Weight Management

How obese people feel about themselves has much to do with how they experience social stigma and it can change over time, a new study in Health Sociology Review has found. Andrea E. Bombak of the University of Manitoba carried out repeated in-depth interviews with obese or formerly obese people to see how dealing with their excess weight -- whether trying to lose it or … [Read more...]

Physical activity has many health benefits, ranging from reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer to improving mental health and mood But contrary to common belief, exercise does not help you lose weight, according to public health scientists Richard S. Cooper, MD and Amy Luke, PhD of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "Physical activity … [Read more...]

Among overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes, daily injection of the diabetes drug liraglutide with a modified insulin pen device, in addition to diet and exercise, resulted in greater weight loss over 56 weeks compared with placebo, according to a study in the August 18 issue of JAMA. Obesity is a chronic disease and a significant global health challenge. Weight … [Read more...]

New research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology suggests that, when considering overall costs of healthcare, obese patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those with recent disease onset, should be prioritised for obesity surgery over those without type 2 diabetes, since many patients see a reversal of diabetes after surgery and thus need fewer expensive … [Read more...]

New research enables "tailored" diet advice -- based on our personal gut microbiome -- for persons who want to lose weight and reduce the risk of disease. Systems biologists at Chalmers University of Technology have for the first time successfully identified in detail how some of our most common intestinal bacteria interact during metabolism. The researchers at Chalmers … [Read more...]

Overweight firefighters are twice as likely to attempt to lose weight if their health care provider gives them weight loss advice, according to new research from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. The results were published in this month's print edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. More than 75 … [Read more...]

'Tis the season of plenty of food and drink. While celebrating should be joyful, for some women, it's not. All the holiday temptations can add another layer to an already complicated biological process. It's well known that women undergo hormonal changes every month due to the menstrual cycle. These changes can cause women to eat more, which is a natural, biological … [Read more...]

Obese atrial fibrillation patients have a lower chance of arrhythmia recurrence if they have high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, and risk continues to decline as exercise capacity increases as part of treatment, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Cardiorespiratory fitness gain provides an incremental gain over weight … [Read more...]

Malnutrition is a known complication of weight loss surgery, but findings from a small study by researchers at Johns Hopkins show many obese people may be malnourished before they undergo the procedure. "Our results highlight the often-overlooked paradox that abundance of food and good nutrition are not one and the same," says senior investigator Kimberley Steele, M.D., … [Read more...]

Arterial wall stiffness and reduced arterial dilation are the first signs of cardiovascular diseases that can be measured. The Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children Study (PANIC) carried out in the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland shows that low levels of physical activity, weaker physical fitness and higher body fat content are linked to … [Read more...]

Overweight and obese adults are advised to exercise to improve their health, but more than 50 percent do not do so. New research to be presented at the 14th International Conference on Endothelin: Physiology, Pathophysiology and Therapeutics suggests that taking vitamin C supplements daily can have similar cardiovascular benefits as regular exercise in these adults. The … [Read more...]

New research from Royal Holloway, University of London has found that changes in lifestyle over the past 30 years have led to a sharp reduction in the strenuousness of daily life, which researchers say may explain why there has been a dramatic rise in obesity. The study, carried out by Dr Melanie Luhrmann from the Department of Economics along with Professor Rachel Griffith … [Read more...]

Ear acupuncture can help shed the pounds, indicates a small study published online in Acupuncture in Medicine. Using continuous stimulation of five acupuncture points may be better at reducing abdominal fat (the midriff bulge) than single point stimulation, the findings suggest. Auricular acupuncture therapy is based on the understanding that the outer ear represents all … [Read more...]

Study author Melanie J. Davies, professor of diabetes medicine at the Leicester Research Centre, and colleagues publish their findings in JAMA. Obesity is an ongoing global health concern. In the US, almost 35% of adults are obese, and as a result, are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular problems. According to the International Diabetes … [Read more...]

