Health Related

Lipoma

What is it?
Lipoma is a common soft-tissue tumor found under the skin but also can appear in deeper tissues and even in various body organs, such as the heart, brain, and lung. They can vary from walnut size to that of a large baseball and usually have a soft, rubbery feel. Types of lipomas include the superficial subcutaneous lipoma, the intramuscular lipoma, the spindle cell lipoma, the angiolipoma, the benign lipoblastoma, and the lipomas of tendon sheaths, nerves, synovium, periosteum, and the lumbosacral area. The most common type is the superficial subcutaneous lipoma.

Who gets it?
* Superficial subcutaneous lipomas occur more frequently in women than men, usually on the trunk, nape of the neck, and forearms. They are found more commonly in people who are overweight, although losing weight will not make lipomas smaller.

* Angiolipoma lipomas are usually found in young adults, typically on the forearm.

What causes it?
No one knows why lipomas occur. Usually they are inherited.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of lipoma include soft, moveable lumps under the skin that are sometimes painful to the touch.

How is it diagnosed?
The doctor may be able to make a diagnosis of lipoma based on a visual examination of the patient. The doctor may also do a biopsy on the lesion to determine the type of lipoma.

What is the treatment?
Treatment for lipomas may not be required, however in most cases they can be surgically removed if they are very large, painful, or cosmetically unattractive. The doctor may remove them by surgical excision. Liposuction can sometimes be performed and may result in less scarring.

Sometimes it is impossible to remove a diffuse lipomatosis if the involved limb becomes massive in size. In this extreme case, amputation of the limb may be recommended.

Self-care tips
Lipomas generally grow to a limited size and usually are not painful. Surgery to treat lipomas for cosmetic reasons is usually successful, with a recurrence rate for most lipomas at less than five percent.


Preliminary Data Suggest That Soda And Sweet Drinks Are The Main Source Of Calories In American Diet

Tufts researchers recently reported that while the leading source of calories in the average American diet used to be from white bread, that may have changed. Now, according to preliminary research conducted by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Americans are drinking these calories instead. The research was presented in abstract form at the Experimental Biology Conference in April of this year and a more comprehensive paper is being developed. Odilia Bermudez, PhD, MPH, studied the reported diets of a large nationwide sample of American adults. Among respondents to the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), more than two thirds reported drinking enough soda and/or sweet drinks to provide them with a greater proportion of daily calories than any other food. In addition, obesity rates were higher among these sweet drink consumers. Consumers of 100% orange juice and low fat milk, on the other hand, tended to be less overweight, on average.

Bermudez, who is also an assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, is hopeful that, "by helping to identify the main sources of excess energy in the American diet, this work may contribute to the development of much-needed strategies to combat obesity in the American public."

"These results are startling," she continued, "and indicate that we need a much better understanding of how the American diet has changed. Our paper will look more closely at the issue of sweet drink consumption and its relation to obesity factors among three of the main ethnic groups included in the national surveys: African Americans, Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites."