A Patch Capable of Melting Fat...from Rodents

Oh my....

Fat Cats Thin Mice
Horizon Programme, BBC Videos for Education and Training,
Woodlands, 80 Wood Lane, London W12 OTT, UK. Fax:
0(44)-181-576-2916; VIIS, 50 min, 1997, £99
This is a programme for popular viewing but it would be of
interest to students on medical and nutrition courses. The thin
mice are normal mice (compared with ob/ob mice), and the fat
cats are the companies that sell slimming aids and weight
reducing pills.
Much of the programme follows an obese lady, worried about
her life, and who finally undergoes stomach-stapling surgery to
help her to lose weight. Details of the operation are shown and
afterwards we see her having lost 40 kg.
In contrast to the thin models on the fashion catwalk, we also
see fat models and a group from the National Association for
the Advancement of Fat Acceptance ('Fat is Beautiful').
However this may be, it is pointed out that being obese results in
arterial damage and that the requirement for extra energy and
oxygen puts a strain on the heart. In addition, there are
problems with joints (due to the extra weight carried) and with
breathing at night. Also the link with late onset diabetes is
explained. In fact, overweight people tend to use more calories
than normal because they need more energy to move their mass.
This is in contrast to the popular idea that they have 'sluggish'
metabolism. Also, it is pointed out, we in the West, actually eat
less than we used to some years ago, but continue to get fat
because we do much less exercise.
The second part of the programme deals with the slimming
foods industry and pills. The product featured is Olestra, the
'fat-free fat' (it is indigestible and is not absorbed). Recipes are
shown for making cookies using this material, but its laxative
properties are also noted. The commentary says that there have
been no proper long-term studies of its effects. A major problem
is that the fat-soluble vitamins dissolve in the material: therefore
extra vitamins have to be added to the diet.
Fenfluramine is a slimming pill which gets a bad press here.
Although it does indeed cause weight loss, there are side effects.
We are shown one young woman who suffered primary
pulmonary hypertension because of such treatment (it is
alleged), and she now may need a heart/lung transplant.
Although the benefits may outweigh the side effects in the clinically
obese, the message is that the drug is being prescribed for
those who are only a little overweight. Also there is a story here
of why and how this drug received FDA approval in spite of its
destructive effect on serotonin nerve fibres.
The third and final part of the programme is about leptin. It
describes cross-circulation experiments between ob/ob mice and
normal mice which showed that there was a circulatory factor in
normal mice that made their ob/ob litter mates lose weight. The
leptin gene was 'purchased' by Amgen for $20 million 'up front',
but so far the success in humans has been limited. The scientific
story is much more complicated that it seems, and there is a
relationship with insulin. Also fat humans already have high
levels of leptin, so there is a long way to go.
Overall, this is an attractively produced programme that will
command the attention of students -- or indeed of anyone who
has worried about weight. The emphasis on moral/commercial
issues is equal to that of the scientific ones. Hopefully, it would
encourage students to learn more about science and especially
nutrition. N Evans

Ran across an article a few years ago, "Ole Olestra" about a fellow's fact finding experiment concerning Olestra and reported "anal leakage". Almost as funny as the Amazon reviews for sugar free gummi bears.

http://www.alldeaf.com/threads/%C2%A1ol%C3%A9-olestra.7088/

Disney will find that they named the mouse wrong and its really Micro Mouse!

Gee, the cats will starve.

Nah, my fat cats just keep eating up all the Purina cat chow I can deliver to their bowl.

I would rather have a patch that makes mice disappear, forever, although it appears the cats have scared them all away this fall. Good.