Oniomania

How is your 'oniomania?' Do you know anyone who has it? Oniomania is the medical term for shopaholism. This addictive, obsessive disorder involves a need to buy things. Compulsive shoppers have been shown to be deficient in serotonin. Kellet and Bolton describe compulsive buying as the experience or having an irresistible–uncontrollable urge, resulting in excessive, expensive and time-consuming retail activity [that is] typically prompted by negative affectivity and results in gross social, personal and/or financial difficulties. Some have called it ‘retail therapy.’ If no compulsivity is involved it may be a mood lifter. But like the use of opiods, it can be either a therapy or an addiction, depending on whether it is adaptive or maladaptive. (Lombard, Jay, Dr., and Dr. Christian Renna. Balance Your Brain, Balance Your life.)

Obesity-Sleep Link, 2

Sleep deprivation has been linked to health problems such as obesity and high blood pressure, negative mood and behavior, decreased productivity, and safety issues in the home, on the job, and on the road. Sleep deprivation seems to increase hunger. Studies at Columbia University: people who don’t get enough sleep tend to eat an extra 300 calories a day. And the favorite food was ice cream. Both men and women ate more protein-rich foods on short sleep, but only women ingested more fat. While men ate the same amount of fat no matter how much sleep they got, the women averaged 31 more grams of fat after sleeping for four hours.

Obesity-Sleep Link

Sleep deprivation appears independently associated with weight gain, particularly in younger age groups. According to researcher Nan Hee Kim, MD, PhD, of Korea University College of Medicine in Ansan, Korea, regardless of lifestyle, people who stayed up late faced a higher risk of developing health problems compared with those who were early risers. Late-to bed individuals are more likely to develop diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and sarcopenia (loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength as a result of aging) than early risers, even when they get the same amount of sleep. Male night owls were more likely have diabetes or sarcopenia than early risers. Female night owls tended to have more belly fat and an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, which raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. 

Obesity-Testosterone Link

Testosterone plays a vital role in how the body balances glucose and insulin and in fat metabolism in both males and females. Lugging excess weight around one’s middle is an especially ugly risk factor for a testosterone-estrogen hormone imbalance. Aromatase, an enzyme in fat tissue, converts testosterone into estradiol, a type of estrogen. That can result in a decrease in testosterone levels and a corresponding increase in estrogen levels, undesirable for anyone regardless of gender. The New England Research Institutes (NERI) reported a study of 1,822 men, which concluded that a man’s waist circumference is the single strongest predictor of low testosterone. It’s a two-way street: obesity can cause low testosterone and low testosterone can contribute to obesity. Snacks or meals loaded with refined and processed carbohydrates from white flour and sugar can trigger the biggest surge in aromatase. 

Obesity-Breast Cancer Reoccurrence Link

Studies have shown a connection between obesity in women and an increased risk for symptoms of mental deterioration. Now studies have connected being overweight with an increased risk of cancer reoccurrence, especially in relation to hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The trials were led by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (now part of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group). They involved 6,885 women treated with standard chemotherapy for breast cancer and followed for eight years. Results, published in the American Cancer Society Journal reported a 30 percent higher risk of recurrence and a 50 percent higher risk of death when compared with death rates for women of normal weight who had breast cancer. (Joseph Sparano of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Montefiore Medical Center in New York)

Obesity-Dementia Link

MRI studies by Paul Thompson PhD, UCLA Professor of Neurology, revealed that brains of overweight individuals showed 4 percent less brain tissue, while obese brains had 8 percent less tissue than those of normal-weight people. The brains of overweight persons looked 8 years older and those of obese individuals looked 16 years older than those of normal-weight people. Obesity is linked with more than 50 diseases—including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cancer and cancer reoccurrence, and dementia. Obesity may even be worse for females. Women who are obese throughout life are at increased risk for developing dementia, perhaps due to increased secretion of cortisol.

Obesity-Alzheimer’s Link

Keeping your weight within an optimum range is a vital part of protecting your health and--again--that starts in the brain. Studies of 8,000 twins showed that being overweight doubled the risk of dementia, and being obese quadrupled that risk. In another study, obese people who lost weight following bariatric surgery had significantly improved memory and concentration after 12 weeks. Reducing risk factors such as smoking, diabetes, obesity, and inactivity by 25% could prevent half-a-million cases of Alzheimer’s annually in the USA. The goal is to stave off the disease long enough so you can live life without ever suffering Alzheimer's symptoms. (Gary Small MD. The Alzheimer's Prevention Program)