Browsing by Subject "obesity"

During recent years obesity has been under extra scrutiny due to its globally rising prevalence, multifaceted effects on the human body and common occurrence of comorbidities. It is estimated that one third of the Finnish population over age 40 will be obese by 2028 (THL, 2022). Consequently, development of mitigation strategies has become a high priority in today’s societies leading to a rising need for new treatments. Several studies have shown how pathological adipogenesis has deleterious effect on brain functionality. The neuropathology of obesity could be explained by increased blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and glial activation. Pathologically activated astrocytes (astrogliosis) exhibit phenotypical and functional differences compared to healthy astrocytes, typically exhibiting enlarged cell bodies and swollen cytoskeleton. Astrogliosis has been mainly studied in the context of CNS diseases. Recent studies also shed light on the role of astrocytes in the progression of peripheral diseases including cancer metastasis or inflammation (Ma et al., 2023). However, the active astrocytic profile in obesity is relatively underexplored. In this study we report astroglial phenotypic shifts induced by high-fat diet (HFD) feeding and weight loss (WL). No significant change in GFAP expression was seen between mice that were given an HFD for different durations and their corresponding controls. However, we noted a non-significant trend for increased GFAP expression in response to shorter timepoints (5 days of diet change). This suggested an early astrocytic response to diet, which later normalizes over time. We reported healthy morphologies in astrocytes from chow group exhibiting typical simple thin cytoskeleton with long cell protrusions. Astrocytes in HFD-conditions exhibited reactive phenotypes evidenced by swollen cytoskeletal structures and high GFAP immunofluorescence, extensive lipid droplet (LD) accumulation and upregulated metabolic activity. These observations indicated stressful conditions caused by the diet. Astrocytes in WLconditions exhibited varying phenotypes displaying both reactive and healthy characteristics, slight increase of metabolic activity and lipid accumulation. In addition, we reported different immunofluorescence profiles between glial differentiation promoting marker Meteorin and ER stress regulated cytoprotective marker MANF between the experimental groups. These results show that HFD-induced obesity and consecutive weight loss induce a reactive-like phenotypic shift on astrocytes involving both morphological and functional changes.

In general the amount of fat in cow’s milk, what consists mostly of fatty acids, is about 4%, and more than half of the milk fatty acids are saturated. Dairy fat, due to its saturated fat and cholesterol content, is related to the risk of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, energy from fat can also be related to obesity. These relations also concern cow’s milk, however, its fat content remains around 4% and besides fat, there are a lot of positive effects on health, as milk is a good source of some vitamins and minerals. Milk consumption in Finland per capita has been the largest in the world for many years. There is also a market for milk substitutes, i.e. non-dairy drinks, produced mostly from oat, soy, and almond. This master’s thesis focuses on cow’s milk fat content and its relations to human health, especially the cardiovascular health and obesity. According to the hypothesis, consumer attitude towards cow’s milk is strongly affected by assumptions associated with the impact of dairy fat on health as well as the impact of dairy industry on climate change. The aim of this research was to study how detrimental or beneficial the dairy fat in milk is for human health on the basis of cow’s milk chemical composition, health related reports by authorities, research findings, historical perspectives, and consumer preferences. According to the literature, the chemical composition and nutrients properties of whole milk show that more nutrients of health benefit are present in comparison than of detrimental compounds. Most of present evidence suggest that milk and dairy products have neutral or beneficial effect on human cardiovascular health alhtough it is generally recognized in dietary recommendations that saturated fat is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The experimental part investigated Finnish consumers attitudes and preferences regarding milk consumption and overall preferences and issues affecting attitude toward food choice. It appears that the study hypothesis partly refuted, as the majority of participants were not much affected by assumptions associated with the impact of dairy fat on health. However, the impact of dairy industry on climate change was a very important issue related to attitude and preference regarding milk consumption. The majority of the study participants made their choice of drinking milk on the basis of taste, and the impact on health was considered mainly as beneficial rather than detrimental.

