Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

While it has been known that obesity and even being overweight were big risk factors for the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease (a degenerative disease of the brain causing dementia), a new study of 6500 people, published in the journal Neurology, reveals that a large waistline during middle-age could triple the risk of Alzheimer’s during that person’s old-age.

It has not been conclusively determined as to why a large waist-size is such a good predictor of Alzheimer’s, but theories abound:

Research linking obesity to dementia does not reveal precisely why being overweight can affect your ageing brain, but many specialists believe that associated problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels may contribute. Thickness of fat around the waist is thought to correspond closely with its presence around the major organs of the body.

It could also very well be that the very lifestyle that led to the large waistline in the first case could be the cause the scientists are looking for.

More health and fitness stories for the week gone by:

1. Large waist ‘an Alzheimer’s risk’: A big waistline in your 40s could almost triple the threat of dementia in old age, according to US research.
2. Fat City? 10 Million Pounds Gained in 2 Years: Obesity and with it diabetes are the only widespread major health conditions that are getting worse in New York City
3. New York City Postpones Plan Mandating Fast Food Menu Calorie List: Health officials in New York City postponed the deadline for national chain restaurants to post calorie counts on city menus.
4. Older Women Have Harder Time Preserving Muscle Than Men: Keeping in good shape is more difficult for older women than men because it’s harder for women to replace muscle that’s lost naturally as they age, say U.S. and British researchers.
5. All-you-can-eat sports seats fill fans up - and out: A growing trend in all-you-can-eat seating at sports venues is making baseball’s summer chorus sound more like “Take Me Out to the Buffet.”
6. Obese Women Less Likely to Be Tested for Some Cancers: A new review of 32 studies suggests that obese women — particularly white women — are more likely than others to skip screenings for breast and cervical cancer.

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Have a great weekend!

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Yes, the title is a little sensational - but it’s true. As a city, over the past two years, New York’s 5 million residents gained a total of about 10 million pounds - or about 2 pounds each! If you think that does not warrant attention (it’s just a pound a year, after all), then consider this from the New York Times blogs …

[...] the weight gains were particularly concentrated among the heaviest New Yorkers. The city’s rates of obesity and new diabetes diagnoses both increased by 17 percent during the two-year study period, compared with a 6 percent increase in obesity prevalence and no increase in diabetes diagnoses nationally.[NY Times]

“Broad”way indeed!

The city’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden is obviously troubled and he does recognize that educating the consumer about cutting down on calorie-consumption is an important first-step toward solving this very real crisis:

“To tackle this problem and help prevent the devastating effects of these conditions, New Yorkers must to take in fewer calories, and to help them do that we must change our environment. Consumers must have calorie information readily available when they are ordering food at chain restaurants …[NY Times]

Too bad his own city is not with him when it comes to providing calorie-information to its citizens. New York’s chain restaurants were supposed to post calorie counts of menu items starting Monday. But the inevitable court-challenge from the New York State Restaurant Association group means that New York cannot enforce this law until April 14th. Why? Apparently some constitutional rights were being infringed!:

[...] the state restaurant association says the rule violates the First Amendment. The group believes it forces businesses to put message on their menus.[AHN]

With things the way they are, is it any wonder that even simple - and potentially life-saving - procedures and regulations take forever to see the light of day?

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