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 160,383 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The author contends that neither behavioral nor psychological factors are responsible for obesity or overweight, but that physiological and nutritional factors are. Obesity and overweight are relevant to natural family planning because they contribute to various problems of the female reproductive system. Body fat stores estrogen, and excess body fat increases estrogen levels which creates various problems. For example, elevated estrogen levels may contribute to endometrium build-up, resulting in heavy, prolonged bleeding during menstruation or in midcycle. They may kick off a reaction, causing suppressed ovulation, premenstrual spotting, and menstrual cramps. Other possible effects of high estrogen levels are fibroid tumors, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, and amenorrhea. The consistent pressure of excess body fat on the uterus can result in uterine prolapse. Overweight may also be a symptom of a reproductive problem, e.g., ovarian failure. Hypoglycemia, including reactive hypoglycemia, caused by a diet high in sugar and white flour, plays a key role in overweight. Excessive insulin secretion in reactive hypoglycemic cases maintains high glucose levels, and the body stores the excess glucose in fat cells. Thus, a diet low in sugary foods and high in fiber-rich complex carbohydrates is the most successful way to lose weight. However, vitamins and minerals needed to maintain blood sugar levels must supplement this diet to be successful. These vitamins and minerals include the B vitamins, magnesium, and, perhaps, chromium. Iodine, vitamins A and E, zinc, and selenium help the thyroid gland operate optimally, so as to avoid excess blood sugar levels. Vitamin E, lecithin, and evening primrose oil assist the body in using fat better. Regular exercise is also important to burn excess fat. Aspartame (Nutrasweet) exacerbates hypoglycemia and is usually found in refined foods and non-foods.
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PMID:An empathetic look at overweight. 1231 98

Nonhormonal contraceptives, include the condom that is safe and frequently used lately because of its ability to help in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. There is often psychological resistance to the use of diaphragm in the over 40 age group. The rhythm method is not reliable especially in irregular menstrual cycles, and its lack of reliability can cause anxiety. In the US 16% of women over 40 use spermicides. The IUD is recommended to women over 40 because of 1-time insertion, no requirement of care, efficacy, and the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease is modest at this age. IUDs with progesterone are particularly effective and seem to reduce the risk of inflammatory disease by making the cervical mucus more viscous. Surgical sterilization is not recommended at this age. Women over 40 who are not obese, do not smoke, and do not have a family history of cardiovascular disease have no contraindications to using modern oral contraceptives, (OCs). On the other hand, family history of diabetes and hyperlipidemia has to be assessed on an individual basis. Low dose contraceptives can have outright beneficial effects in vascular pathology by improving the hemostatic profile. Recently, animal research has suggested the possibility of a protective effect of OCs on the cardiovascular system. OCs also protect against osteoporosis. Although the debate is still unresolved, at the moment there is no proof whatsoever that OCs increase the risk of breast cancer in women over 40. The evaluation of patients for OC use has to include a diabetic history of mother or father, familial cardiovascular disease, overweight by more than 20%, smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day, and hypertension. If findings are negative, there is no appreciable risk for the patients. Mammography every 2 years for those with familial precedents, laboratory tests (lipid profile, coagulation, and hepatic function) and semiannual checkups are also be recommended.
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PMID:[Contraception in women over forty]. 1234 91

Breast cancer is rarely encountered in men. In developed countries, it accounts for less than 1% of cancers in men, whereas in women it represents about 23% of all cancers. A retrospective review was performed on 19 cases of men who underwent surgery for breast carcinoma between 1989 and 2000. The aim of this work was to analyse epidemiological and etiological aspects, circumstances of discovery, pathological characteristics, therapy modalities as well as prognostic factors. The mean age was 65.3 years. A high incidence of overweight, diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia was found. The most frequent clinical presentation was a firm subareolar lump, at a low stage (stage I 23% and stage II 41%). The most common pathological type was an infiltrating ductal carcinoma (89%). Hormone receptors where most often positive (92% for oestrogen and 100% for progesterone receptors). 84% of patients underwent simple mastectomy and axillary dissection, 74% chest wall irradiation after surgery, 26% received chemotherapy and 42% hormonal therapy. Median follow-up was 52 months. The estimated 2-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) was respectively 93% and 87.5% and the 5-year OS and DFS respectively 86% and 75%. The management of male and female breast carcinoma is identical, as well as their prognosis at equal stages. However male breast carcinoma is more often diagnosed at a more advanced stage, thus a breast screening in men would permit a sooner diagnosis and a better prognosis.
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PMID:[Male breast cancer: 19 case reports]. 1249 37

