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Aims/hypothesis We previously reported that obese individuals with the metabolic syndrome (at risk), compared with obese individuals without the metabolic syndrome (healthy obese), have elevated serum AGEs that strongly correlate with insulin resistance, oxidative stress and inflammation. We hypothesised that a diet low in AGEs (L-AGE) would improve components of the metabolic syndrome in obese individuals, confirming high AGEs as a new risk factor for the metabolic syndrome. Methods A randomised 1 year trial was conducted in obese individuals with the metabolic syndrome in two parallel groups: L-AGE diet vs a regular diet, habitually high in AGEs (Reg-AGE). Participants were allocated to each group by randomisation using random permuted blocks. At baseline and at the end of the trial, we obtained anthropometric variables, blood and urine samples, and performed OGTTs and MRI measurements of visceral and subcutaneous abdominal tissue and carotid artery. Only investigators involved in laboratory determinations were blinded to dietary assignment. Effects on insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were the primary outcome. Results Sixty-one individuals were randomised to a Reg-AGE diet and 77 to an L-AGE diet; the data of 49 and 51, respectively, were analysed at the study end in 2014. The L-AGE diet markedly improved insulin resistance; modestly decreased body weight; lowered AGEs, oxidative stress and inflammation; and enhanced the protective factors sirtuin 1, AGE receptor 1 and glyoxalase I. The Reg-AGE diet raised AGEs and markers of insulin resistance, oxidative stress and inflammation. There were no effects on MRI-assessed measurements. No side effects from the intervention were identified. HOMA-IR came down from 3.1 ± 1.8 to 1.9 ± 1.3 ( p  < 0.001) in the L-AGE group, while it increased from 2.9 ± 1.2 to 3.6 ± 1.7 ( p  < 0.002) in the Reg-AGE group. Conclusions / interpretation L-AGE ameliorates insulin resistance in obese people with the metabolic syndrome, and may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, without necessitating a major reduction in adiposity. Elevated serum AGEs may be used to diagnose and treat ‘at-risk’ obesity. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01363141 Funding The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK091231)

In this phase 3b, open-label, randomized, controlled trial involving adults with obesity without type 2 diabetes, tirzepatide was superior to semaglutide in reducing body weight and waist circumference.

BackgroundThe effects of probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT 8145 (Ba8145) and those of its heat-killed form (h-k Ba8145) on human anthropometric adiposity biomarkers are unknown.ObjectiveTo assess the effect of Ba8145 and h-k Ba8145 ingestion on anthropometric adiposity biomarkers.DesignRandomized, parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with abdominally obese individuals. Participants (n = 135) consumed 1 capsule/day containing 1010 colony forming unit (CFU) of Ba8145, 1010 CFU of h-k Ba8145, or placebo (maltodextrin) for 3 months.ResultsBa8145 ingestion decreased waist circumference, waist circumference/height ratio, and Conicity index (P < 0.05) versus its baseline. Changes versus the placebo group reached significance (P < 0.05) after the h-k Ba8145 treatment. Ba8145 decreased the body mass index compared with baseline and placebo group (P < 0.05). The decrease in visceral fat area after Ba8145 treatments reached significance (P < 0.05) only after h-k Ba8145. When analyses by gender were performed, significance remained only for women. Diastolic blood pressure and HOMA index decreased (P < 0.05) after h-k Ba8145. Gut microbiome analyses showed an increase in Akkermansia spp. after Ba8145 treatment, particularly in the live form, which was inversely related to weight (P = 0.003).ConclusionsIn abdominally obese individuals, consumption of Ba8145, both as viable and mainly as heat-killed cells, improves anthropometric adiposity biomarkers, particularly in women. An increase in the gut Akkermansia genus appears as a possible mechanism involved. Our results support Ba8145 probiotic as a complementary strategy in obesity management.

To investigate the influence of overweight and obesity on general performance and mortality in seniors. Cross-sectional multidisciplinary study on ageing of the Polish population. Community-dwelling individuals aged 65 years or older, selected using three-stage stratified, proportional draw. 4944 Polish Caucasian seniors, aged 65 years or older recruited between October 2007 and October 2010. All study subjects underwent measurement of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and arm circumference (AC). The physical and cognitive performance was evaluated using the Katz Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), respectively. Morbidity data were obtained from a medical questionnaire. Mortality data were obtained from the Population Register of Poland between October 2015 and October 2018. Increasing age was associated with a decreased prevalence of obesity (all p<0.001). Higher BMI, WC and AC values were associated with higher ADL and MMSE scores (all p<0.001). On multivariate analysis, all three body measurements in women remained independent predictors of the ADL score (BMI p=0.002, WC p=0.005, AC p<0.001) and MMSE score (p<0.001, p=0.003, p<0.001). In men, physical functioning was associated with AC (p=0.003), and cognitive status was associated with AC (p<0.001) and BMI (p=0.013). There was no association between general obesity, abdominal obesity, or AC with several aging-related adverse conditions. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that overweight and obesity were associated with the lowest mortality. On multivariate analysis, BMI and AC values remained independent predictors of mortality. In successfully aging individuals, neither BMI, WC, nor AC remained such predictors. Overweight and obesity in Caucasian seniors are not associated with deterioration of physical and cognitive function or with increased mortality.

