Obesity promotes colorectal cancer risk: Research

Islamabad : People with obesity have a 50% greater risk of developing colorectal cancer than lean people, according to a recent research.

The scientists have revealed a biological connection between obesity and colorectal cancer, and they have identified an approved drug that might prevent the cancer from developing.

They found that obesity, whether from excess fat, carbohydrate consumption or both, is associated with loss of the hormone guanylin.
Guanylin is produced in the lining cells, or epithelium, of the intestine.

The lining of the intestines is very dynamic and continuously being replaced. A receptor, guanylin cyclase C (GUCY2C), contributes to this regeneration.
Guanylin is the hormone that turns on this receptor.

The findings showed that a high caloric diet turned off the expression of guanylin in the intestine, leading to deactivation of a tumour suppressor pathway. One feature of colorectal cancer is the deactivation of the guanylin gene. This has been seen in both humans and animals.

Morbidly obese patients have an 80% lower guanylin gene expression compared with lean people. It appears that the guanylin hormone receptor acts as a growth-controlling tumour suppressor. Without the hormone, the receptor is silenced from the early stages of the cancer.

This causes the epithelium to become dysfunctional and sets up the conditions for cancer development.

The experiments showed that the hormone and its receptor were far more likely to be silenced in obese mice than in lean mice. The team proposes that colorectal cancer could be prevented in obese individuals through hormone replacement therapy, in the same way that diabetes is treated with insulin.

The researchers also showed that caloric restriction can reverse the effect of excess calorie consumption and reconstitute guanylin expression, even in obese mice, suggesting a role for lifestyle changes.

One hookah session delivers 125 times smoke of one cigarette. The research revealed that one hookah session delivers about 125 times the smoke, 25 times the tar, 2, 5 times the nicotine and 10 times the carbon monoxide of a single cigarette. The health detriments of cigarette smoking are, by now, very well known to the general public. Though some people believe the myth that because hookahs employ a water bowl, it makes them safer by drawing the smoke through the water, a new study unveils some shocking discoveries about just how harmful hookah smoking is. The hookahs are water pipes from which people can smoke specially made tobacco with flavors, including apple, mint, cherry, chocolate and watermelon.

The researchers have reported different estimates for inhaled toxicants from cigarettes or hookahs, which made it hard to know exactly what to report to policy makers or in educational materials.

The study findings demonstrate the dangers that hookah smoking present, and he cautions that “it should be monitored more closely than it is currently.
“For example,” he adds, “hookah smoking was not included in the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey System questionnaire, which assesses cigarette smoking, chewing tobacco, electronic cigarettes and many other forms of substance abuse.

The researchers acknowledge that comparing a single hookah smoking session to smoking a single cigarette is problematic, due to smoking pattern differences. For example, a regular cigarette smoker may smoke 20 cigarettes each day, while a regular hookah smoker may only use a hookah a few times each day. “It’s not a perfect comparison because people smoke cigarettes and hookahs in very different ways,” says Dr Primack.
He explains that the reason they had to carry out their analysis in this way is that it is how underlying studies report their findings.

According to the CDC, hookah smokers may be at risk for some of the same diseases smokers face, including oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, reduced lung function and reduced fertility.

Just one day of unhealthy eating can impact sleep quality. A study suggested that eating foods low in fibre but high in saturated fat may lead to reduced duration of slow-wave sleep - the stage of sleep that restores physical and mental energy. Diet is one of the most important contributors to health, affecting our risk of obesity, heart disease and numerous other conditions. Now, a new study claims that what we eat also has important implications for sleep quality.

The participants were put on a controlled diet, in which they consumed fixed meals prepared by a nutritionist that were low in saturated fat and high in protein. For the last day, participants chose their own foods - which were typically higher in saturated fat and sugar and lower in fiber than the fixed meals. Participants underwent polysomnography from the third night - a test used to diagnose sleep disorders, which records brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing and eye and leg movements.

The researchers were surprised to find that after just a single day on a self-selected diet, the participants took longer to fall asleep than when they were on the controlled diet; it took them 29 minutes to fall asleep when they chose their own foods, compared with 17 minutes when they consumed fixed meals.

According to the researchers, sleep quality was linked to higher intake of saturated fat. High fiber intake with the controlled diet, however, was associated with more slow-wave sleep. Additionally, they found that higher intake of sugar with a self-selected diet was associated with more sleep disruptions. The sleep problems may benefit from a healthier diet, though they note further research in this field is warranted.

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