More than half of American adults considered to have normal body weight in America have high body fat percentages -- greater than 20 percent for men and 30 percent for women -- as well as heart and metabolic disturbances, new Mayo Clinic research shows. The finding conflicts with the widely held belief that maintaining a normal weight automatically guards against disorders such as high levels of circulating blood fats and a tendency to develop metabolic syndrome, which often leads to type 2 diabetes.

The scientists defined normal weight by body mass index (BMI). They observed that people with normal BMI who had the highest percentage of body fat were also those who had metabolic disturbances associated with heart disease. The scientists use the phrase normal weight obesity to describe this new type of patient at risk for metabolism problems and risk factors for heart disease, but who rates as normal on standard weight charts. They defined normal weight obesity as a condition of having a normal BMI with high body fat percentage. The Mayo team will present its study results at the American College of Cardiologys Annual Scientific Session next week in Chicago.

Using the term normal weight obesity is really a way of being more precise about the changing conceptualization of obesity, because the real definition of obesity is excess body fat, says Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, M.D., a heart specialist on the Mayo research team. Our study demonstrates that even people with normal weight may have excessive body fat, and that these people are at risk for metabolic abnormalities that lead to diabetes and, eventually, to heart disease.


Significance of the Mayo Clinic Study
Heart disease remains the major cause of death and disability in westernized countries. Scientists around the world are striving to refine the relationship of body composition to heart health as a means of:

• Designing more effective risk assessment tools.
  
• Improving public health programs for reducing risk.
  
• Designing new and better clinical rehabilitation programs for heart patients

While a focus on maintaining a healthy weight has long been a centerpiece of these efforts, Mayos new study suggests the focus may need to shift. Instead of tracking weight and BMI only, public health measures to prevent heart disease might benefit more from measuring the belly or by assessing percentage of body fat as more reliable risk factors of heart disease. Mayo studies in 2006 and 2007 suggested this criterion by demonstrating the inability of BMI to discriminate between body fat and lean muscle. Combined, the data from our earlier work and the current study suggest its time for a new measure of body fat as a risk factor of heart disease, says Dr. Lopez-Jimenez.


About the Study.

.

The scientists studied 2,127 adults, equally divided between men and women, who had normal weight (BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 units). The participants body composition was assessed, and their risk factors for metabolic and heart disease were collected by the U.S. government in its Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/elec_prods/subject/nhanes3.htm.

From this data, scientists observed that normal weight obesity appears to be highly prevalent, affecting more than half of patients with a normal weight as defined by the BMI. After controlling for age, sex and race, normal weight obesity subjects had significantly higher rates of several alterations in blood chemistry that can negatively affect heart and metabolism health. These markers of disregulation include:.

• Altered blood lipid profile, such as cholesterol.
  
• High leptin, a hormone found in fat and other tissues and is involved in appetite regulation.
  
• Higher rates of metabolic syndrome

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HOUSTON -- (March 27, 2008) -- Checking the labels of food products is the easiest way to cut down on trans fat, which increases the risk of developing heart disease, in your diet.

Trans fat is made by a process called hydrogenation, where hydrogen is added to vegetable oil and increases the shelf life and flavor stability of various foods, said Dr. Rebecca Reeves, a registered dietitian and assistant professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Check favorite snacks

Although small amounts of trans fat occur naturally in some dairy foods and meat, it is present more often in foods such as cookies, cakes and crackers.

By law, all packaging of food products must now include the amount of trans fat per serving on the nutrition facts panel.

Trans fat raises bad cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoproteins), and lowers good cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein).

Avoid processed foods

"You want to consume as little trans fat as possible," said Reeves. "Avoid processed foods and eat more whole grains such as oats and brown rice."

She recommends eventually moving towards foods with no trans fat at all.

Reeves advises avoiding regular margarine because it contains trans fat. She said products that contain sterols and stanols, substances that occur naturally and have powerful cholesterol-lowering properties, are a better choice that has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

0 doesn't mean 0

When reading the product labels, Reeves said it is important to understand that a product that advertises "Zero Trans Fat" could still contain some --less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. Checking the nutrition facts panel is important.

Also, she said, remember that even though a product may have little trans fat, it could still be high calorie. She recommends checking the levels of saturated fat and cholesterol per serving when choosing foods.

HOUSTON -- (March 26, 2008) -- Meeting in groups, as opposed to the traditional one-on-one appointment, is a valuable learning environment for pregnant women, said midwives from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

A new program at Casa de Amigos Health Center, part of the Harris County Hospital District, provides prenatal education to women in groups, said Cynthia Wade, a certified nurse midwife at BCM, who leads the program CenteringPregnancy® that is affiliated with a national organization called the Centering Healthcare Institute (http://www.centeringpregnancy.com/).

Sharing experiences

Women in the program may learn and benefit more from a variety of prenatal experiences that can be found within a group, said Wade.

