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Consumption of fast food linked to liver disease

A study found that eating fast food is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a potentially life-threatening condition in which fat builds up in the liver.

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The new year has begun, and with it, resolutions for change.

study from Keck Medicine of USC published today in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology gives people extra motivation to reduce fast-food consumption.

The study found that eating fast food is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a potentially life-threatening condition in which fat builds up in the liver.

Researchers discovered that people with obesity or diabetes who consume 20% or more of their daily calories from fast food have severely elevated levels of fat in their liver compared to those who consume less or no fast food. And the general population has moderate increases of liver fat when one-fifth or more of their diet is fast food.

“Healthy livers contain a small amount of fat, usually less than 5%, and even a moderate increase in fat can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,” said Ani Kardashian, MD, a hepatologist with Keck Medicine and lead author of the study. “The severe rise in liver fat in those with obesity or diabetes is especially striking, and probably due to the fact that these conditions cause a greater susceptibility for fat to build up in the liver.”

While previous research has shown a link between fast food and obesity and diabetes, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate the negative impact of fast food on liver health, according to Kardashian.

The findings also reveal that a relatively modest amount of fast food, which is high in carbohydrates and fat, can hurt the liver. “If people eat one meal a day at a fast-food restaurant, they may think they aren’t doing harm,” said Kardashian. “However, if that one meal equals at least one-fifth of their daily calories, they are putting their livers at risk.”

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, also known as liver steatosis, can lead to cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver, which can cause liver cancer or failure. Liver steatosis affects over 30% of the U.S. population.

Kardashian and colleagues analyzed the most recent data from the nation’s largest annual nutritional survey, the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, to determine the impact of fast-food consumption on liver steatosis.

The study characterized fast food as meals, including pizza, from either a drive-through restaurant or one without wait staff.

The researchers evaluated the fatty liver measurement of approximately 4,000 adults whose fatty liver measurements were included in the survey and compared these measurements to their fast-food consumption.

Of those surveyed, 52% consumed some fast food. Of these, 29% consumed one-fifth or more daily calories from fast food. Only this 29% of survey subjects experienced a rise in liver fat levels.

The association between liver steatosis and a 20% diet of fast food held steady for both the general population and those with obesity or diabetes even after data was adjusted for multiple other factors such as age, sex, race, ethnicity, alcohol use and physical activity.

“Our findings are particularly alarming as fast-food consumption has gone up in the last 50 years, regardless of socioeconomic status,” said Kardashian. “We’ve also seen a substantial surge in fast-food dining during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is probably related to the decline in full-service restaurant dining and rising rates of food insecurity. We worry that the number of those with fatty livers has gone up even more since the time of the survey.”

She hopes the study will encourage health care providers to offer patients more nutrition education, especially to those with obesity or diabetes who are at higher risk of developing a fatty liver from fast food. Currently, the only way to treat liver steatosis is through an improved diet.

Jennifer Dodge, MPH, assistant professor of research medicine and population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Norah Terrault, MD, MPH, a Keck Medicine gastroenterologist and division chief of gastroenterology and liver diseases at the Keck School, were also authors on the study.

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McDonald’s Philippines poised for growth after strong 2022 finish

From its first store opening in Morayta, Manila in 1981, McDonald’s Philippines continues to uphold global food safety and quality standards in the preparation and service of its food whether through dine-in, take-out, Drive-Thru, or McDelivery.

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McDonald’s Philippines achieved record-breaking sales in 2022, surpassing its pre-pandemic (2019) sales performance. 

Owned and operated by its Chairman and Owner Dr. George T. Yang and President and CEO Kenneth Yang— the quick service restaurant (QSR) giant attributes its performance not just to strong consumer mobility and post-pandemic behavior but to its continuous commitment to providing value for money, exciting limited-time menu offers, and an elevated omnichannel customer experience. 

“McDonald’s Philippines’ strong performance in 2022 wouldn’t have been possible if not for the trust and continuous support of our customers all over the country. As we aim to consistently improve how we serve McDonald’s favorites to every Filipino, we are equally committed to providing feel-good experiences to our people [crew and managers] who make it all happen in our stores, and in communities where we operate for many years to come,” said Kenneth Yang, President and CEO of McDonald’s Philippines. 

