Is carnitine effective for feline weight loss?

Center SA, Warner KL, Randolph JF, Sunvold GD and Vickers JR. Influence of dietary supplementation with l-carnitine on metabolic rate, fatty acid oxidation, body condition, and weight loss in overweight cats. Am J Vet Res. 2012; 73: 1002-15.
 
In the world of feline nutrition, L-carnitine is a conditionally essential nutrient that plays a pivotal role in fatty acid metabolism. The investigators in this study wanted to determine whether L-carnitine as a dietary supplement would facilitate weight loss in overweight cats fed a weight-reduction diet on an unrestricted or restricted basis. As well, they wanted to evaluate retention of lean body mass (LBM) during weight loss, and preferential treatment use of fat for energy expenditure. Thirty-two healthy adult colony cats were fattened by being fed an unrestricted, energy-dense diet for 6 months. The cats were randomly assigned to 4 groups and fed a weight reduction diet supplemented with O, 50, 100, or 150 µg of carnitine/g of diet (unrestricted for 1 month, then restricted). After weight loss, the cats were allowed unrestricted feeding of the energy-dense diet to study weight gain after feeding the test diet ceased. 

Overall, the collective findings regarding absolute weight reduction do not suggest an obvious benefit of dietary carnitine supplementation in this respect. The results did indicate though that dietary L-carnitine supplementation appeared to have a metabolic effect in overweight cats undergoing rapid weight loss that facilitated fatty acid oxidation. This might explain why observations of supplementation with L-carnitine improved the probability of survival time in cats severely affected with hepatic lipidosis. A final phase of the study demonstrated the rapid rebound weight gain that may occur after substantial weight loss upon reinstitution of unrestricted feeding of an energy-dense diet. Some cats regained all weight lost during the study within 35 days after reinstitution of the energy-dense diet. [VT]

See also: Ibrahim W, Bailey N, Sunvold G and Bruckner G. Effects of carnitine and taurine on fatty acid metabolism and lipid accumulation in the liver of cats during weight gain and weight loss. Amer J Vet Res. 2003; 64: 1265-77.

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
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Center SA, Warner KL, Randolph JF, Sunvold GD and Vickers JR. Influence of dietary supplementation with l-carnitine on metabolic rate, fatty acid oxidation, body condition, and weight loss in overweight cats. Am J Vet Res. 2012; 73: 1002-15.
 
In the world of feline nutrition, L-carnitine is a conditionally essential nutrient that plays a pivotal role in fatty acid metabolism. The investigators in this study wanted to determine whether L-carnitine as a dietary supplement would facilitate weight loss in overweight cats fed a weight-reduction diet on an unrestricted or restricted basis. As well, they wanted to evaluate retention of lean body mass (LBM) during weight loss, and preferential treatment use of fat for energy expenditure. Thirty-two healthy adult colony cats were fattened by being fed an unrestricted, energy-dense diet for 6 months. The cats were randomly assigned to 4 groups and fed a weight reduction diet supplemented with O, 50, 100, or 150 µg of carnitine/g of diet (unrestricted for 1 month, then restricted). After weight loss, the cats were allowed unrestricted feeding of the energy-dense diet to study weight gain after feeding the test diet ceased. 

Overall, the collective findings regarding absolute weight reduction do not suggest an obvious benefit of dietary carnitine supplementation in this respect. The results did indicate though that dietary L-carnitine supplementation appeared to have a metabolic effect in overweight cats undergoing rapid weight loss that facilitated fatty acid oxidation. This might explain why observations of supplementation with L-carnitine improved the probability of survival time in cats severely affected with hepatic lipidosis. A final phase of the study demonstrated the rapid rebound weight gain that may occur after substantial weight loss upon reinstitution of unrestricted feeding of an energy-dense diet. Some cats regained all weight lost during the study within 35 days after reinstitution of the energy-dense diet. [VT]

See also: Ibrahim W, Bailey N, Sunvold G and Bruckner G. Effects of carnitine and taurine on fatty acid metabolism and lipid accumulation in the liver of cats during weight gain and weight loss. Amer J Vet Res. 2003; 64: 1265-77.

