Kudzu, a fast-growing vine once used to fight soil erosion and now a major weed in Southeastern United States, may be used as a supplement, researchers say.J. Michael Wyss of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and colleagues in Iowa report root extracts from kudzu show promise as a dietary supplement for metabolic syndrome — found in people with obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and problems with their body’s ability to use insulin. Metabolic syndrome means a high risk for heart attacks, strokes and other diseases.

People in China and Japan long have used kudzu supplements as a health food.

The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found after two months of taking the extract, rats had lower cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and insulin levels than a control group not given the extract.

Kudzu root “may provide a dietary supplement that significantly decreases the risk and severity of stroke and cardiovascular disease in at-risk individuals,” the researchers say in a statement.

Help. Please.I have to drop 50 pounds - OK, 60. I can’t do it alone.

Actually, I’d like to drop 75, but I’m on the dark side of 60, age-wise; I’ll settle for the fewer pounds.

Here’s what I’ve got in mind: Weighty Matters, a blog where you help me lose, I’ll help you lose.

There must be others out there who want to drop 5, 10, 20 whatever pounds. You pass on your ideas and motivators, I’ll pass on mine. I’ll check out diets and plans with doctors and others to make sure we are all on the right track. We’ll celebrate one another’s successes and help avoid failures. And if we do trip up, we’ll help one another brush off and start again.

We’re already got people signed up and ready to be partners in weight loss - our plan is to start on our new life today, but you can join in anytime.

We’re got Gabe Nagy, a personal trainer with Providence Fitness, as our exercise guru. He’ll answer questions, suggest exercises and be there to give us exercise advice. We hope to sign on other experts, too - to help with diet, medical questions, and getting our heads in a lose-weight mind-set.

Weighty Matters bloggers can trade recipes, tell stories, chew over problems - we’ll have an online community of health-seeking Tucsonans cheering each other on.

And if we like, maybe we’ll meet for a walk along Rillito River, or a bike ride around Reid Park. We won’t have lectures, and no one will weigh you but yourself. And you don’t have to tell me or anyone what you weigh (notice I’m not divulging that info).

All that needs to be done to get on the bandwagon is participate in the Weighty Matters blog. If you have questions, we’ll get them answered. If you have suggestions, we’ll try them. Tell us your plan: How many pounds do you want to lose, and how are you going to do it?

You game? Check out - and participate in - the blog at go.azstarnet.com/weighty matters - or give me a call at 573-4128.

And wish us all good health and good luck.

Homemade Orange Cream Soda

Makes: 6 (1-cup) servings

Sodas can be devastating to a diet; they are packed with calories.

This homemade orange cream soda is a smart way to get a juice/ soda fix without consuming an exorbitant number of calories or resorting to artificial sweeteners.

* 6 ounces pulp-free orange juice concentrate, thawed (half of a 12-ounce can)

* 1 liter club soda

* 1/2 teaspoon orange extract

* 1 cup fat-free frozen vanilla yogurt, thawed

* 1 orange, seeded and thinly sliced

Combine orange juice, club soda and orange extract in a pitcher. Blend in thawed frozen yogurt. Add orange slices and serve over ice.

Per (1-cup) serving: 89 calories (1 percent from fat), trace total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 20 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein, 58 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber.

Recipe developed by professional home economists Kathryn Moore and Roxanne Wyss

Originally published by KATHLEEN ALLEN, ARIZONA DAILY STAR.

(c) 2009 Arizona Daily Star. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

Let’s face it: There are just some things men and women see differently.Men, for the most part, simply don’t get shoe shopping, chick flicks or the nuances between emerald and kelly green.

Women, on the other hand, tend to cringe at the Three Stooges, car chases and endless discussions about the art of outdoor grilling.

Similar chasms exist when it comes to losing weight, probably because a couple of popular perceptions loom large: Women have to starve to whittle down one dress size. Guys cut back on beer, head to the gym a couple of times and lose 10 pounds right away.

There are good reasons why these stereotypes remain, says Natalie Johnson, a certified fitness trainer from Apollo Beach. Women have to deal with the pounds childbirth brings. Men do get beer bellies. Gals focus on counting calories. Guys tend to lose by sweating off the pounds.

“Men want to be trim and strong, and women want to be toned and small,” says Johnson, who focuses on weight loss as owner of the Fit Chick Enterprises and Stroller Strides fitness programs.