(1) Background: High blood pressure (HBP) and obesity are significant and growing public health issues worldwide. Our study aimed to evaluate the associations of neck circumference (NC), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and wrist circumference (WrC) with HBP among Lithuanian children and adolescents aged 7–17 years. (2) Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data on BP and anthropometric measurements were analysed in 3688 children and adolescents aged 7–17 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the associations between anthropometric indices and HBP. (3) Results: Overall, the prevalence rates of elevated BP and hypertension were 13.7% and 12.9%, respectively. After adjustment for age, BMI, and WC, statistically significant elevated aORs were observed for associations between greater NC, MUAC, WrC, and HBP in boys (aORs: 2.13, 2.46, and 2.48, respectively) and in girls (aORs: 2.01, 2.36, and 2.09, respectively). Moreover, per-unit increase in NC, MUAC, and WrC was also associated with greater odds of HBP in boys (aORs: 1.20, 1.21, and 1.37, respectively) and in girls (aORs: 1.10, 1.10, and 1.21, respectively). The analysed anthropometric indices presented higher area under the curve values for predicting HBP in boys than in girls. (4) Conclusions: This study suggests that higher NC, MUAC, and WrC are associated with increased odds of HBP in Lithuanian children and adolescents.

Despite decades of unequivocal evidence that waist circumference provides both independent and additive information to BMI for predicting morbidity and risk of death, this measurement is not routinely obtained in clinical practice. This Consensus Statement proposes that measurements of waist circumference afford practitioners with an important opportunity to improve the management and health of patients. We argue that BMI alone is not sufficient to properly assess or manage the cardiometabolic risk associated with increased adiposity in adults and provide a thorough review of the evidence that will empower health practitioners and professional societies to routinely include waist circumference in the evaluation and management of patients with overweight or obesity. We recommend that decreases in waist circumference are a critically important treatment target for reducing adverse health risks for both men and women. Moreover, we describe evidence that clinically relevant reductions in waist circumference can be achieved by routine, moderate-intensity exercise and/or dietary interventions. We identify gaps in the knowledge, including the refinement of waist circumference threshold values for a given BMI category, to optimize obesity risk stratification across age, sex and ethnicity. We recommend that health professionals are trained to properly perform this simple measurement and consider it as an important ‘vital sign’ in clinical practice.In this Consensus Statement, the International Atherosclerosis Society and International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk Working Group on Visceral Obesity recommend that waist circumference be included routinely as a measurement in clinical practice. They summarize the evidence that waist circumference and BMI together can provide improved assessments of cardiometabolic risk compared with either measurement alone.

In an exploratory, block-randomised, parallel, double-blind, single-centre, placebo-controlled superiority study (ISRCTN12562026, funded by Cultech Ltd), 220 Bulgarian participants (30 to 65 years old) with BMI 25–34.9 kg/m 2 received Lab4P probiotic (50 billion/day) or a matched placebo for 6 months. Participants maintained their normal diet and lifestyle. Primary outcomes were changes in body weight, BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WtHR), blood pressure and plasma lipids. Secondary outcomes were changes in plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), the diversity of the faecal microbiota, quality of life (QoL) assessments and the incidence of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Significant between group decreases in body weight (1.3 kg, p  < 0.0001), BMI (0.045 kg/m 2 , p  < 0.0001), WC (0.94 cm, p  < 0.0001) and WtHR (0.006, p  < 0.0001) were in favour of the probiotic. Stratification identified greater body weight reductions in overweight subjects (1.88%, p  < 0.0001) and in females (1.62%, p  = 0.0005). Greatest weight losses were among probiotic hypercholesterolaemic participants (−2.5%, p  < 0.0001) alongside a significant between group reduction in small dense LDL-cholesterol (0.2 mmol/L, p  = 0.0241). Improvements in QoL and the incidence rate ratio of URTI (0.60, p  < 0.0001) were recorded for the probiotic group. No adverse events were recorded. Six months supplementation with Lab4P probiotic resulted in significant weight reduction and improved small dense low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (sdLDL-C) profiles, QoL and URTI incidence outcomes in overweight/obese individuals.