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Google+

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Mayfield named state's top doctor, as head of health department

Dr. Stephanie Mayfield

Dr. Stephanie Mayfield has been appointed as the commissioner for the state Department for Public Health, making her the first woman and first African American to hold the position, which has typically been held by a physician. The appointment was made by Audrey Haynes, secretary of health and family services.

The department is the largest health-care provider in the state, with an annual budget this year of almost $400 million. It includes 59 county and district health departments, many of which are "financially struggling," notes Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "The health departments have seen their budgets cut in recent years, leading to some lay offs and furloughs." (Read more)

Mayfield has been director of Kentucky’s public health laboratory since 2005. According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Mayfield and the state lab team have been instrumental in speeding up tuberculosis detection and in testing the state's newborns for a wide array of problems. In addition to overseeing the state lab, Mayfield has also served as a lecturer on rotation at the University of Kentucky School of Medicine’s Preventive and Occupational Medicine Residencies and the University of Louisville School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology.

Dr. Steve Davis, who as deputy commissioner has run the department for more than a year, tells Kentucky Health News that he will remain in the agency.

Dr. Stephanie Mayfield

Dr. Stephanie Mayfield has been appointed as the commissioner for the state Department for Public Health, making her the first woman and first African American to hold the position, which has typically been held by a physician. The appointment was made by Audrey Haynes, secretary of health and family services.

The department is the largest health-care provider in the state, with an annual budget this year of almost $400 million. It includes 59 county and district health departments, many of which are "financially struggling," notes Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "The health departments have seen their budgets cut in recent years, leading to some lay offs and furloughs." (Read more)

Mayfield has been director of Kentucky’s public health laboratory since 2005. According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Mayfield and the state lab team have been instrumental in speeding up tuberculosis detection and in testing the state's newborns for a wide array of problems. In addition to overseeing the state lab, Mayfield has also served as a lecturer on rotation at the University of Kentucky School of Medicine’s Preventive and Occupational Medicine Residencies and the University of Louisville School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology.

Dr. Steve Davis, who as deputy commissioner has run the department for more than a year, tells Kentucky Health News that he will remain in the agency.

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Obesity alert study: Portion size labels can be deliberately confusing and consumers are easily, even willingly, fooled

Yikes! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the "large" soda you order today is about six times as large as the one you ordered 60 years ago. "Food sizes have become larger over time," says Aradhna Krishna, a University of Michigan marketing professor who has been looking into portion size and perception. "So, that same hamburger has become bigger, the french fries have become bigger, and again this is leading to obesity."

Thinking a lot about this, Krishna tried an experiment. She gave people cookies that were labeled either medium or large, and then measured how much they ate. "The catch? The cookies were identical in size, What happened? You guessed it," reports NPR's Helen Thompson and Shanikar Vedantam. "People ate more cookies when they were labeled 'medium.' Rather than trust what their stomachs were telling them, in other words, people went by the label." It gets worse: "(They) think they've not eaten as much," says Krishna.

The researcher said women have known all about this principle for awhile, because it's what's been happening with sizes of clothing. It's something called "vanity sizing."  "What used to be a size 8 in the 1950s has become a size 4 in the 1970s and a zero in 2006," Krishna said. It makes you feel better about yourself and your body image. The real question, she asks, is how much do we want to be lied to or, indeed, how much do we lie to ourselves? (Read more)

Yikes! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the "large" soda you order today is about six times as large as the one you ordered 60 years ago. "Food sizes have become larger over time," says Aradhna Krishna, a University of Michigan marketing professor who has been looking into portion size and perception. "So, that same hamburger has become bigger, the french fries have become bigger, and again this is leading to obesity."

Thinking a lot about this, Krishna tried an experiment. She gave people cookies that were labeled either medium or large, and then measured how much they ate. "The catch? The cookies were identical in size, What happened? You guessed it," reports NPR's Helen Thompson and Shanikar Vedantam. "People ate more cookies when they were labeled 'medium.' Rather than trust what their stomachs were telling them, in other words, people went by the label." It gets worse: "(They) think they've not eaten as much," says Krishna.

