Please explain the science

Yesterday I posted about how upset I was that my weight loss seems to stall when I work out... I worked out all last week, and really how it makes me feel, but like I said I either gain a few ounces or stay at the same weight week after week... If I do not work out I loose almost a pound a day... I'm eating a bit more on workouts days, but taking the advice to stay @ 1500 every day no matter if I work out or not... Bit can anyone help me on the science part of it? Is it water weight that I'm loosing? And water weight that I hold onto when I work out? I have to admit that I like seeing the numbers drop, since I'm trying to get to a healthy BMI number.... I just can not figure out why I loose so much when I'm not working out, if anyone could explain it all to me my brain would be much relieved! Stats-5'3, 42 yo female, 181.7 as of this morning....lost 41.7 pounds since March through diet & excersize...45 more to go...thanks so much!

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Gene Variations May Explain Weight Gain Among Men, Women

People with specific 'polymorphisms' were more likely to put on pounds in 10-year study

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Weight gain in men and women is predicted by two different genetic variations -- so-called polymorphisms, according to a new study from the Netherlands.

Men with a certain mutation of the FTO gene had an 87 percent greater risk for gaining weight over 10 years. Meanwhile, women with a different variation on the MMP2 gene had a two and a half times increased risk for weight gain over the course of a decade, the researchers found.

The research involved two groups of people: The first group, which consisted of 259 people, maintained a stable weight; the second group consisted of 237 people who were considered weight gainers. These participants gained about 17 pounds over 10 years.

Starting body-mass index -- a measurement of body fat based on a person's ratio of height to weight -- for the participants ranged from normal to obese. Participants were between 20 and 45 years old when the study began.

The research, led by Freek Bouwman, from Maastricht University, and Dr. Jolanda Boer, from the Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, focused on several different polymorphisms associated with weight gain in previous studies.

The genetic distribution of a particular FTO polymorphism in men was consistently different between the weight-stable group and the weigh-gainer group, the study revealed, according to a news release from the European Congress on Obesity.

Similarly, among the women, the genetic distribution of the MMP2 polymorphism varied between those considered weight stable and those in the weight-gainer group.

"We found that FTO in men and MMP2 in women are predictors for weight gain over a 10-year follow-up period," the study authors wrote.

They suggested that more research into these polymorphisms could help determine who is at greatest risk for weight gain and improve weight-control strategies. They said differences in male and female hormone levels also could play a role in weight regulation.

The study was presented Tuesday at the European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, England. Findings presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

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Brain Scans May Explain Thinking, Memory Problems in Some MS Patients

By Denise Mann

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- Besides problems with gait and vision, people who have multiple sclerosis often complain they have trouble remembering things, and now new research may explain why.

According to a small study from the Netherlands, people with MS who report memory and thinking problems have more extensive damage to the white matter in their brains than their counterparts with MS who don't report such problems.

Up to 70 percent of all people with MS will experience a mental decline at some point, said study author Hanneke Hulst at the VU University Medical Center, in Amsterdam. And the new research "confirmed that cognitive symptoms in MS have a biological basis," Hulst said.

The findings were published online March 6 in Neurology.

MS is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body attacks myelin, a fatty substance that insulates the nerve fibers of the central nervous system. The brain's white matter is surrounded by myelin. Symptoms range in severity and may include problems with gait, balance, vision, memory and thinking abilities.

To get a better picture of what was going on in the brains of people with MS, Hulst and colleagues used a new type of brain scan called diffusion tensor imaging along with traditional MRI scans on 20 people with MS-related thinking problems, 35 people with MS whose thinking ability was not affected by the disease and 30 people without MS.

More damage appeared in the brain's white matter of people with MS who reported memory and thinking impairments than in those who had MS but no such complaints about mental declines: 76 percent vs. 49 percent, respectively. This was especially apparent in areas of the brain charged with memory, attention and concentration, the researchers said.

"Imaging can now be used to capture a wider spectrum of changes in the brains of people with MS, and will therefore help determine more accurately whether new treatments are helping with all aspects of the disease, including cognitive [mental] impairment," Hulst said. "Unfortunately, at the moment there are no treatments available to prevent or cure cognitive problems in MS."

Dr. Steven Mandel, a neurologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the new study validates some of the complaints he hears from people with MS. "The test is not ready for prime time, but in the future, it can help us sort out how impaired these individuals are in regard to everyday life and daily living." It may also serve as a marker to assess whether a treatment is making a difference, he said.

Dr. Fred Lublin, director of the Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for Multiple Sclerosis at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, said that memory and thinking problems are common in people with MS, but they are usually subtle.

"People with MS are more aware of [these problems] than are the people around them," Lublin said. Still, he added, "this is an important finding that helps us better understand how cognitive impairment occurs and therefore can be a marker for treatments in the future."

More information

Learn more about how MS affects memory and concentration at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

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Southern Diet Might Explain the 'Stroke Belt'

Title: Southern Diet Might Explain the 'Stroke Belt'
Category: Health News
Created: 2/7/2013 4:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 2/8/2013 12:00:00 AM

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