Earlier today, researchers from the American Institute for Cancer Research and the U.K.-based World Cancer Research Fund released their report:

Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention

Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity:
A Global Perspective

A few days ago, I talked about the strong link between obesity and cancer that the AICR/WCRF has identified.

With this new report, the AICR/WCRF builds upon that research and makes a strong argument for diet and exercise as the key to fighting cancer.

It calls research and spending on the treatment of cancer “necessary but not sufficient,” and contends that a far better strategy for reducing the world’s annual tally of 11 million cancer cases would be to develop a public-health policy aimed at preventing people from getting the disease in the first place.

Their findings are based on an a review of the nearly 7,000 scientific studies into whether cancer rates are influenced by diet, obesity and exercise.

In their report, they conclude that cancer “is mostly preventable.”

They estimate that about one-third of all cases in advanced countries like the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe could be eliminated by diets that aren’t loaded with fatty, sugary foods, by people exercising regularly and, if they are obese, by slimming down to an appropriate weight.

And considering that another 1/3 of all cancer cases are due to smoking, the folks over at the AICR/WCRF believe that 2/3 of all cancers are preventable.

But What about Genetics?

For years and years, scientists have looked towards the genome for answers to the mystery of cancer. And since we began mapping out the human genome, that research has intensified.

This report attempts to throw cold water on the genetic hypothesis for cancer.

One of the study’s lead researchers,Dr. Kumanyika said studies tracking immigrants and their children who move from areas of low cancer incidence, such as Asia, to countries with high rates, such as the United States, suggest the genetic factor may be overrated.

Over time, cancer rates among migrants and their children rise toward the levels prevalent in their adopted countries, suggesting that something common to everyone in the new environment is the cause.

So, what do we do now?

According to AICR/WCRF, the short answer to that question is cooperation.

They envision an approach which combines the efforts of 9 separate “actors”. Their hope/belief is that the combined and coordinated efforts of those 9 actors will create a synergistic weapon in the fight against preventable cancers.

And what are role are we, the people, expected to play in this noble fight against cancer?

So, what do you think?

Still not convinced?

Maybe Dr. Marmot can convince you.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Related Posts

• National Heart Health Strategy
• Obesity = Cancer
• Big Brother v.s Childhood Obesity
• Obama’s stimulus bill and Health Care
• Are fat kids victims of child abuse?
• Fat babies become fat kids become…
• And just when you thought the obesity epidemic couldn’t get any worse
• Does Alli work?
• HIIT: The Cure for Obesity

Reference

• Globe and Mail
• CBS
• AICR/WCRF

Art by Bill Hall - billhall.com

It’s official:

HIIT training is AWESOME!!!

Researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland have concluded that:

The efficacy of a high intensity exercise protocol, involving only 250 kcal of work each week, to substantially improve insulin action in young sedentary subjects  is  remarkable.

This novel  time-efficient  training paradigm can  be  used  as  a  strategy  to  reduce  metabolic  risk  factors  in  young  and middle aged sedentary populations who otherwise would not adhere  to  time consuming traditional aerobic exercise regimes.

And for those of you that don’t know, here are the risk factors of Metabolic Syndrome that HIIT training is so effective at reducing:

• Abdominal obesity (excessive fat tissue in and around the abdomen)
• Atherogenic dyslipidemia (blood fat disorders — high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high LDL cholesterol — that foster plaque buildups in artery walls)
• Elevated blood pressure
• Insulin resistance or glucose intolerance (the body can’t properly use insulin or blood sugar)
• Prothrombotic state (e.g., high fibrinogen or plasminogen activator inhibitor–1 in the blood)
• Proinflammatory state (e.g., elevated C-reactive protein in the blood)

People with the metabolic syndrome are at increased risk of coronary heart disease and other diseases related to plaque buildups in artery walls (e.g., stroke and peripheral vascular disease) and type 2 diabetes.

It’s estimated that over 50 million Americans have it.

And I am 100% sure that you don’t want it.

