards for the events.

It would be much better if the Education Ministry’s Sports Department sets the national standards for all these events, which was done in the 60s till the 80s by using the co-curriculum 001 and 002 cards.

Next, it is also incumbent upon the Education Ministry to make it mandatory for school canteens to display the calorie counts for all the food so that the children will learn how to make healthy food choices and to calculate the total calorie intake they require for a day (about 1,600 and 2,500 calories per day depending on their age, gender and activity level).Eventually, they will “graduate” to become smart healthy consumers.

Let’s take these critical measures seriously to save our children from potential health risks like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and also some cancers.

This will invariably reduce the national health bill as well.

It was reported in “Putrajaya tops obese list” (see above) that we already have the highest percentage of overweight people in South-East Asia, and two out of five civil servants are obese.

Hence, invariably, the Government has to increase the health budget to cater for our increasingly ailing population if the obesity problem is not urgently addressed.

THOMAS KOK Ipoh

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Saturday 27 August 2011

65 million more obese adults in the US and 11 million more in the UK expected by 2030!






The rising prevalence of obesity around the globe places an increasing burden on the health of populations, on healthcare systems and on overall economies. A major challenge for researchers is to quantify the effect of these burdens to inform public policies. Using a simulation model to project the probable health and economic consequences from rising obesity rates in the United States and the United Kingdom, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Oxford University forecast 65 million more obese adults in the U. S. and 11 million more in the U.K. by 2030, leading to millions of additional cases of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. The findings suggest that medical costs associated with treatment of these preventable diseases in the U.S. alone will increase by $48-66 billion per year.
Picture of an Obese Teenager (146kg/322lb) wit...Image via Wikipedia

The paper, "Health and Economic Burden of the Projected Obesity Trends in the USA and the UK," is part of a series of articles on obesity published in the August 27 issue of Lancet. The research was led by Y. Claire Wang, MD, ScD, Mailman School assistant professor of Health Policy and Management, with colleagues from Oxford University.



To construct historic trends in BMI the researchers analyzed data from two nationally representative surveys: the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1988 to 2008, and the Healthy Survey for England (HSE) from 1993 to 2008. The U.S. and U.K. have the highest among the countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Projecting from these data sets: the researchers predicted the following impacts for the U.S. by 2030:
  • Obesity prevalence among men would rise from 32% in 2008 to approximately 50% and from 35% to between 45% and 52% among women.

  • 7.8 million extra cases of diabetes

  • 6.8 million more cases of and stroke

  • 539,000 additional cases of cancer

  • Annual spending on obesity-related diseases would rise by 13-16%, leading to 2.6% increase in national health spending.

  • Total medical costs associated with treatment of these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48-66 billion/year.

For the U.K., researchers predicted the following developments by 2030:
  • among men would increase from 26% to between 41—48%, and among women from 26% to 35-43%.

  • 668 000 more cases of diabetes

  • 461,000 more cases of heart disease and stroke

  • 139,000 additional cases of cancer.

  • In the U.K., annual spending on obesity-related health would increase even more rapidly than in the U.S. due to its older population, rising 25%.

"Many chronic and acute health disorders associated with excess bodyweight burden society—not only by negatively affecting the health-related quality of life but also by incurring significant costs," says Dr. Wang. These stem not only from increased healthcare expenditures but also from worker absenteeism, disability pensions, less productivity at work due to poor health, and earlier retirement."

The new study shows that even a small drop in average body mass index (BMI) would have a major health and economic impacts. They therefore recommend action to promote healthier body weights.

"Taking no action would have the catastrophic consequences described in our study, but a population level decrease in BMI by 1% would avoid as many as 2.4 million cases of diabetes, 1.7 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and up to 127 000 cases of cancer in the U.S.alone."

There are currently 99 million obese individuals in the U.S and 15 million in the U.K. The distribution of obesity is somewhat different in the two nations. In the U.S. about one-quarter of all men are obese regardless of ethnicity. Almost half of black American women (46%) are obese, compared with a third of Hispanic women and 30% of white women. In the U.K., the proportion of obese white men (19%) is slightly higher than black men (17%) and much higher than Asian men (11%). One-third of black women in the U.K. are obese, compared with 1 in 5 white women and 1 in 6 Asian women.

While there is some evidence that the rise in obesity is levelling off in some nations and possibly in the U.S., the jury is still out, says Dr. Wang. "Population weight changes are slow to manifest. Whether or not the U.S. and UK have turned a corner or plateaued will not be clear until survey results over the next few years provide additional data points."

The suggestion that obese people die earlier, thus saving the likely expected social and healthcare costs if that person survives to old age, is also discussed in the paper. However the authors conclude, "Without a doubt, healthcare expenditure is high for elderly people, but these costs should not be used to justify the cost-savings of dying younger, or to suggest that obesity prevention has no benefit."

Provided by Columbia University

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Wednesday 2 June 2010

Prostate Cancer Patients' Weight Linked to Tumor Size, Study Finds







ScienceDaily (June 2, 2010) The size of tumors in prostate cancer patients is directly linked to their weight, according to a new six-year study conducted by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

The research team, led by Nilesh Patil, M.D., of Henry Ford's Vattikuti Urology Institute and Department of Radiology, found heavier patients, or those with the highest body mass index (BMI), also had the largest tumors. They discovered the connection after studying 3,327 patients who had undergone robotic removal of their cancerous prostate glands and surrounding tissue.

"As the patients body mass index increased, the tumor volume increased synchronously," says Dr. Patil. "Based on our results, we believe having a larger percentage of tumor volume may be contributing to the aggressive nature of the disease in men with a higher BMI."



The study will be presented June 2 at the 2010 American Urology Association's annual meeting in San Francisco.

Working from a well-established link between aggressive prostate cancer and higher BMI, the team set out to find if overweight and obesity specifically affects the tumor volume in cancerous prostates.

The BMI measures body fat based on combined height and weight in adult men and women, and sets a number that defines underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity -- from 18.5 or less for underweight to 30 or higher for obesity. Tumor volume is the size of a malignant tumor as a percentage of the space it takes up in the affected tissue, in this case the prostate gland.

Patients were studied from October 2001 to October 2007. They were divided into six categories based on their BMI -- 24.9 or less (normal or underweight), 25 to 29.9 (overweight), 30 to 34.9 (obese), and 40 or higher (morbidly obese). In each category, the mean age was about 60.

After their tumors were removed, each was weighed and compared to a categorized database of prostate weight. In each BMI category, they found the weight of the patient to be directly correlated to the size of the tumor (i.e. the smaller the patient, the smaller the tumor, and the heavier the patient, the larger the tumor).

In addition to Dr. Patil, study co-authors at Henry Ford Hospital included Sanjeev Kaul, M.D.; Akshay Bhandari, M.D.; James Peabody, M.D.; and Mani Menon, M.D.

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