Antihistamine Use Linked to Weight-Gain

Go ask anyone who starts to snort and sniffle when pollen is high and the smell of fresh cut grass wafts through the air, and they'll tell you, antihistamines are a godsend.

Antihistamine medication is used to stop allergic reactions. Histamines in the body cause fluid to escape from capillaries resulting in swelling, itching, and sneezing.

But those beloved antihistamines, most of which you can get over-the-counter without a doctor's note, might come with a heavy price to pay -- weight-gain.

Writing in the journal Obesity, experts found an association between antihistamine use and weight-gain. Individuals taking prescription antihistamines were more likely to be obese or overweight, than individuals not taking the drugs.

In the study, among the 268 antihistamine users, 45% of study participants were overweight, compared to all 599 of the people involved in the study, where only 30% were overweight. Antihistamine users had a higher body mass index (BMI) than non users, weighing in at 31 and 28 respectively.

A BMI 25 to 29 is considered overweight, anything higher is obese. Obesity starts with a BMI of 30 and up.

But, the researchers involved with this study urge that the results do not say antihistamines cause weight-gain, only that there is an association between weight-gain and taking antihistamines.

Other medications can cause weight-gain, and I know this firsthand with anti-depressants. Some experts say medications like Prozac, Lexapro, Paxil, and Zoloft can cause weight-gain of 10 pounds or more.

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Can We Stop Food Stamp Users Buying Soda?

In the uphill battle to fight obesity, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has petitioned the United States Department of Agriculture to ban the 1.7 million food stamp users from using them to buy soda, or other sugared drinks.

This move is part of series of interventions to curb obesity, which have included advertisements, stricter rules on food sold in schools, and a yet-to-be successful attempt to tax sugared drinks.

Herein lies a good concept in a stirred pot of political, ethical and health soup.

I'm going to come right out and say it: I like the idea. I like it a lot. In fact, I think food stamps should be used to buy vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds and canned goods - healthy foods. I also realize the stepping-on-eggshells nature of this kind of idea.

Look, this thing should be signed, sealed and delivered starting today, but in the "humor us all" department, let's take a look at some of the sticky issues that may arise with this sort of stipulation.

Ethically, is it fair to discriminate against those with food stamps? Who are we to tell them what they can and cannot buy?

Conversely, we all have a collective responsibility to ensure that our already-off-the-rails health care spending doesn't go even further into the abyss.

I don't see this as too "big brother" at all. The run-of-the-mill straw man argument here will be "how dare they tell people what they can and cannot eat or drink", but let's remember that regulating what people can spend their government assistance on is not the same as telling people what they can and cannot eat/drink.

As with many other similarly conceived ideas, the problems are deeply rooted, and the solution is multifaceted. While this is a great idea, there are bigger fish to fry - specifically corn subsidies that keep prices artificially low.

In the end I don't see this passing due to the industry-cozy relationship between big food and government food regulators. I'm sure they have the soda lobbyists working overtime to ensure that this idea never sees the light of day. Moreover, in 2004, the Agriculture Department denied a request by Minnesota to prevent food-stamp recipients from buying junk food.

What are your thoughts on this?

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Diet Drug Meridia May Cause Heart Attack and Stroke

Last Friday, the diet drug Meridia was pulled from the shelves in America by its maker, Abbott Laboratories.

Meridia, a prescription drug, was known to cause a higher risk of heart attack and stroke when in trials, but scientists believed this effect might be compensated for by the weight loss benefits. It wasn't.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested Meridia's removal, stating that the increased heart disease and stroke risk wasn't an acceptable price to pay for the "very modest weight loss" that the drug causes.

Since January, Meridia hasn't been sold in Europe. It has now been withdrawn in Canada and Australia, as well as in America.

It's little surprise that despite the risks to dieters, Abbott were reluctant to withdraw Meridia from sale. Diet pills can be hugely profitable for drug companies:

So far this year, the pill [Meridia] had $80 million in sales worldwide, including $20 million in the U.S. Source

However, after a number of health scares related to diet drugs, perhaps dieters will turn back to tried-and-tested methods of safe weight loss: a healthy diet, combined with exercise.

Both aren't just good for losing weight, they're also great for a healthy heart.

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Can I Lose 50 Pounds in 3 Months? [Forum]

Hi,

I'm 24, 5ft and weigh 167 pounds but my doctors say I am anaemic (strangely). They say my ideal weight range is 106 - 116.6 lbs. (48.2 - 53 kg). So, I'm technically overweight by 50lbs or 23kg.

I used to be a UK size 6 before I went to uni but due to stress and loneliness, I started indulging myself in the many luxuries in life and am now a size 16/18. I am 24 but I look like I am 30 because of my weight.

I've started a new diet program where I eat only 500 calories which consists of fruits, veggies, fresh juices and low fat milk. I also do 1 hour of Hot Yoga 5 times a week and I lose about 760 calories on average per day. I also walk quite a bit. But this is only day 3 of my diet program and I really need to stay motivated for at least 1 month to see any significant results.

Prior to this new regime, I tried absolutely everything from a soup diet to swimming to just starving myself but just can't seem to get rid of the love handles all over and to top it off, an awful looking double chin lol. The only option left is lipo but I really don't want to pursue that route because of monetary reasons and fear of machines lol. I'm afraid that if I don't do something drastic to bring my body weight down, then I might suffer a heart attack or stroke and never be able to enjoy life to the max.

