Weight Management

Several studies have looked at possible links between maternal obesity during pregnancy and the risk of developmental disorders in the child. However, paternal obesity could be a greater risk factor than maternal obesity, according to a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. As the first researcher to study the role of paternal obesity in autism, Dr. Pål … [Read more...]

New research by Andrew Stokes, a doctoral student in demography and sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests that many obesity studies substantially underestimate the mortality risks associated with excess weight in the United States. His study, "Using Maximum Weight to Redefine Body Mass Index Categories in Studies of The … [Read more...]

A new study led by a University of North Carolina School of Medicine researcher finds little to cheer about in the fight against childhood obesity, despite a recent report to the contrary. The study, published online first April 7 in JAMA Pediatrics, found that all classes of obesity in U.S. children have increased over the last 14 years. Perhaps most troubling, the study … [Read more...]

Learning you have an obesity-related disease motivates many to start a weight loss program, but troubling health news is often not enough to sustain weight loss efforts, finds new research in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study evaluated mostly male Veterans Affairs (VA) patients to uncover what motivated them to join the VA behavioral weight management … [Read more...]

A University of Illinois study finds that obese children are slower than healthy-weight children to recognize when they have made an error and correct it. The research is the first to show that weight status not only affects how quickly children react to stimuli but also impacts the level of activity that occurs in the cerebral cortex during action monitoring. "I like to … [Read more...]

More than one-third of people in the US are obese. Obesity and its related health problems -- including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, insulin resistance, and belly fat -- affect so many, yet effective treatments are very few. In a new study, Simon Musyoka Mwangi and colleagues tested whether higher levels of a certain protein help fight the weight gain and … [Read more...]

A surprising new strategy for managing your weight? Bright morning light. A new Northwestern Medicine® study reports the timing, intensity and duration of your light exposure during the day is linked to your weight -- the first time this has been shown. People who had most of their daily exposure to even moderately bright light in the morning had a significantly lower body … [Read more...]

Dartmouth researchers studying rats have discovered that activation of designer neural receptors can suppress cravings in a brain region involved in triggering those cravings. The study is the first to systematically show how designer brain receptors and designer drugs work together to change how cues for food stimulate motivation. The findings, which may help scientists to … [Read more...]

In 2013, 42 million infants and young children worldwide were overweight or obese. If current trends continue, that number will increase to 70 million by 2025, according to the World Heath Organization. It's not just genes that are the cause: socio-demographic and environmental elements are also contributing factors. Lower socio-economic status, living in neighbourhoods that … [Read more...]

Use of low energy sweeteners (LES) in place of sugar, in children and adults, leads to reduced calorie intake and body weight -- and possibly also when comparing LES beverages to water -- according to a review led by researchers at the University of Bristol published in the International Journal of Obesity. For the first time, all available science was integrated into a … [Read more...]

Eight years after having gastric bypass surgery as teenagers, patients continue to have significant weight loss and improvement in their lipid profiles. In a study to be presented Nov. 10 at the annual American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that body mass index decreased by 32 percent. In addition, the … [Read more...]

Imaging tests of obese children -- some as young as 8 years old -- showed signs of significant heart disease and heart muscle abnormalities, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015. Comparing 20 obese kids with 20 normal-weight kids, researchers found that obesity was linked to 27 percent more muscle mass in the left … [Read more...]

Negative body image significantly increases the risk of obesity regardless of whether youth have depression, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. "Our last study found that participants who were depressed were twice as likely to be obese six years later, implying a cause-and-effect … [Read more...]

````   A new gastric balloon that can be swallowed like a pill and then filled while in the stomach, helped patients lose more than 37 percent of their excess weight over four months, according to new research presented at ObesityWeek 2015, the largest international event focused on the basic science, clinical application and prevention and treatment of obesity. The … [Read more...]

  Researchers have found that the recurrence of atrial fibrillation increases in patients who are overweight and decreases when patients are able to lose weight, and keep it off, following a cardiac ablation, according to two new studies. Though the outcomes of these studies seem like common sense, Jared Bunch, MD, heart-rhythm specialist and director of … [Read more...]

In a new study published in the Journal of Health Psychology, researchers from the University of Surrey have found dieters who eat 'on the go' may increase their food intake later in the day which could lead to weight gain and obesity. The findings from the study also showed that eating while walking around triggered more overeating compared to eating during other forms of … [Read more...]

Soda, candy, and fast food are often painted as the prime culprits in the national discussion of obesity in the United States. While a diet of chocolate bars and cheese burgers washed down with a Coke is inadvisable from a nutritional standpoint, these foods are not likely to be a leading cause of obesity in the United States according to a new Cornell University Food and Brand … [Read more...]

For the first time, researchers have identified two genetic variants that interact to alter the brain responses to high-calorie foods, a tie that could aid in the development of targeted treatments for obesity and overweight. Researchers at Imperial College London led by Tony Goldstone, MD, PhD, of Consultant Endocrinologist, found that two gene variants -- FTO and DRD2 -- … [Read more...]

'In the three years following bariatric surgery, the majority of patients experience an improvement in pain and walking ability, according to the preliminary results of a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led analysis presented today in Los Angeles at ObesityWeek, the annual international conference of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric … [Read more...]

New research finds that one night of sleep deprivation and six months on a high-fat diet could both impair insulin sensitivity to a similar degree, demonstrating the importance of a good night's sleep on health. This study, conducted by Josiane Broussard, PhD, and colleagues from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, used a canine model to examine whether sleep … [Read more...]

A recent study suggests that obese people with metabolic syndrome face an unexpected quandary when it comes to vitamin E -- they need more than normal levels of the vitamin because their weight and other problems are causing increased oxidative stress, but those same problems actually cause their effective use of vitamin E to be reduced. As a result, experts in the Linus … [Read more...]

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) shows that people carrying a certain genetic variant relating to vitamin D metabolism are more likely to benefit from a high-protein weight loss diet than those without it. The research is by Dr Qibin Qi, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, … [Read more...]

Removing an enzyme that controls bile acid and hormone levels significantly protects female mice from weight gain, according to a new study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh. The finding offers a new a therapeutic target in the fight against obesity. Steroid hormones and bile acids have multiple functions that affect appetite, … [Read more...]

The childhood obesity epidemic in the United States has been growing for decades. A new study focusing on African-American children shows how the issue can also impact social development. The University of Cincinnati study led by Laura Nabors, an associate professor of health promotion and education, will be featured in a poster presentation on Nov. 2, at the 143rd American … [Read more...]

A recent study suggests that obese people with metabolic syndrome face an unexpected quandary when it comes to vitamin E -- they need more than normal levels of the vitamin because their weight and other problems are causing increased oxidative stress, but those same problems actually cause their effective use of vitamin E to be reduced. As a result, experts in the Linus … [Read more...]

Eating too much high-fat, high-calorie food is considered the primary cause of obesity and obesity-related disease, including diabetes. While the excess calories consumed are a direct cause of the fat accumulation, scientists suspect that low-grade inflammation due to an altered gut microbiome may also be involved. A new study in the American Journal of Physiology -- … [Read more...]

A new study suggests the road to obesity may be paved with non-nutritious carbohydrates in breast milk, shifting popular notions about how and why children grow to become overweight adults. Previous research has shown that maternal obesity strongly affects a baby's risk for becoming overweight, but scientists are unsure about how fatness is transmitted, said Michael Goran, … [Read more...]

Forget counting calories. The next new diet trend could be as simple as counting bites. A new study from BYU health science researchers found people who counted bites over a month's time lost roughly four pounds--just about what the CDC recommends for "healthy" weight loss. Those in the pilot test counted the number of bites they took each day and then committed to taking … [Read more...]

A single variation in the gene for brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) may influence obesity in children and adults, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study suggests that a less common version of the BDNF gene may predispose people to obesity by producing lower levels of BDNF protein, a regulator of appetite, in the brain. The authors … [Read more...]