Adult Obesity Rates Top 35% in 7 States, No State Rate Improved Significantly

Report emphasizes urgent need to increase evidence-based obesity prevention programs to prevent disease and potentially save billions in healthcare spending   

Seven U. S. states had adult obesity rates at or above 35 percent in 2017, up from five states in 2016, and no state had a statistically significant improvement in its obesity rate over the past year, according to new national data reported in the 15^th annual State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America released today by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

Newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System show that states with high adult obesity rates are increasing with no less than one in five adults having obesity in every state. Levels of obesity vary considerably from state to state, with a low of 22.6 percent in Colorado and a high of 38.1 percent in West Virginia.

Findings include:

• Adult obesity rates are at or above 35 percent in seven states; for the first time in Iowa and Oklahoma, and at least the second time in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia. As recently as 2012, no state had an adult obesity rate over 35 percent.
• Six states – Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and South Carolina – saw their adult obesity rates increase significantly between 2016 and 2017.
• Adult obesity rates are between 30 and 35 percent in 22 states and 19 states have adult obesity rates between 25 and 30 percent.
• Over the past five years (2012 – 2017), 31 states had statistically significant increases in their obesity rate and no state had a statistically significant decrease in its obesity rate.
• Obesity levels are highest in Black and Latino communities, low-income and rural communities, places where residents often have limited access to healthy options. According to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, nationally, adult obesity rates for Latinos (47.0 percent) and Blacks (46.8 percent) are much higher than among Whites (37.9 percent), and, 34.2 percent of adults living in rural areas have obesity compared to 28.7 percent of adults living in metro areas.

“Obesity is a complex and often intractable problem and America’s obesity epidemic continues to have serious health and cost consequences for individuals, their families and our nation,” said John Auerbach, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “The good news is that there is growing evidence that certain prevention programs can reverse these trends. But we won’t see meaningful declines in state and national obesity rates until they are implemented throughout the nation and receive sustained support.”

Obesity is a problem in virtually every city and town, and every income and social sector. But its impact is most serious in communities where conditions make access to healthy foods and regular physical activity more difficult, such as lower income and rural areas, including many communities of color.

There are, however, bright spots in certain settings where policies and programs have made it easier to eat well and exercise. For example, the obesity rate among children enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program declined between 2011 and 2014.

The national costs of obesity are enormous. Obesity drives an estimated $149 billion annually in directly related healthcare spending, and an additional $66 billion annually in lowered economic productivity. Also, one in three young adults is ineligible for military service, owing to being overweight, posing a national security vulnerability.

Evidence-based programs, policies and practices to reverse the obesity trend are known but need widespread implementation.

Federal, state and local government and other entities should work to prevent obesity by:

• Promoting policies and scaling obesity prevention programs that take a multi-sector approach such as aligning the efforts of health departments, schools and transportation officials.
• Adopting and implementing policies that help make healthy choices easier.
• Investing in programs designed to narrow health inequities such as ensuring that all communities have access to affordable, healthy food options and safe places to exercise.

“Obesity is a major challenge in nearly every state and our role as public health leaders is to ensure we’re doing everything we can to address it,” said John Wiesman, president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and secretary of health at the Washington State Department of Health. “Our goal at the state level is to work across sectors to advocate for and implement evidence-based policies that encourage active healthy living and support healthy and safe communities that provide access to healthy foods, physical activity, and clinical preventive services.”

Recommendations

The report offers 40 recommendations for federal, state and local policymakers; the restaurant and food industries; and the healthcare system, including:

