A prospective study of holiday weight gain

BACKGROUND: It is commonly asserted that the average American gains 5 lb (2.3 kg) or more over the holiday period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, yet few data support this statement. METHODS: To estimate actual holiday-related weight variation, we measured body weight in a convenience sample of 195 adults. The subjects were weighed four times at intervals of six to eight weeks, so that weight change was determined for three periods: preholiday (from late September or early October to mid-November), holiday (from mid-November to early or mid-January), and postholiday (from early or mid-January to late February or early March). A final measurement of body weight was obtained in 165 subjects the following September or October. Data on other vital signs and self-reported health measures were obtained from the patients in order to mask the main outcome of interest. RESULTS: The mean (+/-SD) weight increased significantly during the holiday period (gain, 0.37+/-1.52 kg; P<0.001), but not during the preholiday period (gain, 0.18+/-1.49 kg; P=0.09) or the postholiday period (loss, 0.07+/-1.14 kg; P=0.36). As compared with their weight in late September or early October, the study subjects had an average net weight gain of 0.48+/-2.22 kg in late February or March (P=0.003). Between February or March and the next September or early October, there was no significant additional change in weight (gain, 0.21 kg+/-2.3 kg; P=0.13) for the 165 participants who returned for follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The average holiday weight gain is less than commonly asserted. Since this gain is not reversed during the spring or summer months, the net 0.48-kg weight gain in the fall and winter probably contributes to the increase in body weight that frequently occurs during adulthood.     

Appetite and weight change in patients presenting with depressive illness

Appetite and weight in 193 moderately depressed outpatients who satisfied Feighner's criteria for a primary depressive episode were found to be strongly associated with previous appetite and weight history. There was no overall association between weight change and severity of depression, nor with the classical features of endogenous depression, such as early morning waking and morning worsening of mood. Appetite change in either direction was, however, associated with a more severe degree of depression on the Hamilton and Beck scales. Normal appetite changes in response to stress occur in an exaggerated way in this depressive illness.     

Association of sleep duration with weight and weight gain: a prospective follow-up study

The objective of this study was to examine the associations of sleep duration with subsequent weight and major weight gain in women and men during a follow-up period of 5-7years. The data were derived from the Helsinki Health Study cohort mail questionnaire surveys among 40-60-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland. At baseline in 2000-2002, 8960 people responded to the survey (80% women, response rate 67%). The follow-up survey was conducted in 2007 among all respondents to the baseline survey (n=7332, response rate 83%). Sleep duration (5h or less up to 10h or more) and weight and weight gain of at least 5kg were based on self-reports. Analyses of variance and logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between sleep duration and weight, as well as major weight gain. Short sleep duration was associated with major weight gain [odds ratio (OR) 1.52; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08, 2.14] during the follow-up. Adjusting for several covariates had only minor effects on that association. Long sleep duration was associated with major weight gain after adjusting for age (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.00-1.81). No associations were found among men. Sleep duration was associated with major weight gain among middle-aged employed women. Short sleep may be a risk factor for subsequent weight gain.     

The effects of chronic ventromedial hypothalamic stimulation on weight gain in rats

The effects of chronic stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamus and adjacent structures on body weight, food intake, and epididymal fat pad weight were examined in normophagic rats. Three hours of intermittent low level electrical stimulation were delivered threetimes per week for four weeks; body weight and food intake were monitored for an additional ten days after stimulation trials had ceased. Animals receiving ventromedial hypothalamic stimulation had the shallowest growth curves while stimulation of other structures produced a rate of growth that fell between that of the ventromedial hypothalamic and the implanted control group. This pattern persisted during the poststimulation phase. Food intake, while initially depressed in the stimulated groups, began to approach control levels by the third week of stimulation. Efficiency of food utilization (weight gain/consumption) was significantly reduced during the first week of stimulation in the ventromedial hypothalamic stimulated group. Fat pad weight was slightly decreased in this group as well. These findings suggest that chronic stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamus causes a persistent shift in metabolic rate that results in a long-term inhibition of weight gain.     

