Stress may play role in obesity, study suggests.   In a page-one story, the Washington Post (7/2, A1, Stein) reports that scientists say "they have uncovered a biological switch by which stress can promote obesity," according to a study in the journal Nature Medicine. In a series of experiments on mice, "researchers showed that the neurochemical pathway they identified promotes fat growth in chronically stressed animals that eat the equivalent of a junk-food diet." The investigators also showed that blocking neurochemical pathway signals "can prevent fat accumulation and shrink fat deposits and that stimulating the pathway can strategically create new deposits" of fat. The researchers "predicted that studies in people could begin within two years."
      The Los Angeles Times (7/2, Maugh II) describes details of the study in which Dr. Zofia Zukowska of Georgetown University Medical Center and colleagues "divided mice into four groups: Two received a conventional diet, and two received a diet high in fat and sugar. Then one group from each diet was forced to stand in cold water for an hour every day. ... The remaining groups were exposed to an aggressive alpha male for 10 minutes each day." For the mice on the normal diet, "it really didn't matter whether they were stressed or not. ... They didn't have much difference in weight." But the stressed mice "on the 'fast food' diet accumulated twice as much belly fat in the first two weeks as those that were not stressed. Over three months, they became grossly obese." Biopsies of the fat "showed increased levels of neuropeptide Y." In the brain, "NPY stimulates appetite. In the periphery of the body, it is a growth factor that stimulates enlargement of cells and the production of new blood vessels to supply nourishment." Notably, the stressed junk-food eaters gained abdominal fat, and according to the CDC, "a buildup of abdominal fat is a prime contributor" to metabolic syndrome, "which affects 60-million Americans." Moreover, metabolic syndrome "sharply increases an individual's risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke."
      High-carb diets put overweight women at increased risk for heart disease.   HealthDay (6/30, Doheny) reported that "women who ate a diet high in rapidly-absorbed carbohydrates," or those have a "high glycemic index," were at increased risk "of getting cardiovascular disease, especially if they were overweight," according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The researchers followed almost 16,000 women for about nine years, and found "associations between the women's dietary glycemic load" and cardiovascular disease. Moreover, the results showed that overweight women "consuming the highest glycemic load diets had an about 1.8-times higher risk than overweight women consuming the lowest glycemic load diets."
      First phase of New York City trans-fat ban in effect.   The AP (7/2, Matthews) reports the New York City's "ban on trans fat-laden cooking oils, the first of its kind in the nation, went into effect Sunday. Along with the ban, fast-food restaurants in New York City now must post calories on their menu." The first phase of the ban "applies to oils, shortening and margarines used for frying and spreading -- not to baked goods or prepared foods, or oils used to deep-fry dough or cake batter. These are covered by the second phase of the regulation, which takes effect on July 1, 2008." Since New York passed the ban, "Philadelphia, Montgomery County in Maryland and the Boston suburb of Brookline have followed its lead with similar measures that take effect later this year or in 2008. Several other states and cities including California and Chicago are also considering trans fat prohibitions."
      The Los Angeles Times (7/2) adds that the American Medical Association "wants fast-food and chain restaurants to add nutritional information to menus and menu boards as part of an effort to combat obesity. The influential physicians group said the information should be easy to understand and include calorie, fat, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium content. 'We would like voluntary action now, but we will also be calling for policies...at the local, state and national levels to require chains to do this,' AMA president Dr. Ronald Davis said."
      More businesses encourage overweight employees to lose pounds.   The AP (6/30, Heher) reported that a "burgeoning industry of wellness advisers, counselors and consultants is booming as corporate America tries to increase productivity and control insurance costs by helping its employees get healthy and shed pounds. The change is fueled by well-meaning, cost-conscious executives who are looking for ways to trim bottom lines along with waist lines." The prevalence of "corporate-sponsored disease management, nurse advice lines and other health-related programs is also climbing as companies find they can no longer trim extra savings out of health insurance policies." As reported in a previous briefing, recent research shows that "obese employees had higher rates of workers' compensation claims, more lost work days and costlier medical bills than their trim co-workers."