obesity, diet, exercise, longevity

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Recent findings suggest that high-sugar diets can lead to cognitive impairment predisposing to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. This article discusses metabolic derangements induced by high-fructose/sucrose diets and presents evidence for the involvement of insulin resistance in sporadic Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. RECENT FINDINGS: There has been much concern regarding the role of dietary sugars (fructose/sucrose) in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D)...

BACKGROUND: A 2005 Institute of Medicine report argues that "prevention of obesity in children and youth is, ultimately, about community," yet the literature lacks empirical research on what communities are doing to prevent childhood obesity. This research helps fill this gap and highlights promising practices. CASES: This research entailed exploratory analysis of three descriptive case studies of community efforts to prevent childhood obesity in the northeastern United States: Shape Up Somerville in Massachusetts, MA (urban), Whole Community Project in New York, NY (semiurban), and Eat Well Play Hard Chemung in NY (semirural)...

Women's evolution for nurturing and fat accumulation, which historically yielded health and longevity advantages against scarcity, may now be counteracted by increasing risks in the obesogenic environment, recently shown by narrowing gender health gap. Women's differential metabolism/disease risks, i.e. in fat accumulation/distribution, exemplified during puberty/adolescence, suggest gender dimorphism with obesity outcomes. Women's higher body fat percentage than men, even with equal body mass index, may be a better risk predictor...

BACKGROUND: Nutrition and physical activity are major determinants of health and quality of life; however, there exists little research focusing on determinants of these behaviours in older adults. This is important, since just as these behaviours vary according to subpopulation, it is likely that the determinants also vary. An understanding of the modifiable determinants of nutrition and physical activity behaviours among older adults to take into account the specific life-stage context is required in order to develop effective interventions to promote health and well-being and prevent chronic disease and improve quality of life...

Oxidative stress and inflammation, which disrupt nitric oxide (NO) production directly or by causing resistance to insulin, are central determinants of vascular diseases including ED. Decreased vascular NO has been linked to abdominal obesity, smoking and high intakes of fat and sugar, which all cause oxidative stress. Men with ED have decreased vascular NO and circulating and cellular antioxidants. Oxidative stress and inflammatory markers are increased in men with ED, and all increase with age. Exercise increases vascular NO, and more frequent erections are correlated with decreased ED, both in part due to stimulation of endothelial NO production by shear stress...

A primary focus of longevity research is to identify prognostic risk factors that can be mediated by early treatment efforts. To date, much of this work has focused on understanding the biological processes that may contribute to aging process and age-related disease conditions. Although such processes are undoubtedly important, no current biological intervention aimed at increasing health and lifespan exists. Interestingly, a close relationship between mobility performance and the aging process has been documented in older adults...

Life expectancy and chronic disease rates both rose dramatically in the United States during the first third of the twentieth century. As a result of this concurrence, Americans in this era increasingly thought about things they could do to extend their own lives, especially eating less, exercising more, and limiting stress, all factors thought to reduce chronic disease. New recognition of the correlation between daily physical habits and long lives made longevity look like a sign of virtue. At the same time, amidst discussions about the relationship between individual longevity and national vitality, this correlation also contributed to Americans' moralization of diet, exercise, and emotional self-control...

A recent explosion in the amount of cardiovascular risk and incipient, undetected subclinical cardiovascular pathology has swept across the globe. Nearly 70% of adult Americans are overweight or obese; the prevalence of visceral obesity stands at 53% and continues to rise. At any one time, 55% of the population is on a weight-loss diet, and almost all fail. Fewer than 15% of adults or children exercise sufficiently, and over 60% engage in no vigorous activity. Among adults, 11%-13% have diabetes, 34% have hypertension, 36% have prehypertension, 36% have prediabetes, 12% have both prediabetes and prehypertension, and 15% of the population with either diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia are undiagnosed...

Obesity is a major health problem worldwide. It is associated with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and decreased longevity. In managing obesity, diet and exercise are essential; pharmacological therapy may be added for obese patients or overweight patients with cardiovascular risk factors. Sibutramine is a serotonergic and adrenergic drug that reduces food intake and increases thermogenesis. It reduces bodyweight by about 4.2 kg after 12 months, and improves blood glucose and lipids; however, it can increase heart rate and blood pressure...

