Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Prostate Cancer Foundation 'beefs up' cancer research

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has committed more than $19 million in new research funding for scientific investigations focused on discovering new treatments for recurrent prostate cancer. A total of eight programs representing 18 leading research institutions and 36 researchers were selected as part of the foundation's 2008 Challenge Awards. The funded programs will receive the first of three annual payments, ranging between $500,000 and $1.0 million per program, this week.

4 Jun 2008

Long-term pesticide exposure may increase diabetes risk

Licensed pesticide applicators who used chlorinated pesticides on more than 100 days in their lifetime were at greater risk of diabetes, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The associations between specific pesticides and incident diabetes ranged from a 20 percent to a 200 percent increase in risk, said the scientists with the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

4 Jun 2008

Legal action proposed against parents who let children drink alcohol at home

The British Government is considering proposals which could include legal action against parents who allow their children to drink alcohol at home.

3 Jun 2008

You may not be what you eat after all!

A new study shows that increased eating does not necessarily lead to increased fat. The finding in the much-studied roundworm opens the possibility of identifying new targets for drugs to control weight, the researchers say.

3 Jun 2008

Thinness versus obesity not directly linked to eating habits

Whether you are fat or thin isn't directly determined by your eating habits, suggest researchers who report new findings made in worms in the June issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.

3 Jun 2008

Bacterial communities inside us can provide better understanding of health and disease

The number of bacteria living within the body of the average healthy adult human are estimated to outnumber human cells 10 to 1. Changes in these microbial communities may be responsible for digestive disorders, skin diseases, gum disease and even obesity.

3 Jun 2008

Members of European Parliament discuss food labelling and heart health

Members of the European Parliament Heart Group meet today, 3 June, in Brussels, to discuss the link between nutrition and cardiovascular diseases and how labelling of food can help people choose products that are better for their hearts and vessels.

2 Jun 2008

Drinking juice not associated with overweight and obesity in children

Children who drink 100-percent juice are no more likely to be overweight and may have a better overall nutrient intake than children who do not drink juice, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

2 Jun 2008

Sugar-sweetened beverages may be contributing to increasing obesity rates

A recent study published in Pediatrics and led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are an increasingly large part of children and teens' diets.

2 Jun 2008

People who are obese may be more likely to become depressed

A major review in Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice reveals that research indicates people who are obese may be more likely to become depressed, and people who are depressed may be more likely to become obese.

2 Jun 2008

Avoiding spleen removal for Cooley's anemia sufferers

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College may have discovered the precise role of a gene in one of the world's most common blood disorders, beta-thalassemia, commonly known as Cooley's anemia. Along with sickle-cell anemia, Cooley's anemia is the most commonly inherited disease in the world, affecting many people of Mediterranean descent, and 20 out of every 100,000 African-Americans. The World Health Organization estimates that between 50,000-100,000 children are born with the disease each year.

27 May 2008

Thousands with type 2 diabetes at risk bacause they do not take their drugs

According to Diabetes UK, in excess of 650,000 people with obesity-related diabetes do not take their drugs and the charity says they are putting themselves at risk of developing serious health problems such as stroke and blindness.

27 May 2008

Good news for diabetics

A study has found that a short course of intensive insulin treatment may delay the progression of the disease in people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes

25 May 2008

Anti-rejection drug sirolimus may increase risk of diabetes after kidney transplant

For patients undergoing kidney transplantation, treatment with the anti-rejection drug sirolimus may lead to an increased risk of diabetes, reports a study in the July Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

22 May 2008

Reducing blockage fails to improve access to the bloodstream for kidney dialysis

Reducing early blockages in bloodstream access for kidney failure treatment does not increase the likelihood that the access will function adequately for long-term treatments, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Results were published May 14, 2008, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

22 May 2008

Smoking is addictive, but quitting is contagious

Over the last 30 years, the number of smokers in the U.S. has steadily decreased-a tribute to the efforts of public-health workers everywhere. And while this fact is unarguable, less obvious are the social and cultural forces that lead an individual to kick the habit. In fact, when someone crumbles that last empty pack of their favorite unfiltered brand and vows to never buy another, he might not realize that he is less like the heroic individual grasping his own boot straps and more like a single bird whose sudden left turn is just one speck in the larger flock.

21 May 2008

Scientists reveal the genetic determinants of fat storage in cells

New research by the Gladstone Institutes of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has revealed the genetic determinants of fat storage in cells, which may lead to a new understanding of and potential treatments for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. While scientists have long understood that lipid droplets contribute to fat build up in cells, the genes involved in droplet biology have been a focus of extensive research.

21 May 2008