Feeling good, feeling safe

From its first store opening in Morayta, Manila in 1981, McDonald’s Philippines continues to uphold global food safety and quality standards in the preparation and service of its food whether through dine-in, take-out, Drive-Thru, or McDelivery.  

This was further strengthened during the pandemic as part of its M Safe program, introduced in 2020.  

The company doubledowned on food safety and quality efforts through continuous monitoring, and crew and manager training, which contributed to its thirdparty food safety audit results and customer perception scores on safety and trust.

Since the launch of M Safe, the company’s findings on ‘brand trust’ increased by 5.4% which contributed to increased dine-in guest count, lifting market share for McDonald’s in 2022.

Setting the standard for doing good 

McDonald’s takes pride in its global learning and development programs from Crew Training to Restaurant Leadership courses to its Digital Academy. As one of the biggest employers in the country, McDonald’s Philippines believes that everyone has the opportunity to grow and succeed in the company which starts by first having job security. McDonald’s is the first quick-service restaurant in the country to practice a direct hiring policy, providing regular employment to all its crew members. In 2022, McDonald’s Philippines hired more than 17,000 new employees in support of its new store openings—employing working students regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. 

To date, the company has close to 60,000 employees in over 700 stores across the Philippines— with over 47,000 employees in Luzon, close to 6,000 employees in Visayas, and 5,000 employees in Mindanao.  

Serving meals with kindness 

McDonald’s also prioritizes its commitment to the communities where it operates. To serve meals to underserved families without access to food, McDonald’s Philippines launched the Kindness Kitchen, a flagship program of its charity of choice, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). 

In December 2022, Kindness Kitchen has served over 800,000 meals, a 33% increase from 600,000 meals served in May. The initiative aims to serve 1 million meals by the end of 2023. 

By continuously improving the quality of food, providing growth opportunities to its people, and creating a positive impact in communities, McDonald’s exemplifies always being a step ahead in upholding its commitment to world-class excellence. 

Yang reiterates, “It is these customers we serve, the people working in our restaurants and communities that we help that inspire and motivate us to be and do better. As many Filipinos continue to face challenges and recover from the pandemic, we want to be a place where they can experience feel-good moments. We want to be a company that Filipinos today and the future can trust.” 

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Shinagawa links partnership with Fujifilm Philippines Inc.

Shinagawa Diagnostic & Preventive Care Center takes this a step further and encourages preventive healthcare by offering more thorough and advanced examinations with the support of Fujifilm Philippines Inc.

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Early detection of diseases can aid in saving lives, giving patients more time to seek effective treatments that help lessen and possibly cure their symptoms. Shinagawa Diagnostic & Preventive Care Center takes this a step further and encourages preventive healthcare by offering more thorough and advanced examinations with the support of Fujifilm Philippines Inc.

Committed to upholding high standard medical services, Shinagawa announces its partnership with Fujifilm Philippines Inc, an expert in prevention and diagnostics technology, in a signing ceremony today at Shangri-La The Fort. Through the collaboration, Shinagawa’s Diagnostic & Preventive Care Center acquires Fujifilm’s endoscopy equipment to conduct advanced testing for the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. This helps identify emerging diseases, such as stomach ulcers, gastrointestinal disorders, lung problems, and possibly tumors. The technology eases the detection process as it can spot even the smallest abnormality using endoscopes that place minimal stress on the patient.  

“It is of utmost importance to conduct detailed examinations regularly to find diseases at an early stage, leading to preventive care. In particular, Fujifilm’s endoscopy equipment enables early detection of diseases that could not be found in advance by general medical checkups in the Philippines, and we believe this will lead to preventive medicine,” said Masako Uemori, President of Shinagawa LASIK and Aesthetics, Philippines.

Fujifilm Philippines Inc guarantees the prime condition and maintenance of equipment to ensure that all examinations produce in-depth results for more accurate diagnosis. The diagnostics technology company will also be conducting a series of training sessions for Shinagawa doctors and staff to fully regulate the use of the machines, assuring safe and accurate examinations. Through the synergy of Shinagawa’s Japanese-standard medical services and Fujifilm’s innovative healthcare equipment, improved quality of life, diagnosis, and prevention are now made more accessible.

