The fat gene and BMI - wrong about people of color

It’s been a somewhat quiet day for me today, so I thought I’d discuss something that I found interesting. Now I’m sure everyone has heard about the fat gene that was found a decade ago. And you must have heard of the body/mass index (BMI). Both of these things are critical to the current cries of crisis about obesity in the nation.

But what if all that information was wrong? What if all the research was only relevant to a portion of the population. That changes a lot doesn’t it?

Well I wondered about that, and the fact is that the BMI and the fat gene don’t apply to African Americans as they are currently defined. That’s right, they apply to Whites – specifically a portion of them. Thus all the health nut fears, medication and news are faulty.

Fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) is the gene that was found to be linked to obesity. It is found in 45% of Whites, 52% of West Africans, and 14% in Chinese/Japanes people. Of those with this gene, 35% of European Whites have a variation that leads to gaining extra weight. Note that so far studies have not found this variant in non-Whites, inasmuch as I could determine.

Now consider this. The BMI was created based on Whites, generally from European descent, without consideration to age, gender, or race. Considering the facts above, learned in 1999, it should be clear than any absolute scale that is based solely on Whites of a single age is beyond flawed.

Just recently a study done at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Houston found that the BMI index is wrong.

“Just because you weigh a certain amount doesn't necessarily mean you are overweight. Take, for example, an athlete who is very muscular and still weighs up to 300 pounds.” Dr. Molly Bray - associate professor of pediatrics - nutrition at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at BCM and Texas Children's Hospital

For example, the BMI for African American women is off by almost 2%, making them register on the scale as overweight when they are not. And for Hispanic/Latinas (1.65%), Asians (2.65%), and Asian-Indians (5.98%) the scale is off in the other direction, making them under their actual mass. It may not sound like a big deal, but it is.

That means that out of the 80% of African American women now considered overweight, many are perfectly normal. That means potentially millions of Black women are on diets (both fads and medially directed), taking medication, and suffering emotional stress for no reason at all. That’s potentially billions of dollars being wasted based on a chart that doesn’t work.

For Hispanic/Latinas, Asians, and others this means that they are at even greater risk of heart disease and medical complications to their health, and no one is telling them.

And these corrections to the BMI apply in similar levels for men of the respective race.

This doesn’t mean that suddenly everyone can stop trying to be healthy. But it does mean that money, time, and stress are being wasted on one side while others are put at unhealthy risk. Yet I haven’t heard a word about this in the major media. You aren’t hearing this in the cable news programs when they discuss health and diets. You don’t hear a whisper from the various diet gurus, or mega-corporations with pills for every aspect of weight loss.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming Whites for the fat gene. Nor am I saying the BMI is a bad idea. But I am saying that basing medical facts on a single proxy, as we learn that the proxy is inaccurate is more than just stupid, it is harmful.

Maybe this doesn’t matter to most people. Perhaps a few women (and men for that matter) might have a bit less stress, or get better medical information that can help their lives. Maybe it will help raise the self-esteem of even one woman (or man) who is hurting herself with fad diets to match a BMI target, or fight a fat gene, her body should never match.

If this helps even one, then I feel good.

Future fathers need to buy this

I know this has nothing to do with entertainment, though it could be the end result of such, but I wanted to include this post I wrote for a client.

I think that we all have seen television programs, or movies, that highlight the plight of an imminently expecting mother-to-be dealing with her husband as he tries to get her to the hospital. And recently there was no less than Senator Obama discussing how he was driving 15 miles an hour to ensure the safety of his newborn and wife on the trip home.

These stories are too real to be made up as fiction. In fact every woman I know who has had a child can attest to the fact that otherwise sane and intelligent men are blithering idiots when it comes to that trip to and from the hospital. Men are known to forget the overnight bag, the car, their clothes, and on occasion the mother in their rush to do something. Luckily for the human race women are far more capable of dealing with the situation and coping with the failures men inevitably make at this time.

But I ran across an ad recently that brought all of this up to me and I felt I should mention it. This is the ultimate gift, and better yet an easy way to cover for or obscure the jibbering mass of flesh otherwise known as the Dad-to-be.

The product is called the Mom To-Be Delivery Kit™. It holds 14 items which include:

• Preggie Pops(R) Lollipops
  
• Vanity kit
  
• Vitamin e-stick
  
• Toothbrush
  
• Cozy socks
  
• Toothpaste
  
• Headband
  
• Luxurious shampoo
  
• Head-to-toe Bella B(TM) Products
  
• Conditioner
  
• Massager
  
• Massage soap bar
  
• Mouthwash
  
• Facial soap
  

I can only guess how many men forget the socks. Or the vanity kit, or toothpaste. In fact I can tell you without question that I, a single man without a single child and in a state of complete calm, had not thought of including 10 of the items on the list. Though I don’t know what Bella B products are so I did not include that as it seems to not be a common knowledge item.

I can only hope that my post of this information is able to make some mother out there have a slightly more bearable birth. I can only hope that it provides future fathers out there a moment of lucidity. And if I have you can name the child Michael after me with my permission.

Michael Vass annual medical exam - 3.11.2008.2

Once a year I take a moment to speak about health, particularly mine. That time has come again this year.