The researcher said women have known all about this principle for awhile, because it's what's been happening with sizes of clothing. It's something called "vanity sizing."  "What used to be a size 8 in the 1950s has become a size 4 in the 1970s and a zero in 2006," Krishna said. It makes you feel better about yourself and your body image. The real question, she asks, is how much do we want to be lied to or, indeed, how much do we lie to ourselves? (Read more)

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Tenn. study suggests rural residents have as much access to care as anyone, if they're insured and don't mind the drive

A health-care study in Tennessee, which started with the premise that people in rural areas have less access to care than urban dwellers, ended with a rather surprising conclusion: They don't. Not if they have health insurance. "When it comes to commercially insured patients, there’s little disparity in access to health care between residents of rural communities and urban areas in Tennessee," said Dr. Steven L. Counter, president of the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Institute.

How can this be? The study found that almost half of rural residents pass up the hospitals closest to their homes to go to larger urban hospitals, even if the same services are available locally, writes Getahn Ward of The Tenneseean. "The conclusion we came to is that we’re living in a very mobile society, and the distance is not necessarily a determinant factor in whether people get care or not," said Coulter.

Because the survey did not include consumers, it's only a guess about why they chose to take the time and trouble to go to the big town, but experts says it's a combination of services not being available or a perception that they aren't, even if they are. This raises, again, age-old questions about the viability of rural hospitals, some of which often don’t have the money for capital-intensive technology and services. However, Coulter told the Tennessean that "a recent increase in alliances between rural hospitals and larger hospitals and urban health systems raises hopes that non-urban hospitals may be able to expand their menus of services."

Such partnerships between non-profits and for-profit chains are becoming more common, reports Ward, and some say those efforts will change the perception of those in far-flung regions that great medicine is being practiced close-by. This could be especially important, said Wes Littrell, chief strategy officer and president of Nashville-based Saint Thomas Health, in the new world of health reform. “We expect that when you get more into population management that you need to take care of the patient closer to home in the lower-cost setting,” he said. (Read more)

A health-care study in Tennessee, which started with the premise that people in rural areas have less access to care than urban dwellers, ended with a rather surprising conclusion: They don't. Not if they have health insurance. "When it comes to commercially insured patients, there’s little disparity in access to health care between residents of rural communities and urban areas in Tennessee," said Dr. Steven L. Counter, president of the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Institute.

How can this be? The study found that almost half of rural residents pass up the hospitals closest to their homes to go to larger urban hospitals, even if the same services are available locally, writes Getahn Ward of The Tenneseean. "The conclusion we came to is that we’re living in a very mobile society, and the distance is not necessarily a determinant factor in whether people get care or not," said Coulter.

Because the survey did not include consumers, it's only a guess about why they chose to take the time and trouble to go to the big town, but experts says it's a combination of services not being available or a perception that they aren't, even if they are. This raises, again, age-old questions about the viability of rural hospitals, some of which often don’t have the money for capital-intensive technology and services. However, Coulter told the Tennessean that "a recent increase in alliances between rural hospitals and larger hospitals and urban health systems raises hopes that non-urban hospitals may be able to expand their menus of services."

Such partnerships between non-profits and for-profit chains are becoming more common, reports Ward, and some say those efforts will change the perception of those in far-flung regions that great medicine is being practiced close-by. This could be especially important, said Wes Littrell, chief strategy officer and president of Nashville-based Saint Thomas Health, in the new world of health reform. “We expect that when you get more into population management that you need to take care of the patient closer to home in the lower-cost setting,” he said. (Read more)

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Kentucky doctor honored for her work in bolstering health and preventing deaths of babies born a few weeks early

A Kentucky neonatalogist was honored this week for giving the state "a role in catalyzing a national movement around healthier babies." Ruth Ann Shepherd, M.D., division director for maternal and child health in the Kentucky Department for Public Health, was presented the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Presidential Meritorious Service Award and recognized as "an early pioneer in recognizing the critical public health problem of preterm births in Kentucky, and that the troubling trend was common to most states in the country."

According to New Public Health, an online publication of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,  Shepherd’s research "revealed that babies born at 37 or 38 weeks had far worse health outcomes than babies born at 39 or 40 weeks. With support from the leadership at the Kentucky Department of Health, and many other organizations who have since taken up the cause of helping to create conditions for healthier babies, many states are beginning to make strides in preventing early births."

