well, we are going to get healthier this morning. dr. marc siegel, associate professor of medicine at nyu's langone medical center. also author of "the inner pulse: unlocking the secret code of sickness and health." >> dr. saifd isdavid samadi. dr., go the shocking study about obesity is our country. they say obesity may be deadlier than people thought. according to new research it accounts for about 18% of all deaths in our nation. how obese or how fat do you have to be before you tip over that line that it's really unhealthy. >> let's start with the definition of what obesity is. we call it a body mass index of greater than 30. what is a body mass index?

it's how much you weigh for a given height. what is your height and how much do you weigh for that height. we're trying to get at how fat, how much body fat you have. that's what we're worried about. here's the breakthrough on this study, eric. they looked at the idea of something called the obesity paradox. we've been hearing for years about these studies that only kids die of obesity. the authors of this study, ryan masters, reached out to me and said that's a paradox. actually, older people are dying of obesity at even greater rates because they developed secondary problems that i treat in my office. high blood pressure. heart disease. cancer. heart disease and cancer are the number one and two killers in the country. obesity is directly related to that. and diabetes. in other words, you develop these problems because you're obese. high cholesterol. then you end up dying of those problems, but obesity is relate. he looked at 19 national surveys. and together found that the risk of dying of obesity, not directly, but indirectly, obesity causing these other

problems, is 18%. when previously it had been thought to be about 5%. that's three times greater. >> that's big. >> you just said 30. can you explain that? what do you do? do you take your height and divide it by your weight? >> you look on a scale. how much does somebody weigh? how tall are they? the reason that's important, people carry their weight differently. people can be very tall and not have that port belly. david's going to talk about this. we really worry about this belly here in men especially. that's what we look at. it's how much you weigh for your given height on a scale. >> dr. samadi, can you google it and find that scale so i can do it at home? >> i'm going to post-it on my own facebook. there's a formula for it. the truth is we are not -- we're failing the war against obesity. if you look at what we've spoken about in the last year or so, we talk about portion control. watch what you're eating. cut the fat. it's not working. this news is really not so great

for us. we thought it was 5%. it's 18%. nobody dies from obesity directly. on a death certificate they don't put death from obesity. they put myocardial infarction or heart attack or stroke. the fat around the organs that we care about, fat around the kidneys, completely changes your sodium metabolism. you get high blood pressure because your hormones are out of whack. you get resistance to insulin. what happens when your insulin is not working? your pancreas is exhausted. you get diabetes. the fat around the liver. the portal vein. that's a gateway to the liver. it's supposed to filter all of our cholesterol. the ldl, bad cholesterol, we've spoken about. now you have fat around the liver. all of that gets dumped into the blood system. you have high cholesterol. >> he's actually talking about

something called metabolic syndrome. >> that combination is called metabolic syndrome. that's the segue to heart attack and stroke. the only way we're going to really take care of this is to make sure that things that we're eating, to the control that we have. fructose. jamie, you've spoken about this high fructose corn syrup. that's a huge problem. fructose is in every one of our food. we've changed to a low fat diet. people go for low fat. fat free. they replace it with fructose. >> you know what? and fruit. which is bad. sugar, sugar, sugar. >> fruit is good. >> dr. samadi and dr. siegel, we've been talking about this for years. there are so many people who have all the things you mentioned. they're walking around with high blood pressure. they're prediabetic or diabetic. they have that gut. women and men. and they're not taking care of it. what do you want them to know today, dr. samadi? life or death, right? >> unfortunately i'm going to get a lot of e-mails about this. i think our food is

contaminated. i've never mentioned it on live tv. i think there's a lot of fructose in our food turning into fat. that's what happens. since when we were seeing a 6-month-old baby, 5-year-old kid, is becoming like so fat. the other day i'm look agent the wheelchairs in the hospital. they are becoming bigger and bigger. there's a problem. and to the extent that you can take care of this, cut down on the sugar. that's my best advice in two minutes. >> to add to that, totally agree with what. what are you putting in your icebox? how much soda pop do you have? is your kid exercising? how much sleep are they getting? all of these things together are lifestyle issues. if you add to that what we haven't discussed today, smoking and alcohol, you have a terrible lifestyle. and it's all sugar. >> a quick question. how do i get rid of the beer belly? what do you do? >> right now your spanx -- >> i think you're okay, eric. if you're medically in trouble. done everything you can. changed all the lifestyle, you can't do it. unfortunately surgery is the way to go. we see a surgical therapies as a

quick fix. quick fix is not the best thing always. if you have to save your life that's what i would do. >> dr. siegel, exercise? does that get rid of it? >> well, it can. depending on the exercise you're doing. i would start with that. i would start with diet control, exercise. put in those sit-ups along with what else i talk about, cardio. get on the elliptical, treadmill, bike. add sit-ups. >> please do, folks. then we can just talk about light topics and make life even better. despite increasing attention about in vitro fertly dags there's a new report from the cdc saying infertility is on the rise in our society. coming up the doctors will tell you about that and why. we'll be right back. ♪