I cannot emphasize enough the need to be sure of your medical health. Often it’s because men, especially African American and Hispanic/Latino men, rarely go to the doctor when we are sick it’s normally a very bad situation. Far too common is the fact that a little prevention like an annual checkup is all that is needed to catch a cancer in its early stages.

This is even more important if you have family history that makes you at higher risk. In my family I have had a sister, who is younger than me, diagnosed with early stage cancer. That was found by luck during an exam. My father had cancer of the tongue, high blood pressure, and diabetes. My grand-mother died of a heart attack in her 60’s. None of these things are unusual in Black families. In fact I had my best friend lose his father to Prostate cancer that was not detected until late stage of the disease. And it killed him. He was only in his 50’s. As was my father.

So yes I take this serious. And so should you. I don’t like doctors any more than anyone else. And as a small business owner I don’t have health insurance so the cash coming out of my pocket is huge. Yet it’s money worth it.

• My total cholesterol was at 128. Which is highly desirable and means a lowered risk of heart disease.
  
• My blood pressure is 102/94 which is also good.
  
• My heart rate is about 78, which is ok.
  
• My AIDS test was negative. I get that checked every year, and have been since I was in the military at age 18. It’s always good to know.
  
• My PSA, a prostate cancer test, was .7, down from .97 the year before. This is an excellent report.
  
• But a potential negative is that my C-protein test was high, and up by 100%. While still in low range, it is a forward indicator of potential heart disease. Thus I need to stop (or at least cut back under the 1 pack a day I’m at) my smoking, eat vegetables (which I despise), work out, and learn how much fat I eat and cut it to 30%. Drinking is also a factor in this I’m told.
  

But I recently learned from my doctor that 15% of men that have normal results from the PSA test may still have prostate cancer. Thus at the ripe age of 39 years 11 months and 27 days to go I had my first prostate exam. It was not something I was looking forward to, but was long overdue.

Because of the prevalence of Black men getting and dying from prostate cancer it’s recommended that we start getting checked at 35. My best friend started at 33 because of his father. And if you think, like I did, that a normal PSA means you don’t need the exam, remember this. My doctor knows a man that had a normal test and upon the exam was found to have early stage cancer. Because it was found the cancer was removed and the guy is living a normal life. Had he not, the PSA may not have found anything until far too late.

And as men of color, who don’t like tests and doctors as is, do you really want to risk missing a cancer that we are in the highest risk group for? Especially since the exam does not cost anything extra?

Now I won’t tell you the exam was pleasant. It wasn’t. And as embarrassing as it was I will tell you this, it was not as bad as you imagine it to be. Maybe 30 seconds of feeling highly unpleasant, but not extreme pain. But it confirmed that I have no signs of this killer disease among people of color.

I rarely see any bloggers, especially blogs by men of color, which discuss this. It needs to be talked about a bit. It will save lives.

Get an annual physical. Check for diabetes, AIDS, prostate cancer. Check your cholesterol levels and other tests. Even if you don’t think you need it. Because like insurance, you only will be concerned after you find out that you need it.

Older fathers share risk in offspring health

Modern medical research is amazing these days. The things we learn about the human body, health and fitness today makes us have to re-think all those givens we took for granted. This is especially true for men’s health.

One example is a recent finding about a man’s age and how that affects the health of his offspring. I for one believed, as do my friends, that a man can father a child well into his 90’s. That there was no time limit or negative associated with increasing age for a man and the risk of child defects and deteriorating health. It would seem this belief could be quite wrong.

As a man of 40 (ok 39 and 9 months) that has no children now, this caught my attention. Previously I believed that there was no time limit, other than the fact that I am growing too old for some women. I have always maintained the hope that one day I can have children, and that they would be healthy and strong.

But according to an article in the Daily Herald a man’s biological clock exists and is counting down. The clock works out like this:

• 20s: Men have the maximum amount of mature sperm cells and the least DNA damage. The risk of producing birth defects in offspring is as low as it ever will be.


• 30s: The mid-30s bring a significant increase in sperm DNA damage and thus an increased risk of producing birth defects. One in 99 fathers ages 30-35 sires a child with schizophrenia vs. one in 141 for fathers under age 25.


• 40s: The risk of schizophrenia doubles in children of fathers in their late 40s compared with children of fathers under age 25. Men 40 and older are nearly six times more likely to have offspring with autism than men younger than 30.


• 50s: The DNA cells that create sperm have gone through more than 800 rounds of division and replication, vastly increasing the chances of mutation and birth defects. The risk of schizophrenia almost triples for children of fathers 50 and older; one in 47 fathers sires a child with the condition.


• 60s: 85 percent of sperm is clinically abnormal.

Now research on this issue is still being done. There are no formal conclusions yet. But it is advised that

“If you're drinking or smoking, if you're working in toxic environments with pesticides, X-rays, solvents or ionizing radiation, these things affect you as well as women, and will ultimately affect the children you conceive.”

I had never really considered that. I’ve always had a mental image that said I can always have kids. That somehow my smoking never had an affect on ability to have children, and my age was irrelevant. But this new data gives me pause.

Now that does not mean I would not still want children. It does give me a further reason to be in better shape and without my nicotine addiction. Nothing is more motivating that the desire for offspring, as I’ve understood the nature of the world. Thus nothing is more motivation to be healthy than providing them the best start in life I can.

Just a thought. Something to think about.