The attitude, self-image and emotional baggage brought to weight loss plays a big part for both sexes, says Mario Rodriguez, a Tampa psychologist who works with the Healthy Weight Clinic at the University of South Florida.

“Women may be more motivated by societal pressure and expectations … but it’s there for men too,” he says.

And there’s a lot more to understanding weight loss than gender, says Denise Edwards, the healthy weight clinic’s director. Our nation’s chronic obesity problem and obsession with quick-hit diets pervades all genders, cultures and age groups, she says.

“I would not use (gender) as a universal excuse,” Edwards says.

To put potential gender-based rationalizations to rest, we asked fitness, medical and psychological weight loss experts to explain some basic truths about how men and women gain and lose weight.

Body chemistry

Conventional Wisdom: Men burn calories faster.

Sorry ladies, this one’s true.

Guys: Higher testosterone levels help burn more calories, even when resting. It also helps build muscle more easily. A study in the American Journal of Psychology reported that women burn 16 percent fewer calories than men.

Gals: Estrogen levels help with child-bearing, not dieting. Also, aging translates into slower metabolism for men and women, but it is a bigger deterrent to weight loss for women, Edwards says.

The shapes

Conventional Wisdom: Guys lose weight easier because of where they gain.

Truth is both genders struggle with where body fat accumulates.

Guys: Fat builds up around the belly, so men tend to be shaped more like apples, says the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Also, overweight men who gain weight in the neck run the risk of sleep apnea, a dangerous sleeping condition that can trigger more problems.

Gals: Pear is the fruit shape women most often encounter, as fat collects in the hips and buttocks. Post-menopause, women start gaining in the mid-section too.

Incentives

Conventional Wisdom: Men and women alike just want to look sexy.

Nope. The aches and pains of extra weight, and the desire to know grandchildren, gets a lot of people to start a diet.

Guys: A big gut may look bad, but it’s not an enormous motivator for men. Improving health is more likely to be an incentive for both men and women, especially as they get older, Rodriquez says.

Gals: Women want to see the scale move, Johnson says. Strength conditioning is secondary.

Mental motivation

Conventional Wisdom: Guys don’t even need to try to lose weight.

False. Everybody needs something to keep them going.

Guys: Competitiveness is more innate for men, making it a dieting advantage, Rodriguez says. They also tend to be focused once you give them a goal and a path to follow, Johnson says.

Gals: Women’s strengths come from the fact they are more attentive to their weight and can more easily make a connection between food and emotions, says Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer for Weight Watchers International. That may make diet management easier for them.

Emotional hurdles

Conventional Wisdom: Women use food as an emotional crutch.

Reality is that every individual — male and female — faces emotional and physical problems differently.

Guys: Personal baggage and trauma can be a reason for extreme weight for men and women, Rodriguez says. Men also are not immune to image problems.

Gals: Stress is often overlooked as a reason why both women and men fail to reach a healthy weight, Edwards says. New mothers, for example, are exhausted and under extraordinary pressure, making their metabolism slow and cravings for high-calorie carbs high.

Food choices

Conventional Wisdom: Men can lose weight and eat as much as they want.

That’s a myth: Men and women need to watch portion size and food choices carefully.

Guys: Men focus so much on protein to build muscle, they forget the importance of fruits and vegetables, Edwards says. Johnson adds that many men forget to consider the calories a beer or cocktails can add to the waist line.

Gals: Regardless of gender, calories amount are less critical than food types and portion control. Women are more likely to select salads and other veggies but forget they need protein each time they eat.

Hitting the gym

Conventional Wisdom: Men and women can do any kind of workout and lose weight.

That’s not necessarily true. Cardio workouts may burn calories, but they might not tone or build lean muscle mass.

Guys: Exercise comes more naturally for men, but that’s not an excuse for poor eating habits. Edwards says. And their workouts need to target strength training of individual muscle groups for the mental and physical boost they need, Johnson says.

Gals: Exercises that burn the maximum amount of calories is critical, Johnson says. Interval cardio training that utilizes multiple muscle groups at once is the way to go.

—–

To see more of the Tampa Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tampatrib.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Tampa Tribune, Fla.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:WTW,

Let’s face it: There are just some things men and women see differently.Men, for the most part, simply don’t get shoe shopping, chick flicks or the nuances between emerald and kelly green.

Women, on the other hand, tend to cringe at the Three Stooges, car chases and endless discussions about the art of outdoor grilling.