Weight-related SMS texts promoting appropriate pregnancy weight gain: A pilot study

Objectives

Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) puts women and children at risk of obesity. We piloted an SMS-texting intervention to promote healthy GWG among overweight and obese women.

Methods

We recruited 35 women and randomized them in a 2:1 fashion to: a tailored SMS-texting intervention (Preg CHAT) vs. a generic texting intervention (Txt4baby). Preg CHAT texts provided personalized feedback based on women's intake of sweetened beverages, fruits and vegetables, fast food, daily steps taken, and weight. We abstracted women's weights from charts and surveyed women at baseline and 32 weeks gestation.

Results

Few women refused the study; many (30%) did not complete the study, however. Of those in the Preg CHAT arm, 86% responded to texts, and 80% said they would recommend this program to a friend. For women who completed the surveys (n = 23), those in the Preg CHAT arm had a mean gain of 6 less pounds than women in the Txt4Baby arm (95% CI −15.9, 4.0; p = 0.24).

Conclusions

This pilot study shows feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a low-intensity and disseminable intervention to help overweight and obese women reduce GWG.

Practice implications

An SMS texting program might help overweight women reduce excessive GWG.     

Repeated hypothalamic stimulation with neuropeptide Y increases daily carbohydrate and fat intake and body weight gain in female rats

Neuropeptide Y (NPY), repeatedly injected in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), produces dramatic obesity and overeating in female rats maintained on a single nutritionally complete diet. In the present study, we investigated whether these effects could also be obtained in animals with a choice of three pure macronutrients: protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Female rats with indwelling PVN cannulas were injected with NPY (235 pmol) or its saline vehicle every 8 hr for 6 days. A third group was left undisturbed. Consumption of each macronutrient and body weight were measured every 24 hr for 6 days preinjection, 6 days during injections, and 21 days after the injections were terminated. Relative to vehicle or preinjection rates of body weight gain (approximately 1.5 g/day), NPY dramatically enhanced weight gain to a rate of 9.3 g/day and more than doubled total daily food intake. This augmentation was accounted for by increases in carbohydrate intake (+26.4 kcal/day) and fat intake (+48.5 kcal/day), with no significant potentiation of protein consumption. When the NPY injections were terminated, body weight and macronutrient intake returned to control levels within 1 or 2 weeks. These findings are consistent with a role for NPY in hypothalamic mechanisms of macronutrient intake and body weight regulation and suggest that disturbances in brain NPY may contribute to the development of eating and weight disorders.     

重复频率电刺激对儿童重症肌无力的诊断价值

目的：研究重复频率电刺激（RNS）在儿童重症肌无力（MG）诊断中的价值。方法：对67例儿童MG患儿分别进行面、腋、尺神经的低频RNS,并对结果进行分析。结果：67例MG患儿中属眼肌型（Ⅰ型,最轻型）50例RNS检测结果阳性率为58％～75％;属于全身型（Ⅱ型）17例RNS检测结果阳性率达100％。结论：MG患儿RNS检测结果与临床病情的严重程度呈正相关。     

Diminished creatinine clearance in anorexia nervosa: reversal with weight gain.

To assess whether patients with anorexia nervosa have abnormalities in creatinine clearance, we measured plasma creatinine concentration, urinary creatinine excretion, and creatinine clearance in 10 patients with anorexia nervosa before and during treatment. Urinary creatinine excretion and creatinine clearance were diminished in all patients. Nine patients had significant decreases in their plasma creatinine and creatinine clearance was increased even when corrected for body weight and body surface area respectively. The patient who did not show these changes in plasma creatinine concentration and creatinine clearance had gained only 4% in body weight. Body weight and corrected creatinine clearance were significantly correlated, as were percentage increases in body weight and creatinine clearance. Thus anorexia nervosa is associated with a reversible decrease in creatinine clearance. Increase in body weight appears to be cardinal to the recovery of renal function in these patients.     

