New Hampshire Health News Digest

J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2012;25(7-8):697-704. Metabolic impact of a ketogenic diet compared to a hypocaloric diet in obese children and adolescents. Partsalaki I, Karvela A, Spiliotis BE. BACKGROUND: The effects of carbohydrate-restricted (ketogenic) diets on metabolic parameters in children have been incompletely assessed. OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and metabolic impact of ketogenic and hypocaloric diets in obese children and adolescents. SUBJECTS: Fifty-eight obese subjects were placed on one of the two diets for 6 months. METHODS: Anthropometric measurements, body composition, oral glucose/insulin tolerance test, lipidemic profile, high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin, whole-body insulin sensitivity index (WBISI), and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were determined before and after each diet. RESULTS: Both groups significantly reduced their weight, fat mass, waist circumference, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR (p = 0.009 for ketogenic and p = ...

Ketogenic low-carbohydrate diets have no metabolic advantage over nonketogenic low-carbohydrate diets. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 May;83(5):1055-61. Ketogenic low-carbohydrate diets have no metabolic advantage over nonketogenic low-carbohydrate diets. Johnston CS, Tjonn SL, Swan PD, White A, Hutchins H, Sears B. BACKGROUND: Low-carbohydrate diets may promote greater weight loss than does the conventional low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. OBJECTIVE: We compared weight loss and biomarker change in adults adhering to a ketogenic low-carbohydrate (KLC) diet or a nonketogenic low-carbohydrate (NLC) diet. DESIGN: Twenty adults [body mass index (in kg/m(2)): 34.4 +/- 1.0] were randomly assigned to the KLC (60% of energy as fat, beginning with approximately 5% of energy as carbohydrate) or NLC (30% of energy as fat; approximately 40% of energy as carbohydrate) diet. During the 6-wk trial, participants were sedentary, and 24-h intakes were strictly controlled. RESULTS: Mean (+/-SE) weight losses (...

There are still health risks for metabolically healthy obese individuals Obese people who are currently metabolically healthy face a higher risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to new research accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Research has found conflicting evidence about whether it is possible for some obese people to avoid health complications that increase the risk of metabolic diseases. These complications can include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, insulin resistance and low levels of high-density lipoproteins, the "good" form of cholesterol that reduces heart disease risk. Past studies have found as many as 30 percent of obese people may be metabolically healthy. "Unfortunately, our findings suggest metabolically healthy obesity is not a benign condition," said the study's corresponding author, Carlos Lorenzo, MD, of the University of Texas Heal...

Study casts doubt on whether extra vitamin D prevents disease By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Researchers cast doubt on the prevailing wisdom that vitamin D supplements can prevent conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, saying on Friday low vitamin D may be a consequence, not a cause, of ill health. The findings could have implications for millions of people who take vitamin D pills and other supplements to ward off illness - Americans spend an estimated $600 million a year on them alone. Vitamin D, sometimes known as the "sunshine vitamin" is made in the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight and in found in foods like fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel. [...] Researchers led by Philippe Autier of France's International Prevention Research Institute in Lyon analyzed data from several hundred observational studies and clinical trials examining the effects of vitamin D levels on so-called non-bone health - includi...