Similar chasms exist when it comes to losing weight, probably because a couple of popular perceptions loom large: Women have to starve to whittle down one dress size. Guys cut back on beer, head to the gym a couple of times and lose 10 pounds right away.

There are good reasons why these stereotypes remain, says Natalie Johnson, a certified fitness trainer from Apollo Beach. Women have to deal with the pounds childbirth brings. Men do get beer bellies. Gals focus on counting calories. Guys tend to lose by sweating off the pounds.

“Men want to be trim and strong, and women want to be toned and small,” says Johnson, who focuses on weight loss as owner of the Fit Chick Enterprises and Stroller Strides fitness programs.

The attitude, self-image and emotional baggage brought to weight loss plays a big part for both sexes, says Mario Rodriguez, a Tampa psychologist who works with the Healthy Weight Clinic at the University of South Florida.

“Women may be more motivated by societal pressure and expectations … but it’s there for men too,” he says.

And there’s a lot more to understanding weight loss than gender, says Denise Edwards, the healthy weight clinic’s director. Our nation’s chronic obesity problem and obsession with quick-hit diets pervades all genders, cultures and age groups, she says.

“I would not use (gender) as a universal excuse,” Edwards says.

To put potential gender-based rationalizations to rest, we asked fitness, medical and psychological weight loss experts to explain some basic truths about how men and women gain and lose weight.

Body chemistry

Conventional Wisdom: Men burn calories faster.

Sorry ladies, this one’s true.

Guys: Higher testosterone levels help burn more calories, even when resting. It also helps build muscle more easily. A study in the American Journal of Psychology reported that women burn 16 percent fewer calories than men.

Gals: Estrogen levels help with child-bearing, not dieting. Also, aging translates into slower metabolism for men and women, but it is a bigger deterrent to weight loss for women, Edwards says.

The shapes

Conventional Wisdom: Guys lose weight easier because of where they gain.

Truth is both genders struggle with where body fat accumulates.

Guys: Fat builds up around the belly, so men tend to be shaped more like apples, says the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Also, overweight men who gain weight in the neck run the risk of sleep apnea, a dangerous sleeping condition that can trigger more problems.

Gals: Pear is the fruit shape women most often encounter, as fat collects in the hips and buttocks. Post-menopause, women start gaining in the mid-section too.

Incentives

Conventional Wisdom: Men and women alike just want to look sexy.

Nope. The aches and pains of extra weight, and the desire to know grandchildren, gets a lot of people to start a diet.

Guys: A big gut may look bad, but it’s not an enormous motivator for men. Improving health is more likely to be an incentive for both men and women, especially as they get older, Rodriquez says.

Gals: Women want to see the scale move, Johnson says. Strength conditioning is secondary.

Mental motivation

Conventional Wisdom: Guys don’t even need to try to lose weight.

False. Everybody needs something to keep them going.

Guys: Competitiveness is more innate for men, making it a dieting advantage, Rodriguez says. They also tend to be focused once you give them a goal and a path to follow, Johnson says.

Gals: Women’s strengths come from the fact they are more attentive to their weight and can more easily make a connection between food and emotions, says Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer for Weight Watchers International. That may make diet management easier for them.

Emotional hurdles

Conventional Wisdom: Women use food as an emotional crutch.

Reality is that every individual — male and female — faces emotional and physical problems differently.

Guys: Personal baggage and trauma can be a reason for extreme weight for men and women, Rodriguez says. Men also are not immune to image problems.

Gals: Stress is often overlooked as a reason why both women and men fail to reach a healthy weight, Edwards says. New mothers, for example, are exhausted and under extraordinary pressure, making their metabolism slow and cravings for high-calorie carbs high.

Food choices

Conventional Wisdom: Men can lose weight and eat as much as they want.

That’s a myth: Men and women need to watch portion size and food choices carefully.

Guys: Men focus so much on protein to build muscle, they forget the importance of fruits and vegetables, Edwards says. Johnson adds that many men forget to consider the calories a beer or cocktails can add to the waist line.

Gals: Regardless of gender, calories amount are less critical than food types and portion control. Women are more likely to select salads and other veggies but forget they need protein each time they eat.

Hitting the gym

Conventional Wisdom: Men and women can do any kind of workout and lose weight.

That’s not necessarily true. Cardio workouts may burn calories, but they might not tone or build lean muscle mass.

