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HEALTHWATCH
Blitz
Against the Flab
New and
rather expensive drugs are being developed to combat obesity
 Fat
is never fun. Catwalks like it carved out. Doctors declare fat could be
fatal, as it heralds a host of dreaded diseases. These ominous indications
apparently do not deter from all that good food-according to a Nutrition
Foundation of India (NFI) study, a third of Indian urban middle-class
men, and half the middle-class women are obese. As scientists attribute
obesity to various genes and even a virus, an anti-obesity pill, Reductil,
is being launched in India for the first time, to counter the burgeoning
problem.
Though much-maligned,
fat, to a limit, is good, even essential. It stores energy for that rainy
hour, and cushions all our vital organs. It is too much fat that becomes
a dangerous nuisance, clogging arteries, weighing down knees, pushing
at organs, and leading to hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, strokes
and osteoarthritis.
Medically,
a person is in danger if he or she weighs at least 20 per cent more than
the ideal weight calculated according to the individual's height and built.
Controlling obesity generally requires no weightier solution than regulated
diet and exercise, says reputed endocrinologist Dr S.K. Vangnu. And he
warns against "gimmicks of instant weight loss and exercise".
But many obese people find it as easy a formula as going to the moon.
In severe cases, selectively available, US-approved, imported drugs are
prescribed. One such drug, Xenical, works by blocking the absorption of
fat by the body. Side effects include gas and an urgent need to defecate-plus
a severe hole in the pocket at approximately Rs 14,000 for three months.
Reductil,
to be launched in India in the coming weeks, acts through the brain. It
tricks the body into feeling full, and so into eating less. It also tampers
with the body thermostat and makes it burn up more energy from fat for
warmth. When combined with regular exercise and diet, it has been shown
to successfully battle obesity. But it leaves you constipated and sleepless.
Upcoming
fat control mechanisms will lead to more anti-obesity drugs. Chemical
analogues of leptin, a fat-controlling protein made by the first reported
"obese" gene, are now available in the West. A new gene called
"beacon" that controls human appetite could lead to the first
gene-based drug to treat obesity and diabetes. Recent evidence implicates
a human virus in obesity in some people, prompting visions of anti-viral
fat-busters. A biochemical blitz against obesity is predicted-but it cannot
beat a good brisk walk.
-Supriya
Bezbaruah
 SNIFFING
IT OUT: A US study reveals that the sense of smell helps in
early detection of Alzheimer's disease. Ninety patients were asked to
identify 40 different smells. The 19 who eventually developed Alzheimer's
had all done poorly in the test but were convinced they were right. Olfactory
abilities decline with age. The healthy realise this while patients likely
to get Alzheimer's do not. This simple difference could allow timely detection.
It smells like a rather good idea.
 TAKE
THAT FLIGHT: Heart patients can safely fly two weeks after
an attack, in most cases. According to a study reported in the American
Heart Journal, 21 tourists with an average age of 70 and acute coronary
problems were monitored after they took a flight two-three weeks after
suffering a heart attack. Generally patients are advised rest for at least
eight weeks. All patients had been given standard medical treatment. After
uneventful flights, 19 of them showed no ill effects, while two of them
had recurrent angina problems and required hospitalisation. According
to doctors, the real danger was not the flight itself but the stress of
rushing through the airport. Heartening news for high-flying patients.
LAPSES
AFTER LONG HOURS: Working 24-hour
days? You're better off drunk, according to Australian scientists surveying
the effect of sleeplessness in human beings. Thirty-nine people were studied
after being wake for 17 hours, and separately after drinking till their
blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 0.05 per cent, the common legal
limit. After being awake for 17 hours, impairment in performance was equivalent
to alcoholic effects at the legal limit. Definitely a report the bosses
should read.
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