Background and objectives: Currently in Finland, there are over 66 000 women living with breast cancer. The five-year survival rate is 90.6 %. Breast cancer and its treatments are known to impair patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The current study is a part of an open prospective randomized Breast cancer and exercise (BREX) -study in Finland conducted to investigate whether supervised exercise training shortly after the adjuvant treatments of breast cancer patients could prevent osteoporosis and improve patient’s quality of life. This master thesis examines cross-sectional and prospective associations between the sense of coherence (SOC) and the HRQoL of breast cancer survivors. Methods: 537 long-term breast cancer survivors and controls who participated in a prospective randomized physical exercise intervention with twelve months of supervised exercise training were followed up five years. 406 participants who finished the 5-year follow-up and filled the SOC questionnaire were included in the final analyzes. The SOC was measured by 13-item Finnish and Swedish short forms of Orientation to life Questionnaire (SOC-13) at 3 years. Cancer-specific HRQoL was measured by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) version 3 and general HRQoL by the 15D. Associations between the SOC and the HRQoL were studied by logistic regression analyze. Results and conclusion: The SOC was associated with the cancer-specific and the general HRQoL at the 3-year (p < .001) and at the 5-year follow-up (p < .001). The relationship was the most significant for the general HRQoL, global health / quality of life and emotional and cognitive functions. Weak SOC increases the risk of low cancer-specific and low general HRQoL after the adjuvant treatments of breast cancer. Strong SOC as an inner resource may serve as a protective psychological factor in the adaptation process of breast cancer survivors. The SOC-13 questionnaire might be useful in targeting patients vulnerable to decrease in the HRQoL and in planning psychosocial interventions.

The field of stem cell research is hotter than ever, because still today, the goal for easily achievable stem cells for the use of tissue engineering and stem cell therapies, is yet to be achieved. Also, human stem cell based test systems are potential replacements of present animal test models. The ongoing obesity epidemic creates pressure for scientists to resolve the causes behind it. One way of approaching the problem, is the study of adipogenesis with the use of a in-vitro cell model. This have already been done for a while, with rodent based cell models, but the present study took the human obesity research a bit closer to its subject by using humane adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASC). Also, the adipogenic induction is executed with a human adipose tissue extract (ATE). Epidemiologically, the rise in obesity rates correlates at some level, with the occurrence of known endocrine disrupting chemicals in our environment. These include e.g. some pesticides and plasticizers, such as tributyltin (TBT), bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) and bisphenol A (BPA). In the present study, the effects of a variety of concentrations, ranging from 50nM to 100µM of BPA, on ATE induced adipogenesis of hASCs, was studied. The accumulation of triglycerides - a key parameter for adipogenesis - is evaluated with the use of oil-red-o (ORO) staining and photometric measurements. A set of tests was executed to find out if BPA possesses adipogenic, synergistic or antiadipogenic properties in this particular test system. No significant antiadipogenic, nor synergistic effects were seen. Some antiadipogenic effects were seen throughout the study, but without any dose-dependence. This study also showed need for further development of the test. ORO staining needs to be further standardized to increase accuracy, different batches of ATE may cause variation in the results. All and all the test system is relatively easily modified and when fully functional, it is a great tool for screening for substances affecting our adipose tissue, and also for enhancing our knowledge on human adipogenesis in whole.