Guys: Exercise comes more naturally for men, but that’s not an excuse for poor eating habits. Edwards says. And their workouts need to target strength training of individual muscle groups for the mental and physical boost they need, Johnson says.

Gals: Exercises that burn the maximum amount of calories is critical, Johnson says. Interval cardio training that utilizes multiple muscle groups at once is the way to go.

—–

To see more of the Tampa Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tampatrib.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Tampa Tribune, Fla.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NYSE:WTW,

Adult caregivers are feeling the heat in the kitchen.Between caring for aging seniors, a shaky economy and everyday stresses associated with work and taking care of their own family, stress levels of family caregivers are higher than ever.

To help combat this issue, Home Instead Senior Care has launched an educational campaign, “Cooking under Pressure.”

The program includes a free handbook and Web site that provide shopping tips to help stretch your dollar further. There are also healthy recipes, warning signs that your senior’s diet needs a nutritional makeover and the 12 staple foods every senior should have in their home.

Local senior care expert Hollie Krance believes good nutrition is the first line of defense in helping keep seniors healthy and independent.

“The top three nutritional risks adult children report in seniors they’re caring for include three or more prescribed or over-the-counter drugs per day, an illness or condition that’s made them change their diet, and having lost or gained more than 10 pounds in the past six months without trying.”

Krance owns the Home Instead Senior Care office in Newport News, which serves the Peninsula and Williamsburg.

“Cooking under Pressure” aims to help caregivers provide meals for senior citizens who have nutritional risks, as well as to recognize the warning signs of bad nutrition and address them with healthy meal plans.

According to the handbook, some of the warning signs that older adults aren’t eating properly include:

–Loss of appetite

–Little or no interest in eating out

–Depression

–Sudden weight fluctuation

–Lethargy

–Cognitive problems.

In addition to recognizing the warning signs, the book covers 12 staple foods no senior should be without, some of which include blueberries, oatmeal, yogurt, eggs, fish, chicken and rice, Krance said. All these foods help reduce the risk of health problems associated with seniors, including high cholesterol and blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, memory loss and cancer.

“Through our partnership with the University of Maryland and Duke Diet and Fitness Center, a part of Duke University Medical Center, we’ve been able to provide resources for families caring for seniors,” Krance said.

“One interesting fact provided in the book deals with grocery shopping and how most stores place name brands at eye level, with the less expensive brands higher up or on the bottom,” Krance said. “Knowing to look for things like this can really help a family on a fixed income.”

Charles Knoeller, a 93-year-old Newport News resident, has already seen the benefits of the program since his caregiver began using the recipes. Knoeller, who suffered from cancer in 2007 and has since had two operations on his bladder, has changed his diet to help improve his health.

“Before I got here and began cooking for him, he was eating corn flakes all the time,” said Leticia Baez-Creary, who works for Home Instead Senior Care. “Now he’s eating meals that include chicken, beef, vegetables and fruits.”

Knoeller’s energy level and coloring have both improved since his change in diet, but more than that, his personality.

“He used to not say much when I came over. He would answer my questions with one- and two-word answers,” Creary said. “Now he talks to me all the time. We have a good time the three days I come a week to see him.”

“Everything tastes good,” Knoeller said. “I don’t have a favorite, but would recommend the recipes to other seniors.”

The most important ingredient for any senior’s meal, however, isn’t something you can find in the grocery store, Krance said.

“Companionship is the best ingredient for meal time,” she said.

“Having someone with them to talk to makes the senior want to eat more, and they enjoy it more. That’s what this program is all about, putting fun back into mealtime for seniors and those who are taking care of them.”

Cooking Under Pressure –For more information on the program, or to get a free handbook with recipes and tips, visit www.foodforseniors.com or call 886-1230.

Statistics –An estimated 83 percent of family caregivers in the United States help with groceries or other errands; 65 percent assist with meal preparation, according to The Boomer Project, an online interview completed with 1,279 adult caregivers, ages 35-62, with a parent, stepparent or older relative they or someone in their household provide care for.

–62 percent of adult children in the United States caring for an older adult said their senior had three or more nutritional risks.

Source: www.boomerproject .com

—–

To see more of the Daily Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dailypress.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Daily Press, Newport News, Va.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

KAREN STEWARTYOU’VE got the gear and splashed out on new trainers - but somehow you just can’t face the dreaded gym.

But, just like clothes, exercise doesn’t have to be a “one size fits all” situation.

