Category: Obesity
Overweight mothers likely to have fat babies
Researchers have found that one of the main reasons for childhood obesity is overweight mothers. In a study that was led by Indian born researchers Neena Modi, it was found that some babies have fat built-up in their abdomen that is similar to fat built-up of a 50 year old. Researchers have also found that 33 percent of the babies have more fat built-up than expected.
For the study, Neena and her team took a sample of 105 babies. Of the 105 babies 51 were girls and the remaining were boys. All the babies chosen had more than normal fat in their abdomen. Researchers have found that women who are overweight during pregnancy had higher chances of having babies that have high fat levels especially in their abdomen.
Neena added that she was surprised to detect direct correlation between the weight of the mother and BMI of the baby. She further added that her findings will help in understanding the effect of mothers’ metabolism on the baby.
The study also proves the effect of the surroundings on the baby when it is in the womb. It also helps in understanding the long-term impact of the surrounding on the baby.
According to health experts, new born babes usually have about 700 grams of adipose tissues. However, for every one unit increase of BMI of the baby the adipose tissues can increase by 7 grams which can have an adverse impact on the liver.
Can chewing help in reducing your appetite?
Several researches have been conducted in the past to establish connection between chewing and problem of weight gain in people. However, these studies were not able to establish any strong connection between obesity and chewing. Even though several studies have found that chewing less can cause obesity, there are many experts who have proved that chewing does not have any impact on your health.
According to the recent study published by American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it was found that people chew food nearly 40 times instead of normal 15 times, are likely to eat 12 percent fewer calories. The study was conducted by Jie Li and his colleagues who found connection between the levels of hormones that tell you when to eat and when to stop eating and the amount of chewing. The study was conducted on 16 men who had normal weight and 14 men how were overweight. It was found that chewing had an impact on levels of hormones CCK and ghrelin. More chewing helped in increasing CCK that reduces appetite and reduces ghrelin that stimulates appetite.
However, the study found not connection between the size of the bite taken by people who were overweight and people who had normal weight. Also, the study did not find any connection between sugar levels and chewing duration.
Some experts are of the view that since the study included only a few men, the results of the study may not be same for all people. For instance, some people many have more than 12 percent reduction in calorie intake while others may not benefit from the study.