I realised that I start indulging myself in chocolates and whatnot whenever I am feeling really down or really happy, so I am trying to strike a balance where I don't feel too happy or too sad lol.

And oh the other thing is that I have completely stopped alcohol. Before, I used to have a glass of white wine with my dinner every night but now that's out too. I have never had any other types of alcohol other than wine and because I'm so busy at the moment, I don't have much time to go out drinking with friends which is kind of good I guess.

I really need to lose 50 pounds fast and I'm hoping before Christmas and I just need a bit of motivation and support to stay focused to achieve my goal.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

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College Girls With Heavy Roommates Gain Less Weight

College is a place of learning. Learning how to fill the swim meet with fizzies, deliver the medical school cadavers to the alumni dinner, fill the trees with underwear, and explode the toilets every spring.

Err, I mean, college, is a place of higher education, like physics, calculus, math, and science - all that "good" stuff.

College is also the home of the dreaded "freshman fifteen," referring to the weight many students gain away from home, during their first year of school.

But if you're a girl, a new study says you're less likely to gain weight during your freshman year if your roommate is heavy.

Presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Health Economists, researchers discovered college women with roommates who have above average weight, gain less weight during their freshman year, than female students with slimmer roommates.

However, the difference was only slight, half a pound versus 2.5 pounds. Yeah, that doesn't put a big dent in the freshman fifteen.

But the reason for the difference makes sense, even though it's not so obvious. The researchers say heavier roommates are more likely to diet, exercise, and limit access to food, and these behaviors can be "contagious."

They also say that most of the time people pick friends and acquaintances who are similar to themselves. So, with randomly assigned roommates, you might be paired with a person you wouldn't normally make friends with, like an overweight person. And this person's unique habits may rub off on you.

This makes a lot of sense to me. My roommate in college didn't exercise before I met him, but he later started going to the gym with me.

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Doctors Communication Style Matters for Weight Loss

A study from Duke University showed that the manner in which Doctors communicated with patients, regarding their weight loss, impacted their success -- it is better to be Dr. Mark Green than Dr. Greg House, when broaching the subject of weight.

The study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Researchers recorded the conversations between 40 primary care physicians, and 461 of their overweight or obese patients, over an 18-month period. Investigators were tracking how much time was spent and, specifically, how doctors talked with their patients about diet, exercise and weight loss. (The doctors were not told what the researchers were looking for).

Doctors discussed weight with patients in 69% of cases. Doctors spent an average of 3.5 minutes discussing diet and weight issues -- about 15% of the visit.There was little difference between patients who were counselled vs. those who were not, in terms of weight loss.When researchers accounted for the doctor's communication style, however, they found a statistically significant difference between communication styles.Patients whose doctors talked about diet and weight loss in a more motivational fashion, using predominantly reflective or empathic statements, were much more likely to lose weight, compared to those whose physicians used a more judgmental or confrontational style of communication.Patients whose physicians communicated well lost about 3.5 pounds three months after the visit.Excellent study: first of its kind to examine specifically Physicians' communication style, and its affect on patients' weight loss.Possible study flaws: communication styles aren't always directly definable and hence there is room for interpretation. Another potential flaw is that Doctors were recorded. While they didn't know why, it may cause them to be more vigilant in addressing issues thoroughly.Physicians are an important cog in the wheel of overall health. They are the front-line practitioners and as such, they can have enormous influence on the success of patients' efforts to lose weight and improve health.Counselling training would certainly help physicians communicate effectively and "get through" to their patients. At the same time, doctors tend not to have much in the way of formal education in nutrition, exercise science and specifics of how to lose fat. You have to know the right information before you learn how to deliver it.

In the end, I think the patient is best served by a physician who is both empathetic, but also honest and to the point. I also think that in addition to counsellor training and more extensive education in nutrition, MD's should work closely with other health professionals, who specialize in fat loss and nutrition.

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Hey Man, Do You Work in a Restaurant?

A funny thing happened to me a while ago. For some reason it just now dawned on me to blog about. Sorry, I'm slow.

At the time, I had switched Yoga studios. I like a vigorous practice and my old studio cut back on classes. Now, as luck would have it, my new studio is two doors down from a farmers market, which is win-win for me.

So I was shopping there every week, and typically I bought a lot of fruits and vegetables, especially fresh greens, like broccoli and spinach. I'm mostly vegetarian, so I plow through a lot of vegetation every week.

I was standing in line that day waiting to pay and when it was my turn, the cashier, who I see every week and never makes small talk, asked me, "Do you work in a restaurant? Because you always buy a lot of stuff."

Now, I'm a social misfit, so I just smirked. I guess a short Italian guy buying huge bunches of produce every week does look like a restaurant owner, especially in New Jersey, the land of delis.

I told her no, and explained that I eat a vegetable-based diet and that I don't eat meat. She wanted to know if I was a vegetarian. I said, "Kind of." And told her my diet is mostly fruits and vegetables and the only animal I eat is fish.

The cashier seemed to get it, but not really. She's Mexican, so she was probably thinking, "Stupid gringo is missing out on good tacos and burritos."

She might be right, but I admit, one little dude buying that much fruits and vegetables each week is unusual. She must have thought I was some sort of human-cow hybrid. And in her mind it might be easier just to eat some carne asada every once and a while.

Trust me, I understand that. I'm 100% Italian, my family is over-the-boat Italian - NOT guido Italian - and so they still look at me funny when I don't eat meatballs or cheese.

So, if you're veg too, has anything like this ever happened to you? Do you go grocery shopping and get mistaken for a sous-chef?

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