Renee Zellweger gained 30 pounds to play Bridget Jones in 2001, 2004 and 2014! Each time, after filming ended, she returned to her normal weight in the next six to 12 months by getting back to her exercise routine and eating a healthy diet.
That’s fortunate, because a new study shows the longer you’re overweight, the more damage you do to your cardiovascular and metabolic health -- increasing your risk of metabolic dysfunction and diabetes.
The study, published in Plos One, looked at the body mass index, blood pressure and the cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin (blood sugar) levels of 20,746 participants from age 10 to 40. Researchers found that folks who were obese for five or fewer years had an A1C (blood glucose) level that was just 5% higher than folks with no years of obesity. But those who had been obese for 20 to 30 years had a level that was 20% higher -- putting them at a far greater risk of diabetes and associated complications, from heart woes and stroke to depression and dementia.
So if you’ve gained weight during the pandemic or typically gain weight in the wintertime, make a commitment to shed a pound a week. You can do that by eliminating 500 calories a day from your diet and getting 10,000 steps a day or the equivalent, plus at least two days a week of strength training. You’ll reduce your weight and reduce damage to your heart, brain and endocrine system. Now that’s a Happy New Year!
Breakthrough in identifying advanced, recurrent prostate cancer
Seventeen years ago, Robert De Niro was treated for prostate cancer. Warren Buffet is eight years out. Diagnosed in early stages, these guys beat cancer. But not everyone is so fortunate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently revealed that the number of men diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer (advanced cancer that’s spread and is harder to treat successfully) has jumped from 4% to 8% of all cases.
That’s why a newly Food and Drug Administration-approved imaging agent called Ga-68 PSMA-11 that can detect hard-to-spot prostate cancer lesions far earlier than before is being called a game changer. This PET scan imaging agent binds to prostate-specific membrane antigen on cancer cells, allowing doctors to locate potentially curable prostate cancer that has high-risk characteristics for metastasis, and to locate suspected recurrences of prostate cancer.
There’s been a lot of debate about getting a yearly prostate specific antigen blood test because that can lead to unnecessary and life-altering procedures for some men. So the American Cancer Society suggests men age 50 and older at average risk for prostate cancer who have a PSA of less than 2.5 ng/mL get retested every two years. Higher than 2.5 ng/mL? Test annually. If a PSA test indicates potential trouble, then this new scanning technique can more accurately ID who needs immediate intervention and where and how to do it, saving lives while reducing the risk of unnecessary surgeries.
Psst! A more sensitive and specific IsoPSA(tm) test also has arrived. The Cleveland Clinic and other places already use it for specific cases. So don’t avoid your doc, guys.
