Weight Loss News and Research

Latest Weight Loss News and Research

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy receives health insurance coverage

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) today announced its support of recent policy changes by Aetna Inc. and United Healthcare. The national health insurance giants will now cover laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, a newer method of bariatric surgery that is becoming increasingly popular as a treatment for morbid obesity.

19 Apr 2010

Amylin Pharmaceuticals announces $174.1M total revenue for first-quarter 2010

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. The Company reported total revenue of $174.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, which includes net product sales of $172.3 million. Non-GAAP operating loss was $3.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, compared to $19.9 million for the same period in 2009.

19 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 19, 2010

Today's headlines continue to explore and analyze the implementation and impact of the health reform law.

19 Apr 2010

U-M Health System physicians to discuss childhood obesity

As First Lady Michelle Obama launches initiatives to fight childhood obesity, physicians from the top-ranked University of Michigan Health System are available to discuss childhood obesity and what efforts are successful at keeping children healthy.

17 Apr 2010

Results of study comparing REMICADE to azathioprine for Crohn's disease published

Findings published today in The New England Journal of Medicine from a first-of-its-kind comparator trial evaluating the anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha biologic treatment REMICADE (infliximab) in the treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn's disease in patients who were naive to immunomodulator and biologic therapy, showed that a significantly greater proportion of patients receiving REMICADE achieved steroid-free remission and mucosal healing compared with patients receiving azathioprine.

16 Apr 2010

Moving is the best medicine for arthritic pain

The burden of arthritis is greater for African Americans and Hispanics, despite lower prevalence among these groups according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published in the May issue of Preventing Chronic Disease.

16 Apr 2010

Obesity prejudice in medical community

Prejudice towards obese people is rife among trainee health professionals, but can be modified, new research has found.

16 Apr 2010

Bariatric surgery reduces breathing problems, medication costs

Another benefit of rapid weight loss after bariatric surgery is a 50 percent reduction in use of prescription breathing medications, according to a study published this month in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

16 Apr 2010

Leading experts discuss health effects of low calorie sweeteners at BNF conference

A survey of over 2000 consumers carried out by YouGov on behalf of the British Nutrition Foundation shows that consumers are unsure about how low calorie sweeteners are used, whether they are beneficial for weight loss and whether they are safe.

15 Apr 2010

Infliximab-azathioprine combination helps more Crohn's disease patients achieve remission

A study led by Mayo Clinic suggests remission from Crohn's disease may be more likely if patients get biologic therapy combined with immune-suppressing drugs first instead of immune-suppressing drugs alone. The study, published in the April 15, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease with infliximab plus azathioprine allows more patients to achieve remission and mucosal healing than therapy with azathioprine alone.

15 Apr 2010

Bariatric surgery can reduce pregnancy complications in obese women

Obese women who have bariatric surgery before getting pregnant are at significantly lower risk for developing dangerous hypertensive disorders during pregnancy than those who don't, according to a study of medical insurance records by Johns Hopkins experts.

15 Apr 2010

Low calorie diet does not promote significant weight loss

Newly-published research by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University demonstrates that simply reducing caloric intake is not enough to promote significant weight loss.

15 Apr 2010

UnitedHealth partners with Walgreens and YMCA to control diabetes

The New York Times: "The UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest health insurers, is teaming up with the Y.M.C.A. and retail pharmacies to try a new approach to one of the nation's most serious and expensive medical problems: Type 2 Diabetes. Rather than simply continuing to pay ever-higher medical claims to care for its diabetic customers, UnitedHealth is paying the Y.M.C.A. and pharmacists to keep people healthier."

15 Apr 2010

Tel Aviv University is bioengineering tissues as an alternative to animal testing

It's illegal for health products with medical formulations to be accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration without tests on animals ― a situation that has serious ethical and moral implications. New research in the field of tissue engineering by Prof. Amit Gefen of Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Engineering holds a promise that far fewer lab animals will be needed for the necessary experimental trials.

15 Apr 2010

New article focuses on the role of registered dietitians in patient management

More than one third of Americans are considered obese and approximately 15 million (5%) Americans now have a body mass index greater than 40. The April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association focuses on the ever-increasing use of bariatric surgery to control the excess morbidity and mortality associated with extreme obesity and the important role that registered dietitians play in the management of patients who have undergone the procedure.

13 Apr 2010

New additions to NewReality's extensive library of personal improvement

NewReality, the world's leading weight loss supplier of NXT™ format technology for recorded audio material, announced today the newest additions to its extensive library of personal improvement and advanced learning topics. The new programs include: stress reduction; weight loss; smoking cessation; and golf improvement.

13 Apr 2010

Lean mass may decline among Alzheimer's patients

Lean mass—the weight of an individual's bones, muscles and organs without body fat—appears to decline among patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

13 Apr 2010

EDNOS categorization for young people needs to be reconsidered

Diagnostic cutoffs for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa may be too strict, a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital has found. Many patients who do not meet full criteria for these diseases are nevertheless quite ill, and the diagnosis they now receive, "Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified," may delay their ability to get treatment.

12 Apr 2010

Hormones leptin and insulin work together to affect regulation of blood sugar levels, female fertility

New findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggest that the hormones leptin and insulin work together in specific neurons in the hypothalamus region of the brain to affect both the regulation of blood sugar levels in the body and, surprisingly, female fertility.

12 Apr 2010

IMAGE project to be launched for prevention of type 2 diabetes

Researchers and clinicians from across the UK have been part of a pan-European team that has developed the first Europe wide strategy for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. The project received substantial funding of -1.2 million from the European Union.

9 Apr 2010