"We are really enthusiastic about this program," she said. "The traditional approach is a great option of care for some women, but this provides a unique opportunity for women to honor their need for affiliation and learn from one another at the same time. It is helping to normalize the issues and concerns they are facing as their pregnancy progresses."

Wade holds the group visits at the district's community clinic for women who are going to deliver their babies around the same date. The groups are scheduled every four weeks and then every two weeks—similar to the traditional prenatal care schedule. The program is designed for groups of eight to 12. They begin the group visits when they are 12 to 16 weeks pregnant and attend 10 two-hour sessions facilitated by the group leader.

Betty Carter, another BCM midwife, also started Centering groups at the Good Neighbor Healthcare Center.

Pregnancy and parenting

"The sessions focus on issues of pregnancy and parenting," said Wade. "At the beginning, we distribute self assessment sheets targeting personal and physical issues that help guide the discussion."

Before the women enter the group, certified nurse midwives talk to them about their medical history. The midwives do a physical examination and lab work. One advantage of the program is that patients have more time with a healthcare provider, said Wade. That means they can ask more questions and have more time to hear and respond to other experiences.

She said group prenatal care can improve pregnancy outcomes by reducing the risk that babies will be born prematurely. They also encourage breastfeeding and good interaction between mother and baby without costing more than standard care.

Wade said, "It is a cost-efficient, energizing way to provide care."

March of Dimes grant

BCM received two of the approximately 17 statewide March of Dimes grants to fund this model of group prenatal care and is participating in a research study conducted by the March of Dimes.

"Not only is the program fun and interesting, but it enables our participants to learn from each other," said Wade. "It provides an efficient conduit for information and is a vehicle for social change."

In addition to assistance with pregnancy, BCM midwives offer full-scope care for women, including family planning or child spacing techniques, annual physical exams and pap smears, as well as treatment for minor gynecologic conditions.

For more information on the BCM Midwifery program, visit http://www.bcm.edu/obgyn/?PMID=7139. For more information on CenteringPregnancy®, visit www.centeringpregnancy.org.

HOUSTON -- (March 24, 2008) -- Sequencing the genome of the red flour beetle, also known as Tribolium castaneum, could prove of double benefit – both in understanding how organisms develop and in fighting the insect pest, said a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who was part of the international consortium that published the genetic sequence in the current issue of the journal Nature.

On one hand, the red beetle is a voracious pest with an appetite that destroys millions of dollars worth of grain stored in flour-mills. On the other, the beetle serves as a model for studying the genetics of development – much in the way that scientists study fruit flies or Drosophila to understand how genes can affect the ways in which organisms grow, said Dr. Stephen Richards, assistant professor in the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center. Dr. Richard Gibbs of BCM directs the center.

A peek at pest biology

"The Tribolium genome sequence is the first for any beetle," said Dr. Dick Beeman, a research entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service in Manhattan, Kansas. "Since beetles are the most diverse and successful animals on earth, this is an important milestone in evolutionary biology. Also, Tribolium is the first significant agricultural pest insect to have its genome revealed, and this creates new opportunities for understanding and exploiting pest biology."

"The genome sequence in combination with the ability to perform RNAi (a method that inhibits gene expression) at virtually any life stage makes Tribolium a premier insect model organism for studies that are not as readily accessible in Drosophila," said Dr. Susan J. Brown, professor of biology at Kansas State University. "It's really exciting to see the burst of activity in Tribolium studies that has accompanied the sequencing project."

The sequencing effort took the talents of 100 scientists from 14 countries, all of whom participated in the Tribolium Genome Sequencing Consortium. The three-year project sped along, buoyed by the high through-put sequencing that is a hallmark of the BCM Genome Sequencing Center, which has led the sequencing efforts for the human genome as well as several model organisms.

Shared ancestry?

Richards said that some of the genes found in the beetle apparently share ancestry with similar genes in humans. For example, the gene for the receptor for vasopressin, which regulates how water is stored in the body, shares the same ancestry as the gene for the same hormone in humans.

"These beetles are good at living in dry environments," said Richards. "They survive partially on metabolic water, but 10 percent humidity in their environment is enough."

Beeman agreed, saying "As just one example, more than 100 interesting genes associated with the exoskeleton have been identified, and many of these have been shown to have specific, vital functions. Tribolium has several attributes that make it unique among sequenced insects, including a preference for arid environments and a cosmopolitan palate."

"This independence of water makes Tribolium a prime-candidate for a companion as a research organism during the long-term space flight such as the one planned for the red planet Mars," said Dr. Reinhard Schröder of the University of Rostock, Germany, and a co-author of the study.

A consortium of researchers from many countries took part in this work, but Richards cited in addition to those above the efforts of Drs. Gregor Bucher of Georg August University in Göttingen, Germany; Roben Denell of Kansas State University in Manhattan, and Martin Klingler of Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen, Germany, as key leaders in completing the sequence and its analysis.

Funding for this research came from the National Human Genome Research Institute and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The full article can be found at www.nature.com.

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