Charles Kendall, chief of staff at the Kentucky Health Department, told the online magazine that the  prematurity rate for infants in Kentucky was exceptionally high, averaging at about 36 weeks at the time of birth.  "There was a corresponding infant death rate that was far exceeding the national average When she looked at the data, it occurred to her that many of those deaths could have been prevented.," he said. "Much of the prematurity rate had nothing to do with medical issues. The data were telling her that women who smoke are much more likely to deliver early and to have smaller babies. The size of the baby was really the predictor for the infant death rate."

 But what Shepard also understood, said Kendall, was that a lot of these births were actually planned for convenience. "That was one of the more startling pieces of information from the data. In many cases it was not a medical issue but a lack of education or convenience. She also brought the science from her work that showed that the fetal brain is still in critical stages of development in those early weeks, and that it’s not at its full capacity until 39 or 40 weeks. That was very compelling. She also said this is not just a Kentucky issue. This is going on everywhere." ( Read more

A Kentucky neonatalogist was honored this week for giving the state "a role in catalyzing a national movement around healthier babies." Ruth Ann Shepherd, M.D., division director for maternal and child health in the Kentucky Department for Public Health, was presented the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Presidential Meritorious Service Award and recognized as "an early pioneer in recognizing the critical public health problem of preterm births in Kentucky, and that the troubling trend was common to most states in the country."

According to New Public Health, an online publication of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,  Shepherd’s research "revealed that babies born at 37 or 38 weeks had far worse health outcomes than babies born at 39 or 40 weeks. With support from the leadership at the Kentucky Department of Health, and many other organizations who have since taken up the cause of helping to create conditions for healthier babies, many states are beginning to make strides in preventing early births."

Charles Kendall, chief of staff at the Kentucky Health Department, told the online magazine that the  prematurity rate for infants in Kentucky was exceptionally high, averaging at about 36 weeks at the time of birth.  "There was a corresponding infant death rate that was far exceeding the national average When she looked at the data, it occurred to her that many of those deaths could have been prevented.," he said. "Much of the prematurity rate had nothing to do with medical issues. The data were telling her that women who smoke are much more likely to deliver early and to have smaller babies. The size of the baby was really the predictor for the infant death rate."

 But what Shepard also understood, said Kendall, was that a lot of these births were actually planned for convenience. "That was one of the more startling pieces of information from the data. In many cases it was not a medical issue but a lack of education or convenience. She also brought the science from her work that showed that the fetal brain is still in critical stages of development in those early weeks, and that it’s not at its full capacity until 39 or 40 weeks. That was very compelling. She also said this is not just a Kentucky issue. This is going on everywhere." ( Read more

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Kentucky has the nation's third highest rate of cardiac disease. Learn more, Sept. 29 is World Heart Day

September 29 is World Heart Day, and, according to the most recent edition of the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings, Kentucky has the third highest percentage of adults with cardiac disease. Arizona and West Virginia were the only states that ranked worse than Kentucky. It is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women.

According to the Heart Disease and Stroke Action Plan for the State report for 2011-2016, Kentucky women also have a higher heart disease age-adjusted death rate of 205 per 100,000 as compared to a national average of 176 per 100,000.  Further, 41 percent of adult women in Kentucky have high cholesterol, a leading indicator for the disease. To read the state action plan, go here. For more on World Heart Day and the World Heart Federation, go here.

September 29 is World Heart Day, and, according to the most recent edition of the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings, Kentucky has the third highest percentage of adults with cardiac disease. Arizona and West Virginia were the only states that ranked worse than Kentucky. It is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women.

According to the Heart Disease and Stroke Action Plan for the State report for 2011-2016, Kentucky women also have a higher heart disease age-adjusted death rate of 205 per 100,000 as compared to a national average of 176 per 100,000.  Further, 41 percent of adult women in Kentucky have high cholesterol, a leading indicator for the disease. To read the state action plan, go here. For more on World Heart Day and the World Heart Federation, go here.

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Kentucky Parent Survey: We could do a lot better on school meals, we're very much in favor of more health education

Fewer than 10 percent of Kentucky
parents report that their child has ever
walked or biked to school.

