International journal of obesity : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
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Faithful and complete reporting of trial results is essential to the validity of the scientific literature. An earlier systematic study of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) found that industry-funded RCTs appeared to be reported with greater quality than non-industry-funded RCTs. The aim of this study was to examine the association between systematic differences in reporting quality and funding status (that is, industry funding vs non-industry funding) among recent obesity and nutrition RCTs published in top-tier medical journals. ⋯ Recently published RCTs on nutrition and obesity that appear in top-tier journals seem to be equivalent in quality of reporting, regardless of funding source. This may be a result of recent reporting of quality statements and efforts of journal editors to raise all papers to a common standard.
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The last systematic review on the health consequences of child and adolescent obesity found little evidence on consequences for adult health. The present study aimed to summarize evidence on the long-term impact of child and adolescent obesity for premature mortality and physical morbidity in adulthood. ⋯ A relatively large and fairly consistent body of evidence now demonstrates that overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence have adverse consequences on premature mortality and physical morbidity in adulthood.
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South Asians are at higher risk than White Caucasians for the development of obesity and obesity-related non-communicable diseases (OR-NCDs), including insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary heart disease (CHD). Rapid nutrition and lifestyle transitions have contributed to acceleration of OR-NCDs in South Asians. Differences in determinants and associated factors for OR-NCDs between South Asians and White Caucasians include body phenotype (high body fat, high truncal, subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat, and low muscle mass), biochemical parameters (hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hyperleptinemia, low levels of adiponectin and high levels of C-reactive protein), procoagulant state and endothelial dysfunction. ⋯ Finally, differences in response to pharmacological agents may exist between South Asians and White Caucasians, although these have been inadequately studied. In view of these data, prevention and management strategies should be more aggressive for South Asians for more positive health outcomes. Finally, lower cut-offs of obesity and abdominal obesity for South Asians are expected to help physicians in better and more effective prevention of OR-NCDs.
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Review Meta Analysis
Acupuncture for obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Acupuncture is widely used in complementary and alternative medicine to reduce body weight. However, a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess an effect of acupuncture has not yet been performed. Aim of this study is to critically assess evidence for reduction of body weight and to evaluate adverse events of acupuncture therapy based on the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluate the effect of various types of acupuncture therapies. ⋯ Our review suggests that acupuncture is an effective treatment for obesity. However, the amount of evidence is not fully convincing because of the poor methodological quality of trials reviewed. In conclusion, there is an urgent need for well-planned, long-term studies to address the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating obesity.
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Obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Intentional weight loss results in improvement of cardiovascular risk factors, but most observational studies suggest that weight reduction is associated with increased overall and cardiovascular mortality. No prospective intervention studies on mortality have earlier been reported in obese subjects. ⋯ The unadjusted overall mortality was reduced by 23.7% (P=0.0419) in the surgery group (relative to controls), whereas the gender-, age- and risk factor-adjusted mortality reduction was 30.7% (P=0.0102). The most common causes of death were myocardial infarction (controls n=25, surgery n=13) and cancer (47/29). Bariatric surgery for severe obesity is associated with long-term weight loss, improved risk factors and decreased overall mortality.