So, what do you need to do?

1. Go to your doctor and get checked out – Max intensity sprints combined with a sky high B.P. is just asking for trouble.
2. Go through my HIIT resources
3. Find an exercise bike, set of stairs, outdoor track or even a carpeted area in your home to do burpees
4. Schedule 3 x 15 minute HIIT workouts per week
5. Get HIITing

And I am serious about the doctor. I don’t mean to sound like your mother, but a visit to your doctor at least once a year for a check-up is a very, very, very good idea.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Related Posts

• Tabata Workouts WILL Cause Fat Loss
• Tabata Training 101
• HIIT: The Aerobic version
• 4 Steps to a Great HIIT Workout
  

References

• EurekAlert
• BioMedCentral – study abstract
• BioMedCentral – full study

For years and years and years and years, people suffering with fibromyalgia have faced a battle on two fronts.

1. They battle chronic pain and all of the associated physical, mental and emotional problems that come with chronic pain.
2. They fight a public and medical perception that fibromyalgia is not a real medical condition. That the pain is all in their heads.

A new study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, may help fibromyalgia patients on both battle fronts.

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The Study

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Using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in France were able to detect functional abnormalities in certain regions in the brains of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia, reinforcing the idea that symptoms of the disorder are related to a dysfunction in those parts of the brain where pain is processed.

“Fibromyalgia is frequently considered an ‘invisible syndrome’ since musculoskeletal imaging is negative,” said Eric Guedj, M.D., and lead author of the study. “Past imaging studies of patients with the syndrome, however, have shown above-normal cerebral blood flow (brain perfusion) in some areas of the brain and below-normal in other areas. After performing whole-brain scans on the participants, we used a statistical analysis to study the relationship between functional activity in even the smallest area of the brain and various parameters related to pain, disability and anxiety/depression.”

In the study, 20 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 10 healthy women as a control group responded to questionnaires to determine levels of pain, disability, anxiety and depression. SPECT was then performed, and positive and negative correlations were determined.

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The Results

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The researchers confirmed that patients with the syndrome exhibited brain perfusion abnormalities in comparison to the healthy subjects.

Further, these abnormalities were found to be directly correlated with the severity of the disease.

An increase in perfusion (hyperperfusion or excessive blood supply) was found in that region of the brain known to discriminate pain intensity, and a decrease (hypoperfusion or inadequate blood supply) was found within those areas thought to be involved in emotional responses to pain.

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Conclusions

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In the past, some researchers have thought that the pain reported by fibromyalgia patients was the result of depression rather than symptoms of a disorder. This study strongly refutes that belief.

According to the lead researcher, “Interestingly, we found that these functional abnormalities were independent of anxiety and depression status.”

This study also gives researchers a diagnostic tool to help predict a fibro patient’s response to a specific treatment and evaluate brain-processing recovery during follow-up.

“Fibromyalgia may be related to a global dysfunction of cerebral pain-processing,” Guedj added.

“This study demonstrates that these patients exhibit modifications of brain perfusion not found in healthy subjects and reinforces the idea that fibromyalgia is a ‘real disease/disorder.‘”

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What This Means For Fibromyalgia Patients

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This research does 3 important things for fibromyalgia patients:

1. It gives legitimacy to their condition. No longer will family doctors, friends, family, employers, etc.. be able to tell fibro sufferers that their pain is not real, that it’s all in their heads.
2. It gives researchers a tool to test treatment modalities.
3. And now that they ‘know’ which areas of the brain are affected and how they are affected, they should be able to chart out a more direct route to a cure…or at least a treatment.

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Related Posts

• Exercise is Effective for Fibromyalgia Pain Relief

Two new studies show how moderate exercise can:

• Counteract the effects of overeating,
• Reduce abnormal intra-muscular fat,
• Reduce the production of fat by-products
• Improve insulin sensitivity,
• Increase fat burning

• Reduce Fatty Liver by up to 40%, helping to prevent:

• Cirrhosis of the liver,
• Liver failure
• Liver transplantation
• Cancer
• Diabetes related heart disease

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STUDY # 1

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University of Michigan researchers studied five obese women over three separate two-day trials.

