Obesity is an expanding national health crisis. Nineteen states and two territories have at least 35% of residents with adult obesity, more than doubling the number of states since 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Obesity is most prevalent in the Midwest states, top to bottom, with the highest occurrence (45%-50%) in Kentucky and West Virginia. No state has less than 20% of adults with obesity.

Washington, D.C., had the lowest prevalence (20%-25%), followed by California, Colorado, Washington, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Hawaii (25%-30%).

Florida had insufficient data.

Bariatric Surgery and Epilepsy

If you're thinking bariatric surgery may be a good option (see above), think twice. A retrospective Canadian study found that surgically modifying the stomach or intestines to induce weight loss increased the risk of developing epilepsy by 45% compared with people who did not have bariatric surgery.

The findings echoed earlier research in Sweden, but the neurological mechanism connecting the procedure to the brain disorder, which is characterized by recurring seizures, remains unknown.

Body of Knowledge

From puberty on, males normally produce sperm throughout life. A lot of sperm cells, in fact — roughly 1 billion per month and 525 billion over a lifetime. During fetal development, females create approximately 6 million eggs, and at birth, retain roughly 1 million. At puberty, only 300,000 remain, and of those, only 300 to 400 will be ovulated during a woman's reproductive lifetime.

Keeping immature eggs alive and viable is paramount. In new research, scientists have discovered that the eggs, known as oocytes, restructure their metabolism so they essentially operate in low-power mode for decades until needed.

They do this by turning off a gene that encodes a protein involved in one of the key steps that cells use to create energy.

Get Me That, Stat!

Now in its 10th year, a global initiative to boost the number of women (and men) using modern contraceptives set a goal of 120 million. It has fallen short. As of 2019, birth control use worldwide has increased by only 69 million, with women and adolescents between the ages of 15 and 24 the least likely to have their birth control needs met globally.

Mark Your Calendar

November is awareness month for diabetes (and diabetic eye disease), bladder health, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung/pancreatic/stomach cancers, Alzheimer's, epilepsy and bladder health. It's also a time to recognize caregivers and home and hospice care.

Counts

27 million: Estimated number of people worldwide who suffered sustained loss of taste or smell after contracting COVID-19

Source: British Medical Journal

Doc Talk

Bolus: a large dose of a drug, usually given intravenously at the beginning of treatment to raise blood-level concentrations to therapeutic effect

Phobia of the Week

Domatophobia: fear of houses

Best Medicine

My mother used to say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Lovely woman.

Useless surgeon.

Observation

"The best abdominals exercise is five sets of stop eating so much." — Lazar Angelov

Medical History

This week in 1955, American investigators Carlton Schwerdt and Frederick L. Schaffer crystallized the poliovirus. This was the first animal virus to be obtained in crystalline form. (The first plant virus, tobacco mosaic virus, had been crystallized in 1935 by Wendell M. Stanley.) Each virus crystal is composed of many thousands of virus particles. Virus preparations pure enough to crystallize usually provide the best material for chemical studies, allowing scientists to split the polio virus into infectious and noninfectious parts and lay the groundwork for development of the polio vaccine.

Sum Body

Five misconceptions about sugar:

No. 1: You should avoid fruits due to their sugar content.

Fruits contain fructose and other natural sugars, which break down more slowly than refined carbs. They also come chock-full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.

No. 2: Artificial sweeteners are the same as natural sugars.

They aren't. They lack the usual accompanying nutrients and they often work by disrupting digestion, which can cause diarrhea and altered metabolism.

No. 3: You're better off avoiding all sugars.

Too much sugar is bad, but not enough can trigger your body to go into "starvation mode," since it has to find other sources of energy.

No. 4: Consuming sugar hinders fitness regimes.

Sugars provide a quick source for glucose, the fuel of cells. They can help when you need enhanced energy before or after physical activity.

No. 5: Blood sugar spikes are only caused by sugar.

Not so. The spikes can also be triggered by activity levels, stress or illness.

Last Words

"One never knows the ending. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes." — American filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: jarmoluk at Pixabay