Research

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Research, Weight Loss August 6, 2019

Research: The relationship between weight change and daytime sleepiness

Increased weight tied to daytime sleepiness

Medical providers and researchers have long known that there is a relationship between obesity and sleep apnea and that sleep apnea causes daytime sleepiness or drowsiness.  This finding is now known to be due with increased floppiness of the airway and thickness of the tissue on the chest and airways.  The fact is that daytime somnolence cannot always be explained by obstructive sleep apnea.  This fact would make one think that weight gain may be associated with day time sleepiness with or without obstructive sleep apnea, but the evidence was lacking.  

 

Nutrition, Research, Weight Loss August 3, 2019

List: 12 Herbs and Spices That Will Help With Weight Loss

Herbs and spices may be the key to your weight loss success.  

Spices can do more than perk up the flavor of a meal.  We are constantly looking for alternatives to medications to help with improving our health.  You may be able to reach for the bottles in your spice cabinet for assistance with everything from diabetes to your waistline.  One of the largest obstacles to being healthy in the world today is central obesity.  Obesity is an increasingly social and medical problem all over the world.  This excessive fat deposition in waistlines is a huge risk factor for multiple diseases that go much further than just being overweight.  In some counties of the world, over two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese and the number continues to grow almost as much as the average belt size.  

 
Research Definition

Research, Weight Loss July 30, 2019

Research: Tele-nutrition as a weight loss intervention

Is telephonic counseling effecting for weight loss?  

Poor diet and obesity are independent risk factors for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. In particular truncal obesity is one of the tell-tale signs of obesity and heart disease risk in men.  This risk is particularly high in rural areas of the South.  I remember many patients who thought that chicken, even fried, was a healthy part of their diet.  Many fail to understand the risk of high starch and alcohol intake on central obesity.  Also, in much of the world, access to counseling for weight loss is in short supply and this limits the ability for many rural areas.  Improved education on which foods to limit could be key and telehealth visit for nutrition education could be a key solution to availability.  

 
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Research, Weight Loss July 25, 2019

Research: sleep restriction reduces weight loss.

Sleep restriction hinders weight loss even when calories are reduced.  

Sleep deprivation is terrible for your physical and mental health.  Poor sleep habits lead to higher stress levels and higher levels of cortisol.  Cortisol is a stress hormone that also leads to higher fat stores and hunger.  Multiple studies have shown that stress and poor sleep leads to higher body fat and stress, but few have looked at sleep deprivation in the absence of increased caloric intake.  
 
Research Definition

Nutrition, Research, Weight Loss July 23, 2019

Research: Fiber and energy density and the effects on weight loss.

Diets with a lower fiber intake and caloric density appear superior for weight loss. 

Little is known about the effects of a low caloric density diets on weight loss and maintenance.  It makes sense that a diet that is lower in calories and higher in fiber will result in weight loss because lower density should result in lower calories per volume eaten.   Diets are often designed to meet prescribed macronutrient targets.  An example would be a high-protein diet which often suggests a protein intake of over 40%.   The question persists as to whether individuals can actually achieve the specified levels and if they will result in weight loss.  

 
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Research, Weight Loss July 18, 2019

Research: Mobile bite counters can promote weight loss

Mobile Bite Counters may assist with weight loss.

Chewing is the mechanism by which we mechanically crush and cut food.  The act of chewing stimulates multiple physiologic responses to include increased release of digestive enzymes and a feeling of satiety.  Prior research has shown that chewing slower and more increases satiety.  It would make sense that using a bite counter might increase satiety if it encourages you to chew more and eat slower.  The problem is there is limited research to back up this hypothesis.

 
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Nutrition, Research, Weight Loss July 16, 2019

Research: Better quality of carbohydrates leads to better outcomes

Clinical outcomes: It is all about the quality of your carbohydrate intake.  

Clinicians and researchers have long suspected that not all carbohydrates are created equal.  It makes perfect sense that an unprocessed starchy food with 100 calories would not result in similar clinical outcomes as the same number of calories of table sugar.  The whole foods that are less processed should be more abundant in fiber and thus take longer to process by our bodies and result in less of an insulin and blood sugar spike.  The big problem is that there is a limited appetite to research such differences and thus there is little proof to back up such beliefs.  

 
Research Definition

Nutrition, Research, Weight Loss July 11, 2019

Research: fiber intake and adherence to diet associated with weight-Loss.

Fiber intake and adherence to diet predict weight loss success.  

Low-fat diets have been long accepted to be the key to weight loss.  In recent years, higher fat and protein diets have also been shown to produce weight loss and these diets are all the rage in health and fitness magazines. Nearly all of us are looking for tips to increase weight loss success or to help us lose weight.  Many of the tips we receive have limited to no evidence to back them up.

 
Research Definition

Research, Weight Loss July 9, 2019

Research: Web-based expert coaching may assist with weight loss

Expert coaching over the web can assist with significant weight loss.  

Expert coaching for weight loss is expensive but has been shown to help with weight loss in prior research.  Coaching is the key part that both motivates and increases engagement.  Providing coaches as part of a weight management program is a common practice in most weight programs but it is cost and time prohibitive for many.  Coach and participant interaction is the key thing that promotes this engagement, but there is limited research to show that expert coaching over the internet can promote the same benefits.  

 
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