During these trials, the women alternated between:

1. Consuming a weight maintenance diet (Control diet)
2. Eating a diet 700 calories above maintenance
3. Eating a diet 700 calories above maintenance, but then burning off those 700 calories through exercise.

Results

The morning after the trial, the researchers tested the women and found that:

• overeating suppressed fat burning.
• exercising increased fat burning.
• Exercise increased insulin sensitivity.
• Exercise reduced fat by-products in the muscle

Conclusions

This study shows that even a single bout of exercise helps obese individuals increase their body’s fat-burning rate and improve their metabolic health.”

MRI scans of an obese subject with Metabolic Syndrome and a normal weight subject

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STUDY #2

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Johns Hopkins researchers studied seventy-seven diabetic men and women over a six month period.

During the study, half of the study participants were put through a moderate program of aerobic exercise consisting of 45-minute sessions three times a week.

They could bicycle, run on a treadmill or take brisk walks.

In addition, they lifted weights for about 20 minutes, three times a week,  at a moderate intensity.

The other half of the participants were asked to avoid any formal aerobic fitness or gym classes.

Results

• MRI scans taken at the start and end of the study showed much lower levels of liver fat in the active group (5.6%), while levels remained the same in the non-exercising group (8.5%).
• The cardio-vascular systems of the exercisers were 13% more efficient than the non-exercisers.
• The exercisers were 7% stronger than the non-exercisers.
• The exercisers had 6% less body-fat than the non-exercisers
• The exercisers also lost weight and reduced their waistlines by an average of 2 inches.

Conclusions

According to the lead investigator, Kerry Stewart, Ed.D., “The benefits in improved fitness and fatness are clear, and physicians should really have all people with type 2 diabetes actively engaged in an exercise program.”

Stewart says his team’s next steps are to analyze the long-term effect of moderate exercise on diabetes and heart disease, including any improvements in heart and blood vessel structure and function, insulin resistance and arterial inflammation.

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My Conclusion

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How many more studies do we need, before we realize that if you want to be healthy, you NEED to exercise.

Period.

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For more info on these studies, check out ScienceDaily’s coverage here and here.

• You’re 20 pounds overweight.
• You have been trying to lose that weight for years and years.
• Not matter how hard you try, the weight just won’t come off.

Sound familiar?

You bet.

Maybe it’s your genetics?

In the last few years, study after study has have linked genetics to obesity. Here are just a few of the studies:

• PCSK1 Gene Variants Contribute to Obesity Risk in European Populations

• Folic Acid and Inherited Obesity

• Common Gene Variants Linked to Risk of Obesity and Insulin Resistance

• The Science behind Spare Tires and Thunder Thighs
• Gene-Diet Interactions in Childhood Obesity: Paucity of Evidence as the Epidemic of Childhood Obesity Continues to Rise

And here’s the latest scientific gem:

• Physical Activity and the Association of Common FTO Gene Variants with Body Mass Index and Obesity

In this latest study, scientists from the University of maryland looked at the common FTO (fat mass and obesity associated) gene variants that have recently been associated with high Body Mass Index (BMI) and obesity in several large studies.

Specifically, they investigated the effect that physical activity can have in those people born with the FTO gene variant.

Can Exercise Trump Genetics?

A little background on the FTO gene variant:

• Carriers of this gene variant are more likely to be obese.
• In fact, people with two copies of the FTO variant are on average 7 pounds heavier and 67 percent more likely to be obese than those who don’t have it.
• Carriers also have higher rates of type 2 Diabetes.
• The International HapMap Project estimates the number of FTO carriers as:
• 45% in the West/Central Europeans population
• 52% in Yorubans (West African natives) population
• 14% in Chinese/Japanese population

The Study

Researchers looked at a population of Old Order Amish in conducting this study.

The Amish were used because:

• They are a genetically homogeneous population.