When asked, only about one in four Kentucky parents describe the meals served at their child's schools or day care centers as being nutritious. Fewer than 10 percent report that their child have ever walked or biked to school. And an overwhelming majority want information about sexually transmitted infections, human anatomy, abstinence education, birth control methods and condom use taught in Kentucky's high schools.

These are just a few of the surprising results from the first Kentucky Parent Survey conducted by the Foundation for a Health Kentucky, a random telephone survey of 1,006 parents of children under 18. The survey assessed the views of parents, step-parents, grandparents, foster parents and other legal guardians of children in Kentucky. The term "school" was used broadly in the survey as included (2 percent of total surveyed), as well those in pre-school and day care. The study took on nutrition, physical activity and health education.

Eighty-eight percent of parents reported that it was "very important" that meals at schools meet a minimum standard for nutritional value. Only about 1 in 4 parents currently thought their schools were meeting that standard. Only 11 percent are concerned that their younger children are getting too many "celebration-related" treats at their school.

While parents in the state reported that a little more than half (52 percent) of school-age children took physical education classes, that class was not a daily occurrence but met between one and four times a week. Only about 1 in 3 students took a daily course in P.E. That leaves 14 percent without a planned daily class during the school year.

On the topic of health education, parents reported that half of school-age children in the state took health classes, but again not daily. According to the FHK, "The Kentucky Parent Survey included a series of questions about dating relationships and sexual health to determine support for covering those topics...
At the middle school level, more than 8 in 10 parents would favor teaching communication skills (99 percent), human anatomy (91 percent), abstinence education (85 percent), and information about HIV and sexually transmitted infections (84 percent). At the high school level, more than 8 in 10 would favor teaching communication skills (99 percent), information about HIV and sexually transmitted infections (97 percent), human anatomy (97 percent), abstinence education (94 percent), birth control methods (87 percent), and condom use (84 percent)."

Future reports in the FHV series will address access to safe and effective health care for children, children's health behaviors and family routines and the places where parents turn for information on raising healthy kids.

Fewer than 10 percent of Kentucky
parents report that their child has ever
walked or biked to school.

When asked, only about one in four Kentucky parents describe the meals served at their child's schools or day care centers as being nutritious. Fewer than 10 percent report that their child have ever walked or biked to school. And an overwhelming majority want information about sexually transmitted infections, human anatomy, abstinence education, birth control methods and condom use taught in Kentucky's high schools.

These are just a few of the surprising results from the first Kentucky Parent Survey conducted by the Foundation for a Health Kentucky, a random telephone survey of 1,006 parents of children under 18. The survey assessed the views of parents, step-parents, grandparents, foster parents and other legal guardians of children in Kentucky. The term "school" was used broadly in the survey as included (2 percent of total surveyed), as well those in pre-school and day care. The study took on nutrition, physical activity and health education.

Eighty-eight percent of parents reported that it was "very important" that meals at schools meet a minimum standard for nutritional value. Only about 1 in 4 parents currently thought their schools were meeting that standard. Only 11 percent are concerned that their younger children are getting too many "celebration-related" treats at their school.

While parents in the state reported that a little more than half (52 percent) of school-age children took physical education classes, that class was not a daily occurrence but met between one and four times a week. Only about 1 in 3 students took a daily course in P.E. That leaves 14 percent without a planned daily class during the school year.

On the topic of health education, parents reported that half of school-age children in the state took health classes, but again not daily. According to the FHK, "The Kentucky Parent Survey included a series of questions about dating relationships and sexual health to determine support for covering those topics...
At the middle school level, more than 8 in 10 parents would favor teaching communication skills (99 percent), human anatomy (91 percent), abstinence education (85 percent), and information about HIV and sexually transmitted infections (84 percent). At the high school level, more than 8 in 10 would favor teaching communication skills (99 percent), information about HIV and sexually transmitted infections (97 percent), human anatomy (97 percent), abstinence education (94 percent), birth control methods (87 percent), and condom use (84 percent)."

Future reports in the FHV series will address access to safe and effective health care for children, children's health behaviors and family routines and the places where parents turn for information on raising healthy kids.

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