Cutting fat from your diet leads to more fat loss than reducing carbohydrates, a US health study shows. Scientists intensely analysed people on controlled diets by inspecting every morsel of food, minute of exercise and breath taken. Both diets, analysed by the National Institutes of Health, led to fat loss when calories were cut, but people lost more when they reduced fat … [Read more...]

Obesity represents a global health problem with limited options available for its prevention or treatment. The finding that a key regulator of energy expenditure and body weight is controlled by a drug-targeted inflammatory enzyme opens new possibilities for pharmacologically modulating body weight. This is the conclusion of a study led by Toshihiro Nakajima of Tokyo Medical … [Read more...]

Obesity is not only a risk factor for developing knee and hip arthritis. It is also linked to less favorable outcomes after joint replacement surgery. Two new studies at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City find that bariatric surgery prior to joint replacement is a cost-effective option to improve outcomes after hip or knee replacement. The research was … [Read more...]

The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) can be predicted by low birth weight, having older siblings and hospitalisation for infection between the ages of 5-16 years. These data suggest that these factors play an important role in the … [Read more...]

Consumers place great faith in weight loss pills and remedies, buying and using them more than ever before. American obesity rates, however, are skyrocketing. According to a new study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, false beliefs about these drugs are causing Americans to gain more weight. "Weight management remedies that promise to reduce the risks of being … [Read more...]

Using an antioxidant to reverse inflammation in the brain caused by a high-fat diet greatly improves symptoms related to obesity and type II diabetes, a new study from New Zealand's University of Otago suggests. The research, which appears in the leading international journal Diabetes, was led by Dr Alex Tups of the University's Centre for Neuroendocrinology and Department of … [Read more...]

A treatment known as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may decrease fasting glucose and improve quality of life in overweight and obese women, new research suggests. The results will be presented in a poster Friday, March 6, at ENDO 2015, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego. MBSR is a secular mindfulness meditation program that was developed by … [Read more...]

A new study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers of patients hospitalized with anorexia nervosa shows that a faster weight gain during inpatient treatment -- well beyond what national standards recommend -- is safe and effective. The work, recently published online in International Journal of Eating Disorders, challenges long-held guidelines for dangerously underweight … [Read more...]

Researchers at The John B. Pierce Laboratory and the Yale School of Medicine have revealed that the ability to vividly imagine the smell of popcorn, freshly baked cookies and even non-food odors is greater in obese adults. Their research is to be presented this week at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for … [Read more...]

When it comes to weight gain for women, childhood stress appears to be a bigger culprit than stress during adulthood, finds a national study led by a Michigan State University sociologist. Interestingly, though, neither childhood nor adult stress was associated with weight gain for men. The federally funded study, which appears online in the journal Social Science & … [Read more...]

The current recommended minimum daily dose of vitamin D is not sufficient to restore healthy vitamin D levels in overweight or obese blacks, researchers report. Rather, daily intake of more than three times the recommended minimum is needed to restore what is generally considered a healthy blood level of vitamin D, said Dr. Yanbin Dong, geneticist and cardiologist at the … [Read more...]

In a study that seems to defy conventional dietary wisdom, University of Iowa scientists have found that adding high salt to a high-fat diet actually prevents weight gain in mice. As exciting as this may sound to fast food lovers, the researchers caution that very high levels of dietary salt are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease in humans. Rather than … [Read more...]

Aging can cause many changes to the body, including obesity and a loss of lean mass. Now, a group of University of Florida Health researchers has discovered that an existing drug reduces body fat and appetite in older rats, which has intriguing implications for aging humans. Rapamycin, a pharmaceutical used to coat coronary stents and prevent transplant rejection, reduces … [Read more...]

New estimates suggest that more than two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Overweight and obesity are associated with a variety of chronic health conditions, which could potentially be avoided by preventing weight gain and obesity. Graham A. Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., and Lin Yang, Ph.D., … [Read more...]