Success story: Fairhaven man sheds more than 130 pounds

By PAMELA MAREAN

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

January 31, 2010 12:00 AM

William Roth Jr. is only a shadow of the man he used to be. Nearly 40 percent of him has been winnowed away, in fact. The formerly 347-pound man now weighs in at 214. That's 131 fewer pounds he's carrying on his 6-foot frame than the day 18 months ago when he thought he was having a heart attack.

The Fairhaven resident and director of planning and economic development for the town was coming home at about 8 p.m. when he started feeling pain in his chest, neck and shoulder. He figured it was only indigestion, but called Fairhaven Fire Chief Tim Francis, since he was just a few blocks from the station, where he could have an electrocardiogram in the ambulance right away.

Turns out, Roth's heart was fine. But the fire chief urged him to see his doctor anyway. "Indigestion kills a lot of people," Francis warned.

That's when "the light switch flipped," Roth remembers, and he knew it was time to make a serious change in his lifestyle of "mindless eating." With twin 9-year-old daughters Savannah and Sydney at home with his wife, Paige, the 43-year-old had much to live for.

Roth says he doesn't believe that life-changing >>>

Dash for diet drug

If the FDA approves, three biotech firms — two in San Diego — say they will change how obesity is treated

By Thomas Kupper, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 1:04 a.m.

Charlie Neuman / Union-Tribune

In a lab at San Diego’s Arena Pharmaceuticals, scientist Sunhee Kim inspected a compound. Arena is among the companies hoping for a blockbuster diet drug.

Photo by Charlie Neuman - Union-Tribune

Company co-founders Dominic Beham (left) and Jack Lief held tablets of Arena’s obesity drug lorcaserin.

Photo by Charlie Neuman - Union-Tribune

Scientist Stella Kuhlman worked in a lab at Arena Pharmaceuticals.

For decades, the pharmaceutical industry has chased an elusive target, a drug that will make you lose weight without putting your health at risk.

For a brief period in the 1990s, the two-drug combo known as Fen-phen achieved blockbuster status — before potentially fatal side effects knocked it off the market. More recently, the risk-benefit profile of the leading diet drug Meridia has come under scrutiny, with European authorities deciding to ban it this month.

Now, three California biotechnology>>>

Lose Weight Without the Boring Cardio - Check Out Turbulence Training

out Turbulence Training today.

weight loss plans

(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 31, 2010 ) Dallas - Read all about Turbulence Training at http://cli.gs/gUgyNP

A lot of weight loss plans out there promise amazing results, but more often than not people quit them because they're not seeing the results they want. Turbulence Training reveals some of the myths about weight loss plans and uses its own system to help people lose weight fast and more importantly, keep the weight off. Here are a few common myths about exercising:

Myth: It's best to exercise in the morning on an empty stomach. Truth: Exercising on an empty stomach is not healthy. Along with using Turbulence Training's specific exercises you should maintain a healthy diet.

Myth: Doing Cardio in the Fat Burning "Zone". Truth:>>>

Confidence rises in weight-loss surgery

By Richard Martin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, January 31, 2010

Jackie Chandler, 51, of Thonotosassa is a longtime bus driver with the Hillsborough County School District. She decided last year to have gastric bypass surgery and has lost at least 65 pounds since. She weighed 300 pounds before the surgery.

Every year, about 250,000 people in the United States undergo surgery to lose weight, paying — or having their insurance companies pay — tens of thousands of dollars for procedures that essentially restrict how much food they can take in.

But are the surgeries safe? Do they work? And can they help treat diabetes, hypertension and other conditions caused or made worse by obesity?

Increasingly, the answer in the medical community is yes, yes and yes.>>>

We have to make better lifestyle choices

Posted By KALVIN REID

Posted 1 day ago

It's been well documented that we are facing an obesity problem.

For the past two decades, the weight of children has been on the upswing, and the effects into adulthood are coming home to roost.