Obesity is a pandemic with many complications that increase the societal disease burden and cost of health care, and decrease longevity and quality of life. Currently, 1 in 3 adults in the United States is obese. Physicians must therefore regularly confront obesity and its consequent diseases, and develop strategies for effective treatment and management. This article summarizes current lifestyle modifications, pharmacological treatment, and surgical options for the management of obesity and discusses the benefits, limitations, and risks of each...

Obesity is a common condition which has important effects on health status and longevity. This review examines the efficacy of treatments for both moderate and severe obesity. A plan of treatment combining diet, exercise, and behavioral strategies is outlined. Surgery and its complications are reviewed. Eight management issues, including rate of weight loss, self-help groups, and fringe therapies, are presented. Management recommendations are based on a critical review of the weight loss literature.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: There has been growing evidence that lifestyle factors may affect the health and lifespan of an individual by affecting telomere length. The purpose of this review was to highlight the importance of telomeres in human health and aging and to summarize possible lifestyle factors that may affect health and longevity by altering the rate of telomere shortening. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent studies indicate that telomere length, which can be affected by various lifestyle factors, can affect the pace of aging and onset of age-associated diseases...

BACKGROUND: being unmarried is associated with worse health and increased mortality risk. Telomere length has emerged as a marker for biological ageing but it is unclear how telomere length relates to marital status. OBJECTIVE: to examine the relationship between telomere length and marital status in a sample of middle-aged adults. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: cross-sectional analysis among 321 adults aged 40-64 years. METHODS: telomere length was measured by PCR (T/S ratio)...

Epidemiological studies propose that extension of the human lifespan or the reduction of age associated diseases may be achieved by physical exercise, caloric restriction, and by consumption of certain substances such as resveratrol, selenium, flavonoids, zinc, omega 3 unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins E and C, Ginkgobiloba extracts, aspirin, green tea catechins, antioxidants in general, and even by light caffeine or alcohol consumption. Though intriguing, these studies only show correlative (not causative) effects between the application of the particular substance and longevity...

The process of aging is accompanied by several modifications in the hemostatic system at different levels (blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, platelet activity, vascular endothelium). These changes may explain the higher incidence of arterial and venous thrombosis in the elderly compared to young people. Genetic and environmental factors modulate in different combinations the expression of proteins involved in the hemostatic process. Among the latter, diet and smoking habits play an important role, as well as physical exercise and, for women, hormonal status...

Overweight and obesity are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, although the range of body weights that is optimal for health is controversial. It is less clear whether weight loss benefits longevity and hence whether weight reduction is justified as a prime goal for all individuals who are overweight (normally defined as BMI>25 kg/m2). The purpose of the present review was to examine the evidence base for recommending weight loss by diet and lifestyle change as a means of prolonging life. An electronic search identified twenty-six eligible prospective studies that monitored subsequent mortality risk following weight loss by lifestyle change, published up to 2008...

Although ancient thinkers suggested that physical activity is good for health, systematic research on the topic did not begin until the middle of the 20th century. Early reports showed that individuals in active occupations had lower rates of heart disease than individuals in sedentary occupations. Investigators then began to evaluate leisure-time physical activity and health and found similar results. Later research used objective measures of cardiorespiratory fitness as the exposure, and found even stronger associations with health outcomes...

BACKGROUND: To determine socioeconomic status (SES) gradients in the different dimensions of health among elderly Costa Ricans. HYPOTHESIS: SES disparities in adult health are minimal in Costa Rican society. METHODS: Data from the Costa Rican Study on Longevity and Healthy Aging study: 8,000 elderly Costa Ricans to determine mortality in the period 2000-2007 and a subsample of 3,000 to determine prevalence of several health conditions and biomarkers from anthropometry and blood and urine specimens...

Dietary supplementation with resveratrol may produce calorie restriction-like effects on metabolic and longevity endpoints in mice. In this study, we sought to determine whether resveratrol treatment elicited other hallmark changes associated with calorie restriction, namely bradycardia and decreased body temperature. We found that during short-term treatment, wild-type mice on a calorie-restricted diet experienced significant decreases in both heart rate and body temperature after only 1 day whereas those receiving resveratrol exhibited no such change after 1 wk...

An epidemic of overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes, caused by overeating nutrient-poor energy-dense foods and a sedentary lifestyle, is spreading rapidly throughout the world. Abdominal obesity represents a serious threat to health because it increases the risk of developing many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Calorie restriction (CR) with adequate nutrition improves cardiometabolic health, prevents tumorigenesis and increases life span in experimental animals. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the metabolic and clinical implications of CR with adequate nutrition in humans, within the context of data obtained in animal models...