DFR Daily French Roast

Anne is reading …

Weight Loss Regained

NYTimes writer Tara Parker-Pope writes The Fat Trap, an in-depth examination of the latest research on weight gain after significant weight loss. Overweight herself, Parker-Pope takes full responsibility for a lifetime of challenging weight management and an endless cycle of dieting.

New research in small studies that have yet to be replicated in large surveys suggests that dieters who lose 10% of body weight or more fight uphill battles not to regain the weight. Many doctors believe that this altered state of metabolic inefficiency in which the body is actively trying to regain the weight can last for a good six years.

The hunger hormone ghrelin, often called the hunger hormone, was 20% higher in weight losers and levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses hunger remained lower than expected.

The story visits the National Weight Control Registry that tracks 10,000 people who have successfully kept off the weight. Interviews confirmed what is already known about success. Not only do dieters exercise for at least an hour almost every day, but they weigh themselves every day and keep food journals. Simply stated, maintaining weight loss is a daily job AND not a fair one.

It’s believed that people who diet their weight to a new low of 150 pounds must eat 5-10% fewer calories a day to maintain the weight as a 150 pound person who was never overweight. Read on at NYTimes.

Egyptian Ban on Police Virginity Tests

An Egyptian administrative court ruled that police officials can’t subject female detainees to virginity examinations as part of their arrest and detainment procedures. The case was led by 25-year-old Samira Irbrahim, a marketing manager who was arrested during the March 9 protest, with backing from groups like Amnesty International.

The order doesn’t govern virginity tests routinely given to women who are about to be married. Read on at CNN.

More DFR

Complex Jungle-Based Decisions

Max-Planck-researchers have demonstrated that chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos make more sophisticated decisions than was previously thought. While all four species demonstrated sophisticated decision making strategies, chimpanzees and orangutans were overall more likely to make risky choices relative to gorillas and bonobos. The decision-making study around large and small banana pieces adds to the growing evidence that great apes enjoy a much more complex mental life that is often assumed. Read on at Science Daily

Also, before sounding an alarm, chimps consider information available to their audience, based on a new study of chimpanzees in Uganda. The chimps were more likely to alarm call to a snake “in the presence of unaware than in the presence of aware group members, suggesting that they recognize knowledge and ignorance in others. Read on at Science Daily

New York Life Expectancy Leads US

The latest data from the Bureau of Vital Statistics shows New York City has the highest life expectancy in the country. Babies born in 2009 can expect to live a record 80.6 years. That’s almost three years longer than a decade ago, and more than two years longer than the current national average of 78.2 years. Read on at Good.