According to a new report from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, more than 250,000 Canadians in their 20s and 30s have high blood pressure, a figure that has doubled in the past 15 years. It's not a coincidence that since 1994, obesity rates have climbed 18%, and incidents of diabetes are up 45%. Previous studies have found as many as one in four kids is overweight or obese, and that precious few children -- a little more than one in 10 -- get the recommended 90 minutes of daily exercise. Among adults, roughly half of all Canadians report being inactive, and nearly 60% of people between ages 45 and 64 are overweight or obese. And still, despite all the knowledge we have about the dangers of tobacco, nearly three out of every 10 Canadians smoke, with a greater tendency to light up if you are younger.

It all adds up to a population at greater risk of heart disease.>>>

Some Degree Of Exercise Limits Dangers Of Obesity

Posted on: Thursday, 28 January 2010, 19:16 CST

Walking or cycling for half an hour four times a week is sufficient to eliminate important obesity risks in adolescents. Even if they do not lose weight as a result of the exercise program, the chances of developing diabetes appear to be significantly reduced. The relatively light exercise programs are easy for obese adolescents to keep up. This has been revealed by research conducted by Gert-Jan van der Heijden, who will be awarded a PhD by the University of Groningen on 3 February 2010.

Obesity is a major threat to the health of adolescents. In Europe, an estimated 20 percent of children are affected and children from socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances are particularly at risk. Obesity increases the chances of contracting type 2 diabetes, a chronic illness that can only be brought under control with difficulty (diet, change in lifestyle, medication).

Healthier despite no weight loss

Gert-Jan van der Heijden researched the health effects of a limited intensive aerobic exercise program on both lean and obese adolescents. Fifteen obese adolescents and fourteen adolescents with a normal weight (all aged between 13 and 18 years old) spent twelve weeks cycling and/or jogging for half an hour four times a week. They did not have to change their eating habits. The obese adolescents in particular benefited significantly from the exercise program. Although they did not lose weight, the amount of fat in the liver and around the intestines (hepatic and visceral fat accumulation) declined and insulin resistance decreased. The insulin resistance in the lean adolescents also decreased, and their muscle mass increased slightly. The amount of fat in the liver and around the intestines remained the same.

Strength training less effective

Van der Heijden also studied the effects of strength training on the health of obese adolescents. Twelve obese adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years old participated in a twelve-week program. They had an hour’s strength training twice a week, including weight-lifting. This exercise program resulted in an increase in muscle power and muscle mass, but their insulin resistance decreased by less than with the aerobic exercise program. The strength training did not result in a reduction in the total amount of fat either.

Easy to achieve results>>>

The Dangers of Obesity

By Jeanette Pollock

It is now known that obesity is not just an ordinary problem but a serious health hazard. Obesity raises the risks of a number of grave medical conditions such as heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease and gallstones, osteoarthritis, gout, and breathing problems like sleep apnea and asthma.

Statistics reveal that heart disease and stroke are the principal causes of death and disability among people in the United States. Obese people usually have high blood pressure, which often leads to heart disease and stroke. Extremely high cholesterol levels may also result in heart disease and that are linked with obesity. Obesity may also be responsible for angina and sudden death from heart disease or stroke in the absence of any signs or symptoms.

Obese people have far greater chances of developing type 2 diabetes than normal weight people, as it reduces the body's ability to control blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes may lead to premature death, heart disease, stroke, and blindness.
Obesity may cause several types of cancer. While obese women face the risks of cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, cervix, ovary, breast, and colon, their male counterparts may develop colorectal cancer and prostate cancer.

Although the reasons are still unclear, gallbladder disease is found to be more common among obese people. However, rapid or big weight loss can actually increase a person’s chances of developing gallstones.

The extra kilos in an obese person exert additional pressure on knee, hip and lower back joints and wear away their protective cartilage resulting in osteoarthritis. Overweight people also have a tendency to develop gout.

Sleep apnea, which causes a person to snore heavily and to stop breathing for short periods during sleep, is also associated with obesity. It may cause daytime sleepiness and even heart failure.

Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner of obesitytopics.com. Visit Jeanette's site to learn more about obesity risks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeanette_Pollock