Mind and Motor

From the headlines this week,

Footprints to Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer’s Are Seen in Gait

We've long known that motor activity and cognition are married together.  They are both heavily dependent on the frontal lobe.  Also, we know that motor activity is often used to help us think.  For example, there has been research that shows that gesturing while speaking facilitates our thoughts.  While we once thought that it allowed us to communicate more clearly with a person across from us, we know that it goes deeper and revs up or cognitive engine.

In this article, we see yet another example of the marriage between motor activity, in this case gait, and cognition.  We see that the studies, "provide striking evidence that when a person’s walk gets slower or becomes more variable or less controlled, his cognitive function is also suffering."

While this research is fascinating, in some ways, it shouldn't come as a surprise.  There is lots of research that shows that physical exercise improves cognitive function and can slow the progression of degenerative conditions.  In other words, the mind and motor marriage has been speculated upon and elucidated over the past 2 decades.

Even so, this article gives non-physicians a clear symptom to watch for in their loved ones.  When the gait begins to change, there may be degenerative changes beginning in the brain.

More than Calories

A new study demonstrates that patterns of weight gain are not simply about calories.  Certainly calorie intake does matter.  But the method in which you consume those calories also makes a difference. 

In short, the overall metabolic activity of organs does operate in a time dependent manner.  We've had examples of this for years.  It's long been understood that melatonin production increases as the sun goes down and serotonin production increases as the sun comes up.  We've also understood that long term night workers suffer from more chronic disease and die earlier than people that follow a traditional schedule (work during the day and sleep at night).  Cortisol rhythms have been understood for many years in that cortisol peaks in the morning and depresses as you approach evening.  Certainly there are many other timing patterns of physiology of which we are unaware. 

While the study doesn't give specifics on the best hours to eat food, it is probably safe to say that since we are wired to work during the day and sleep at night, we should probably be eating regularly throughout the day rather than gorging at night.

Teens Aren't Eating Veggies!

As a follow up to the obesity post, this was a curious piece of news published late last year.  In November, a CDC report stated that US teens are eating less than the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.  On the surface, one could have a gut reaction, "Well duh- teenagers are teenagers.  French fries and Big Macs are the norm!" 

But lets keep in mind that these teens will go on to become unwell.  You can't run a car without the right fuel.  Our sophisticated bodies have a demand for the right fuel as well.  Because our bodies are so resilient, it can go a long time with lesser quality fuel.  But only at a cost.  There is always a cost.  

These teenagers may not know it, but they are slowly incurring a physiological debt that they may never be able to repay.  Systems decline, blood sugar is dysregulated, the bacteria in the gut are destroyed, hormones shift the wrong way and eventually, a state of sickness emerges. 

Unhealthy teenagers usually grow up to be unhealthy adults.  A reminder;  36% of American adults are now obese and at least 34% of us are overweight (not obese).  All these adults were teenagers at some point.  Will the current generation of teenagers  push these figures up?  Remember that experts anticipate 42% obesity rates by 2030.  They are counting on teenagers who currently don't eat fruits and vegetables (and presumably fill up on other nutrient poor, calorie rich foods) to either stay fat or get fat. 

Uh oh- Obesity!

In the news today:  Within the next 18 years, obesity rates will continue to rise steadily.  Currently, 36% of Americans are obese.  That alone is a staggering number.   But the numbers will continue to rise and experts predict that by 2030, 42% of Americans will be obese.  

It is universally understood that obesity is a disease where multiple systems in the body degrade and function declines.   In other words, there's no positive "spin" to obesity.  The science has clearly shown that obesity is incompatible with good health.  We're not talking about someone who carries an extra 15 pounds but can still crank out a 10K run.  This is obesity with all its debilitating consequences.  

I've written in the past about the crushing health care costs of obesity and its accompanying disorders.  Obesity related disorders burden the health care system and threaten to destroy it.  As we all know from the lively debates surrounding Obamacare, if health care melts down, the entire economy melts down.  The "new" cases of obesity are projected to cost an additional $550 billion over the next 20 years.

The good news is that obesity is entirely a preventable disease.  Some diseases happen and we don't know why.  There is no cure, only management (and even that is sometimes poor).  But in the case of obesity, we know the cause and we know the cure.  I don't mean to oversimplify it.  Once obesity happens, the physiology changes entirely and the "rules" of weight loss/gain change.  Appetite regulation is altered, sense of satiety is compromised, overall metabolic rate changes, hormones are disrupted, inflammation confuses the whole issue.  There is no doubt that fixing obesity is not an easy task.  But still, we know how to do it.  It may be incredibly difficult, but it can be done.  

Have you seen the movie Wall-E? It is an animated film where all humans are obese and out of shape.  There is humor to it.  It offended some.  But it was a typical Pixar movie; entertaining and brilliant.  It looks like we are moving closer and closer to that reality.  Remember that 42% are obesity rates.  At least another 35% of Americans are not obese; just overweight.