Why Poor Americans Are More Likely to be Overweight

Transcript Generated by AI.

Announcer: 0:01

Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute Radio Show hosted by Kevin Gettings of WSOS St Augustine Radio and powered by Encore Research Group. Each Monday morning, dr Michael Koren calls in to bring you the latest medical updates with insightful discussions. Medevidence is where we help you navigate the real truth behind medical research, with both a clinical and research perspective. So sit back, relax and get ready to learn about the truth behind the data in medicine and healthcare. This is MedEvidence.

Dr. Michael Koren: 0:31

And so the poorest people in the United States tend to be the most overweight. And that's a complete change in demographics than the way things were 100 years ago so 100 years ago demographics than the way things were 100 years ago so 100 years ago, food was about 30% of the budget of US households.

Dr. Michael Koren: 0:50

Now it's only about 10% of the budget, and people who are overweight tended to be the most affluent people because they had access to rich foods. Now that whole script has been switched and people who are now at the lower end of the economic spectrum are the ones that are most likely to be overweight, and it brings up now at the lower end of the economic spectrum are the ones that are most likely to be overweight, and it brings up really, really interesting issues about one, why this is the case and two, how do we deal with it, and people that have studied this carefully think it's multifactorial. There's a lot of reasons why people at or below the poverty line are much more likely to be overweight.

Dr. Michael Koren: 1:24

One of them, that's been argued is access to good food.

Dr. Michael Koren: 1:28

Quite frankly, I'm a little bit skeptical about that, but that's one of the concepts, and I'll talk a little bit more about that in a second, but the other concepts, I think, are probably more accurate. People at or below the poverty line are stressed, and a lot of people eat to reduce their stress. Eating brings us pleasure, and if you're struggling with your finances, you're maybe more likely to indulge in food. Another important part is impulse control, and this gets into some of the biological arguments. So people who struggle with impulse control may also struggle with some financial issues that are related to being in a less good financial situation, and we're learning more and more that impulse control issues are actually biologic, including impulse control issues that are involved in whether or not we choose fat, choose fatty foods or we stop eating once we're initially satiated or full. So these are really interesting things that science is starting to help us understand better and we actually have treatments for these things nowadays. So that's another part of it.

Dr. Michael Koren: 2:34

And then the concept of food deserts is another concept. Do people live in places where they may not be able to get the same food as other people, or they're afraid to go out and exercise? People that maybe live in inner-city places where there's a lot of crime may not have the same access to go out and take walks or bike riding or doing things that help them control their weight. So there are a lot of factors here that go into the observation, which was a truth, that people who are at or below the poverty line are much more likely to be overweight.

Kevin Geddings: 3:08

Very interesting. Yeah, we of course hear about the obesity issue, diet issues, constantly. There are options out there, I guess, and as people are trying to consider those, they should reach out to ENCORE Research Group right, because there may be a way for them to deal with their obesity issues and also be a part of a clinical trial.

Dr. Michael Koren: 3:27

Yeah, and that's absolutely true. So there's a couple advantages about doing something through research. One is that there's no cost for anything that we do. We're funded by outside grants, either from industry or from the government typically, although nowadays private equity and other people are also contributing to the funding for clinical research. So it never costs a patient anything to be part of a research study. In fact, in a lot of our studies we actually pay patients, so we reimburse patients for their travel and their time. So that can certainly be helpful for people who are down on their financial luck, so that's important.

Dr. Michael Koren: 4:04

But the other thing is that there's support staff involved in these studies. So if you get involved in an obesity trial, they'll typically be a nutritionist that will help you make better food choices. And, of course, we're looking typically at medicines that can help people over time. So, for example, we have a medicine that we're working with right now that can actually suppress your appetite for a month with one injection. So these are the type of things that we're studying and it's a nice opportunity for people who are maybe having trouble making ends meet, get some help with their obesity problem and perhaps some help on the economic side as well.

Kevin Geddings: 4:40

Yeah, because we hear over and over again the folks who just think they should go out and take a GLP-1 and Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and one of those. You know, depending on insurance coverages, you know they probably won't be able to afford the drug, correct?

Dr. Michael Koren: 4:53

Yeah, it is certainly a problem and, by the way, that's a problem for people who are actually relatively well off. These drugs are very expensive. If your insurance company covers it, that's terrific, but not everybody has that luxury, so certainly that is something for many middle-income people and upper middle-income people. Quite frankly, these are not inexpensive drugs.