• Their day to day activities provide a high level of physical exercise. This is due to the fact that the Amish don’t drive cars or have electricity in their homes, eschewing many of the trappings of modern life. Most Amish men are farmers or work in physically demanding occupations such as blacksmithing or carpentry. Women are homemakers who work without the aid of modern appliances and often care for many children.

The researchers tested the particpants for:

• The presence of the FTO gene variant
• Their BMI scores
• Their levels of physical activity

The participants’ activity levels were measured with the aid of accelerometers, worn on the participants’ hips.

The researchers gathered measurements of their physical activity over seven consecutive days.

Participants were classified as “high activity” or “low activity” depending upon their accelerometer readings.

The “high activity” group burned 900 more calories per day than the “low activity” group. This total translates into 3 to 4 hours of moderate intensity activity, such as brisk walking, housecleaning or gardening.

The Results

The researchers found that the Amish people with the FTO variant were no more likely to be overweight than their non-FTO carrying cousins….as long as they got their three to four hours of moderate activity every day.

Conclusion

Genetics isn’t Destiny

Being born with a FTO gene variant does not guarantee a lifetime of obesity and diabetes.

The choice is up to you.

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Related Posts

• Nutrition, Environment and Epigenetics
• Epigenetics & Obesity – Obesity Research Update #3
• Health and Fitness in a Bottle: Big Pharma Discovers their Holy Grail

They Say That A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words…

Is This Picture Worth 20 Pounds?

Maybe

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently asked 43 dieters to record what they ate over one week in words and in pictures.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found that the dieters who photographed their meals prior to eating them kept a far more effective and accurate record of daily calories than the food loggers.

More importantly, the Photo Dieters were less likely to overeat.

One volunteer told the researchers: ‘I had to think more carefully about what I was going to eat because I had to take a picture of it.

‘I was less likely to have a jumbo bag of M&Ms. It curbed my choices. It didn’t alter them completely but who wants to take a photo of a jumbo bag of M&Ms?’

Another volunteer said the photo diaries actually improved the quality of his diet.

‘I noticed that there weren’t too many greens in my diet, which means I should try to eat more vegetables and fruits.’

So, Why Does Taking A Picture Of Your Dinner Help You Stick To Your Diet?

Well…

• According to researcher, Lydia Zepeda, “nutritionists see diaries as recording tools. Now they should explore the role of photo diaries as intervention tools”.

• According to the health/science writer at the Daily Mail, “by having pictorial evidence of how they have been feeding themselves, dieters have a guilt trip about the quality and quantity of what they are eating”.

• According to this seasoned Photo Dieter, Photo Dieting is a ‘food re-education through a lens’ with the emphasis on re-education. About what I eat, when I eat and how much I eat.

• According to me, Photo Dieting is a blend of modern technology and conscious eating.

• By using their camera-phone to snap a picture of their lunch, Photo Dieters are freeing themselves from the unconscious eating patterns associated with Emotional Eating and our epigenetic predisposition to wolf down a Big Mac, fries and a Coke.
• It may sound a little Oprah, but by forcing yourself to stop, for just a minute, and think about the food that you are about to put in your body, you allow your conscious mind to check back in and take back some control from your raging hormones and your emotions.
• The food logs, while effective, do nothing to stop you from pigging out at the trough. They may make you feel guilty afterwards, as you record your gluttony for posterity.
• And guilt is the last thing that any dieter needs.

Conclusion

• Food logs have already been shown to be a successful diet tool.

• Past studies have shown that dieters who use a food log lose three times as much weight while dieting as those who diet sans food log.

Now, this study didn’t look at weight loss, but it did show that Photo Dieters found it easier to eat healthily than food loggers.

• They found it easier to not break their diets.

• Maybe this little trick is signaling the end of Yo-Yo dieting.

So Where Do We Go From Here?

