China Launches Three-year Public Weight Control Campaign

China has unveiled a three-year campaign to enhance weight management in a bid to control the growing problem of obesity among its population. The National Health Commission (NHC), the Ministry of Education and Civil Affairs and 13 other departments have issued a document highlighting the measures that will become effective this year.

The program’s overarching goals include raising awareness about the tools and techniques of weight management and creating a “supportive environment” for weight management, which can lead to adopting healthy lifestyles across the country.

The document also notes that the abnormal weight status of certain groups of people, such as pregnant women, young adults, children, the elderly and individuals working certain jobs, should improve over time.

Tackling obesity

Guo Yanhong, director of the NHC’s Health Emergency Response Office, says growing obesity rates require urgent action. The joint document highlights the action plan, which includes encouraging employers to provide infrastructure and other conveniences for their employees’ fitness.

In addition to office workers, the ministries want to promote fitness among student groups by establishing healthy canteens and restaurants and ensuring at least an hour of physical activity during and after school hours every day. The sale of foods high in salt, sugar and fats is discouraged on campuses.

The document supports the use of traditional Chinese medicine in weight management and the adoption of “healthy consumption” practices, including transforming food processing techniques to increase nutritional output and reducing the content of oil, salt and sugar in processed foods.

As weight levels are closely related to overall health, often increasing the chances of chronic conditions such as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer, the NHC states that a major aim of the campaign is to prevent and tackle these diseases at the source, with an enhanced focus on maintaining holistic health rather than merely treating illnesses. Additionally, the program can also cover underweight individuals and those with malnutrition.

The Chinese authorities emphasize the development of smart, wearable devices in the action plan to effectively monitor weight and other health metrics. Additionally, they urge integrating big data and AI to personalize health management strategies.

Weight loss drug

The campaign’s announcement comes a day after China approved Novo Nordisk’s hugely popular weight loss drug Wegovy. The seal from China’s National Medical Products Administration will enable the company to sell its injectable weight-loss drug in the country, where 16.4% of the population is estimated to be overweight.

The demand for weight loss drugs has increased in China, with many pharmaceutical players manufacturing medicines similar to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy.

Source: Nutrition Insight

 

 

 

 

Do You Need More Dietary Fiber? It May Depend on Your Gut Microbiome

Dennis Thompson wrote . . . . . . . . .

The long-standing advice is that everyone should get more fiber in their diet, but a new study suggests some benefit more than others.

A person’s gut microbiome appears to have some influence over the benefits a person derives from dietary fiber, researchers report in the journal Gut Microbes.

Evidence from the study shows that each person has a unique response to eating a resistant starch, which is a form of dietary fiber found in bread, cereals, green bananas, whole-grain pasta, brown rice and potatoes.

Some derive great benefit, while others experience little to no effect – and the difference appears to be tied to the diversity and composition of the microbes in their gut.

The upshot is that people might do better if doctors gave personalized advice on what type of fiber to eat, based on their gut microbiome, researchers said.

“Precision nutrition definitely has a use in determining what dietary fiber we should tell people to eat,” senior researcher Angela Poole, an assistant professor of molecular nutrition at Cornell University, said in a news release. “This is critical because we’ve had public messaging advising people to eat more dietary fiber for decades.”

High-fiber diets can help people remain regular, feel fuller longer, reduce high blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and stabilize blood sugar levels, prior research has shown.

For the study, researchers recruited 59 people and fed them three different types of crackers over seven weeks. Two types of cracker contained different forms of resistant starch, while the third type contained an easily digestible control starch.

The team found that each person’s gut microbes seemed to help determine whether digestion of dietary fiber would create more short-chain fatty acids, which are associated with improved blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Analysis of individual microbiomes could provide helpful nutritional advice, showing people in advance how their body might respond to different types of fiber, researchers concluded.

“Since there are many different types of dietary fiber and carbohydrates, a better strategy would be to collect data on each person and tell them which dietary fiber they can eat to get the most bang for their buck,” Poole said.

Source: HealthDay