Kevin Geddings: 5:13

Well, if you would like to participate or you know someone in your family, your circle of friends, who could benefit from a clinical trial dealing with obesity and weight issues, we would encourage you to go to the website, encoredocscom. Of course, they're locally based right here in Northeast Florida, with offices here in St. Johns County and St. Augustine, right next to UF Flagler Hospital. Encoredocs. com that phone number, 904-730-0166. And I'll give you that number here in just a moment. Again, speaking of weight loss and Ozempic and GLP drugs and all that, there's so much information out there, a lot of really bad information on Facebook and places like that. There's a better place to go and get your health-related information correct, Dr. Koren.

Dr. Michael Koren: 5:57

Yeah. So MedEvidence is our platform for discussing the truth behind the data, and our discussion about the obesity paradox is a perfect example of the type of things that we talk about. So let's just do a thought experiment between you and me, Kevin. So we talked about the fact that there's a clear relationship between being poor, being out or below the poverty line and being overweight, so I'm going to give you two choices in terms of solving the problem of obesity. We can either give everybody in that situation $30,000 a year, or we can get them a medicine that will curb their appetite and impulse control. Which of those two is going to more likely solve the obesity problem?

Kevin Geddings: 6:41

I would guess. No, I would guess curbing your appetite, because you just told me that the grocery bill is less a percentage today than it was 20 years ago, right?

Dr. Michael Koren: 6:54

Right. Well, I would agree with that. Again, that experiment has kind of been done. There have been experiments that have been done looking at guaranteed income.

Dr. Michael Koren: 7:02

And unfortunately, guaranteed income don't seem to improve health consequences. So this is the whole difference between a correlation and fixing the problem. So we know there's a correlation between being economically disadvantaged and being overweight, but just giving people money doesn't fix it. What fixes? That is dealing with the underlying issues of stress control and probably the biology that leads to people eating more than they should. So that's the interesting thing that we do and the interesting thing is we talk about in that evidence and again, this is not judgmental at all we're just trying to help people and solve problems and, quite frankly, getting $30,000 a year may solve other problems for a lot of people, but it's not going to make them skinnier. So this is the kind of things we like to talk about in MedEvidence and hopefully people will look at this as an objective resource where we really dig into issues and help people navigate them and of course, we also introduce really the nice opportunities in clinical trials to help people.

Dr. Michael Koren: 8:02

So again as we just discussed, getting involved in a clinical trial on obesity may or may not get your medicine, but it'll certainly help you with impulse control, with knowing more about nutrition and making good decisions. That will help both you and your family.

Kevin Geddings: 8:15

Now, this can be life-changing stuff and, of course, if you maintain a weight issue or you have too much excess weight over time, we do know for pretty much a fact, right, Dr. Koren? That it will cause increased health risk, right.

Dr. Michael Koren: 8:29

Totally. We certainly know that obesity is associated with multiple, multiple health risks it's associated with cholesterol, it's associated with high blood pressure. It's associated with fatty liver disease.

Kevin Geddings: 8:42

Correct Wow, we're losing it, Dr. Koren. Correct Wow,

Dr. Michael Koren: 8:46

Getting down to a healthy weight is probably one of the most important things, if not the most important thing, that you can do to make your life better and healthier.

Kevin Geddings: 8:56

Well, learn more about the clinical trials you can participate in. If you would like to finally do something about your obese weight status, go to EncoreDocs. com, EncoreDocs. com. Not only could you get professional guidance, hands-on approach to your weight loss, potentially be a part of leading edge medical research, but you may even get paid for it.

Kevin Geddings: 9:17

It won't cost you anything and you'll make some money Go to EncoreDocs. com.

Kevin Geddings: 9:22

That's EncoreDocs. com. Call 904-730-0166, here locally 904-730-0166. Dr. Koren, any closing thoughts before we let you go this morning?

Dr. Michael Koren: 9:37

No, thank you for your interest in this issue and again, we're here to help our community and I think helping people control their weight is a great opportunity for us to reach out to the community and hopefully make a difference.

Kevin Geddings: 9:49

There

Kevin Geddings: 9:49

You go, Dr. Michael Koren, once again EncoreDocs. com, that's EncoreDocs. com.

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