Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Mediterranean diet reduces risk of Alzheimer's disease

Americans who ate a Mediterranean diet--lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, some fish and alcohol, and little dairy and meat--had a reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease as they aged. These findings are published in the April issue of Annals of Neurology.

18 Apr 2006

Breakthrough in fight against childhood obesity

What children eat has a greater influence than physical activity on their body weight, a Deakin University study has found.

18 Apr 2006

Almost half of elderly Beijing residents have metabolic syndrome

As more people in China adopt Western diets and lifestyles, many are developing a cluster of cardiovascular disease risk factors, according to a new study in the April 18, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

17 Apr 2006

Obese may have gene which makes them fat

According to scientists in the U.S. there is a genetic explanation why some people are obese while others are not.

17 Apr 2006

Prevalence of obesity in the United States

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents and obesity among men increased significantly between 1999 and 2004, according to a study in JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association.

16 Apr 2006

Excessive adiposity, calorie restriction, and aging

Can eating a low-calorie yet nutritionally balanced diet extend human life? Preliminary research suggests it might, so researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a long-term study to find out.

16 Apr 2006

Do the obese know they are obese?

Obese men and women are reasonably accurate when it comes to reporting their own weight, says researchers, but they are much more likely than normal weight persons to misjudge what weight falls into the obese category and therefore do not consider themselves to be obese.

16 Apr 2006

Diabetes: Translating the chronic care model into the community

Educating people with diabetes in a primary-care setting with sustained, comprehensive intervention resulted in significant improvement in disease management and overall health, according to a study published in the current issue of Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

16 Apr 2006

Approval of integrated insulin pump and continuous glucose system a significant step towards artificial pancreas technology

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has said that the federal government's approval of an insulin pump that also provides real-time, continuous glucose monitoring is a significant step on the path to the development of an artificial pancreas, with the potential to significantly improve diabetes care and lower the risk of complications.

13 Apr 2006

Analysis of different sweeteners and sweet substances

The most important factor in what kind of sweetener people prefer has little to do with how sweet it tastes. Rather, it has more to do with other tastes in the sweetener, such as bitterness or sourness, new research suggests.

13 Apr 2006

Active ingredient in soy may explain why Asians have lower rates of obesity and cancer

A single nutrient found in soy products elicits changes in gene behavior that permanently reduce an embryo's risk of becoming obese later in life, according to an animal study at Duke University Medical Center.

13 Apr 2006

Research provides clues to obesity's cause

Hot fudge sundaes and french fries aside, new research suggests obesity is due at least in part to an attraction between leptin, the hormone that signals the brain when to stop eating, and a protein more recently associated with heart disease.

13 Apr 2006

Sexy media matters

A new study establishes a strong connection between young adolescents' media diet and increased sexual intercourse.

13 Apr 2006

Adolescents with unhealthy weight-control behaviors more likely to be overweight five years later

Adolescents who diet and use unhealthy weight-control behaviors are more likely to be overweight and put themselves at risk for eating disorders in the future, according to new research done at the University of Minnesota.

11 Apr 2006

U.S. watchdog says Xenical should be withdrawn

A consumer watchdog group in the U.S., Public Citizen, has petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw the prescription diet drug Xenical (orlistat) from the market; the group also want the FDA to refuse approval for the weight-loss pill to be made widely available over the counter.

11 Apr 2006

Forget the diet, just zap that fat!

Scientists in the U.S. are in the process of developing a laser which melts fat and they believe that in future it could be used to treat heart disease, cellulite, and acne.

11 Apr 2006

Alcohol use, tobacco use and male gender associated with an earlier onset of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths, according to background information in the article. Screening asymptomatic patients is an important strategy for reducing these deaths, because by the time patients experience symptoms, the cancer may have progressed beyond the point where it can be cured.

11 Apr 2006

Leptin may lead to new approaches for curbing appetite

11 Apr 2006

Alcohol use, comorbidity, and mortality

Older men who drink as few as two drinks twice a week and also have diseases that could be worsened by alcohol or cause problems with medications taken while drinking alcohol have higher death rates, as compared to men who either drink less or may drink more but don't have such comorbidities.

11 Apr 2006

Seniors cite financial need as the greatest barrier to receiving dental care

A survey of seniors' access to dental care conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State College presents a sobering picture of the dental needs and barriers to dental care experienced by seniors.

11 Apr 2006