THURSDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Nations with open trade policies have greater densities of fast food restaurants and higher rates of obesity than those with more trade controls, a new study has found.

"It's not by chance that countries with the highest obesity rates and fast food restaurants are those in the forefront of market liberalization, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, versus countries like Japan and Norway, with more regulated and restrictive trade policies," lead researcher Roberto De Vogli, an associate professor in the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said in a university news release.

For example, the analysis of data from 26 wealthy nations showed that the United States has 7.5 fast food restaurants per 100,000 people, and the density in Canada is 7.4 per 100,000. Obesity rates in the United States are 31 percent for men and 33 percent for women, and obesity rates in Canada are about 23 percent for men and women.

In comparison, Japan has 0.13 fast food restaurants per 100,000 people and Norway has 0.19 per 100,000 people. Obesity rates in Japan are 2.9 percent for men and 3.3 percent for women. Obesity rates in Norway are 6.4 percent for men and 5.9 percent for women, according to the study published in the December issue of the journal Critical Public Health.

The effect that market forces have on obesity is largely overlooked, according to De Vogli.

"In my opinion, the public debate is too much focused on individual genetics and other individual factors, and overlooks the global forces in society that are shaping behaviors worldwide. If you look at trends over time for obesity, it's shocking," he said in the news release.

"Since the 1980s, since the advent of trade liberalization policies that have indirectly . . . promoted transnational food companies . . . we see rates that have tripled or quadrupled. There is no biological, genetic, psychological or community level factor that can explain this. Only a global type of change can explain this," De Vogli stated.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases outlines the health risks of being overweight.

FRIDAY, Dec. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Taking up running is a good way to boost your fitness level in the year ahead, but one expert cautioned that anyone new to the sport -- or exercise in general -- should have realistic expectations about the commitment it takes to reach their goals.

"Running is very accepting of beginners. It's a great way to stay active at all ages, and it's a healthy choice for those who have set a New Year's resolution to get in shape. We used to believe it would ruin your joints. There have been several studies in recent years about running, aging and arthritis that have disproved this idea," Chris Sebelski, an assistant professor of physical therapy at Saint Louis University, said in a news release.

First, people need to prepare themselves and come up with a realistic plan to not only get started but also stick with their newfound running routine. Sebelski offered the following tips to help runners achieve their goals:

• Get a checkup. Primary care physicians should be informed about new exercise plans so they can help prevent injuries or other health issues. "Remember, it's so much better to prevent injuries than to try to recover from them," she warned.
• Set reasonable goals. It's easy to be enthusiastic at the start of a new exercise program, but anyone who has been inactive for a while may get tired easily. Starting slow allows the body to get used to a new activity. "Make your goals personal," she said. "On an everyday level, the key is to think about small steps and celebrate the little victories."
• Expect setbacks. Common occurrences, such as colds, scheduling conflicts and family issues, could interfere with a running program. Sebelski advised runners to adjust their workouts and not throw in the towel if they have to take a day off. "On a day when you realize you're not going to be able to complete your normal routine, evaluate the situation and set a good goal for that day," Sebelski suggested. "Always do something. Eight minutes is better than nothing."
• Eat smart. Once people start running regularly they may burn more calories and feel hungrier. It's important, she noted, that they still choose their foods wisely and focus on eating lean proteins and whole grains. It's also important to drink plenty of water.
• Add variety. Cross-training, or including other forms of exercise into a training program, will help runners achieve their goals. "Running itself is an all-over body sport. People think it's concentrated in the legs, but that's not true. It affects your arms, back, trunk and almost every muscle in your body," Sebelski explained. "Cross-training is helpful because you'll strengthen these other muscles and avoid the injury risk posed by the repetitive motion of running every day."
• Strengthen your core. Sebelski recommended yoga and Pilates to help strengthen the core muscles in your abdomen, back and pelvic area. "There's a big link between core strength and breathing. Core strength assists with posture, which in turn will make breathing easier," she said.
• Stay focused. After the first month or two, new runners may lose some enthusiasm for the sport since it's hard work. Sebelski recommended joining a running group or reaching out to other runners or friends to inform them about running goals to help stay motivated.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provides a guide on how to get more physical activity.

SUNDAY, Jan. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Losing weight is one of the most common New Year's resolutions, but changing long-held behaviors is a skill in itself, a medical expert says.

To shed unwanted pounds and keep them off, people have to be ready to face some setbacks and keep on trying, said Dr. Jessica Bartfield, an internal medicine and medical weight-loss specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of the Loyola University Health System.

"People need a motivation to lose weight and the new year is an opportunity to start fresh," Bartfield said in a Loyola news release. "Behavior change is the cornerstone of healthy, successful weight loss and it takes about three months to establish a new behavior," she pointed out.

"When you learn to ride a bike, you expect that you will fall down a couple times and are prepared to try again and get back on; you need to have the same expectation with weight loss and to plan accordingly," she explained.