Obesity is a growing health challenge in Finland. Despite the fact, that obesity is recognized as a chronic disease, it remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. In the past few years, two new anti-obesity drugs have entered the market to support the lifestyle changes Anti-obesity medication would be a natural option to support lifestyle changes, but physicians have not widely adopted the medication in their treatment patterns. The aim of this study was to understand, what are the abilities of primary care physician (PCP) to treat obesity, considering their knowledge, resources and, local care pathways. In addition, the study sought to determine the most important factors, that are involved in the initiation of anti-obesity medication. The study was conducted as a semi-structured thematic interview. A total of nine PCPs from all over Finland were interviewed for the study. Of these, three worked on the private sector and six on the public sector. The interviews were conducted during October-November 2020. The framework of the interviews was built based on the previous studies and information within a pharmaceutical company specializing in the treatment of obesity. The content was analysed with inductive content analysis. PCPs interested in the treatment of obesity raised the topic of weight quite easily in various situations and some of them mentioned that they even find it easy to bring up the subject. However, the subject is mainly brought up when the patient already has some weight-related comorbidities. Preventively, weight is less often talked about, especially because of a lack of human and time resources. Currently the most comprehensive care pathways and interdisciplinary teams are in occupational healthcare. In occupational healthcare, resources are perceived as adequate and the interdisciplinary teams works well. In most healthcare centers, a separate care pathway for the treatment of obesity had not been built. In general, knowledge of the obesity treatment was considered adequate, but education on the biological basis of obesity is needed. Most of the PCPs knew about the new anti-obesity drugs and had positive attitude towards them, but they did not prescribe the drugs themselves. The most significant barrier to prescribe the anti-obesity drugs, was the price of the products and the lack of reimbursement. In addition, experience with anti-obesity drugs is limited and the need for education is high. Currently, occupational health physicians have better abilities to treat obesity in terms of care pathways, interdisciplinary teams and, resources than PCPs in public healthcare. The conditions are also better for the implementation of pharmacotherapy as resources and care pathways enables proper lifestyle guidance alongside pharmacotherapy. Prior to reimbursement, pharmacotherapy may not be a realistic option in the public sector, and the conditions for proper lifestyle guidance alongside pharmacotherapy are not sufficient in all locations.

Tutkimuksissa selvitettiin liikuntatapojen ja niiden muutosten vaikutusta painon kehittymiseen ja kehon koostumukseen nuorilla. Liikunnan ja lihavuuden väliseen kausaalisuussuhteeseen kiinnitettiin huomiota. Tutkimuksen aineistona käytettiin Kaksosten Kehitys ja Terveys tutkimuksen kaksoskohorttiaineistoa. Läpi nuoruutensa aktiivisesti liikkuneita, liikunnan lopettaneita ja täysin liikuntaa harrastamattomia nuoria vertailtiin painoindeksin suhteen 12-, 14-, 17,5- ja 22-vuotiaana ja vyötärönympäryksen suhteen 22-vuotiaana. Nuoruuden liikuntatottumukset eivät ennustaneet merkitsevästi painoindeksiä 22-vuotiaana. Sen sijaan liikunnan lopettaneilla ja täysin liikuntaa harrastamattomilla nuorilla vyötärönympärys 22-vuotiaana oli suurempi, kuin aktiiviliikkujilla, eli liikuntatottumukset vaikuttivat kehon koostumukseen. Pojilla muutos painossa tapahtui ennen muutosta liikunnassa – lihominen näytti johtavan liikkumattomuuteen.

BACKGROUND Obesity has increased all over the world and also in Finland, which is causing nationwide health problems. Two out of three Finnish men and half of the women are overweight and every fifth Finn is obese. People face nowadays numerous food choice decisions daily. In order to be able to understand, which attitudinal factors may be risk factors for obesity, more information is needed about how people make food choices and whether body weight is associated with the importance of food choice motives. The area of weight, dieting and food choice motives hasn’t been researched much in the Finnish population before. OBJECTIVES The objective of this thesis was to study, whether there are differences in the importance of food choice motives among 25−64 years old Finns according to their body weight or dieting status. In addition, the prevalence of the factors related to weight and dieting in this population was also discussed. MATERIALS AND METHODS The data examined in this study was collected in FINRISKI 2012 -population study conducted in five different areas in Finland. The target group of this study were Finnish adults aged 25-64 years who filled in the questionnaires and attended the physical examination (n=4447). There were 2059 men and 2388 women. From the basic questionnaire was examined the socio-demographic factors, meal frequency, weight history and weight perception. From the follow-up questionnaire the data on dieting history, dieting status and food choice motives was utilized. From food choice motives only the most relevant motives regarding weight and weight control were examined. Methods used were cross-tabulation, linear regression and chi square -test (χ2-test). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION There were no major differences between different BMI groups for women or for men regarding which food choice motives the respondents rated important. Anyhow, some differences were detected regarding the favouring of low-fat foods and emotional eating. Overweight and obese respondents rated these food choice motives more important than normal weight respondents. Also those who had dieted more often, current dieters and those who perceived themselves as overweight also considered low-fat foods and emotional eating important. Finnish adults with different body weights considered most of the food choice motives equally important for the most part and thus weight is not associated with the perceived importance of food choice motives. The explanation for the lack of differences between body weight groups could be that overweight and obese people are overly conscious about their weight status. Also women considered the food choice motives more important than men, which might be explained by the more active role in food shopping and better knowledge about healthy food. Based on the results of this study, both the normal and over weight people as well as the obese have knowledge about healthy food choices and consider that knowledge as an important factor in the food choice situations. The perceived importance of emotional eating varies between weight groups, and that’s why the psychological factors relating to weight control and food choice should be taken into account in weight control groups and obesity interventions in order to prevent emotional eating.