The Shinagawa Diagnostic & Preventive Care will have its grand opening this April. Those who are interested in the center may check out Shinagawa’s official Facebook page @ShinagawaDiagnostic or the official website at www.shinagawa-healthcare.ph to book an appointment. Shinagawa Diagnostic & Preventive Care Center is located at Ore Central Tower, BGC.

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Training breathing muscles could have longer lasting benefits than previously thought

The strength gains to the muscles from five weeks of inspiratory muscle training (a form of weight training to strengthen the muscles used to breathe) persist for five weeks after the training has stopped.

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Training the breathing muscles (primarily the diaphragm which plays a vital role in breathing) could have longer lasting benefits than previously thought. The strength gains to the muscles from five weeks of inspiratory muscle training (a form of weight training to strengthen the muscles used to breathe) persist for five weeks after the training has stopped, according to new research published in Experimental Physiology.

Stronger breathing muscles may improve the distribution of blood flow during exercise, which allows a person to undergo physical activity for longer periods before tiring and becoming less breathless. Enhancing breathing muscle function can potentially help people manage and slow down the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung conditions including emphysema and bronchitis. The disease is the third leading cause of death worldwide1 but is helped with pulmonary rehabilitation which can include inspiratory muscle training. Healthcare needs and the frequency of hospital visits depends on a person’s symptoms and how regularly they worsen. For people with weak breathing muscles, the training may help relieve the symptoms.

Muscles can lose function or weaken over time with disuse, particularly the respiratory muscles which may weaken faster than the other muscles in the body. The researchers from University of Waterloo, Canada foundthat the breathing muscles remain stronger after an equal amount of time without training, in this case five weeks. By observing similar muscle gains between weight training of the breathing muscles with that of the tibialis anterior (the muscle that runs down the front of the shin) indicates that the respiratory muscles can be trained like other skeletal muscles.  

Paolo Dominelli, University of Waterloo, Canada, a researcher on the study, said, “Inspiratory muscle training can be beneficial to people with breathing difficulties and can be part of pulmonary rehabilitation. Knowing the time frame before muscle function loss occurs could help inform treatment programs, determining how frequently an individual would need to train and the length of the programme.”

Inspiratory muscle training also caused a positive change to the respiratory muscle metaboreflex, a process where the body restricts the blood flow to the limbs when the breathing muscles tire. Typically during exercise when the limb muscles are working hard, the respiratory metaboreflex prioritises blood flow to the breathing muscles to ensure breathing is maintained. As a result, heart rate and blood pressure rise. However, inspiratory muscle training reduces the metaboreflex, which lowers the heart rate and blood pressure. Reducing the metaboreflex may improves a person’s endurance during exercise, meaning they can workout for longer before reaching exhaustion. The researchers found that the effects on the metaboreflex were preserved after five weeks in the absence of training.

Paolo Dominelli said, “By showing that the strength of the breathing muscles persisted, along with the retained reductions in the respiratory metaboreflex after five weeks without training suggests that the training itself may not need to be continuous. We would need to carry out subsequent clinical trails to test the appropriate frequency and length of training required to evaluate how long the health benefits persist.”

A group of 16 young healthy adults were randomly assigned into either the control group (seven male, one female) or the experimental group (six male, two female). Over 10-weeks their respiratory muscle strength and muscle strength of their lower leg (via the ability to flex the ankle upwards) were tested in a laboratory, and their blood pressure and heart rate were measured at pre-training (zero weeks), post-training (five weeks) and post-detraining (10 weeks) while their respiratory muscles were working hard to elicit the metaboreflex.

Over five weeks the experimental group performed inspiratory muscle training twice a day for five days a week. This was then followed by five weeks of undergoing normal physical activity but no inspiratory muscle training (post-detraining). The control group did not take part in inspiratory muscle training. All participants engaged in regularly physical activity (approximately three days per week) throughout the 10-week study period.

Paolo Dominelli cautions, “Firstly, our study was done in young healthy individuals who are not limited by their respiratory muscles. Follow-up studies needs to be completed in those with lung disease such as COPD. Secondly, the main limitation of the study was the duration of the detraining (no training) period. It was only for five weeks, the same amount of time as the training, where we did not see any decreases in breathing muscle strength. Further studies should extend the detraining phase to see if the reduction in the metaboreflex still persists with decreases in muscle strength.”

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