• Find a way of eating that fits into your lifestyle and will help you lose weight. That may be a DIET or simply a decision to eliminate all of the “white foods” from your dinner plate.
• Start snapping pictures of your meals prior to ‘chowing down’.
• If you are really gutsy, start up a Wordpress blog and upload your meal photos to your own personal Photo Diet blog. Our Photo Dieter friend could probably give you a few tips.

• Feel free to poke around my archives for ideas on how to create your own custom diet and exercise programs. And feel free to ask questions.

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Brown Fat Mitochondria or Modern Art?

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have been researching ways to generate fat loss by stimulating brown fat production.

In a recent study (published in Nature), they have shown that a protein called BMP-7 can promote the development of brown fat.

This is good news.

While the white fat cells that cover our doughy North American bodies are seen as the bane of our collective overweight existence, their brown fat cousins are superstars at burning calories.

What?

Yep. You read that right. Fat that burns calories.

The primary function of brown fat is to generate body heat.

In contrast to white fat cells, which contain a single lipid (fat) droplet, brown adipocytes contain numerous smaller droplets and a much higher number of mitochondria.

But more importantly, the main role of brown fat is to burn calories by generating heat.

Sadly, brown fat cells largely disappear by adulthood in humans, but their precursors still remain in the body.

It is these brown fat precursors that the researchers were targeting.

Brown Fat Distribution Patterns - Adult / Baby

The Science

A 2005 Joslin study discovered genes that control the creation of the precursor cells of brown fat.

A 2007 Joslin study found clusters of brown fat cells dispersed between bundles of muscle fibers in an obesity-resistant strain of mice.

This latest study identified BMP-7 as the protein capable of causing the formation and activation of brown fat cells.

Knowing this, the researchers injected the mice with BMP-7.

Success!

According to the researchers, delivery of BMP-7 into mice using adenovirus as a vector resulted in an increase in the growth of brown fat.

In one of the experiments, the mice that developed brown fat tissue gained less weight than those that did not.

In another experiment, mice that received injections of progenitor cells, (similar to stem cells) that had been pre-treated with BMP-7 also developed additional brown fat tissue.

The difference between Stem cells and Progenitor cells

So what does this all mean?

• The researchers were trying to discover what controls the development of brown fat cells.

• They already knew that BMPs are a group of proteins known to regulate the formation of a baby’s organs during their embryonic development.

• Their current research indicates that BMP-7 (and perhaps other BMPs) can control the fate of brown and white cells.

Brown and white fat cells.

Turn one on and the other off.

Turn on ‘calorie burning’ fat and turn off ‘calorie storing’ fat.

Now that is exciting.

More info on scientific research into obesity – here.
More info into dietary intervention of obesity – here.
More info on exercise intervention of obesity – here.

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Immovable Object v.s Irresistible Force???

Is it possible to be fit and fat at the same time?

Researchers at Albert Einstein College found that despite their weight, nearly a third of obese people are not at high risk of diabetes or heart disease.

OK, not exactly a ringing endorsement in favor of obesity, but how about this…

A recent German study found that for normal and overweight people, excess belly fat is a strong link to heart disease and diabetes. However, for their obese cousins, belly fat is not such a big deal. For the obese, a fatty liver is a more accurate risk factor.

According to this study, obese people who get at least moderate physical exercise tend to have less fatty livers.

OK, here we go.

Fit and fat!

According to Dr. Wylie-Rosett (Albert Einstein College): “In our study, the obese people with better risk profiles tended to have more physical activity. And the normal-weight people with worse risk factors tended to have characteristics associated with lower physical activity levels.”

Alright, now we’re getting somewhere.

Maybe it is possible for obese people to be fit.

Maybe fitness is more than having a six-pack.

Beer belly....Six pack???

Maybe fitness means not having visceral fat around your internal organs, improving insulin sensitivity, having a healthy blood pressure, along with well developed aerobic and anaerobic energy systems.

How about we throw in some quality of life factors like enough muscular strength and balance to go about your daily activities without the aid of an electric scooter.

Conclusion

So what is it?

Can you be fit and fat?

