FBCx, Obesity, Fiber and Weight Management

Obesity, a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30.0 kg/m squared
has become a worldwide epidemic. Nearly one-third of the population in the
US is obese and another one-third of the adult population is overweight (BMI 25.0 – 29.9 kg/m squared).

The incidence of severe obesity (BMI greater than
40 kg/m squared) more than doubled during the decade of the 90′s. The
consequences to one’s health for being overweight include increased risk of
developing:

Heart disease
High blood pressure
Type 2 diabetes
Elevated blood lipids
Certain cancers
Muscle and skeletal disorders
Sleep apnea
Complications in pregnancy
Depression and other psychological problems

The total direct (healthcare) and indirect
(lost productivity) costs were estimated to be a staggering $117 billon in
2000, or about one-half of the total costs
caused by hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in the history of
the USA. The real difference between the costs for Katrina and for obesity
might best be described as the difference between a one-time and an ever increasing
recurring expense. In the absence of effective treatment, the costs of obesity
cannot help but do severe damage to the economy.

Fiber is defined as a dietary constituent that is not degraded into absorbable
units within the stomach or small intestine. Soluble fibers are more soluble
in water relative to insoluble fibers. To further classify dietary fiber
it is said that they are either fermentable or nonfermentable, depending on whether or not undigested fibers are consumed
by the microbes contained in the large bowel; this fermentation is the source
of the gas and hence much locker-room humor that accompanies a high fiber
diet.

The idea of increasing dietary fiber for
weight management and promotion of good health is not a new one. A recent
study has indicated that a daily increase of 10 grams of dietary fiber intake
lowers the risk of coronary events by 12% and coronary deaths by 19%. Interestingly,
this study also found that obese individuals have significantly higher fat
and lower fiber consumption compared to normal weight individuals; furthermore
that there is no difference in energy intake between the obese and normal
weight individuals. We might conclude from this that the difference in body
weight, between normal and obese individuals, has more to do with fat than
energy consumption. Some researchers have concluded that by increasing daily
fiber intake by 14 grams reduces energy intake by 10% and causes a decrease
in body weight. The weight reducing effect of dietary fiber was found to
be more pronounced in obese than in normal weight individuals.

There are numerous products available from
nutritional food supplement stores, pharmacies and supermarkets,
not to mention a plethora of websites that contain either specific fibers
or combinations of fibers. Almost all of these products guarantee your satisfaction,
but not necessarily your weight loss. All of these products base their (inferred)
weight loss claims upon one of two concepts; fiber as a fat absorber or fiber
as a bulking agent that increases your feeling of fullness. Until the introduction
of FBCx none of these claims have been substantiated in the scientific literature.

Weight management is really not rocket science; it is simply a matter
of balancing energy intake with energy required. Unfortunately, as your mother
may have told you, the devil is in the details. The culture that we have
embraced in the West and which we are rapidly exporting around the world,
demands plenty of inexpensive, good tasting, high energy food and as little
physical labor/activity as is possible. The result is that we tend to eat
more calories than we need
causing our bodies to store the unused calories as fat. In order to lose
excess weight and then maintain a desired weight requires a lifestyle change
that is so great that most of us will not even consider it, and those of us that do usually last only about 60-90
days on our Spartan regime. If you can do it, go for it and relish the fact
that you are in a very elite club of very disciplined individuals. It is with these obstacles to
weight management in mind that we developed FBCx.

FBCx is a soluble, all natural, clinically tested, dietary fiber that is considered
to be safe for human consumption at any level by the WHO (World health Organization)
and has GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status
in the USA. FBCx is unlike any other fiber that we know of in
that it has the very unique ability to form a stable complex with and reduce
the bioavailability of nine times its own weight in dietary fat. Taking six
one-gram tablets of FBCx as directed with fat containing meals effectively
eliminates about 54 grams of fat or the equivalent of 500 kcal from a normal
North American diet with no known side effects. Thus if your diet and weight
is more or less constant prior to starting FBCx, you should be able to lose 3,500 kcal (7×500 per day)
or 1-1½ pounds of body weight per week. This 1-1½ pounds per week may not
sound like much but it is what is considered to be a safe rate and when you
multiply it by 52 weeks in a year, it quickly becomes significant. During 2005 we presented
our clinical trial data at the American Diabetes Association and the North
American Association for the Study of Obesity annual meetings.

Is FBCx the miracle-in-a-bottle that is going
to solve the obesity epidemic? Probably not, but used as directed it is a
safe and effective means of reducing and maintaining your body weight.

Joseph D. Artiss, Ph.D., FACB
Is Vice President of ArtJen Complexus
Holdings Corp.
Windsor, ON N9A 6V2, Canada
And
Associate Professor of Pathology
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48201 USA

Catherine Jen, Ph.D.
Is President of ArtJen Complexus
Holdings Corp.
Windsor, ON N9A 6V2, Canada
And
Professor and Chair of Department of
Nutrition and Food Science
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202 USA

FBCx is available in a limited number of retail outlets in Michigan and Ontario, at http://artjen.net and toll free at 1-877-4-ARTJEN.

1. Prev:Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss Lesson #38
2. Next:Body Mass Index Chart Misleading