Weight Management

For several years, many have been quick to attribute rising fast-food consumption as the major factor causing rapid increases in childhood obesity. However a new study found that fast-food consumption is simply a byproduct of a much bigger problem: poor all-day-long dietary habits that originate in children's homes. The study, titled "The association of fast food consumption … [Read more...]

Scientists are investigating whether an infusion of gut hormones could help people to stop over-eating, quit smoking, or give up alcohol. The team at Imperial College London are seeking volunteers to take part in their study, in which they are giving participants compounds that mimic the action of hormones naturally produced by our stomach and intestines. The hope is that … [Read more...]

Researchers have discovered how a gene commonly linked to obesity -- FTO -- contributes to weight gain. The study shows that variations in FTO indirectly affect the function of the primary cilium, a little-understood hair-like appendage on brain and other cells. Specific abnormalities of cilium molecules, in turn, increase body weight, in some instances, by affecting the … [Read more...]

Both weight gain and weight loss in older (postmenopausal) women are associated with increased incidence of fracture, but at different anatomical sites, finds a study published in The BMJ this week. The findings also challenge the traditional view that weight gain protects against fractures. The influence of body weight on the risk of fracture is complex. Low body weight … [Read more...]

A recent Finnish study shows that high body adiposity, low physical activity, and particularly their combination are related to poorer physical fitness among 6-8 year old children. The results also suggest that physically active overweight children have better fitness compared to their inactive peers. The results published in Journal of Sports Sciences are part of the Physical … [Read more...]

There are small easy steps that we can take to tackle the burgeoning problem of obesity. One of those solutions is surprisingly simple: use smaller plates. There have been over 50 studies examining whether or not smaller plates help in reducing consumption. Despite all these studies, there is surprisingly little consensus on the effect of smaller plates. Some find that … [Read more...]

Sedentary behavior is associated with poor cardiovascular health and diabetes in adults with severe obesity, independent of how much exercise they perform, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led study showed for the first time. The finding, published online and scheduled for the March issue of the journal Preventive Medicine, could be used to design … [Read more...]

Concerns have been raised over the long-term use of nutritional supplements containing chromium, after an Australian research team found the supplement is partially converted into a carcinogenic form when it enters cells. Chromium is a trace mineral found primarily in two forms. Trivalent chromium(III) picolinate and a range of other chromium(III) forms are sold as a … [Read more...]

A world-first QUT study revealing light exposure plays a role in the weight of preschool children has been published by international research journal PLOS ONE. PhD student Cassandra Pattinson and colleagues Simon Smith, Alicia Allan, Sally Staton and Karen Thorpe studied children aged three to five, from six Brisbane childcare centres. At time 1, they measured children's … [Read more...]

For a long time researchers have tracked high rates of obesity among black and Hispanic kids, but a closer look at communities shows family income matters more than race in predicting which kids are overweight. Using a model created from data on 111,799 Massachusetts students, the University of Michigan Health System showed that as poverty rises, so does the rate of obesity … [Read more...]

Weight loss at any age in adulthood is worthwhile because it could yield long-term heart and vascular benefits, suggests new research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The findings are from a study examining the impact of lifelong patterns of weight change on cardiovascular risk factors in a group of British men and women followed since birth in March … [Read more...]

Obese people considering weight-reducing bariatric surgery are only topped by pregnant women when it comes to how often they turn to the Internet for health advice. While most use it to read up on relevant procedures and experiences, one in every four patients actually chooses a surgeon based solely on what he or she has gleaned from, in particular, websites hosted by public … [Read more...]

Ways of keeping the heart healthy has widened, with the discovery that the brain can help fight off hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis -- hardening and narrowing of the arteries -- can be caused by fat build up that causes plaque deposits, and is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease. Jessica Yue, a newly recruited researcher in the Department of … [Read more...]

