Body Mass Index (BMI) News and Research

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Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure that relates body weight to height. BMI is sometimes used to measure total body fat and whether a person is a healthy weight. Excess body fat is linked to an increased risk of some diseases including heart disease and some cancers.

Excessive weight gain during pregnancy may have significant effect on future obesity among children

A study of 41,133 mothers and their children in Arkansas shows that high pregnancy weight gain increases the risk of obesity in those children through age 12. The findings, published Oct. 1 in PLoS Medicine by Princeton University, suggest pregnancy may be an especially important time to prevent obesity in the next generation.

3 Oct 2013

Researchers examine links between body image, excessive weight gain during pregnancy

How women perceive their bodies during pregnancy and how that impacts on their weight gain has been the subject of a new study by University of Adelaide researchers.

1 Oct 2013

Shadow of past highest weight affects eating disorder symptoms and recovery

Dieters and weight loss researchers are familiar with the principle: The more weight you've lost, the harder it is to keep it off. A complex and vicious cycle of biological and behavioral factors make it so.

25 Sep 2013

$Researchers show link between FTO gene and hip fracture in women$

Researchers show link between FTO gene and hip fracture in women

Australian researchers have demonstrated a strong association between the FTO (fat and obesity) gene and hip fracture in women. While the gene is already well known to affect diabetes and obesity, this is the first study to show that its high-risk variant can increase the risk of hip fracture by as much as 82%.

25 Sep 2013

Major role for body weight in COPD, asthma risk

Results from a large study in Italy show that increasing body weight is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma risk, independent of smoking history.

24 Sep 2013

Communities may want to look beyond fast food outlets to greater retail environment

When it comes to addressing the obesity epidemic, fast food restaurants are a favorite target, with some communities, such as the city of Los Angeles, going so far as to ban the construction of new, standalone fast food restaurants in neighborhoods with a high density of fast food restaurants that are also plagued by a high obesity rate.

24 Sep 2013

Undersize school chairs, low desks and overweight backpacks contribute to chronic back pain in adolescents

Undersize school chairs, low desks and overweight backpacks are contributing to chronic back pain in adolescents, according to a study from researchers in Portugal to be published in the International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics.

23 Sep 2013

Study suggests new way to prevent weight gain and obesity

The same message to everyone does not work if the goal is to prevent overweight and obesity in the population. It is also important to reach groups normally considered as being at low risk for gaining in weight. This is what Kristina Lindvall shows in her doctoral thesis at Ume- University, Sweden. Participants in the study come from V-sterbotten County in northern Sweden and from New York State in the US.

21 Sep 2013

Older adults who gain little weight live longer

Some overweight older adults don't need to lose weight to extend their lives, but they could risk an earlier death if they pack on more pounds.

20 Sep 2013

Intentional weight loss can have positive health benefits in older adults

The medical community touts the importance of not carrying excess weight, but that has not always been the message delivered to older adults.

20 Sep 2013

SHBG protein indicates risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome years in advance

Over the last decade researchers have amassed increasing evidence that relatively low levels of a protein called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) can indicate an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome years in advance.

19 Sep 2013

Pregnant women with BMI too high or low are more likely to have maternal complications

Pregnant women with a body mass index (BMI) that is too high or too low are more likely to have maternal complications, require additional hospital care and incur higher medical costs, according to a new study published today (18 September) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

18 Sep 2013

Educational status may protect women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas against obesity

Educational status may protect women living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas against obesity, finds a new study in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

13 Sep 2013

Telephone delivered program improves health outcomes for people diagnosed with bowel cancer

They say a phone call can change your life and for colorectal or bowel cancer survivors this is true, a new study by a QUT researcher has found.

12 Sep 2013

Focusing on mental health key to improving physical health in teens: Study

Adding a mental health component to school-based lifestyle programs for teens could be key to lowering obesity, improving grades, alleviating severe depression and reducing substance use, a new study suggests.

10 Sep 2013

Household routines may be effective tool to reduce BMI in minority children

An intervention to improve household routines known to be associated with obesity increased sleep duration and reduced TV viewing among low-income, minority children, and the approach may be an effective tool to reduce body mass index (BMI) in that population, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

10 Sep 2013

Study: Less than 10 minutes of higher-intensity physical activity reduce risk of obesity

Short bursts of less than 10 minutes of higher-intensity physical activity reduce the risk of obesity, finds a new study in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

6 Sep 2013

Underweight women with CAD should gain weight to reduce risk of death

Being underweight increases the death risk of women with coronary artery disease (CAD) by 2-fold, according to research presented at the ESC Congress today by Dr Aziza Azimi from Denmark. The study suggests that underweight women with CAD should gain weight to reduce their risk of death.

5 Sep 2013

Researchers evaluate association between body weight and health-related quality of life

Scientists from the Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management (IGM) and from the Institute of Epidemiology II (EPI II) discovered that weight gain leads to deterioration in physical health.

4 Sep 2013

Obese people with high insulin levels likely to experience better blood vessel function following weight loss

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found that among obese people who had lost considerable weight, those with high insulin levels--a marker of insulin resistance in the body--were the most likely to experience better blood vessel function following the weight loss. These findings appear online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.