Obesity is a significant problem for public health. Obesity develops when systems controlling food intake and consumption are imbalanced. Many different brain areas and transmitters contribute to maintain energy balance. Signals that are secreted proportional to body's fat storage (leptin and insulin) regulate energy balance in a long run. Hormones that are secreted from gastrointestinal tract control food intake in a short run. These hormones are for example cholecystokinin, peptide YY and ghrelin. Drug treatment for obesity is limited because effective drugs are lacking. The only drug to treat obesity in Europe is orlistat but it's effectiveness is modest. The development for new antiobesity drugs has been busy. Problems in drug development have however delayed drugs in the market. The aim of this study was to develop a method with which we could measure how much food zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been eaten and to study how different drugs affect feeding behavior of the zebrafish. The purpose was also to do high throughput screening of antiobesity drug with this method and to study how genes affect feeding. The amount of food that zebrafish ate was able to be measured by utilizing fluorescent rotifers as fish's food. Drugs that are known to affect feeding (fluoxetine and rimonabant) reduced the amount of food zebrafish ate when measurement was done in 6-well plate and with two hours feeding. Sibutramine did not affect food intake, although it has been shown to reduce food intake in zebrafish in another study. The effect of gene knock down was also studied with morpholino oligonucleotides. MANF, th2 or galanin gene knock down did not affect food intake in zebrafish. The conclusion is that the new method is well suited for food intake measurements and drug effectiveness studies. The method can not be used in high throughput screening because results can not be analyzed by a plate reader and the feeding can not be done in 96-well plate.

Introduction: Working conditions have not only been found to impact work ability and productivity, but the overall health of employees. The working environment is a relevant health factor for a considerable part of the population. In research, work-related mental strain has been associated with body weight change, yet no causal relationship can be confirmed based on the existing evidence. Of the psychosocial factors, low job control, as well as both high and low job demands have been associated with weight gain. Most of the research so far has been done with cross-sectional data; long-term follow-ups are scarce and only little research has been done on the association between changing working conditions and body weight change. Aim: The general aim of this study was to examine the association between changes in psychosocial working conditions and body weight change among midlife women and men. The association between two psychosocial work characteristics, job demands and job control, and weight gain during the follow-up was examined in a cohort study among the employees of the City of Helsinki in Finland. The main research question was: (i) Is change in job demands and job control associated with major weight gain during a 10- to 12-year follow-up period among midlife employees? In addition, the contribution of several background and lifestyle factors were taken into account. Especially the contribution of baseline BMI-status, dietary habits and leisure-time physical activity to the association between psychosocial working conditions and major weight gain was studied. Methods: The data were collected from a mail survey among the employees of the City of Helsinki in 2000–2002, 2007 and 2012. The study sample consisted of employees who were 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 years old at the beginning of the survey in 2000–2002. Exclusion criterions were BMI <18.5kg/m2 in phase 1, retiring before phase 2, and drop out before phase 3. Hence, the final study sample (n=4,630) consisted 52% of the original study population, of which 83% were women. Psychosocial working conditions were assessed with a validated Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) by Karasek and Theorell in phase 1 and 2. Weight change was assessed between phases 1 and 3, and major weight gain was defined as at least 10% weight gain during that time period. Dietary habits were assessed using a 20-item Food Frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Based on the current national dietary recommendations, nine food habits were chosen and their usage frequency was used as a determinant of healthy food habits. Leisure time physical activity was assessed with metabolic equivalent tasks (METs). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between changing job demands, job control, and major weight gain. All the analyses were stratified by gender. In addition, further stratification was made by the baseline BMI. Results: Weight gain was common among the study population. Major weight gain was observed among 27% of women and 15% of men. A weak association between change in job demands and major weight gain was found among both genders. Among women, the risk of major weight gain was higher among those who reported persistent high job demands (OR 1.22 95% CI 1.02–1.48 full adjusted model) compared with those with persistent low job demands. Among men, in contrast, the risk was higher among those who reported decreased job demands compared with those who reported persistent low job demands (OR 1.80 95% CI 1.02–3.16 full adjusted model). When further stratified by the BMI in phase 1, the risk was higher only among overweight or obese women, whereas among men the increase in risk was seen among both normal weight and overweight or obese participants. Dietary habits and leisure time physical activity did not affect the association of changing psychosocial working conditions with major weight gain. However, they had a minor own effect on the risk. Change in job control was not associated with the risk of major weight gain. Conclusions: The study shows that change in job demands is weakly associated with major weight gain. Future research is needed especially among other employers than municipalities, and especially among men. Changing working conditions should be studied with shorter follow-up periods, while taking into account also the role of social support at the workplace.