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well, we wanted to bring you the very latest information on in vitro fertilization. there's a new report out from the cdc. it says that infertility rates in the u.s. are actually falling. but dr. samadi, there's still a lot of couples out there who are struggling. >> finally we get great news over here. right? rates of infertility has gone down from 9% to 6% over the last two decades. that's the great news. fertility among women, it's great until around age of 34. once you pass that it's going to be about 25% over age of 44 becomes 30%. you're right. women are working now. they're professionals. they have their own life. so that has been a huge problem. but despite that, over the last decade, we also as urologists, we've gotten better. for men the dopplers and ultrad

to help with mobility of the sperm, that has improved. for women ivf science has improved drastically. the success rate is much improved. we're able to using with for example, methods such as what we call -- take sperm and really inject it into the cytoplasm. looking at the lifestyle and what they're doing and also our technique, we have improved. mind you, i tell you, age is one factor. smoking is a huge enemy of fertility plus alcohol. make sure you don't lose a lot of weight or gain a lot of weight. that changes your whole hormones. smoking, alcohol, age and weight gain and weight loss are big risk factors. >> what do you see in your practice, dr. siegel? >> i want to define fertility. infertility means trying to get pregnant for a year with one person, one couple. that's infertility. >> without contraception. >> exactly. without contraception. the reason that's improving in women david was alluding to. one of it is technology.

we're using ivf more successfully. in vitro fertilization. more surgical techniques are successful. in addition, initially about a decade or two ago women were getting pregnant later. now they're still getting pregnant later but not as much as they were. they're starting a little bit earlier. maybe they've been warned a little. with men the incidence is about 9% of infertility. that's the same as it was two decades ago. people out there have to remember, it's not always the woman. 40% of the time the male is the cause of infertility. is their sperm working properly? is it at the right speed? is there enough of it? sperm function is very important for fertility. >> can i ask you a question about what dr. samadi is saying? smoking and alcohol. say you go through college and you're a big smoker and drinker. you stop. you get married. you want to get pregnant. can you reverse any damage that's done? >> absolutely. are you can definitely -- i don't want to say reverse damage that's done. damage may not have been done. if you improve your lisfestyle,

your ability to be fertile will improve. there's genetic factors. you don't want people to feel it's all their fault because some people have a problem they need to get fixed or can't get fixed and that's the reason they're infertile. but this is very happy news. >> i thought that was excellent question. i think the effect of smoking stays in your system for at least 10 to 15 years. all that depends on how much you smoked. if you're a heavy smoker, the sooner you stop the better off you are. most of the smoking and alcohol has to do with the mobility of the sperm. and when you get checked, if the first time the lab is abnormal, don't rely on that. it's always excellent choice to go for the second analysis and find out if you have enough v, cetera. always talk to the experts. you have to look at the sexual hormones. >> i think this is in your area of specialty, but i know a lot of women who freeze eggs. they're not -- they're career women. they're not ready to have children. they want to prepare for later on. can men freeze sperm? >> we do that all the time. >> really?

>> part of the reason is because now when i do, for example, surgery for prostate cancer, we are getting a lot of men in their early 40s who may not even be married. yes, that's another good question. >> never thought about it. >> yes. you freeze the sperm. you can use it later on. >> i know that's a sensitive question to ask at this hour of the morning. if it helps people, it's worth it. >> a really good point to bring up for women who may be undergoing chemotherapy. when there's an issue with cancer most people will get their fertility back. you have to have that conversation with your oncologist. should i be freezing my eggs? should i be putting away eggs now just in case? most of the time with chemotherapy, over 90% of the time you get your fertility back. >> interesting. now we know for men, too, that's something to consider. >> fascinating. >> thank you very much. it is the most common gastrointestinal disorder. it's still very much misunderstood. and it's often misdiagnosed. the doctors are back. if your tummy has been hurting you, this may be information that you need to feel better. plus, keeping a very close

