8
NEWS
Metabolism &
obesity
According to an article in The Huffington Post,
new research is showing that the old belief
that people who are lean have a "naturally fast
metabolism" and people with obesity have a
"naturally slow metabolism" may not be correct
in that, while metabolism does impact weight,
that alone doesn't fully explain the rise in
obesity.
Obesity is more prevalent in developed
countries than in less developed nations, so
health experts had attributed the difference
to industrialised populations that are less
active and eat more calories. But a recent Duke
University study, published in "Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences" found that
physical activity may play less of a role than we
thought, since metabolic rates remain pretty
stable across populations, which suggests that
other factors of modern life are more plausible
drivers.
Researchers evaluated the daily calorie burn,
body fat percentage and BMI for thousands
of people across 34 different countries. The
biggest finding was that although there was
a small decline in body-size-adjusted total
calorie burn in developed countries, it wasn't
enough to explain the rise in body fat. So what's
really impacting us?
"The current food environment makes it
easy to gain weight, and it makes it hard to lose
weight," said Diane Enos, CEO of the American
Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
Many experts are now focusing on diet patterns
and food systems that impact people starting
from childhood, especially ultra-processed
foods. Experts are concerned about ultraprocessed
foods because people tend to eat
more of these manufactured products - often
because of their availability and affordability.
Your body will often end up absorbing more
calories than when you eat unprocessed foods,
which are often broken down before they reach
the gut bacteria in the large intestine, so your
body absorbs nearly every calorie. Over time,
this makes weight gain more likely.
When it comes to weight management, the
challenge and solution likely involve the foods
we eat, and while metabolism matters, it isn't
something we can easily overhaul with tricks or
fad diets.
To find out more, CLICK HERE.
Prescribing revolution
When a patient walks into a GP surgery or any primary
healthcare setting in the UK, the professional writing
their prescription may not be a doctor at all. Increasingly,
pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists, and even paramedics are
taking on that responsibility.
The UK now leads the world in granting prescribing rights
to non-medically qualified allied health professionals (AHPs).
Practice nurses and radiographers to midwives, dietitians, and
optometrists are filling critical gaps across healthcare.
More than 90,000 AHPs in the UK have now completed
accredited prescriber training. This qualification allows
them to prescribe medicines within their scope of practice,
either independently or under supplementary prescribing
arrangements typically in partnership with a doctor, to
implement a specific clinical management plan for a particular
patient.
The work of Judith Edwards, PhD, a research fellow at
Queen Mary University of London, highlights both barriers
and enablers to paraprofessional prescribing, noting that "the
future of UK primary care is reliant on workforce expansion
and introduction of new first-contact non-medical roles." This
aligns with a 2019 policy review, suggesting that GPs will focus
on complex cases while AHPs manage routine care.
Two decades ago, the British Medical Association opposed
extending prescribing rights to AHPs, but Edwards says that
opposition from doctors and protectionism is now uncommon.
Expanding non-medical prescribing remains a goal under
the NHS's 10-Year Health Plan for England, aiming to shift
more care into the community and reduce pressure on GPs.
Consultations are underway to expand prescribing rights to
optometrists and contact lens opticians, while prescribing
responsibilities would also be extended for paramedics,
physiotherapists, operating department practitioners, and
diagnostic radiographers.