Sleep Deprivation Linked to Weight Gain

Charlene Laino
Medscape Medical News 2006. © 2006 Medscape
May 24, 2006 (San Diego) — A new study presented here at the American Thoracic Society International Conference shows that middle-aged women who sleep 5 or fewer hours each night weigh an average of 2.5 kg more than those who sleep for at least 7 hours. "Sleep deprivation has important effects on a patient's health, so clinicians should really ask their patients about their sleep habits," said study presenter Sanjay Patel, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. "Getting a good's night sleep has already been shown to have effects on diabetes and heart disease and now we see it affects weight as well."Dr. Patel told Medscape that previous studies had already shown that women, men, and children who sleep less tend to weigh more than those who sleep more. But what had not been clear, he explained, is whether the loss of sleep caused the weight gain or vice versa. In addition to weighing more at baseline, the women who slept less tended to gain more weight over time, Dr. Patel reported. One of the most surprising findings, Dr. Patel said, was that the women who slept less actually ate less as well. .“The practicing physician really needs to stress to her patient that getting a good night’s sleep is not just a luxury,” Dr. Badr told Medscape. “It’s a mandatory way to improve your health.”ATS 2006 International Conference: Abstract C88. Presented May 23, 2006.Reviewed by Margaret Clark, RN, RRT-NPS

Most Americans don't get preventive healthcare

Mon May 22, 3:57 PM ET

Many Americans are failing to get the preventive medical care that could help them live longer, healthier lives, according to a new study.
Preventive measures, like a daily dose of aspirin, colon cancer screening and smoking-cessation therapy, are all effective ways to save lives and healthcare dollars, but fewer than half of Americans who need these services are getting them, the study found.
The findings, published online by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, are based on an analysis of more than 8,000 previously published studies. Researchers with the non-profit groups Partnership for Prevention and HealthPartners Research Foundation ranked 25 recommended preventive services according to their potential health benefits and medical-cost savings.

SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, online May 16, 2006.

Obesity + Diabetes=Diabesity

Obesity often is associated with a constellation of other conditions and diseases. Obese people suffer from high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, digestive problems, poor sleep, autoimmune disorders, pain, hormonal imbalances, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and frequently Type II Diabetes. The prevalence of the combination of obesity and diabetes has led doctors to coin a new phrase; diabesty. Dr. Val Jones, Founding Editor, Clinical Nutrition & Obesity, Medscape General Medicine; Instructor, Rehabilitation Medicine, New York Medical College, Saint Vincent's Hospital, New York, NY says that "America's diabesity problem is not about moral failure, laziness, or lack of effort." She recommends an integrative rehabilitative team approach to solving this problem that afflicts 1/3 of Americans.

The key to success lies not only within the team approach but with the patient's ability to change their way of thinking from quick fix to long term health. Dr. Diana Schwarzbein says that most people think of losing weight in order to become healthy when in fact it's the other way around. Healthy people lose weight. We can treat the obesity and the diabetes but the most effective treatment lies within the patient's attitude and the body's inherent ability to heal. This requires doctors to become better educated in an integrative health model and to educate our patients!

My weight loss protocol is customized for every patient according to what their issues are but there are certain core protocols that I follow. First I want to know how they are sleeping and what their stress levels are like! Does that sound strange? Let me explain. If stress is high and sleep is irregular or absent then it's likely that cortisol is high. When cortisol is high so is insulin. One action of insulin is to store fat. If we can normalize cortisol then we can normalize insulin. By doing this we achieve many great things; better sleep (and everything that goes along with that), fat loss, decreased incidence of diabetes, and a decreased chance of all the other diseases mentioned earlier in this article.

Good health is within your reach! The body wants and needs to function normally and even if polluted with toxins and excess fat it will respond to your efforts and reward you!

DrReuvenRosenberg@yahoo.com

© Reuven M. Rosenberg, D.C.Disclaimer: Statements made pertaining to the properties and/or functions of nutritional products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and these materials and products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Never discontinue medical prescriptions without the consent of your physician.