Polynesians carry more lean mass
Residents of the Polynesian islands have a high prevalence of obesity and obesity-related problems, including diabetes, hypertension, and coronary heart disease. Yet at the same weight, their levels of fat-free mass and bone mineral density are much higher and their body fat lower than persons of European descrnt. Thus, current obesity standards overestimate the body fat levels of Polynesians.
   these factors were confirmed in a University of Auckland, New Zealand, study of 189 Maori, 185 Samoan, and 241 European men and women, age 20 to 70. At the same high fat mass levels, the BMI of Polynesians is up to 5 units higher, the researchers found. They recommend that for Polynesians the definition of overweight should be raised toa BMI of 26 to 32, and obesity to 32 and over. (Healthy Weight Journal 2000:14:5:66 / Swinburn BA, Ley SJ, Carmichael HE, Plank LD. Body size and composition in Polynesians. Int J Obes 1999;23:1178-1183)
 

Obesity up for German kids
   Between 1975 and 1995 in the German town of Jena, overweight increased from 10.0 to 16.3 percent in boys and 11.7 to 20.7 percent in girls, while obesity increased from 5.3 to 8.2 percent in boys and 4.7 to 9.9 percent in girls. The peak in this increase came during the last 10 years of that time. The heavier children were more likely to have a higher birth weight and legnth, and lower socioeconomic status of parents. The survey used the criteria developed for French children. (Healthy Weight Journal 2000:14:3;35 / Kromeyer-Hauschild K, Zellner K, Jaeger U, Hoyer H. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children in Jena. Int J Obes 1999;23:1143-1150)
 

Obesity rates boosted
   It is now official: overweight begins at a body mass index (BMI) of 25, obesity at a BMI of 30. This puts 55 percent of American adults (97 million) in these two categories and at increased risk of illness from hypertension, lipid disorders, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and certain cancers, according to new Federal guidelines set by the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK). About 22.5 percent of Americans have a BMI of 30 or more, an increase from 13 percent in 1960 that mostly occurred during the 1990s. The guidelines say that a BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds overweight and that some very muscular people may have a high BMI without health risks. In addition to measuring BMI, health professionals are advised to evaluate a patient's risk factors, such as high blood pressure or blood cholesterol, or family history of obesity-related disease. Weight loss is recommended in overweight persons with two or more risk factors and in obese persons. Waist circumference, strongly associated with abdominal fat, should also be measured; a waist circumference of over 40 inches in men and over 35 inches in women signifies increased risk in these standards.
   To lose weight, Americans are told the most successful strategies are to increase physical activity, reduce calories, and improve eating and physical activity habits. Cutting back on fat can help, but only if calories also are decreased. The weight loss goal should be about 10 percent of initial weight, with further weight loss if this is successful and warranted, the guidelines advise. Physicians should try lifestyle treatment for at least 6 months before they prescribe diet drugs (for which only 1 year of safety and effectiveness studies exist). Weight loss surgery is a suggested option for those with a BMI of 40 or 35 with coexisting conditions. Obese patients who do not want to lose weight or are not candidates for other reasons are to be counseled on strategies to avoid further weight gain. The guidelines, developed by a 24-member panel, are available on the website: www.nhlbi.nih.gov/nhlbi/nhlbi.htm. (Healthy Weight Journal 1998:12:5;66 / First federal obesity clinical guidelines released. NHLBI news release, June 17, 1998)
 

Ominous trends
 The emergent American foodway trends are moving toward cheap food, eating fast and eating alone, says nutritionist Margaret Reinhardt, Minneapolis. 
Ominous road-signs she sees are: 
- Fewer family meals and foods eaten together 
- Fast, hot convenience foods moving into gas stations 
- Decline to below 10% in household budget spent on food 
- More all-you-can-eat and super-size servings at restaurants and 
   take-out 
- Over half of fast food goes out drive-thru windows 
- More food sold in single-serve packs means not sharing meal 
- Liter of Coke costs less than half-gallon of milk 
 Nutrition and health leaders must be prepared to acknowledge the desire to eat this way, and to temper it with wise and sensitive counseling, while supporting and encouraging the best eating habits of various cultures, Reinhardt advises.(Healthy Weight Journal 1998:12:2;18 / Reinhardt M. American Foodways. SNE Communicator, Fall 1997)
 

Obesity doubles in England
Obesity has doubled in England between 1980 and 1991 (at the BMI level of over 30). Yet at the same time calorie intake has declined markedly over the past 25 years, as has percent of fat in the diet, after peaking in the 1970s. This information comes from several sources: the annual National Food Survey and cross-sectional studies of various groups of adults and children. 
The paradox of increasing obesity at a time of decreasing fat and food intake can only be explained by an even faster decline in activity, says Andrew Prentice, of the MRC Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre in Cambridge, UK. He notes that in a recent fitness survey, 30% of adults recorded fewer than four 20-minute periods of moderate activity in the previous month and 50 to 60% had not participated in any moderately vigorous sport. Motorized transport, central heating, labor-saving household appliances and inactive pastimes peaked in the late 1970s and remain high.
Prentice says there is good evidence that physical inactivity interacts with diet -- especially high fat diets -- to undermine the mechanisms that normally regulate balance. (Healthy Weight Journal 1997:11:6;106 / Prentice A., Food and nutrient intake and obesity. In Progress in Obesity Research:7, A. Angel et al, 1996;451- 457, John Libbey & Co. London, England.)