Only 20 percent of Americans who've tried to lose weight will keep the weight off after one year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bartfield offered the following tips to help reverse this trend and help people achieve and maintain their weight-loss goals:

• Don't skip breakfast. "Eating within one hour of awakening can boost your metabolism up to 20 percent for the rest of the day," Bartfield said. "Eating something is better than eating nothing, but ideally try to incorporate protein for longer-lasting fuel."
• Have a weekly weight check. "Monitoring your weight on a weekly basis provides a fairly accurate weight trend and, more importantly, an early detection of any weight regain, which allows you to adjust behaviors accordingly," Bartfield said.
• Exercise for one hour every day. "Snow shoveling, vacuuming, taking the stairs -- you don't have to run like a hamster on a wheel for 60 minutes. Take three 20-minute brisk walks, or compile the one hour based on a series of activities," she advised.
• Limit TV to fewer than 10 hours each week. "Many argue they don't have time to exercise, but when I ask them to count the hours they spend watching TV or surfing the Net, they are able to find the time for activities where they are moving instead of sitting," Bartfield said.
• Keep track of your physical activity. "Park your car farther away, take the stairs, manually change TV channels -- these are all simple ways to get more physical activity and you need to write them down as they are performed to keep yourself honest," Bartfield said. "Also wearing a pedometer can help accurately document and track your progress."
• Keep track of calories. Do not underestimate how many calories you consume at each meal.
• Set clear, realistic goals. Avoid setting vague goals. Objectives need to be specific and attainable. People can start by trying to lose 10 percent of their body weight, Bartfield recommended.
• Be consistent. "Eat at regular intervals seven days per week," Bartfield advised. "Being 'good' on the weekdays and then splurging on the weekend creates a harmful cycle that discourages weight loss."
• Plan for setbacks. "When you learn to drive, or learn a sport or musical instrument, you make mistakes and you have an experienced instructor -- maybe even several -- to help correct the mistakes and prevent repeats. Enlist a trusted friend, or enroll in a program to learn and master the rules of weight loss," Bartfield said.

When it comes to teenagers who need to lose weight, parents should get involved. "Treating child and adolescent obesity needs to be a family effort; families need to change behaviors," she said. "Research shows that families -- and even couples -- who change behavior together are the most successful."

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine provides more information on weight control.

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins B, C, D and E in their blood performed better on certain measures of thinking abilities, and also tended to have larger brain volume, a new study finds.

Seniors with high levels of trans fats in their blood fared worse on certain thinking tests than those with lower levels of the unhealthy fats, and also had more brain shrinkage.

Researchers said the findings suggest that nutrients work "in synergy" with one another to be protective of brain health.

"For people with a vitamin profile high in B, C, D, E, those particular nutrients seem to be working together on some level," said lead study author Gene Bowman, an assistant professor in the department of neurology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. "Having high scores for those vitamins was associated with better cognitive function and larger brain volume."

The study is published in the Dec. 28 online edition and the Jan. 24 print issue of the journal Neurology.

In the study, researchers measured levels of more than 30 nutrients in the blood of 104 people with an average age of 87. Overall, participants were well-educated, healthy nonsmokers who had relatively few chronic diseases and were free of memory and thinking problems. Researchers also did MRI scans of 42 participants to measure their brain volume.

Some amount of brain atrophy, or shrinkage, occurs with aging. More significant shrinkage is associated with mental decline and Alzheimer's disease.

The investigators found that the various nutrients seemed to affect different aspects of thinking, suggesting that they work on different pathways in the brain.

People with high levels of vitamins B, C, D and E performed better on tests of executive function and attention, and had better visuospatial skills and global cognitive function. They also had bigger brains, the study authors noted.

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in foods such as salmon, were associated with better executive function and with fewer changes to the white matter of the brain, but there was no association between omega-3s and any of the other measures of mental abilities.

"Executive function" is a term used to describe higher level thinking involving planning, attention and problem solving. In this case, seniors were asked to do an exercise that involved matching the number 1 with the letter A, the number 2 with B, and so on, which shows flexibility in thought, Bowman explained.

White matter changes can be indicative of damage to the small blood vessels of the brain, he said.

The people with high levels of trans fats performed worse on tests of mental abilities and had smaller brains, according to the report.

Dr. Marc Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y., said the study is "intriguing." While most studies ask people to recall what they ate, in this one, researchers actually measured what participants had absorbed by using blood biomarkers.

"Two issues make this approach more valid," said Gordon, also an Alzheimer's researcher at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y. "One could be the unreliability of people's recollections about what they ate, and the other is that just because someone ate something doesn't mean they absorbed it."

However, he said, the group studied was unique in that they were unusually healthy for their age. The results might be different in a less healthy group of seniors. Prior research, for example, looked at giving people with Alzheimer's omega-3 fatty acid supplements and found it didn't help.

The researchers noted that because their study was observational, meaning they found an association between certain nutrients and brain characteristics rather than showing cause-and-effect, it's too soon to tell everyone to start taking a vitamin containing B, C, D and E.

In addition, another variable is that older people who eat lots of foods containing those nutrients may have difficulty absorbing them.

Even so, the study suggests it makes good sense to limit trans fats, which are often found in fried foods, doughnuts, pastries, pizza dough, cookies, crackers and stick margarines and shortenings, and to eat lots of fruits, vegetables and fatty fish.

"The question is: Do people need to eat healthier foods, or do they need to stay away from unhealthy foods? It looks like you need to do both. Eat more healthy foods and stay away from unhealthy foods," Bowman said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has more on eating a nutritious diet as you age.