• Support and expand policies and programs aimed at addressing obesity at the federal, state and community levels, including programs in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, and community health programs like the Racial and Ethnic Approaches for Community Health program (REACH), and programs that focus on school health in CDC’s Division of Population Health.
• Maintain and strengthen essential nutrition supports for low-income children, families and individuals through programs — like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–and expand programs and pilots to make healthy foods more available and affordable through the program.
• Maintain nutrition standards for school meals that were in effect prior to USDA’s interim final rule from November 2017, as well as current nutrition standards for school snacks.
• States should ensure that all students receive at least 60 minutes of physical education or activity during each school day.
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, should ensure that the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans reflect the latest and best nutrition science, include developing recommendations for children ages 2 and under in a transparent, timely manner.
• Actively support the recommendations of Step It Up! The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities.
• Medicare should encourage eligible beneficiaries to enroll in obesity counseling as a covered benefit, and, evaluate its use and effectiveness. Health plans, medical schools, continuing medical education, and public health departments should raise awareness about the need and availability of these services.
• Food and beverage companies should eliminate children’s exposure to advertising and marketing of unhealthy products.
• Hospitals should no longer sell or serve sugary drinks on their campuses; they should also improve the nutritional quality of meals and promote breastfeeding.

State by State rates of obesity among adults: 1 = highest rate of obesity, 51 = lowest rate

1. West Virginia (38.1%), 2. Mississippi (37.3%), 3. Oklahoma (36.5%), 4. Iowa (36.4%), 5. Alabama (36.3%), 6. Louisiana (36.2%), 7. Arkansas (35.0%), 8. Kentucky (34.3%), 9. Alaska (34.2 %), 10. South Carolina (34.1%), 11. Ohio (33.8%), 12. Indiana (33.6%), 13. North Dakota (33.2%), 14. Texas (33.0%), 15. Tie Tennessee and Nebraska (32.8%), 17. Missouri (32.5%), 18. Kansas (32.4%), 19. Michigan (32.3%), 20. North Carolina (32.1%), 21. Wisconsin (32.0%), 22. South Dakota (31.9%), 23. Delaware (31.8%), 24. Tie Pennsylvania and Georgia (31.6%), 26. Maryland (31.3%), 27. Illinois (31.1%), 28. Virginia (30.1%), 29. Rhode Island (30.0%), 30. Arizona (29.5%), 31. Oregon (29.4%), 32. Idaho (29.3%), 33. Maine (29.1%), 34. Wyoming (28.8%), 35. Tie Minnesota, Florida and New Mexico (28.4%), 38. New Hampshire (28.1%), 39. Washington (27.7%), 40. Vermont (27.6%), 41. New Jersey (27.3%), 42. Connecticut (26.9%), 43. Nevada (26.7%), 44. Massachusetts (25.9%), 45. New York (25.7%), 46. Tie Montana and Utah (25.3%), 48. California (25.1%), 49. Hawaii (23.8 %), 50. District of Columbia (23.0%), 51. Colorado (22.6 %).

See full report at TFAH.org/ObesityReport2018 and StateofObesity.org for state-by-state obesity rates, data interactives, priority policy summaries, and briefs for all 50 states.

Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority. www.tfah.org

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/new-data-adult-obesity-rates-top-35-percent-in-seven-states-no-state-obesity-rate-improved-significantly-during-the-past-year/

Amgen Offering Golden Ticket for Biotech Startups

Once again, Amgen is accepting submissions for the 2018 Amgen-LabCentral Golden Ticketcompetition.

As in previous years, the winners get one-year free laboratory space at LabCentral, access to its various shared amenities and services, mentorship by Amgen scientists, and access to talent and expertise across the Amgen network. The call for proposals is open from September 4 through October 19 and finalists will be notified on November 19.

LabCentral is a 70,000 square-foot shared lab space facility in Kendall Square, Cambridge. It is designed to be a launchpad for high-potential life science and biotech startup companies.

Amgen is one of LabCentral’s platinum sponsors, and as such, can nominate up to two early-stage companies each year to use space at the facility. The facilities include fully functional laboratory space, permits, waste handling, and reasonably common laboratory equipment. There is also access to conference rooms, event space, and a kitchen. LabCentral, in addition, hosts programming related to life-science startups. It can accommodate about 200 scientists, and has 54 individual lab bays, and eleven 3-4 scientist “pods” in a shared lab. There are 15 private lab suites of 450 to 1,050 square feet for companies of up to 18 employees, and communal space.

Companies currently in residence include 3DBioLabs, Abexxa Biologics, Affinivax, Akrevia Therapeutics, Cocoon Biotech, Hopewell Therapeutics, Holobiome, Totient and others.

