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Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Weekend warrior' workouts may reduce risk of death in diabetics
A "weekend warrior" exercise schedule can lower diabetics' risk of early death, a new study says. People with diabetes who get all their recommended weekly exercise in one or two sessions -- the "weekend warrior" approach -- were 21% less likely to die early from any cause than their counterparts who don't work out, researchers reported Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. They also were 33% less likely to die from heart disease, results show. "These findings reinforce the importance of flexible physical activity patterns for people with diabetes as they can improve insulin sensitivity and glycemic control -- especially for those who face barriers to maintaining regularly routine exercise," concluded the research team led by Zhiyuan Wu, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. Exercise guidelines recommend that people get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week to maintain their health, researchers said in background notes. Moderate activity can include brisk walking, slow bicycling, active yoga, ballroom dancing and general yard work. However, it's not always easy to find time to work out, researchers said. "Many people struggle to engage in regular physical activity throughout the week due to time constraints," researchers said. "To overcome this, some condense their recommended (physical activity) into one or two weekly sessions -- a pattern known as the 'weekend warrior' approach." For this study, researchers analyzed data gathered from nearly 52,000 people with diabetes between 1997 and 2018 as part of the National Health Interview Survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey included questions on people's exercise patterns. Researchers compared that to 2019 death certificate data, to see whether physical activity made a difference. Not only did "weekend warrior" workouts reduce risk of premature death, they actually appeared to be more effective than regular exercise spaced out three or more times across a week, the team found. Folks with diabetes who met exercise guidelines with three or more shorter workouts weekly had a 17% lower risk of death from any cause and 19% lower risk of heart-related death, compared with those who don't work out, results show. However, researchers noted that the observational study couldn't draw a direct cause-and-effect link between exercise and lower risk of death. Future studies should more comprehensively track people's daily physical activity, including the exercise they might get as a part of their work or commute, researchers said. More information Harvard Medical School has more on the importance of exercise for diabetics. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GLP-1 drugs increase risk of acid reflux, GERD, study finds
July 14 (UPI) -- Folks using GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic are more likely to suffer from severe acid reflux, a new study says. People with type 2 diabetes were more likely to suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) if they were prescribed a GLP-1 drug compared to those taking sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, researchers reported Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. "We estimated that most GLP-1 [drugs] increased risk for GERD," concluded the research team led by Laurent Azoulay, an associate professor with the Jewish General Hospital's Center for Clinical Epidemiology in Montreal, Canada. The risk for serious GERD-related complications was higher among smokers, people with obesity and folks with existing stomach problems, researchers said. "Although our findings need to be corroborated in other studies, clinicians and patients should be aware of a possible adverse effect of GLP-1 [drugs] on GERD," researchers noted. For the study, researchers tracked more than 24,700 type 2 diabetics newly prescribed GLP-1 drugs, comparing their health to that of more than 89,000 who were prescribed SGLT-2 inhibitors. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food. Because the drugs slow the rate at which food passes through the stomach, researchers thought they might increase the risk of acid reflux. GERD occurs when acid reflux happens repeatedly over time, the Mayo Clinic says. If it continues, GERD can cause scarring and narrowing of the esophagus and increase a person's risk of esophageal cancer. Results show that people taking GLP-1 drugs were 27% more likely to develop GERD and 55% more likely to have GERD complications, when compared to people taking SGLT-2 inhibitors. More than 90% of GERD complications involved Barrett esophagus, in which acid damage changes the tissue lining of the esophagus and increases cancer risk, researchers noted. "We also found that the risk for GERD was higher with long-acting GLP-1 (drug) use," researchers wrote. However, they noted that these findings need to be verified by studies involving other groups, including those taking GLP-1 drugs for obesity. "There is limited evidence on the risk for GERD among patients with obesity who do not have type 2 diabetes," researchers wrote. "Use of GLP-1 [drugs] is rapidly expanding in this population, highlighting an important area for future research." More information The Mayo Clinic has more on GERD. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Millions more Americans now deemed obese under shocking new weight measure
Millions more Americans could be classified as obese under a shocking new measurement from Europe. Researchers in Israel analyzed data on 44,000 adults in the US, including nearly 15,000 marked as overweight using existing methods. But under the new framework, they found some 18.8 percent of overweight adults, or one in five, were re-classified as obese. Overall, this translated into America having an obesity rate of 54.2 percent, or a new record. The US already has the highest obesity rate out of any large country. In the new method from Europe, researchers still consider anyone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30 kg/m2 as obese. But they also re-classify anyone who is overweight (a BMI or 25 to 29.9 kg/m2) and has an obesity-related condition, like diabetes or high blood pressure, into the category. Researchers said the new definition reveals the overall toll of obesity in the nation, and the surging number of people already suffering from obesity-related conditions like stroke, heart disease and early death. It also revealed how millions who consider themselves 'just a little overweight' could now be suffering from a weight-related complication. About 42.4 percent of adults in the US are obese, while 30.7 percent, or one in three, are considered overweight. For the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed data from NHANES, an annual survey tracking participants, including their BMI and underlying conditions. Participants had all submitted data between 1999 and 2018, and were aged 43.4 years old on average. About half were women. The study found that using BMI alone, about 35.4 percent of participants were considered obese, while 33.3 percent were considered overweight and 31.3 percent were considered to be a healthy weight. But after using the new method, developed by The European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), a total of 54.2 percent were defined as obese. Of the individuals moved from the overweight to the obese category, they were more likely to be older, with an average age of 51.3 years compared to 36.5 years among those in the overweight category. They were also more likely to be male, and to have at least one underlying condition, with 57.5 percent having one underlying condition like diabetes compared to 34.3 percent in the overweight group. Among the conditions, high blood pressure (79 percent of the group) was most common, followed by arthritis (33.2 percent) and diabetes (15.6 percent). EASO published its new framework in July last year, and some countries, including Ireland and the Netherlands, have already adopted parts of it. The framework recommends surgeons calculate a patient's BMI and then assess underlying health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. Under the guidelines, anyone whose BMI is above 30 kg/m2 is automatically classified as obese. But those who are overweight, with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 kg/m2, and have at least one obesity-related health condition are also considered obese. The framework has not been adopted by other major organizations like the World Health Organization, which still recommends using BMI. It can help someone to be defined as obese because it may lead to them being targeted for early interventions to prevent complications like heart disease or stroke. It could also make it easier for them to access medications like Ozempic and help the patient recognize that they may need care. For the study, researchers also analyzed participants for their mortality risk, or risk of death. They found those who were redefined as obese had a similar mortality risk to those who were overweight, but a 50 percent higher risk than those of the healthy weight. In the study, the researchers wrote that the EASO framework may provide a 'more sensitive tool for diagnosing obesity disease earlier'. It added that some people may have experienced unintentional weight loss due to underlying conditions, which may previously have led them to be included in the overweight category.
