Obesity-related chronic disease

IV. DAIRY FOODS AND OBESITY-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASE... 

The relationship between dairy food intake and the risk of obesity-related chronic diseases has been the interest of much research. A high intake of dairy products has traditionally been associated with an increased risk of CVDs, attributed to the high content of saturated fatty acids (about 70%) in dairy fat (Lindmark-Mansson et al., 2003). 

Thus, there is evidence that dairy products may influence the development of obesity-related chronic diseases in a beneficial way as a significant component of a healthy diet. This perspective lies in contradistinction to the delivery of saturated fat. It is quite possible to include the saturated fat content of dairy food if the diet is balanced with... 

Dairy foods may well play a very significant role in the prevention and amelioration of obesity-related chronic diseases. As these conditions are affected by the whole diet, however, the effects of dairy foods will always be relative. The challenge for future research is to work with the substantial body of knowledge that has emerged in recent years to better expose how these effects might be navigated. 

Obesity is the most frequent nutritional disorder in developed countries and has become a major health problem all over the world. Obesity and related metabolic disorders are involved as conspicuous risk factors in the development of chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases and cancer [73,74]. 

The total calorie intake is closely related to overweight and obesity. The calories from fat should be limited especially in overweight, obese, and super-obese people, and people suffering from chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and arteriosclerosis. 

The wide range of inflammation-related factors that adipocytes secrete is linked to the inflammatory response that the tissue exhibits in obesity [1]. Obesity in general, like an increasing number of other diseases, is characterised by a state of mild chronic inflammation, and adipose tissue plays a central role in this. The production of most inflammation-related adipokines increases markedly in obesity and there is an elevated circulating level of a number of these factors as well as of other inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP). The increased production of inflammatory adipokines (and decreased production of adiponectin with its anti-inflammatory action) in the obese is considered to play a critical role in the development of the obesity-associated pathologies, particularly type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome [1]. 

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in most industrialized countries over the last two decades. Many serious diseases, such as stroke, diabetes mellitus and other chronic conditions, are directly related to being overweight (1, 2). The number of adults who are classified as extremely obese tallies in the nullions for the United States alone (3). The number of children that are most likely obese adults for the rest of their lives has tripled in the same time period (3). 

Depression and Metabolic Syndrome. Abnormal serum albumin levels and lipid profiles have both been observed in patients with major depression, as well as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and end-stage renal disease. Depressive symptoms are very common in patients with these chronic illnesses. Recent clinical data have shown that cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, end-stage renal disease, and obesity are all related to metabolic syndromes [68-74], and especially insulin resistance [75, 76]. However, the data examining major depression without physical illness and insulin resistance are still scarce. In the future, the biological relationship between depression and physical illness needs to be more fully explored. 

Historically, the impact of diet on health has been a concern of man. In recent years we have seen greater emphasis on how nutrition relates to health and the prevention of chronic afflictions such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and cancer. Consequently, several health organizations have proposed guidelines to promote better health and reduce risk... 

Heat waves result in adverse health effects in cities more than in rural areas. During periods of sustained environmental heat—particularly during the summer— the numbers of deaths classified as heat related (e.g., heatstroke) and attributed to other causes (e.g., cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory disease) increase substantially. Those at an increased risk for heat-related mortality are elderly persons, infants, persons with chronic conditions (including obesity), patients taking medications that predispose them to heatstroke (e.g., neuroleptics or anticholinergics), and persons confined to bed or who otherwise are unable to care for themselves. 

Red raspberries contain dense contents of ellagic acid, ellagitannins, and several other polyphenols under active research for potential health benefits as anti-inflammatory factors. These phenolic compounds have importance in research on diseases that start first with inflammation, such as cancer, chronic arthritis, Alzheimer s disease, diabetes, and obesity. In research done at Cornell University, scientists studying four cul-tivars of red raspberry identified differences in polyphenol content that were directly related to the color intensity of the respective juices. The color of the juice correlated well to the anthocyanin contents of each raspberry cultivar. In the same studies, proliferation of human liver cancer cells—as part of a laboratory test of potential anticancer activity— was significantly suppressed by the raspberry polyphenols. 

The dynamical diseases with altered dynamical complexity and rhythms in comparison with those during the normal states have been identified in many illnesses including depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy, substance abuse, Parkinson s disease, age-related diseases, osteoporosis, and hyperparathyroidism [41-48], For instance, affective problems such as depressive disorders have shown fluctuating state variables at both biological and psychological levels, and the complex phenomena in such diseases may be represented with the nonlinear interactions of these variables [49]. In another example, a nonlinear relationship has been established between obesity and diurnal cortisol secretion [50], In addition, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been found to be a dynamical disease as it is closely associated with B cell cycles [51]. Recent studies of microRNAs (miRNAs), their associations with cell cycle regulations and their roles in complex diseases such as... 

Obesity has been recognized as a poor prognostic variable for outcomes associated with therapy for chronic HCV. Patients with a body mass index of >30 kg/m had a 77% lower chance of response to therapy compared to overweight and normal-weight patients. The exact mechanism of this interaction between weight and effect is not known. However, the natural progression of disease may be faster in obese patients and may be related to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. ... 

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