When children and child-care providers sit around a table together at mealtime, passing bowls and serving themselves, children learn to recognize when they are full better than they do when food is pre-plated for them, reports a new University of Illinois study of feeding practices of two- to five-year-old children in 118 child-care centers. "Family-style meals give kids a … [Read more...]

How can Facebook aid someone in their weight loss journey? According to recent research from the Arnold School of Health at the University of South Carolina, use of the social media site can be associated with a significant drop in pounds, especially during the critical maintenance period of a weight loss journey, where support from the clinical staff decreases. Lead author … [Read more...]

From nutritious foods that fill you up faster to new weight-loss medications to government food taxes, obesity experts predict maintaining a healthy weight may get much easier during the next few decades. More than 2.1 billion people worldwide are now overweight or obese and at risk for major chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and heart problems, reported McKinsey … [Read more...]

A new neuroscience study sheds light on the biological underpinnings of obesity. The in vivo study, published in the January 8 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, reveals how a protein in the brain helps regulate food intake and body weight. The findings reveal a potential new avenue for the treatment of obesity and may help explain why medications that are prescribed for … [Read more...]

A sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax could help mitigate the rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes rates in India among both urban and rural populations, according to a study published this week in PLOS Medicine. Sanjay Basu and colleagues, from Stanford University, USA, estimated that a 20% SSB tax across India could avert 11.2 million cases of overweight/obesity and 400,000 … [Read more...]

Parents -- especially those of overweight children -- give schools a failing grade for efforts to encourage healthy habits that combat childhood obesity, according to a new poll from the University of Michigan. According to the latest University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, parents with at least one overweight child (25 percent of … [Read more...]

For otherwise healthy middle-aged women who are overweight or obese, physical activity may be their best option for avoiding heart disease, according to a study that followed nearly 900 women for seven years. These findings were reported in a paper led by authors at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital … [Read more...]

One of the most comprehensive studies of the potential link between reduced sleep and childhood obesity finds compelling evidence that children who consistently received less than the recommended hours of sleep during infancy and early childhood had increases in both obesity and in adiposity or overall body fat at age 7. The study from MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) … [Read more...]

Australian researchers have shed more light on an underexplored aspect of the important brain-signaling system that controls appetite, body composition and energy use. Their findings suggest that a specific gene regulating our body clock may play a central role in determining how fat we become. Evolution has preserved the 'neuropeptide Y (NPY) system', as it is known, in … [Read more...]

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved EnteroMedic's VBLOC® vagal blocking therapy, delivered via the Maestro® System, which is the first medical device approved for obesity treatment that targets the nerve pathway between the brain and the stomach. The device acts by sending an electrical pulse to block vagal nerve signals involved in controlling … [Read more...]

By uncovering the action of two naturally occurring hormones, scientists may have discovered a way to assist in the shedding of excess fat. The findings, published today in the journal Cell, give new insights into how the brain regulates body fat and may lead to more effective ways to lose weight and prevent obesity by promoting the conversion of white fat to brown … [Read more...]

The Endocrine Society has issued a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) on strategies for prescribing drugs to manage obesity and promote weight loss. The CPG, entitled "Pharmacological Management of Obesity: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline," was published online and will appear in the February 2015 print issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and … [Read more...]

Obesity can be described as an excess of fat leading to metabolic diseases and adipose tissue has a pivotal role in obesity and its related complications. Dietary management is the conventional strategy to promote weight loss and improve health, new research suggests the central role of myristoleic acid -- a minor fatty acid not found in food -- could provide the answer to … [Read more...]

The first-ever clinical practice guideline for the drug treatment of obesity offers a new tool for health practitioners looking to the latest pharmacotherapy strategies as a means of treating patients with obesity. The release comes on the heels of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of four new anti-obesity drugs in the past two years -- lorcaserin (Belviq), … [Read more...]

Bariatric surgery -- as a last resort when conservative interventions have failed -- can improve liver disease and other obesity-related health problems in severely obese children and adolescents, according to a position paper in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, official journal of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and … [Read more...]