In April 2018, the company that won Amgen’s 2017 Golden Ticket, QurAlis, officially launchedwith financial support from Amgen Ventures. QurAlis is focused on developing a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It was started by Kevin Eggan and Clifford Woolf, two Harvard professors.

QurAlis is developing treatments for three different types of ALS with known disease mechanisms. ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, attacks and kills the nerve cells that control voluntary muscles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 12,000 to 15,000 people in the U.S. have ALS, with about 5,000 to 6,000 diagnosed each year.

The QurAlis launch was also backed by Alexandria Venture Investments and MP Healthcare Venture Management, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, which developed the ALS drug Radicava, which was approved in May 2017.

In a statement at the launch, Kasper Roet, QurAlis’ cofounder and chief executive officer, said, “The participation of MPH, Amgen and Alexandria is an incredible validation for our strategy and brings us closer to bringing innovative precision medicine to ALS patients.”

Applications for the Golden Ticket should include the company mission, targeted market and patient population, any relevant intellectual property (IP), upcoming milestones, including financing, commercialization strategy, management team and anticipated benefits of securing the golden ticket.

After finalists are notified on November 19, they will be scheduled to pitch to an Internal Amgen committee on December 4. And on December 11 there is a “Pitch it for a Golden Ticket” Event with a live announcement of the winners.

Alumni companies from LabCentral include NanKwest, Rubius Therapeutics, Torque, Unum Therapeutics and numerous others.

https://www.biospace.com/article/-jc1n-amgen-offering-golden-ticket-for-biotech-startups/

Smartphone-powered $100 ultrasound machine

UBC researcher Carlos Gerardo shows new ultrasound transducer

Credit: Clare Kiernan, University of British Columbia

Engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new ultrasound transducer, or probe, that could dramatically lower the cost of ultrasound scanners to as little as $100. Their patent-pending innovation — no bigger than a Band-Aid — is portable, wearable and can be powered by a smartphone.

Conventional ultrasound scanners use piezoelectric crystals to create images of the inside of the body and send them to a computer to create sonograms. Researchers replaced the piezoelectric crystals with tiny vibrating drums made of polymer resin, called polyCMUTs (polymer capacitive micro-machined ultrasound transducers), which are cheaper to manufacture.

“Transducer drums have typically been made out of rigid silicon materials that require costly, environment-controlled manufacturing processes, and this has hampered their use in ultrasound,” said study lead author Carlos Gerardo, a PhD candidate in electrical and computer engineering at UBC. “By using polymer resin, we were able to produce polyCMUTs in fewer fabrication steps, using a minimum amount of equipment, resulting in significant cost savings.”

Sonograms produced by the UBC device were as sharp as or even more detailed than traditional sonograms produced by piezoelectric transducers, said co-author Edmond Cretu, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“Since our transducer needs just 10 volts to operate, it can be powered by a smartphone, making it suitable for use in remote or low-power locations,” he added. “And unlike rigid ultrasound probes, our transducer has the potential to be built into a flexible material that can be wrapped around the body for easier scanning and more detailed views — without dramatically increasing costs.”

Co-author Robert Rohling, also a professor of electrical and computer engineering, said the next step in the research is to develop a wide range of prototypes and eventually test their device in clinical applications.

“You could miniaturize these transducers and use them to look inside your arteries and veins. You could stick them on your chest and do live continuous monitoring of your heart in your daily life. It opens up so many different possibilities,” said Rohling.

---

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of British Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Carlos D. Gerardo, Edmond Cretu, Robert Rohling. Fabrication and testing of polymer-based capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers for medical imaging. Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 2018; 4 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41378-018-0022-5

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180911110232.htm

Treadmill desks don’t hinder thinking but can hamper memory

If you’ve ever tried to recall a recently learned phone number while using a treadmill workstation, you know it can be tough. That’s because working memory isn’t as efficient when using a treadmill workstation as when sitting or standing, a new University of Michigan study found.