While some people might love pounding the treadmill or mastering weights, for others it’s fitness hell.

And if you’re scared of swimming or just can’t stand running, there’s no reason why you have to put yourself through it. Because, when it comes to exercise, there is something to suit everyone’s individual style.

From pilates and yoga to circuit training and boxing, it doesn’t matter what you do - as long as you love it.

By concentrating on what suits you most, you’ll find you’re much more likely to stick to your fitness routine.

If you’re new to exercise, it’s a good idea to start off slowly. Even if you like the thought of sweating it out at the gym, it usually takes a while for fitness levels to build up.

Rest assured, though, that once you find something that works for you, it won’t take long before you really see the benefits of keeping fit.

Knowing what you want to achieve from exercising will also help narrow down the options.

For instance, if you’re after more flexibility and tone, a beginners’ gymnastics course might be just the ticket.

Calorie-crunching activities such as spinning, running, circuit training and aerobics are perfect for those who want to shed pounds, while combat-style workouts like boxercise and kick-boxing can be a great way of knocking out stress.

Keeping fit doesn’t always have to centre around high-impact sports, either. Yoga, swimming, tai chi and even walking can keep you supple and help you to relax at the same time.

It’s also important to think about how exercise will fit into your life. If keeping fit has to work around your job and family, there’s no point in arranging long training sessions because you’ll never stick to them.

Similarly, early-morning workouts will never feel good if you’re not used to getting up at the crack of dawn.

Instead, if you’re short of time, start by planning one or two hourly sessions a week and take it from there.

Thinking about your workout environment is crucial, too.

If you love the outdoors, then cycling, jogging, golf or hill- walking might be for you.

For the more adventurous, sports such as kayaking, rock-climbing or skiing will quickly build up your fitness - and there are plenty of sites throughout Scotland where you can get started.

For those who crave more comfort, taking things indoors might make exercise more appealing. Swimming in on with the job at hand.

If keeping fit is more of a solitary thing for you, then exercise videos in the comfort of your own living room could be the answer.

That way, you’ll get the health benefits of exercise without having to worry about anyone else.

Last, but by no means least, it’s wise to think about your budget.

Keeping fit shouldn’t be a big burden on your home finances. If it is, your exercise regime - no matter how well suited - will never last.

So, instead of paying for expensive gym memberships or coaching right up front, have a think about how often you plan to work out and whether you’ll get value for money.

Better still, look into the exercise facilities available at your local leisure centre and park or think about exploring walkways and cycle routes in your area.

By saving a little cash, you’ll also be more motivated to stick to the exercise style that suits you best.

(c) 2009 Daily Record; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

Belly fat has long been blamed for obesity-related disease but it may actually only be something of an innocent bystander, U.S. researchers say.The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests liver fat — intrahepatic triglyceride — may be the important risk factor for obesity-related metabolic disorders often linked to diabetes, heart disease and other diseases.

Many with belly fat also have a fatty liver, but when the researchers compared for insulin sensitivity and other factors in obese subjects matched for belly fat but with differing liver fat content, they found lower insulin sensitivity and higher tryglyceride secretion in those with fatty liver.

However, these differences were not observed when the subjects differed on amounts of belly fat but were matched on liver fat.

Fatty liver disease is reversible and this finding may mean a big health benefit might be gained through losing just a little body fat, but a lot of liver fat, the study says.

“In fact, even two days of calorie restriction can cause a large reduction in liver fat and improvement in liver insulin sensitivity,” senior investigator Dr. Samuel Klein of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis says in a statement.

Cells, do you need layers of cancer protection but hate juggling multiple proteins? Then an important tumor suppressor is for you. This cancer-controlling protein, p53, does not one, not two, but three different jobs, all in one convenient package, a new study shows. Previous studies have demonstrated thatp53 stops cancer from developing by sensing stress, such as DNA damage, and turning on genes that prevent cells from dividing. The protein, which is a normal component of cells, also teams up with other molecules to trigger apoptosis, a type of cellular suicide, in over-stressed cells.Now, researchers from the University of Tokyo and colleagues report in the July 23 Nature that p53 helps slice RNA into small regulatory molecules called microRNAs. These microRNAs help control production of proteins, including some involved in cell proliferation. Proliferation can lead to cancer if unchecked.

This newly discovered function of p53 is surprising, says geneticist Franck Toledo of the Curie Institute’s research center in Paris. He and others have studied p53’s other two roles, but no one suspected the protein might also participate in the slicing and dicing of RNAs.