The frequency of obesity has risen dramatically in recent years but only few safe and effective drugs are currently available. We assessed the effect of liraglutide on bodyweight and tolerability in obese individuals without type 2 diabetes. We did a double-blind, placebo-controlled 20-week trial, with open-label orlistat comparator in 19 sites in Europe. 564 individuals (18–65 years of age, body-mass index 30–40 kg/m 2) were randomly assigned, with a telephone or web-based system, to one of four liraglutide doses (1·2 mg, 1·8 mg, 2·4 mg, or 3·0 mg, n=90–95) or to placebo (n=98) administered once a day subcutaneously, or orlistat (120 mg, n=95) three times a day orally. All individuals had a 500 kcal per day energy-deficit diet and increased their physical activity throughout the trial, including the 2-week run-in. Weight change analysed by intention to treat was the primary endpoint. An 84-week open-label extension followed. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00422058. Participants on liraglutide lost significantly more weight than did those on placebo (p=0·003 for liraglutide 1·2 mg and p<0·0001 for liraglutide 1·8–3·0 mg) and orlistat (p=0·003 for liraglutide 2·4 mg and p<0·0001 for liraglutide 3·0 mg). Mean weight loss with liraglutide 1·2–3·0 mg was 4·8 kg, 5·5 kg, 6·3 kg, and 7·2 kg compared with 2·8 kg with placebo and 4·1 kg with orlistat, and was 2·1 kg (95% CI 0·6–3·6) to 4·4 kg (2·9–6·0) greater than that with placebo. More individuals (76%, n=70) lost more than 5% weight with liraglutide 3·0 mg that with placebo (30%, n=29) or orlistat (44%, n=42). Liraglutide reduced blood pressure at all doses, and reduced the prevalence of prediabetes (84–96% reduction) with 1·8–3·0 mg per day. Nausea and vomiting occurred more often in individuals on liraglutide than in those on placebo, but adverse events were mainly transient and rarely led to discontinuation of treatment. Liraglutide treatment over 20 weeks is well tolerated, induces weight loss, improves certain obesity-related risk factors, and reduces prediabetes. Novo Nordisk A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark.

Anthropometric parameters are widely used in the clinical assessment of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. However, few studies have compared the association between different anthropometric parameters and insulin resistance (IR). This study was aimed at investigating the relationship between 6 indicators, including body mass index (BMI), calf circumference (CC), arm circumference (AC), thigh circumference (TC), waist circumference (WC), waist-height ratio (WHtR), and IR. Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) was used to measure IR. Weighted linear regression was used to assess the relationship between different parameters and IR. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was employed to compare the strength of the relationship between different anthropometric parameters and IR. A total of 8069 participants were enrolled in our study, including 4873 without IR and 3196 with IR. The weighted linear regression results showed that BMI, CC, AC, TC and WC were significantly correlated with IR, except WHtR. After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, we found that BMI, AC and WC were significantly positively correlated with IR, while TC was significantly negatively correlated with IR. Logistic regression results showed that a larger TC was associated with a decreased risk of IR. In addition, BMI and WC had similar areas under the curve (AUC: 0.780, 95% CI 0.770–0.790; AUC: 0.774, 95% CI 0.763–0.784, respectively), which were higher than TC and AC (AUC: 0.698, 95% CI 0.687–0.710, AUC: 0.746, 95% CI 0.735–0.757, respectively). To our knowledge, this is the first study to report a negative correlation between TC and IR among patients without diabetes mellitus. Therefore, TC may be a new tool to guide public health and a clinical predictor of IR in non-diabetic patients.

This multicentric randomized controlled trial (RCT), carried out in six Italian University mental health sites, aims to test the efficacy of a six-month psychosocial intervention (LYFESTYLE) on Body Mass Index (BMI), body weight, waist circumference, fasting glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, Framingham and HOmeostasis Model Assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) indexes in patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. Moreover, the efficacy of the intervention has also been tested on several other physical and mental health domains. Patients were randomly allocated to receive the six-month experimental intervention (LIFESTYLE) or a behavioural control intervention. All enrolled patients were assessed at baseline and after one year. We recruited 401 patients (206 in the experimental and 195 in the control group) with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder (29.9%), bipolar disorder (43.3%), or major depression (26.9%). At one year, patients receiving the experimental intervention reported an improvement in body mass index, body weight, waist circumference, HOMA-IR index, anxiety and depressive symptoms and in quality of life. Our findings confirm the efficacy of the LIFESTYLE intervention in improving physical and mental health-related outcomes in patients with severe mental illnesses after one year.