To evaluate the evidence for the role of weight control and physical activity in cancer prevention and to identify priorities for research and for public health action in relation to the primary prevention of cancer, an international working group of experts was convened in Lyon in February 2001 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization. The expert group concluded that limiting weight gain during adult life, thereby avoiding overweight and obesity, reduces the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer and cancers of the colon, endometrium, kidney (renal cell) and esophagus (adenocarcinoma). Limiting weight gain possibly reduces risk of cancer of the thyroid. Weight loss among overweight or obese persons possibly reduces risks of these cancers, but no definite conclusion can be drawn because of the paucity of the epidemiological evidence. The working group also concluded that there was sufficient evidence for the role of physical activity in preventing colon and breast cancers, and limited evidence for the cancers of the prostate and endometrium. Some of these effects were independent of that of the weight control. Taken together, the working group considered that excess body weight and physical inactivity account for approximately a quarter to one-third of cancers of the colon, breast, endometrium, kidney (renal cell) and esophagus (adenocarcinoma). Thus adiposity and physical inactivity appear to be the most important avoidable causes of these cancers.
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PMID:Weight control and physical activity in cancer prevention: international evaluation of the evidence. 1257 Mar 41

A case-control study of breast cancer (BC) was conducted from 1994 to 1996 in Chongqing, People's Republic of China, in order to explore the etiological role of passive smoking (PS, so-called second hand smoking) as well as other early life factors (weight, height, socioeconomic status and history of suffering from a disease resulting in hospitalization). These factors were reviewed both in childhood (age less than 10 years) and in the teenage years (youth: 10 to 16 years). One hundred and eighty six cases of newly diagnosed and histologically confirmed BC, aged 24 to 55 years, were individually matched by day (within six months) and age (within 2 years) at diagnosis as well as marital status to 186 controls selected from outpatients not suffering from cancer. All subjects, cases and controls were never-smokers. A standardized questionnaire was used for interview in a face-to-face situation. After adjustment for a wide range of covariates using multiple logistic regression analysis, PS was found to be a statistically significant risk factor for BC. This was found for exposure to PS in childhood [odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.24 (1.07-1.43)], in youth [1.15 (0.90-1.47)] and in adulthood for either exposure at home [4.07 (2.21-7.50)] or at work [1.27 (1.04-1.55)]. For exposure to PS in childhood, a significant dose-response effect was evident (test for trend, p<0.05) with the number of smokers in the home, as well as the perceived level of exposure to PS, and in adulthood with the number of smokers at work. Our study also found an increased risk of BC in those with a past history of suffering from a disease requiring hospitalization [2.41 (1.21-4.81)]. Subjects with a low body weight in childhood and with a poor economic status in youth were associated with increased risk of BC in their adulthood [1.54 (1.09-2.18) and 1.03 (1.00-1.06)]. Being overweight as an adult, however, was associated with a high risk of BC [1.76 (1.02-3.04)]. Age at menarche [0.83 (0.72-0.95)] was associated negatively with risk of BC. A history of benign breast disease [2.05 (1.01-4.16)] or a history of life stress [2.32 (1.54-3.48)] were both associated with increased risk of BC. Our results therefore indicate a small but definite effect associated with PS, the credibility of which is enhanced by a dose-response relationship to BC risk. The other early life factors, such as age at menarche, history of suffering from a disease requiring hospitalization, history of benign breast disease, being overweight as an adult and life stress are similar to those consistently found in other countries. The associations involving low body weight, low socioeconomic status in early life and subsequent high risk of BC require further study.
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PMID:Passive Smoking and Other Factors at Different Periods of Life and Breast Cancer Risk in Chinese Women who have Never Smoked - A Case-control Study in Chongqing, People's Republic of China. 1271 80

