Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

High consumption of dairy products and fruits and vegetables may lower the risk of disability

There may be more reason than ever to drink your milk and eat your fruits and vegetables. A Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center researcher and colleagues reported today that high consumption of dairy products and fruits and vegetables may lower the risk of disability, especially among black women.

7 Feb 2005

Relationship between weight gain and breast cancer survival

Women who are overweight prior to breast cancer diagnosis, or who are lean but gain weight following diagnosis, are more likely to have their disease return or die of the disease, a new study shows. This effect was found to be particularly pronounced among women who had never smoked. The study is published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).

31 Jan 2005

The role body fat plays in determining one's risk of chronic diseases

As the prevalence of obesity in America approaches epidemic proportions, researchers are scrambling to learn more about how the body stores fat, how fat tissues affect body systems and the role body fat plays in determining one's risk of chronic diseases.

27 Jan 2005

Major health problems in babies of diabetic mothers on the rise

During the past decade, babies born to women with type 2 diabetes have shown an increasing number of serious health problems -- including stillbirth and birth defects, such as brain, spine and heart congenital malformations that can lead to infant deaths, according to a study published in the February issue of Diabetes Care.

27 Jan 2005

Association between fitness and survival suggests a link between impaired oxygen metabolism and disease

Research published in the current issue of Science magazine reinforces the belief that aerobic capacity is an important determinant in the continuum between health and disease.

26 Jan 2005

Obesity and weight gain are associated with increased risk for developing kidney stones

Kidney stones are a major cause of illness, according to background information in the article. The lifetime prevalence of kidney stones is approximately 10 percent in men and 5 percent in women, and more than $2 billion is spent on treatment each year.

26 Jan 2005

Plant protein mimics hormone that mitigates diabetes and obesity

A common protein that protects plants from fungal infection mimics the activity of a hormone in mammals that is linked to weight loss and is believed to play a role in mitigating heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according to a team of researchers at Purdue University and several collaborating institutions.

25 Jan 2005

By age six, children of overweight mothers are fifteen times more likely to be obese

By age six, children of overweight mothers are fifteen times more likely to be obese than children of lean mothers. The research, at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, showed the strength of genetic influences, and suggests that efforts to prevent obesity should focus on such children at risk, preferably by four years of age.

25 Jan 2005

Lack of the enzyme acetyl CoA carboxylase 2 turns fat cells into fat burners

Lack of the enzyme, acetyl CoA carboxylase 2 or ACC2, appears to turn the adipose or fat cells of mice into fat burners, explaining in part why the animals can eat more and weigh less than their normal counterparts, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers.

25 Jan 2005

Bariatric surgery for severely obese patients leads to weight loss and improves insulin sensitivity

In a study published in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers from the State University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil; Catholic University, Rome, Italy; and the University of Pisa, Italy, found that the degree of improvement depended on the surgical technique used, comparing biliopancreatic diversion to gastric bypass.

25 Jan 2005

Orally ingested drug to help Type 2 diabetes sufferers

A new drug invented by Monash University researchers Paul Zimmet and Frank Ng could help Type 2 diabetes sufferers lower blood glucose levels and enhance the potency of insulin, with few side effects.

24 Jan 2005

Over-eating at an early age may stay well into adulthood

Melbourne researchers have found that over-eating at a very young age can have a long-lasting effect on the body and in particular seems to enhance the production of hormones made in fat and involved in metabolism.

24 Jan 2005

Obesity is linked to lower levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in men

A study reported in the current issue of Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society, shows that obesity is linked to lower levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in men, making early detection tests unreliable.

24 Jan 2005

Insight into potential mechanisms underlying type II diabetes

New research published in the premier issue of Cell Metabolism finds that a single brain region is sufficient for normal control of blood sugar and activity level by the fat hormone leptin. The same region also exerts significant, though more modest, control over leptin's effects on body weight.

19 Jan 2005

Role of ethnicity in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

The first study to examine nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among different ethnic and racial groups in the United States finds that Hispanics may be at a higher risk of developing the condition. The study is published in Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hepatology is available online via Wiley InterScience.

19 Jan 2005

Kraft Asia Pacific has missed a golden opportunity to show leadership in the battle against childhood obesity

Australian Medical Association President, Dr Bill Glasson, said today that Kraft Asia Pacific has missed a golden opportunity to show leadership in the battle against the epidemic of childhood obesity by not following its US counterpart and modifying advertising of its products to children under the age of 12.

19 Jan 2005

Scientists identify fat gene

UCLA/VA scientists have identified a new gene that controls how the body produces and uses fat. Called lipin, the gene may provide a new target for therapies to control obesity, diabetes and other weight-related disorders. The first issue of the new journal Cell Metabolism publishes the findings in its January 2005 edition.

19 Jan 2005