母亲孕期的体重增长与巨大儿关系的初步研究

目的;探讨巨大儿的发生与母亲孕期体重增长的关系。方法：对１２８例巨大儿的母亲的孕期体重增长进行回顾性分析,同期１３０例正常出生体重婴儿母亲的孕期体重增长作为对照研究。根据孕前体质指数（ＢＭＩ）将所有研究对象分为四种类型人群即低体重型、正常体重型、超重、胎胖型。结果：巨大儿母亲的孕期理增长比对照组重约２．５ｋｇ。巨大儿组中超重型及胎胖妇女所占的比例对照组为高（１５．６％比２．３％）,但孕期体重增长对     

肥胖相关基因rs9939609多态性与利培酮4周治疗所致体质量增加的关联分析

目的:探讨肥胖相关基因与利培酮治疗所致体质量增加的关联.方法:收集符合美国精神障碍诊断与统计手册第4版(DSM-Ⅳ)诊断的236名汉族精神分裂症患者,所有患者均采用利培酮单一药物治疗,分别于治疗前和治疗4周后测量患者体质量与身高,计算体质量指数(BMI);本研究采用DNA测序检测方法对肥胖相关基因上的rs9939609多态性位点进行基因分型,采用stepwise线性多元回归的方法探索肥胖相关基因rs9939609多态性与利培酮治疗4周所致体质量增加的关联.结果:关联分析结果显示肥胖相关基因rs9939609多态性与基线BMI值无显著关联[AA/AT vs.TT=(23.0±3.6) vs.(22.7±3.5),P=0.245];4周末时,AA/AT基因型携带者与TT基因型携带者BMI值也无显著性差异[AA/AT vs.TT=(23.4±3.6)vs.(22.7±3.5),P=0.090];4周BMI变化值与rs9939609显著关联[AA/AT vs.TT=(0.6±1.1)vs.(0.2±1.3),P =0.040].结论:本研究结果提示在中国汉族样本人群中,肥胖相关基因rs9939609多态性可能与利培酮所致体质量增加有关联.     

Predictors of rate of weight gain in malnourished children within a realimentation programme

The rate of weight gain of malnourished children in realimentation programmes varies substantially; however, predictors of variation are infrequently reported. The aim of this study was to assess a set of hypothesized predictors to the rate of weight gain of a sample of children attending a partial day treatment programme in the Dominican Republic. Data were available for 105 consecutive admissions (82% of total) to the programme between July 2004 and June 2006. Mean rate of weight gain, adjusted for initial weight, was 3.8 (SD 4.2) g kg(-1) day(-1) during the first 28 days of treatment. Rate of weight gain was associated with the amount of calories consumed by the child from the enriched milk-based formula consumed within the clinic. This relationship depended upon the initial degree of wasting and the amount of diarrhoea, such that caloric intake had a greater impact on those with the most wasting and greater amounts of diarrhoea. Other hypothesized variables were not related to rate of weight gain. Further investigation is required to identify other predictors of the variability in weight gain within nutrition treatment programmes with tighter control of possible sources of measurement error.     

Predictors of rate of weight gain in malnourished children within a realimentation programme

The rate of weight gain of malnourished children in realimentation programmes varies substantially; however, predictors of variation are infrequently reported. The aim of this study was to assess a set of hypothesized predictors to the rate of weight gain of a sample of children attending a partial day treatment programme in the Dominican Republic. Data were available for 105 consecutive admissions (82% of total) to the programme between July 2004 and June 2006. Mean rate of weight gain, adjusted for initial weight, was 3.8 (SD 4.2) g kg^?1 day^?1 during the first 28 days of treatment. Rate of weight gain was associated with the amount of calories consumed by the child from the enriched milk-based formula consumed within the clinic. This relationship depended upon the initial degree of wasting and the amount of diarrhoea, such that caloric intake had a greater impact on those with the most wasting and greater amounts of diarrhoea. Other hypothesized variables were not related to rate of weight gain. Further investigation is required to identify other predictors of the variability in weight gain within nutrition treatment programmes with tighter control of possible sources of measurement error.     