Washington Post
14-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
New framework would classify many more U.S. adults as ‘obese'
Nearly a fifth of U.S. adults previously deemed 'overweight' would be categorized as 'obese' under a 2024 obesity classification framework, according to a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Using the recent obesity framework, 18.8 percent of the adults who had previously been categorized as 'overweight' now fit under the 'obese' category, researchers said.
Medscape
30-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Sharp Obesity Increase Since Pandemic in Black Youth
A report comparing childhood obesity prevalence before the COVID pandemic and since the height of the pandemic shows a dramatic rise in the numbers for Black children and Black adolescents with obesity. Findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers, led by Michael Liu, MD, MPhil, with the Center for Outcomes Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, found that overall, the prevalence of obesity didn't change significantly. Prevalence was 20.3% from January 2011 to March 2020, when COVID shutdowns began, and rose to 22.0% from August 2021 to August 2023. But after accounting for secular trends, 'no overall increase in obesity prevalence was seen during the pandemic relative to the pre-pandemic period (adjusted difference, 0.52 percentage points; 95% CI, 2.3-3.3 percentage points). Pandemic-related increases in obesity prevalence were observed only in Black children and adolescents, the authors wrote, for whom rates were 22.4% in the decade before the pandemic and 35% in the 2 years after the height of COVID. Racial Disparities Clear Now, 'In the US, more than in 1 in 3 Black youth, more than 1 in 4 Hispanic youth, nearly 1 in 5 White youth, and 1 in 10 Asian youth currently meet the criteria for obesity,' the authors reported. Prevalence of severe obesity overall and across all subgroups remained stable between 2011 and August 2023. Researchers used serial cross-sectional data from the 2011 to August 2023 survey cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and included 17,507 children aged 2-11 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years. Height and weight from in-person examinations were used to calculate BMI. Obesity in this study was defined as a BMI at or above the age- and sex-specific 95th percentile according to the CDC growth charts. Severe obesity was defined as a BMI of 120% or more of the 95th percentile. Addressing Underlying Factors The next step is to address the factors that have led to the disparities documented in this report through public health and policy interventions, Therese F. Anderson, MD, assistant professor of family medicine at Mayo College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Florida, told Medscape Medical News . She pointed out the authors discuss multiple factors that have contributed to an increase in obesity during the COVID-19 pandemic and thereafter, including disruption in daily routines with school closures and reduced access to structured exercise and activity, leading to increased screen time and sedentary behaviors. Mealtimes were disrupted, and there was more reliance on ultraprocessed foods. 'Studies thus far have shown that Black and minority youth were disproportionately impacted due to higher rates of food insecurity, lower neighborhood resources — such as access to parks and safe spaces for exercise — as well as increased economic stress during the pandemic,' she noted. Anderson said these new numbers add support for policies and funding in areas such as improvement of access to healthy foods, expansion of food assistance programs, incentives to build grocery stores in food deserts, and promotion of safe spaces for activity. Medicaid Coverage for GLP-1s 'Additionally, expanding state Medicaid programs to fund weight management programs as well as medications like GLP-1s [glucagon-like peptide-1s], which are FDA approved for age 12 and up, are potential avenues for improvement. Currently, there are only 13 states with coverage for GLP-1s under Medicaid,' Anderson said. Pediatricians have an important role in addressing childhood obesity, she said. First, she said, is promoting family-based approaches to lifestyle modifications, such as healthy meals and family exercise. 'Secondly, we need to continue to advocate for policy changes as they impact the health of Black and minority youth. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics is urging lawmakers to reject funding cuts to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP),' she said. 'Lastly, we need to familiarize ourselves with new interventions as they are emerging, such as telehealth and medications like GLP-1s.' Financial disclosures for authors are available with the full article. Anderson reported having no relevant financial relationships.