But other types of thinking, such as switching tasks and checking immediate impulses, also called inhibition, are the same whether sitting or standing.

In the study, researchers at the U-M School of Kinesiology assessed response time and accuracy of three components of executive function during sitting, standing and walking at two different speeds. The results showed that only working memory was slightly negatively impacted when walking, but inhibition and task shifting didn’t vary across the workstations.

“We think treadmill work desks are a feasible solution to promote employee health by reducing sedentariness during the work day,” said lead author Zhanjia Zhang, a doctoral student in the lab of Weiyun Chen, associate professor of kinesiology. “We’re not saying that employees should use a treadmill desk all of the time, but that employees should choose the right type of task so walking won’t impair efficiency.”

Roughly 46 percent of people spend most of the workday sitting, and studies have shown that walking 1 mph burns well over twice as many calories as sitting for the same time period––191 calories versus 72 calories per hour, respectively.

A person must cut 3,500 calories to lose one pound, so if treadmill desks were widely adopted in the workplace, they could have a positive impact on weight loss. Obesity is a major public health problem in the US, with roughly two-thirds of adults and one-third of children either overweight or obese.

In the study, 24 participants completed the different cognitive tests while sitting, standing and walking at a self-imposed pace of roughly 1.4 mph and a faster pace of 2.1 mph. Working memory was slightly impaired during the test where participants had to recall numbers they’d just been shown in a series.

The biggest difference between the U-M study and other treadmill desk research is that this study compared different measures of executive functions and used two different walking speeds.

Zhang said if a treadmill desk feels too unstable, a standing desk is also a better option than sitting, and burns more calories because people tend to fidget. Unlike standing desks, treadmill desks haven’t been widely adopted by employers because they’re expensive and often loud, he said.

The study appears online in PLOS One. Its two main study limitations are its small sample size and lack of long-term data. Other authors include Bing Zhang and Chunmei Cao of Tsinghua University in Beijing.

 Explore further: Stand and deliver at work with activity-promoting desks

More information: Zhanjia Zhang et al. The effects of using an active workstation on executive function in Chinese college students, PLOS ONE (2018). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197740

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-09-treadmill-desks-dont-hinder-hamper.html

New US legislation aims to expedite development of non-opioid pain drugs

The US Senate looks set to pass a set of laws designed to tackle the country’s opioid crisis, encouraging research into non-addictive painkillers, as well as preventing opioids entering the country from China through the mail.

More than 70 bipartisan bills, reported out of five Senate committees, are to be voted on this week and are designed to tackle nearly every aspect of the epidemic.

Key provisions affecting the drug industry include a requirement for the FDA to clarify regulations for non-addictive and non-opioid products, including new guidance on clinical trial endpoints.

The FDA will have to issue guidance to help drug companies develop non-opioid pain products that qualify for faster development pathways, such as Breakthrough Designation and Accelerated Approval routes.

There will also be FDA guidance on new pain endpoints, labelling, and help to advance development of products that can reduce, replace, or avoid patients’ use of opioids to control pain.

A new generation of non-opioid painkillers called nerve growth factor inhibitors are edging closer to the market after years of delays because of the FDA’s concerns about safety – but there is a need for more alternatives to break the US health system’s reliance on opioids to stop pain.

The FDA will also have to provide guidance on how it will consider the risks and benefits of drugs that have the potential to be misused or abused.

Other legislation clarifies how the FDA will interact with other agencies such as border protection and clarifies the agency’s post-market authorities for drugs such as opioids, which may have reduced efficacy over time.

On the research front the National Institutes for Health will be allowed to fast-track research connected to opioids.

Medicare will also be allowed to pay for substance use disorder treatment via telehealth.

Mail order opioids

Other measures in the legislation include allowing customs inspectors to screen parcels for fentanyl and other drugs entering the country via the US Postal Service, which will eventually provide advanced details to officials about all packages from high-risk countries.

Under existing laws the US Postal Service must generally obtain a warrant to inspect the contents of suspect parcels.

Required information includes the name and address of the sender, who will also be required to describe the contents of the package.