Tiivistelmä Lihavuus on yleistynyt viime vuosikymmenten aikana räjähdysmäisesti. Tämän myötä myös lihavuuden liitännäissairaudet, kuten tyypin 2 diabetes ja maksan rasvoittuminen, ovat lisääntyneet. Lihavuuden yhteydessä kudoksissa nähdään nikotiiniamidi adeniini dinukleotidi (NAD+) -molekyylin pitoisuuksien laskua. NAD+ vaikuttaa sirtuiini-entsyymiperheen kautta mitokondrioiden toimintaan ja glukoosi- ja lipidiaineenvaihduntaan. NAD+:n pitoisuutta elimistössä on mahdollista nostaa oraalisilla NAD+:n esiasteilla, kuten nikotiiniamidi ribosidilla (NR), niasiinilla, nikotiiniamidilla ja nikotiiniamidimononukleotidilla (NMN), joista tässä tutkimuksessa tutkittiin NR:ää. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää NR:n vaikutuksia koko kehon aineenvaihduntaan ja tutkia sen käyttöä potentiaalisena hoitona lihavuuteen ja sen liitännäissairauksiin. Tutkimus toteutettiin 29-65 -vuotiailla monotsygoottisilla kaksosilla. Pareja oli lopullisissa tilastollisissa analyyseissä yhteensä 20 paria. Näistä 16 luokiteltiin painoindeksiltään toisistaan eroaviksi. Kaikki tähän ryhmään kuuluneet tutkittavat saivat NR-lisää. Neljä paria taas oli painoindeksiltään samankaltaisia. Heidät jaettiin sokkoutetusti NR- ja plaseboryhmiin. NR-lisä oli kuukauden annosnoston jälkeen käytössä neljä kuukautta annoksella 1 gramma vuorokaudessa. NR:n vaikutusta eri aineenvaihdunnan osa-alueisiin tutkittiin muun muassa verikokein, magneettikuvin ja kudosnäyttein. Tutkimuksessa selvisi, että NR-lisä nostaa merkittävästi veren NAD+:n ja sen aineenvaihduntatuotteiden pitoisuuksia. Toisaalta NR-lisän aikana kaksosten kehonkoostumuksessa ja aineenvaihdunnassa ei nähty paranemista. Paino ja rasvaprosentti nousivat tilastollisesti merkitsevästi mutta eivät kliinisesti merkittävästi. Tutkimuksessa nähty veren NAD+-pitoisuuksien nousu on linjassa aiempien tutkimusten kanssa, mutta vastaavia kehonkoostumuksen muutoksia ei ole raportoitu muissa ihmisillä tehdyissä NR tutkimuksissa. Tässä tutkimuksessa nähdyt muutokset kehonkoostumuksessa ja aineenvaihdunnassa vaativat jatkotutkimuksia.