Prepregnancy weight, inappropriate gestational weight gain, and smoking: Relationships to birth weight.

This study was designed to test predictors of infant birth weight based on categories of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain, and smoking. Data were collected retrospectively from records of 233 mother-infant pairs enrolled in the Siouxland Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program in Sioux City, Iowa. Prepregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain were coded according to Institute of Medicine guidelines. Smoking behavior was coded based on reported smoking during the last 3 months of pregnancy. Multiple regression analysis was used to test predictors of infant birth weight. Forty-two percent of women gained more weight than recommended, and 16% gained less than recommended. Based on prepregnancy BMI, women were classified as underweight (12%), overweight (16%), or obese (31%). Twenty-four percent of mothers reported smoking late in gestation. Higher birth weight was predicted by prepregnancy obesity (+144 g). Lower infant birth weight was predicted by lower (-162 g) and higher (-153 g) than recommended weight gain, and by lower (-299 g) and higher (-168 g) levels of smoking. Depression of birth weight among women who gained excess weight may relate to inadequate early weight gain or pregnancy complications. More research is needed regarding physiological consequences of these maternal factors and their associated demographic risk factors.     

Clozapine-induced weight gain: a study in monozygotic twins and same-sex sib pairs

To assess the relative contribution of genetic factors in antipsychotic-induced weight gain, we explored the similarity in body mass index (BMI) (kg/m(2)) change under clozapine only (clozapine DeltaBMI) and upon additional inclusion of BMI change under prior antipsychotic medication (total DeltaBMI) of five monozygotic twins in comparison with seven same-sex sibs. Twin and sib pairs were identified by a telephone screening of 786 office-based psychiatrists. Measured data on weight and other clinical variables were obtained cross-sectionally and retrospectively from medical records. We found greater similarity in total DeltaBMI in monozygotic twins (intrapair difference 2.78+/-3.41 kg/m(2)) than in same-sex sibs (5.55+/-4.35 kg/m(2)), resulting in heritability estimates of h(2)=0.8 and A=0.45 (ACE twin model). However, intrapair differences in clozapine DeltaBMI were similar between twins (4.18+/-4.27 kg/m(2)) and sibs (4.68+/-4.88 kg/m(2)). We hypothesize that the weight plateau achieved under clozapine is influenced by genetic factors. The weight gain achieved during pretreatment with other antipsychotics seems to limit clozapine-induced weight gain, thus presumably explaining why heritability/similarity in monozygotic twins in comparison with same-sex sibs is greater for total DeltaBMI than for clozapine DeltaBMI. An important caveat is that, owing to the sample size, the heritability estimates have a large standard error and thus have to be interpreted with caution.     

Flavor-calorie relationships: effect on weight gain in rats.

The effects of flavor variety, caloric density variety, and inconsistency of flavor-caloric density relationships on caloric intake and weight gain were studied in 36 young male rats. Lab chow was diluted with cellulose to produce three foods that differed in caloric density while having identical nutritional composition. High-density (HD) food contained 3.33 kcal/g; mid-density (MD) food contained 2.64 kcal/g; low-density (LD) food contained 2.06 kcal/g. These foods were flavored with nonnutritive powders and were used in four different feeding regimens. For 15 days, group FLAV ate MD with one of 3 flavors added daily in a 3-day rotation. Groups DENS and NOVEL rotated daily among LD, HD, and MD. One of three flavors was added to each food. For group DENS, LD always contained one flavor, MD always contained another flavor, and HD always contained the third flavor. For group NOVEL, flavor-density pairings were not consistent. A control group, CONT, ate only MD with a single flavor. Weight gain was greatest in group NOVEL. Neither density variety nor flavor variety alone enhanced weight gain relative to control. In a subsequent experiment, group NOVEL did not display a preference for a glucose-paired flavor. These results suggest that reduced orosensory control of energy balance induced by uncoupling of flavor-calorie relationships contributes to weight gain.