Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Study identifies clearest link yet to obesity risk

Scientists have identified the most clear genetic link yet to obesity in the general population as part of a major study of diseases funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK's largest medical research charity.

12 Apr 2007

Telephone interventions for physical activity and dietary behavior change

"Phoning it in" works when it comes to losing weight and getting fit, according to a new systematic review.

11 Apr 2007

Most promising drugs in development for metabolic syndrome

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that emerging agents from Metabolex/Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, and Amylin/Eli Lilly are among the most promising drugs in development for metabolic syndrome.

11 Apr 2007

Stem cells re-set the immune systems of diabetes patients

Researchers in Brazil and the U.S. have conducted an experiment which shows that stem cells can "re-set" the immune systems of diabetes patients.

10 Apr 2007

Calories from fat, carbohydrate, and protein may interact with genes

We observed an interaction between APOA5 and dietary fat intake, but we did not see an interaction between APOA5 and carbohydrate or protein intake for any genetic variants of APOA5,” says Ordovas, who is corresponding author of the study.

10 Apr 2007

Explosion in severly overweight Americans

The proportion of Americans who are severely obese -- about 100 pounds or more overweight -- increased by 50 percent from 2000 to 2005, twice as fast as the growth seen in moderate obesity, according to a RAND Corporation study.

10 Apr 2007

Canada tackles growing obesity epidemic

The first-ever Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) on the Management and Prevention of Obesity in Adults and Children, published April 10, 2007 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), recommend that waist circumference be measured in all Canadian adults, and that a national surveillance system be developed that incorporates this measurement along with height and weight.

10 Apr 2007

Obesity a major health issue in Canada

With 59% of Canadian adults being overweight and 23% being obese, plus the disturbing increase in childhood obesity, it is clear that obesity is a major individual and public health issue in Canada.

10 Apr 2007

Morbid obese a rapidly growing population in the U.S.

In a study to be published later this year researchers have found that not only are Americans getting fatter each year but the number of severely overweight members of the population is increasing twice as fast as other obese Americans.

10 Apr 2007

Waist measurement a better guide to obesity

New research by Canadian scientists suggests that doctors should add a tape measure to their key diagnostic tool kit.

10 Apr 2007

Hormone the culprit between obesity and colon cancer

A team of scientists from the University of California, San Diego say they believe a chemical produced by fat cells encourages colon cancers to grow faster; they say this may explain why severely overweight people appear to be at far greater risk of the disease.

8 Apr 2007

Physician's role in getting patients active

Physicians and their patients alike know that physical activity is an important component of a healthy lifestyle, but what is less clear is what kind of a role doctors should have in increasing their patients' activity levels.

7 Apr 2007

Parents can help improve their children's habits by improving their own eating and physical activity habits

Teens who are most physically active and consume the most calories are the leanest, researchers say.

7 Apr 2007

Liposuction and tummy tucks are not the answer for obese kids

In light of recent media coverage on teenagers seeking surgical options to lose weight, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) cautions that liposuction and tummy tucks are inappropriate procedures for weight loss.

5 Apr 2007

Bariatric surgery - possible treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus

What role could bariatric surgery possibly play as a treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus? This topic and several others will be discussed at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Sixteenth Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress, Thursday, April 12, 2007 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle.

5 Apr 2007

For overweight and obese individuals, the incidence of asthma increases by 50 percent

Asthma, a respiratory disease characterized by recurrent episodes of difficult breathing, wheezing, cough and thick mucus production, affected approximately 20.5 million Americans in 2004. Some common asthma triggers are allergic stimuli, infections, stress or strenuous exercise.

4 Apr 2007