Weighing the Risks of Diet Programs Takes Some Study
In recent lawsuits filed against Nutri/System, 19 Florida women claim they had suffered gallbladder problems while participating in the weight-loss program. Although the company stands by its program and said, in a statement, the claims are “without merit,” the lawsuits have given some dieters and prospective dieters pause.
Said Cindy Simon, 32, of Huntington Beach, who recently quit an organized weight-loss program after losing 15 pounds: “The news worried me that, perhaps, I’d done some damage.”
On the heels of her worry comes another. A study of more than 115,000 middle-aged and younger women, published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that even women who are mildly overweight have an increased risk of heart disease.
In the eight-year study, women who were termed “mild to moderately overweight”--for instance, a 5-foot-4 1/2 woman who weighs from 149 to 171 pounds--were 80% more likely than thinner women to develop heart disease.
It may seem like a choice between a healthy heart or a healthy gallbladder (the pear-shaped sac located just below the right rib cage that stores the bile needed to digest food).
But weight-loss experts say that’s not so.
Losing weight safely doesn’t have to involve participation in Nutri/System, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or other organized programs, of course.
But many dieters find that the discipline, the programs’ packaged foods or planned menus--and the fact that they’re paying a sometimes hefty price tag to lose weight--gives them more motivation.
Weight-loss experts say those who decide to participate in organized programs should take care. Here’s what some experts have to say about dieters who need to lose substantial amounts of weight:
“Just being overweight puts you at higher risk of gallbladder problems,” said Dr. Kerry Weiner , a gastroenterologist at St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank.
“Those with just 10 pounds or so (to lose) may not be at higher risk,” Weiner said. “Studies of gall stones related to weight loss have focused on the obese.”
Added Dr. Albert E. Yellin, USC professor of surgery with research expertise in gallbladder and liver problems: “Gallbladder problems are more common in women than men. Women taking oral contraceptives are more at risk, as are those who have had multiple pregnancies.”
People taking drugs to lower their cholesterol are at higher risk, too. Gallstones--lumps of solid matter--occur in about 10% to 12% of the population, Yellin added.
“The types of diets some of these programs put consumers on may alter the composition of the bile, making it more likely to form stones,” Yellin said. “Or, the diets may make the gallbladder act sluggishly and not empty properly, which can also lead to stones.
“Once the stones form,” Yellin added, “two-thirds of people will have no symptoms or symptoms so mild they don’t go to a doctor. The remaining third will have mild to severe symptoms.”
Classic gallbladder symptoms, Yellin added, are upper abdominal pain and belching. Attacks can come and go: “Severe gallbladder attacks are usually associated with nausea and vomiting. Pain often starts in the pit of the stomach, beneath the breastbone and may radiate around to the back. But sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a common bellyache and gallbladder problems.”
Besides recognizing the symptoms of gallbladder problems, dieters can minimize health risks by losing weight slowly.
“Losing a pound every 10 days or so is probably not a bad average,” Yellin said. “Don’t do crash programs. And include exercise.”
POINT COUNTERPOINT Lifestyle Determines Treatment
As the eye ages, it loses the elasticity needed to switch focus between near and far objects. The condition, called presbyopia, afflicts nearly everyone sometime after age 40, making reading difficult without corrective lenses of some sort.
When presbyopia strikes people whose vision previously has been normal, simple reading glasses can help. But the choices become more complicated for those who already wear glasses or contact lenses to correct nearsightedness or farsightedness. For them, two of the more common remedies are bifocal contact lenses or reading glasses worn over contact lenses.
There is a role for both, depending on the patient’s lifestyle, believes Michael Larkin, a Los Alamitos optometrist and assistant professor at the Southern California College of Optometry in Fullerton.
“Bifocal contact lenses appeal to anyone who doesn’t want to go back to glasses. They give active people involved in sports more freedom and some people feel they look healthier and younger in contact lenses. Age isn’t a factor. I have fit 70-year-olds with bifocal contact lenses. The newer ones center better on the eye and fit better. Break-in time is minimal. Usually within a week or two, patients know if a prescription is going to work.
“Reading glasses are better, though, when bifocal contact lenses don’t center properly on the eye and reading vision is not acceptable. People with high amounts of astigmatism (a condition in which the abnormal curvature of the cornea can cause distortion) may do better with reading glasses.”
SHOP TALK Home Test Introduced for Colon Cancer
Colon and rectal cancers will kill 61,000 people this year, the American Cancer Society estimates. To help consumers detect it in early stages, various non-prescription home tests are available to test for gastrointestinal bleeding, a possible symptom.
A new one--ColoCare Occult Blood Test Kit--is expected on the market this month. Consumers drop a special test pad into the toilet and observe it for 30 seconds for a color change.
“If the color changes, the patient should see a doctor,” said E. J. Daigle, spokesman for Helena Laboratories in Beaumont, Tex.
The color change doesn’t necessarily mean cancer is present or even confirm the presence of blood, he added. Medications could cause a color change, as could eating red meat. The over-the-counter test will cost about $5 to $7.
“Testing for occult (hidden) blood is a good idea,” said Dr. Daniel Nixon, vice president of professional education for the cancer society, although it does not endorse one home test over another.
Consumers should take a positive result seriously, he said, even though it might not point to cancer.