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and back now on "sunday house call." if you got it, you know it, and 35 million americans have it. irritable bowel syndrome, the most common disorder, yet the condition is often misunderstood and sometimes misdiagnosed. dr. siegel, you get that pain, doubled over on the couch at 4:00 in the afternoon. what do i do? >> 35 million people. i want to start off by saying this is a diagnosis of exclusion. what do we mean by that? we want to rule out more serious things first like inflammatory bowel disease, which we were talking act, colitis, crohn's disease, other problems that can cause you ananemia, cramping, weight loss. here's what irritable bowel syndrome is. abdominal pain or cramping for three months. it goes away or decreases after you go to the bathroom. there's a change in bowel

frequency, number of times you go, and the stool looks different. that's irritable bowel syndrome. there's different kinds of irritable bowel syndrome. there's irritable bowel syndrome associated with constipation and irritable bowel syndrome associated with diarrhea. with the constipation, we increase fiber, sometimes laxative, but you can't use those long term. with diarrheal, we use anti-spasmodics. but what people need to know, your bowel, your large bowel, your colon has plenty of nerves, plen oi of nerve endings so stress makes irritable bowel worse. dairy products tend to, fatty foods tend to. there's a whole series of things if-in your diet that can do it. we've talked about celiac disease, gluten incensensitivin. after you travel and you've been in a foreign country, you may get an infection, and people

come back and have traveler's irritable bowel syndrome. for a few weeks. but see your physician if you're having any change in bowel habits. >> dr. siegel talked about what we eat. what do you do if you get this and you're diagnosed? >> most of these patients are frustrated, have gone from doctor to doctor, tired of getting scoped up and down and colonoscopy and getting nothing done. it's different from inflammatory bowel disease, which is crohn's and ulcerative colitis. there are changes in the lining of the mucosa and you're at high risk of colon cancer. when it comes to irritable bowel syndrome, none of that happens. you're not at risk of cancer and none of the changes in the colon happen so, that's the good news. we think this is a very complex issue with the colon. some people think the serotonin level in the bow sell low so they have gone as far as giving them antidepressants for this. that works sometimes.

bacterial infection at times could do this. antibiotic that i'm going to post later on called refaxamin, if you have bacterial involvement. and if really have the constipation that mark was talking act, something called m emetezia, another medication that will take care of this. grant granted you're going to get bloated. you really have to be your own doctor. at the end of the day, find out what makes it worse and what makes it better. celiac disease and all these food allergies, you have to go through e eliminating them to come up with this diagnosis. >> one great point david just made i want to re-emphasize, which is if you have irritable bowel syndrome and you went through the work-up for everything else your colon is

fine. there's going to be nothing structurally wrong with it, a great point to make, because you need to get treated but no damage is being done. >> affects a lot of people so glad to get the advice. >> now we know the difference too. you don't have to think cancer automatically. >> absolutely. >> great. >> sometimes lying in bed at night, can't get to sleep, start counting sheep or thinking about mowing the lawn or whatever else, if that doesn't work, the doctors in a few moments will have some unexpected reasons why you may not be catching your zs. [ male announcer ] this is betsy. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ because all these whole grains

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and back now on "sunday house call." sometimes sitting there in bed, you have a bad night's sleep. can't even get to sleep. you don't know why. sometimes you know why. you're thinking about taxes or whatever. dr. siegel has some surprising reasons why you just can't fall asleep. >> eric, these are surprising. one is the room may not be cool enough. studies show 60 to 67 degrees. you might want to wear socks. covering your hands and feet can make you sleep better. turn off those electronic devices. the room doesn't have to be completely dark. really dpashg may make you fearful and more anxious. you might not fall asleep. number one on the list, 50% are

less likely to fall asleep if you sleep with a partner or a dog or your child. i'm not going to tell you to kick out your partner. it may be the best thing in your life. 40% of people are sleeping alone these day, not with their wife or husband. i disagree with that. stay with your partner. but they may be banging into you in the middle of the night. >> is a teddy bear okay, doctor? that's all i got right now. >> okay. i think what mark is trying to say is that the bedroom is made to sleep and also some exciting stuff. not for the tv and the facebook and your computers. >> if you're having exciting stuff you're not going to slim. >> no, it actually works better afterwards. >> afterwards. >> invest some good money on your mattress. a comfortable mattress means a better sleep. get rid of that clock. whatever works for you, whether the highlight or no light. adjust it so you have really good night's sleep. if you have a problem, there are things such as melatonin is a good one, the computers right before you

go to bed. >> i want to recommend an air purifier. i read that helps a lot of people. also you made the people who love the room cold, always one part of the couple wants the room cold. you make them so happy. >> we're favor in coffee this week, jamie, just earlier in the day. >> not before bed. >> thank you, doctors. well, there will be no rest right now because we have brand new reaction to the bombshell revelations over the scope of nsa surveillance programs. new suggestions that that snooping was worse than it was even thought. more leaked documents show thousands of privacy violations every year. and good morning, everyone. we welcome you to the brand new hour here in america's news headquarters. i'm jamie colby. i'm eric shawn. new evidence coming after repeated assurances from the administration that the nsa never overstepped it' its privay bounds. lawmakers weighing