Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Obesity linked to stroke increase among middle-aged women

Middle-aged women's waists aren't the only thing that increased in the last decade. So did their chance of stroke.

21 Feb 2008

Pets also suffer from obesity

It's no secret that obesity is a problem in humans. Reality television makes millions of dollars chronicling the efforts of Americans attempting to shed excess weight.

21 Feb 2008

Does being overweight or obese hinder the opportunity of getting a job?

When it comes to job hiring or career advancement, a common phrase is “it's not just what you know, it's who you know,” but research on weight–based bias suggests “it's how you look.”

21 Feb 2008

PM says binge drinking an epidemic across Australia

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said binge drinking in Australia has reached "epidemic" proportions and action needs to be taken to combat the growing problem of alcohol abuse.

21 Feb 2008

How childhood abuse affects adult health care use and costs in women

Middle-aged women who suffered physical or sexual abuse as children spend up to one-third more than average in health-care costs, according to a long-term study of more than 3,000 women.

20 Feb 2008

Men who are overweight or obese have lower PSA values, even before they get prostate cancer

Men who are overweight or obese have lower concentrations of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in their blood than their normal-weight counterparts, according to a new study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

20 Feb 2008

New key finding in neurodevelopment

A longstanding puzzle in neurodevelopment may have yielded up a key secret. A team led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College says they have determined how events at the very tips of the developing neuron's long, skinny axon affect gene transcription back in the cell's distant nucleus.

20 Feb 2008

Expert says obesity is as big a threat to the planet as climate change

As the latest statistics estimate that worldwide one billion adults are overweight, and a third of those are obese, an expert has stated that the issue must be regarded with the same urgency as climate change.

19 Feb 2008

Turn off the TV to beat childhood obesity!

The National Heart Foundation of Australia has launched a new campaign aimed at tackling overweight and obesity in children.

19 Feb 2008

Obese teens need more help and U.S. expert says surgical solutions should not be dismissed

A recent report which has found Victorian hospitals are having to treat hundreds of obese children each year, has highlighted the seriousness of the obesity epidemic and how ill equipped and under-resourced services treating childhood obesity are.

18 Feb 2008

Metabolic syndrome linked to climate

Researchers from the University of Chicago have discovered that many of the genetic variations that have enabled human populations to tolerate colder climates may also affect their susceptibility to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of related abnormalities such as obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease, and diabetes.

17 Feb 2008

Fighting the global obesity epidemic

According to Rena Wing, professor of psychiatry and human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and director of the Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital, people who are most successful in preventing weight gain, and dieters who lose weight and keep the pounds off, have made major changes in their in diet and exercise routines.

17 Feb 2008

Heart-healthy diet may also be good for the prostate

Men who eat a diet low in fat and red meat but high in vegetables and lean protein and who drink alcohol in moderation may not just be doing their hearts a favor.

14 Feb 2008

Screening for colorectal cancer should start at 40

New evidence suggests screening for colorectal cancer, which is now recommended to begin at age 50 for most people, should start five to 10 years earlier for individuals with a significant lifetime exposure to tobacco smoke, a University of Rochester Medical Center study said.

14 Feb 2008

NSW bottom of the league when it comes to public health spending

Figures in the latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare have revealed a few surprises.

13 Feb 2008

It's official! mega-lift ambulances confirm Australia's obesity problem

It seems that obesity has become such a problem in Australia that some states have been forced to buy super-size ambulances to cope with those patients who are so fat they cannot fit inside a regular size ambulance.

13 Feb 2008

Get fit because it's never too late!

According to the latest research it's never too late to get fit. Researchers in the United States say the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle which includes regular exercise last well into old age.

13 Feb 2008

Why so many children are on the road to heart disease

We teach our children how to walk, talk and go to the bathroom, but do we teach them how to eat right?

13 Feb 2008

New Centre to be at the heart of UK’s cardiovascular research

Expertise from across the University of Leeds is to be channelled into a new research centre that aims to progress the understanding, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

13 Feb 2008

Desire to weigh less is stronger predictor of health than obesity

In a study to examine the impact of desired body weight on the number of unhealthy days subjects report over one month, researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that the desire to weigh less was a more accurate predictor of physically and mentally unhealthy days, than body mass index (BMI).

13 Feb 2008