Obesity, overweight, and a sedentary lifestyle-all common conditions in breast cancer patients-are likely to be associated with poor survival and poor quality of life in women with breast cancer. Diet-related factors are thought to account for about 30% of cancers in developed countries. Most studies of diet and healthcare have focused on the role of single nutrients, foods, or food groups in disease prevention or promotion. Recent cancer guidelines on nutrition and physical activity emphasize diets that promote maintenance of a healthy body weight and a prudent dietary pattern that is low in red and processed meats and high in a variety of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Except for dietary fat, few nutritional factors in adult life have been associated with breast cancer. Extensive data from animal model research, international correlations linking fat intake and breast cancer rates, and case-control studies support the hypothesis that a high-fat diet is conducive to the development of breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Conflicting findings from cohort studies, however, have created uncertainty over the role of dietary fat in breast cancer growth and recurrence. Results from large-scale nutritional intervention trials are expected to resolve such issues. As new and improved data on dietary factors and patterns accumulate, dietary guidelines for cancer risk reduction will become more focused.
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PMID:Diet and breast cancer. 1273 17

Obesity is a progressive disease of unwanted fat accumulation which has multiple, organ-specific pathological consequences. The manifestations of obesity occur within virtually every subspecialty of medicine or surgery and they interact importantly to accelerate the ageing process in many organs. Many of the hazards of obesity have multiple causes (e.g., diabetes, heart disease, stroke, colonic and breast cancer, urinary incontinence, tiredness, back pain, breathlessness). All of these conditions become more prevalent with age and are also more prevalent among overweight persons, particularly those with a central fat distribution marked by a high waist circumference. Hypertension may be caused or aggravated by weight gain. It is mediated by the physical demands of an expanded circulating volume and increased metabolic rate by metabolic mechanisms related to central fat distribution and the "metabolic syndrome", and to increased sodium consumption by overweight people (because they need more food to maintain a higher metabolic rate). Since body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference increase significantly with age there is an escalation of the burden of ill health from obesity with age. The best simple indicator of disease risk with obesity is the waist circumference since this identifies people who have a high body fat content and also those who have an increased intraabdominal accumulation of fat. The quantitative burden of ill health from overweight and obesity varies within different specialties, but up to 80% of type 2 diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome can be attributed to obesity. Obesity is the cause of sleep apnea syndrome in around 50% of cases and heart disease in perhaps 10-20% of cases. In Scotland 80% of people with existing cardiovascular disease are overweight compared with 57% of the general population. The financial burden to health services from overweight and obesity has been incompletely assessed, although it is estimated that around 4% of total health care budgets are attributable to people having BMI > 25 kg/m(2). This is similar to the entire cost of diabetes, epilepsy or major cancers. Obesity is therefore an extremely expensive disease based on these conservative estimates from limited evaluations. More general assessments show how obesity increases the amount of time taken off work, the number of drugs prescribed and the expenditure from social services support. Thus, obesity represents a huge burden not only on the individual patient physically, psychologically, socially and financially but also on families and careers and is a huge drain on health care resources. Overweight affects well over half of all adults worldwide, progressing to BMI > 30 kg/m(2) in around 20% outside subsistence rural communities. Its rapidly increasing prevalence now described as an epidemic demands major preventive measures, as well as better medical treatment for individuals affected.
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PMID:Obesity: burdens of illness and strategies for prevention or management. 1284 36