My answer:

Yes…in theory. It is possible to carry excess fat and still be healthy as a result of a complete fitness program.

No…in reality. While there is a slim minority of people who gain excess fat due to a medical condition, the vast majority of obese people are obese as a result of their lifestyle. They eat too much and move too little. Until they change these habits, the resultant obesity will have a negative impact upon their health.

I'm strong to the finish, cuz I eats me spinach....

Scientists from the Salk Institute’s Gene Expression Laboratory may have discovered Big Pharma’s Holy Grail of Pharmaceuticals.

A pill that would allow you to reap all of the benefits of vigorous exercise while sitting on the couch watching re-runs of Seinfeld.

How about that!

Scientists from the Salk Institute’s Gene Expression Laboratory have reported (in the July 31 advance edition of the journal Cell) that they have discovered two drugs (GW1516 and AICAR) that were able to transform regular ole’ lab mice into freaky running machines.

AICAR increased the mice’s endurance on a treadmill by 44 percent after just four weeks of treatment.

GW1516 produced a 77%  increase in endurance, but sadly, had to be combined with exercise to have any effect.

The Study

Lead researcher, Ronald M. Evans, Ph.D, had previously discovered that by permanently activating a genetic switch known as PPAR delta, he could turn lab mice into miniature Olympic marathon champs.

In addition to their improvements in aerobic endurance, these super mice didn’t gain weight while being fed a diet high in pizza and beer. In addition to their ripped physiques, they experienced improved insulin sensitivity and lowered levels of blood sugar.

This led Dr. Evans to hypothesize whether a drug specific for PPAR delta would have the same beneficial effects.

I've got the Eye of the Tiger...

The mice were leaner, had an improved fatty acid profile, improved insulin sensitivity and lowered levels of blood sugar, but there was no effect on their exercise performance.

Well, according to Dr. Evans,  “GW1516 activates the PPAR-delta protein, but the mice must also exercise to show increased endurance. It seems that PPAR-delta switches on one set of genes, and exercise another, and both are needed for endurance”.

AICAR however, “activates the PPAR-delta protein and mimics the effects of exercise, thus switching on both sets of genes needed for the endurance signal”. It “signals the cell that it has burned off energy and needs to generate more. It is pretty much pharmacological exercise”.

Conclusion

Theirs: “This is not just a free lunch,” Dr. Evans said. “It’s pushing your genome toward a more enhanced genetic tone that impacts metabolism and muscle function. So instead of inheriting a great set-point you are using a drug to move your own genetics to a more activated metabolic state.”

“The drugs’ effect on muscle opens a window to a world of medical problems,” he said. “This paper will alert the medical community that muscle can be a therapeutic target.”

Mine: I wonder if we are not straying a leeetle bit too far down the Eugenics path with this research.

Forgetting the potential moral argument of switching our genes on and off, my concern is purely medical. While it will take years and years of animal and human testing before a commercially viable GW1516 or AICAR is available on the market, I still think that I would prefer to improve my body the old fashioned way.

Thanks to EurekAlert! for the original source material.

Able to reduce a Glycemic Index in a single bound...

Researchers at the National Institute for Agricultural Botany in the U.K. have produced a genetically modified form of SUPER wheat.

This wheat has the SUPER ability to release fewer calories into the body compared to other varieties of wheat created by God or man.

Yay, scientists!!!

So, how does it work?

According to this article, “The new wheat has been engineered to produce a form of starch, known as resistance starch, that is harder for the body to break down in the stomach. When the wheat is milled, processed and cooked it retains this resistance to digestion, unlike flour containing normal starch”.

Let’s hope this resistance to digestion is easy on the digestive system and doesn’t result in any embarrassing Xenical/Orlistat/Alli episodes.

“The scientists, who are developing the wheat as part of a three year research project into new starch products, are now planning to test the fat fighting wheat to see if can produce good quality products like bread”.

“They also hope to find ways of creating the new crop without using genetic modification, as GM crops are currently banned from being grown for human consumption in the UK”.

But not in North America…