Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Fast food advertising aimed at children tackled by Australian consumer groups

An international campaign has been launched to protect children from fast food advertising.

17 Mar 2008

Review of adenotonsillectomy surgery in children

Children who gain weight rapidly after having their tonsils and adenoids removed to treat sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) may improve in the short-term, but over time they may relapse or even worsen.

17 Mar 2008

deCODE obesity study sheds light on how genetic factors contribute to major public health problems

In a paper published online in the journal Nature, a team of deCODE scientists detail a major mechanism through which genetic factors contribute to major public health problems.

17 Mar 2008

Call to restrict the marketing of junk food to children

Louise Baur, Professor of the Discipline of Paediatrics & Child Health at the University of Sydney and Consultant Paediatrician at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, says that parents are struggling to be heard over the bombardment of marketing aimed at their children.

17 Mar 2008

Breast cancer more aggressive among overweight or obese women

Women with breast cancer have more aggressive disease and lower survival rates if they are overweight or obese, according to findings published in the March 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

17 Mar 2008

BMI may serve as prognostic tool for advanced, aggressive breast cancers

Body Mass Index (BMI), the measure of a person's fat based on their height and weight, may be an effective prognostic tool for specific types of breast cancer, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

17 Mar 2008

Town planning a factor in rising obesity rates

You may want to buy healthy food for your family, but if the good grocery stores are far away and pricey and the fast-food outlets are cheap and plentiful, it may be harder to make the healthy choice.

14 Mar 2008

Researchers find way to increase cells' energy consumption

With obesity still on the increase, it appears that the main weapon in the fight against it - reducing energy consumption by eating less - is ineffective.

13 Mar 2008

TRPV1 receptor blockers may interfere with brain functions

A new class of painkillers that block a receptor called TRPV1 may interfere with brain functions such as learning and memory, a new study suggests.

13 Mar 2008

Protein deficiency leads to faster fat burning in mice, study shows

Researchers have developed a new, lean mouse with characteristics suggesting that someday, using medication to manipulate a specific protein in humans could emerge as a strategy to treat obesity and disorders associated with excess weight, such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

13 Mar 2008

Preschoolers benefit from daycare program to prevent obesity

A preschool-based intervention program helped prevent early trends toward obesity and instilled healthy eating habits in multi-ethnic 2- to 5-year-olds, according to a report presented at the American Heart Association's Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

13 Mar 2008

Obesity bottlenecks cellular power plant

The machinery responsible for energy production in fat cells is working poorly as a result of obesity.

13 Mar 2008

Some teenagers spending 30 hours a week in front of television and computer screens

While most teenagers (60 percent) spend on average 20 hours per week in front of television and computer screens, a third spend closer to 40 hours per week, and about 7 percent are exposed to more than 50 hours of 'screen-time' per week, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's 48th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

13 Mar 2008

Genomics researchers fine-tune marker for common obesity gene

Genomics researchers, seeking to replicate another group's discovery of an important gene associated with obesity, have further refined the signal to a particular variant in DNA that may be more helpful in identifying this gene's role in obesity in various human populations worldwide.

13 Mar 2008

Weight loss more effective than intensive insulin therapy for type 2 diabetics

Weight-loss and major lifestyle changes may be more effective than intensive insulin therapy for overweight patients with poorly controlled, insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes, according to a diabetes researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

12 Mar 2008

Maintaining weight loss long term is possible with group sessions

People who shed weight and want to keep it off might benefit from monthly personal contact interventions, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.

12 Mar 2008

Men's pride in sexual performance may help the fight against obesity

Australian men care about erection problems, perhaps more so than possible cardiovascular disease. This may present an opportunity to improve communication about the benefits of weight loss.

12 Mar 2008

Current recommendations for weight gain during pregnancy should be revised, says expert

Current recommendations for weight gain during pregnancy - developed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 1990 - should be revised, according to an internationally recognized obesity expert and chairman of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at Saint Louis University.

12 Mar 2008

Monthly contact with counselor provides some benefit for maintaining weight loss

Weight-loss program participants who had a brief, monthly personal contact intervention - most often a 10-15 minute phone conversation - regained less weight than participants who were in a Web-based intervention or self-directed program, according to a study in the March 12 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Mar 2008