McGill student wins prize for initiative to fight obesity

We are extremely proud to announce that a talented McGill undergrad has won a young entrepreneur's prize for her unique business premise.

Alyssa Fontaine Reid's idea would be impressive if it were simply aimed at fighting the worrying obesity trend, but this ambitious McGill Nutrition student has gone one step further, and hopes to address the planet's "weight problem"; namely, that a portion of the world's population is experiencing epidemic obesity, while in other parts of the globe, people are experiencing starvation and malnutrition.

Her unique goal is to help defeat both extremes of malnutrition (the overfed & the underfed) with a new concept in weight loss: those interested in losing pounds raise funds through sponsorship, and pledge those funds to a charity aimed at eliminating world hunger.
 

Alyssa believes that with positive peer pressure, people are more motivated to lose weight, and that the added element of fundraising provides another positive incentive to achieve the goal.

 In a recent interview, she said, "In my McGill University nutrition classes the teachers always talked about two extremes of nutrition: overfed and underfed. The healthy population of our world seems to be a minority. I decided to take both extreme malnutrition and create a win-win visionary solution to reduce the global epidemic of malnutrition."

 The contest, 'Start Something with Alesse' has awarded Alyssa $5,000, and will pair the young entrepreneur with a mentor who has experience in her field to provide guidance as her worthy project gets off the ground.
 

The prize money will allow her to launch her website, with an online sponsorship system that will empower those ready to push off the pounds to get started. She hopes that the online community will provide motivation and a support mechanism to those participating.

 Alyssa graduates next year as a dietician, and plans to pursue a masters degree in business.


 

'Fat gene' is no excuse

The study of human genomics has, aside from providing comfortable careers for writers of dystopian science fiction, led to the isolation and identification of many genes that play a part in determining the physical characteristics of the bodies in which they reside.

Among these, around thirty-two have been discovered that predispose people to being obese, which  have unfortunately been blamed for the rapidly rising rates of obesity around the globe.

But a recent study by researchers in the UK aims to put these “fat gene” myths to rest, demonstrating that regardless of whether someone carries one or more of these genes, they are entirely capable of maintaining a healthy weight through a healthy diet and regular exercise.

By analyzing more than fifty studies of over 200,000 worldwide carriers of a particular obesity gene, the results of the study show that even those who carry the gene but live active and healthy lifestyles have a reduced risk of becoming obese compared to those who do not.

These findings are in line with a number of other recent studies which suggest that our genes are not necessarily the immutable and deterministic blueprints that the Orwells and Huxleys of this world would have us believe.

“Physical activity gives [carriers of the gene] the opportunity to lose weight,” says Cambridge University medical researcher Dr. Ruth Loos. “So it goes against the often held view that if it’s in your genes, it’s out of your control. We show that even though it’s in your genes, you still have control.”

The study strikes a blow against the usefulness of genetic screenings for genes identified as being related to obesity, which are currently commercially available and rising in popularity despite some scientists’ reservations regarding their validity and usefulness. Lennert Veerman with the University of Queensland has published a paper attacking the credibility of such screenings, citing their lack of predictive power, irrelevance to treatment options, and the way they encourage patients to focus on the genetic aspects of their condition when a focus on improving their actual lifestyle is both more tangible and more effective.

The new research demonstrates that whether you have the gene or not, the only way to effectively fight obesity is through proper diet and exercise. But the publication of the research will hopefully encourage more people to take more responsibility for their own bodies by focusing on increasing their activity levels rather than any extrinsic factors.

Obesity numbers still creeping up

It's something that we have been aware of for many, many years now, and yet obesity levels in every age range and social class are rising. An article published in The Globe and Mail today reports that this is not only a severe health problem, but an economic one too. The latest math shows that obesity in Canada is costing the government up to $7 billion per year, both from direct healthcare costs and and indirect costs such as lost productivity of people unable to work either because of disability or because they are unable to find employment due to discrimination.

The study quoted in the article, published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and the Public Health Agency of Canada, has now reported that 1 in 4 Canadians are obese (that is, with a BMI of over 30), while a staggering 62% of the population - that's almost 13 million people -  classified as overweight. In Canada, the percentage of obese adults has doubled in the past 30 years, while the number for children and youth has tripled.

The study also says that physical inactivity – meaning a person is active less than 15 minutes a day – is the greatest predictor of obesity. It warns that obesity significantly increases the risk of 18 chronic illnesses, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and some forms of cancer.

Other developments in the news includes the emergence of new 'obesity drugs' for which a number of pharmaceutical companies are currently trying to get FDA approval.

Many worry about the consequences of releasing a potent weight-loss drug on a population which seems unwilling to make simple dietary or lifestyle changes.