The law would close a loophole in the system as commercial carriers like FedEx and DHL must already provide the information, allowing packages to be screened.

The bill is called the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act and contains a provision where the postal service – an independent arm of the federal government – could be subject to civil fines if it fails to provide the information.

The service will initially be expected to provide information on at least 70% of the mail shipments, but this will rise to all shipments from high-risk countries such as China by the end of 2020.

Shipments for which there are no information will be blocked or destroyed under the new legislation.

https://pharmaphorum.com/news/new-us-legislation-aims-to-expedite-development-of-non-opioid-pain-drugs/

85% of insured Amazon Prime members said open to buying drugs on the site

• “We believe it is a question of when and where – and not if – Amazon enters the healthcare space more forcefully,” Deutsche analyst Lloyd Walmsley wrote Monday.
• Eighty-five percent of Prime members who have health insurance responded to a Deutsche survey that they would be willing purchase drugs on the site.
• Amazon announced plans to acquire online pharmacy PillPack in June, sparking a wave of selling in drug distribution stocks like Cardinal Health and McKesson.

The vast majority of Amazon Prime members who have health insurance told Deutsche Bank that they would be willing to purchase prescription drugs on the online retailer’s website.

According to the brokerage’s recent study, 85 percent of insured Prime members would be comfortable buying drugs straight from Amazon.com, posing a huge opportunity for the e-commerce behemoth, according to analyst Lloyd Walmsley.

This burgeoning interest, combined with Amazon’s announced acquisition of online pharmacy PillPack and its dominant Prime service, puts the company on an inevitable path toward a larger role in pharmaceuticals, the analyst wrote.

“Amazon has a history of starting small, testing the market and fine-tuning the service, before launching a full-fledged commercial operation,” Walmsley wrote Monday. “As such, we believe it is a question of when and where — and not if — Amazon enters the healthcare space more forcefully.”

Amazon announced plans to acquire PillPack in June, sparking a wave of selling in drug distribution stocks like Cardinal Health and McKesson, as well as drug retailers like CVS Health and Rite Aid.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed at the time, but individuals familiar with the discussions told CNBC that Amazon paid about $1 billion. But while Walmsley conceded that it could be years until the $930 billion-company establishes a commanding presence in the highly-regulated sector, some early opportunities remain.

“For Amazon, which has a … wide variety of healthy and organic grocery options at Whole Foods, and the ability to order items using voice commands (Alexa), we think the opportunity to upsell pharmacy customers to purchasing other items is substantial,” the analyst continued.

Amazon also announced earlier this year that it is teaming up with J.P. Morgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway to create an independent operation to help cut health care costs for the three companies’ 1.1 million employees.

Amazon’s stock, which remains Deutsche Bank’s top pick, has risen 8.2 percent since the announcement. The stock rose 0.2 percent Tuesday, adding to a climb of 66 percent since January.

In the near-term, though, the Seattle-based behemoth should be able to address a mail order pharmacy market worth about $22 billion, Walmsley said. Once the Amazon-PillPack deal is closed later this year, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos should be able to use the company’s 450 Whole Foods stores as new drug pick-up locations, the analyst said.

In time, the payoff could be impressive.

According to Walmsely, if Amazon can get to a 30 percent share of the mail order pharmacy market, as well as roughly $55 billion of front office sales and achieve 4 percent of U.S. online healthcare advertising, it could add $3 billion in gross profit.

Walmsley’s price target on Amazon is $2,300, implying more than 18 percent upside from Monday’s closing price.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/11/85percent-of-insured-prime-members-open-to-buying-drugs-on-amazon-deutsche.html

Bausch Health pays down debt by additional $107M

Bausch Health announced it has paid down an additional $57M of its senior secured term loans and $50M of its revolver borrowings, using cash on hand. As a result, the company has eliminated all mandatory amortization for the remainder of 2018. In addition, Bausch Health paid down $132M of debt earlier in the third quarter of 2018, which was disclosed when the company reported its second-quarter 2018 financial results last month. Together, these transactions bring the company’s total debt repayment in the quarter to nearly $240M.

https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=2788849