Obesity increases the risk of certain cancer types, e.g., cancer of the endometrium, colon and gallbladder. For some other cancer forms, e.g., prostate cancer, the association is less clear. We examined the association between body mass index (BMI) and hormone-dependent tumors, utilizing a cohort of 21,884 Swedish twins born during 1886-1925. Information about BMI at different ages and potential confounding factors was collected prospectively. The Swedish Cancer Registry was used to identify cases of cancer in the prostate (n = 666), breast (n = 607), corpus uteri (n = 150) and ovary (n = 118) during 1969-1997. The material was analyzed as a traditional cohort and with co-twin control analyses that allow for control of genetic influences. Obesity (BMI >/=30 kg/m(2)) at baseline was positively associated with cancer in the corpus uteri [relative risk (RR) = 3.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.82-5.03], as was BMI at age 25, independently of BMI at baseline. Increased risk was also found for breast cancer but only in older women (>/=70 years). Overweight at age 25 was associated with decreased risk of breast cancer (RR = 0.51, 95% CI 0.33-0.78). No association was found for prostate cancer. We conclude that age is an important effect modifier of cancer risk associated with obesity and that obesity and overweight in young adult life may affect cancer risk also later in life.
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PMID:Obesity and hormone-dependent tumors: cohort and co-twin control studies based on the Swedish Twin Registry. 1609 8

The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that 25% of breast cancer cases worldwide are due to overweight/obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. The preponderance of epidemiologic studies indicates that women who engage in 3-4 hours per week of moderate to vigorous levels of exercise have a 30%-40% lower risk for breast cancer than sedentary women. Women who are overweight or obese have a 50%-250% greater risk for postmenopausal breast cancer. Alcohol use, even at moderate levels (two drinks per day) increases risk for both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer. Certain dietary patterns, such as high fat, low vegetables/fruits, low fiber, and high simple carbohydrates, may increase risk, but definitive data are lacking. These lifestyle factors are likely associated with breast cancer etiology through hormonal mechanisms. The worldwide trends of increasing overweight and obesity and decreasing physical activity may lead to an increasing incidence of breast cancer unless other means of risk reduction counteract these effects. Thus, adoption of lifestyle changes by individuals and populations may have a large impact on the future incidence of this disease.
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PMID:Behavioral risk factors in breast cancer: can risk be modified? 1289 29

The prevalence of patients with cancer histories and types of cancers prevailing among a cohort of adults with end-stage hip osteoarthritis was established in order to determine if this group might require some form of enriched pre- and postoperative rehabilitation in view of their adverse medical history. Body weights and selected physical capacity indicators were specifically compared among hip surgical patients with and without cancer histories to specify characteristics that could direct potentially desirable and improved intervention efforts. The medical records of 1,000 hip osteoarthritis surgical candidates were scrutinized, and numbers with and without malignancy histories were recorded. Malignancy typologies and selected body mass and physical capacity indices were recorded. Specific subgroup comparisons among these variables were then made for 40 cancer survivors and an age- and gender-matched subgroup of 40 otherwise healthy osteoarthritis patients, and for selected breast, prostate, and colon cancer survivors. (1) Fourteen percent of the present patient group had a cancer history. (2) The most common malignancy noted was breast cancer, followed by prostate and then colon cancer. (3) Among subjects matched for age and gender, 85% with a cancer history were overweight or obese, compared with 60% of those with no comorbid disease history. (4) Patients with cancer histories were more impaired immediately before, and after, surgery than patients with no cancer history. (5) Patients with breast and colon cancer histories had significantly slower recovery rates after hip surgery than those with a prostate cancer history (p < 0.05). Thus, breast, prostate, and colon cancer survivors constitute a modest proportion of patients undergoing surgery for painful disabling hip osteoarthritis. As a subgroup, cancer survivors, especially breast cancer survivors, are overweight, and more impaired before and after surgery than adults of the same age without a cancer history undergoing hip surgery.
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PMID:Body mass and physical capacity indicators of hip osteoarthritis patients with and without malignancy histories: implications for prevention and rehabilitation. 1289 65


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