Weight Loss Improves Memory, Research Reveals

By BEN FORER
April 15, 2011

Subjects Who Underwent Gastric Bypass Surgery Saw Significant Memory Improvement

Losing weight may be more than just good for your heart. New research indicates it also can improve your memory.

According to a study led by John Gunstad, assistant professor of psychology at Kent State University, weight loss may improve concentration and overall cognitive ability.

"We've known for a long time that obesity is a risk factor for things like Alzheimer's disease and stroke, and more recent work really shows that obesity is a link to memory problems and concentration problems before that even begins," said Gunstad. "If excess weight causes these problems, can losing weight help reverse them? That's what we wanted to research."

Gunstad tested the memory and attention of 150 overweight people. Then, some of the participants underwent gastric bypass surgery while others did not.

"What we found is that by individuals who went through the weight loss surgery showed improvements in memory about 12 weeks after surgery," said Gunstad. "They were able to show improvements moving from the kind of mildly impaired range into the normal range, which clinically is a pretty good, is a pretty meaningful change."

Prior to surgery, 23.9 percent of all the participants showed impaired learning and 22.9 percent had poor recognition memory.

Twelve weeks after surgery, the average performance for those that went under the knife was within average range or above average on all cognitive tests, improvements that were not seen in the group of people that decided to not have gastric bypass surgery.

3 Unanswered Questions

There still are three major questions that need to be answered, Gunstad said:

1. What from obesity is causing the brain damage?
2. What causes the brain to improve after surgery?
3. Can behavioral weight loss produce the same changes in the brain as surgery?

"If we're able to identify what causes these memory problems in the first place and then changes after surgery to make the memory better, that's the key," said Gunstad. "Once we can find that, that might be an answer to what better understands how obesity's linked to Alzheimer's disease, stroke or even just memory decline that happens in older adults."

Weight-Loss Benefits Without Surgery?

Gunstad is cautiously optimistic that if somebody were to lose 20 or 25 pounds, they might see some of the same benefits without the surgery.

"I think one of the important take-home messages for this study," he said, "is really just, kind of, a reminder for individuals that if you take care of your body, you're also taking care of your brain."

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The iPhone Diet? Digital Health Finds Its Legs With Mobile Platforms

By Edward F. Moltzen, CRN

Want to dial up a weight loss plan?

Consult your physician. Then, once you get the green light, pull out your Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) iPhone, download a new breed of digital health apps, and start slimming down with the iPhone diet.

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Weight loss, physical fitness, blood pressure monitoring and even sleep management are now an increasingly embraced part of the Apple iPhone ecosystem -- with new products over the past several months gaining significant acceptance.

Leading IT companies such as Intel (NSDQ:INTC) began launching major digital health initiatives a decade ago, outlining the advances for both health-care consumers and providers in deploying PC-based solutions for medical intervention and wellness. But it wasn’t until the past 18 months that digital health solutions began showing momentum, spurred by “apps” that fit in with new platforms like iPhone, iPad and Android.

In research published by consulting firm Parks Associates, data shows some attention-getting numbers:

• Almost 20 percent of consumers have begun to use the Web to track the progress of their health, and as many as 7 percent have used the Web to communicate with their physicians;

• As of last December, there were more than 8,600 mobile apps for medical use or health and fitness just through Apple’s iTunes App Store alone;

• More than 9 out of 10 households in the U.S. have a mobile phone and one out of three in “broadband” households own a smartphone;

• Almost 80 percent of 200,000 physician practices in the U.S. have three or fewer doctors – exactly the type of practice that may benefit greatly from prescribing digital health solutions for patients.

Overall, according to Parks, the entire U.S. digital health-care industry will grow to more than $5.7 billion by 2015, with consumers of digital health solutions jumping from 3.8 million last year to 26 million over five years.

For anyone who has used digital health apps and found how easy and effective they can be, that number seems quite conservative. They work, they are flexible and -- because they fit in with mobile devices -- are at your side on just about a 24-7 basis.

We’ve examined a number of them, and found the best way to test several was simply to use them. Dieting and exercise aren’t fun, but the best-in-breed iPhone apps for weight-loss tasks are effective and can have impact. Here’s what we experienced:

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National Expert Spills Secret to Slimming Down Santa Cruz Youth

By Jacob Bourne

Children today are fatter than ever, and those of Santa Cruz County are no exception.

The number of overweight children in America has increased by more than 100 percent over the last 30 years. According to UCSF Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Robert Lustig, there is one major culprit for this epidemic: sugar.

Lustig spoke Thursday at Capitola’s New Brighton Middle School to a crowd of 200-plus attendees representing the medical, education, childcare and food service communities. His talk, entitled “How to Stop the Obesity Epidemic in Santa Cruz County,” was meant to debunk misconceptions on obesity, and help the public understand how it can truly be combated.

Congressman Sam Farr, who has long worked on health-related issues, introduced Lustig.

“We’re here today to demonstrate that the value of healthy eating is also a great, great investment in America’s future,” Farr said.

Farr recognized that while the county is far from immune to the scale-tipping trend of this country, strides have certainly been made in the right direction, namely with the advent of the Breakfast in the Classroom program.

“We’re starting to develop this thought in Santa Cruz that the lunch room is also as important as the classroom,” he said.

Lustig argued however, that the problem runs much deeper than what is happening between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

“I don’t care how much fruits and vegetables we give our kids in school. Until we get the sugar out of the parents’ homes, ain’t nothin’ going to work,” he said.

Lustig referred to sugar, both cane sugar and the much-maligned high-fructose corn syrup, as “biochemically toxic.”

“If you add enough sugar, you can make dog poop taste good, and indeed they have,” Lustig said. “That’s what your kids are eating. They are eating sugar-flavored dog poop.”

According to the United Way of Santa Cruz County, in 2006, the county ranked 29^th (first being the best) of 66 California counties for overweight children under five-years-old. Lustig thinks the area can strive for a much healthier rating.

“Here in Santa Cruz County, we’re the fruit basket of America. Where else best to start?” he said.

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Obese Children Need Higher Antioxidant Levels

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