All three cancer-related functions require a part of the protein that latches on to specific DNA segments. Most cancers involve some disruption in p53’s action, either a mutation or inactivation of the protein, Toledo says. In many tumors, the mutation lies in the portion of p53 called the DNA-binding domain.

Scientists thought that p53 could direct the production of long RNAs, called primary transcripts, which eventually are broken up into microRNAs. Previous work has shown that the p53 protein turns on production of a long RNA molecule that gets chopped into a particular microRNA

Mutations in the protein would disrupt production of the primary transcripts, ultimately leading to lower levels of microRNAs. But the Japanese team found that primary transcripts of several microRNAs associated with cancer are made as usual in DNA-damaged cells, indicating that p53 doesn’t play a role in primary transcript production. But it was still possible that p53 mutations might disrupt the machinery that chops RNA into microRNA, says Kohei Miyazono of the University of Tokyo.

In the new study, Miyazono and colleagues show that p53’s DNA- binding domain interacts with Drosha and p68, proteins in an assemblage responsible for snipping primary transcripts into hairpin- shaped molecules. Another group of proteins, which includes Dicer, chops the hairpins into the final, mature microRNAs. Levels of both the hairpin-shaped intermediates and mature microRNAs were lower in cells in which p53 was mutated, the team found.

Some of the affected microRNAs control production of proteins involved in cell proliferation. Having a dearth of these microRNAs could allow too much of the growth-promoting proteins to be made, leading to uncontrolled growth and cancer.

“What’s really exciting is that they show mutant p53 is actually worse than no p53 at all,” Toledo says.

The normal form of p53 serves as a molecular matchmaker, bringing Drosha and p68 together slightly more efficiently than the two proteins find each other on their own, the researchers showed. But altered forms of p53 spirit away p68, interrupting its interaction with Drosha.

People who have low levels of p53 develop cancer earlier and have poorer prognoses after treatment, Toledo says. It is possible that other variations in the protein may affect the ability to process microRNAs, which could make some people more vulnerable to cancer, he says.

The new “findings suggest that, in human cancers, mutations that affect the DNA-binding domain of p53 essentially perform a hat trick by hitting three tumor-suppressive functions at once,” Toledo and colleague Boris Bardot, also at the Curie Institute in Paris, write in a commentary published in the same issue of Nature.

Copyright Science Service, Incorporated Aug 15, 2009

Extremely obese people — those who are 80 or more pounds over a normal weight — live three to 12 fewer years than their normal-weight peers, a new study shows.Just being overweight or moderately obese, however, has little or no effect on life span, the research found. The finding adds to the growing body of evidence that being slightly overweight may have no influence on life expectancy, but being severely overweight trims years off people’s lives.

Overall, about 66% of adults in the USA are either overweight or obese. About one-third of people are in the obese category, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or greater.

Body mass index, or BMI, is a measure based on height and weight. About 6% of people are extremely obese — that is, they have a BMI of 40 or greater.

Economists with RTI International, a non-profit research organization in Research Triangle Park, N.C., analyzed national data on 366,000 people. Among the findings being published online in the journal Obesity:

*Overall, excess weight was responsible for the loss of roughly 95 million years of life in the USA in 2008.

*Non-smokers who are obese — those who are about 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — have a shorter life span by a year or less.

*Non-smokers who are overweight — about 29 pounds over a healthy weight — do not have shortened lives.

*Smoking takes a toll, too, and very heavy smokers are affected most. An 18-year-old white male who is normal weight and does not smoke can expect to live to age 81. If he’s extremely obese and a smoker, his life expectancy is 60, a difference of 21 years.

The effect of extreme obesity appears to be greater for men than women and for whites than blacks, says Derek Brown, a health economist with RTI International and co-author of the study.

Lead author Eric Finkelstein says being moderately overweight may not affect people’s life span because there are so many effective treatments to manage the health problems that often come with extra pounds, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.

For instance, of the top 25 most prescribed medications, 10 target high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, he says.

Finkelstein and obesity experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have conducted additional research that shows the high medical costs of extra pounds. They recently published a study that showed obese Americans cost the country an estimated $147 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2008, double the amount a decade ago.

Obesity now accounts for 9.1% of all medical spending, up from 6.5% in 1998, they found. Overall, an obese patient has $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight. (c) Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.