Speakers weigh in on obesity at Capra Symposium
By Cathy Frisinger
The 2016 Capra Symposium was both a gathering of experts from varying fields to address a single topic and a celebration of the life of one of the founders of the symposium, Dr. Donald Capra, who died in 2015.
Dr. Capra joined the faculty of UT Southwestern Medical Center in 1974 as a Professor of Microbiology and Internal Medicine, publishing some 375 scientific papers during his career. Dr. Capra, and his wife, Dr. Patricia Capra, also a former UT Southwestern faculty member, donated the money to fund the annual seminar, which began in 1998.
The title of this year’s symposium, held on Feb. 17, was “21st Century Strategies for Managing Obesity.” Five speakers addressed various aspects of the topic of managing obesity and others weighed in with insights during an Experts Round Table Discussion. “I’m very picky about being sure that they keep to the idea that this is an interdisciplinary event and not just one great speaker,” said Dr. Patricia Capra.
Dr. Gloria Vega, Professor of Clinical Nutrition, spoke about some of the research done by the Center for Human Nutrition on dietary and genetic factors that contribute to high LDL cholesterol levels in the blood, which increases the risk for coronary heart disease.
Mother Nature has a way of instructing us on how to identify factors that contribute to metabolism,” said Dr. Vega.
She explained that two rare genetic disorders – a fat transport disorder called familial hypobetalipoproteinemia that is caused by mutations to the ApoB gene, as well as mutations in the PCSK9 gene that were identified among patients in the Dallas Heart Study – led to greater understanding of cholesterol metabolism and, in fact, to new treatments.
Dr. Jaime Almandoz, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, is an expert in nonsurgical weight management and the medical car e of patients following bariatric surgery. “Obesity management is much more than saying, ‘Eat less, move more, and you’ll be OK,’ ” he said. “If it was that simple, and we obeyed the laws of thermodynamics, eating one extra peanut M&M per day would cause you to put on a pound in a year.”
A multitude of factors contribute to obesity, he explained. “A complex neurohormonal network regulates our appetite, but we can overcome those controls. Appetite inhibition is overridden by cultural, environmental, and hedonistic influences.” said Dr. Almandoz.
Bariatric surgery, which affects things like hunger, satiety, and gut flora in addition to mechanically restricting intake of food, is the most effective and durable treatment for many people, according to Dr. Almandoz. He pointed out, however, that not everyone is able to maintain their initial weight loss and people must be appropriately prepared and followed after surgery.
Body mass index doesn’t tell the whole story, according to Dr. Steve Farrell, Scientific Content Specialist at The Cooper Institute. Aerobic exercise – at least 150 minutes a week – is also key. Poor cardiorespiratory fitness is strongly correlated with mortality from heart disease, he said. “You can be slim and not fit and you can be overweight and have good cardiorespiratory fitness. Regardless of whether you are normal weight, overweight, or obese, you get the most bang for your buck moving from the low fit category to the moderate fit category,” Dr. Farrell said.
Other speakers were Lona Sandon, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nutrition, who spoke about workplace programs to tackle obesity, and Dr. Martin Deschner, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, who spoke about his work performing psychological assessments of patients who are seeking bariatric surgery. “Passivity is the death knell to maintaining weight loss after bariatric surgery,” said Dr. Deschner.
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Dr. Vega holds the Dr. Scott M. Grundy Distinguished Professorship in Human Nutrition.
