Birmingham is one of the most obese cities in the country and Alabama is in the middle of the "stoke belt" because of the obesity problem.
While many groups have been attempting to politic obesity into a disease recent revelations that the funds for disability are nearly depleted and the fact that Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Alabama is taking aim at fighting obesity by raising rates produces little hope that obesity will be named a disease that is covered by insurance in the near future.
There is hope for obesity treatment produced by a new discovery by researchers at The Ohio State University Medical Center published in the September issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.
The researchers have found the key to changing energy storing (obesity producing) white fat cells into energy producing brown fat cells. The key to this success was the activation of the hypothalamic-adipocyte axis through lifestyle changes or through chemical methods. This method works even in the presence of unlimited food.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from the hypothalmus was increased in one group of test mice and found to stimulate genes that produce brown fat and inhibit genes that produce white fat. The enhanced mice had an abdominal fat reduction of 49 percent and gained 29% less weight consuming a high fat (45%) diet than untreated mice. Exercise could not account for the results alone.
Since lifestyle change (and the presence of unlimited food) is not working or changing for Alabama or Birmingham the chemical route is the best hope for success.
Dr. Matthew J. During, professor of neuroscience, of neurological surgery and of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics, and Dr. Lei Cao, assistant professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics, are responsible for this discovery that was reviewed at the Eureka Alert web site on September 6, 2011.
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