Weight Loss News and Research

Latest Weight Loss News and Research

Expert says billions of dollars wasted on 'quack' health food products

According to Professor Michael Lean from the University of Glasgow, globally every year, obese people waste billions of pounds on food products that 'imply' that they aid weight loss, which are actually totally ineffective.

26 Nov 2008

Millions being tricked into buying useless diet food products or supplements

Globally every year, obese people waste billions of pounds on food products that 'imply' that they aid weight loss, but are totally ineffective, says a nutritional expert on bmj.com.

25 Nov 2008

Dieters could have a harder time fighting flu

In a study published in the November issue of the Journal of Nutrition, Gardner showed that mice with a calorie-restricted diet were more likely to die during the first few days of infection than mice with a normal diet. Caloric restriction is the practice of reducing the intake of calories to 40 percent of a normal diet, while maintaining adequate vitamins and minerals.

25 Nov 2008

Adiponectin is a metabolic link between obesity and bone mineral density

Researchers at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, Canada, have discovered that adiponectin, a protein secreted from adipocytes, is a metabolic link that can explain, in part, the known positive relationship between obesity and both bone mineral density and reduced susceptibility to fractures.

25 Nov 2008

Researchers find clue to safer obesity drugs

Once hailed as a miracle weight-loss drug, Fen-phen was removed from the market more than a decade ago for inducing life-threatening side effects, including heart valve lesions. Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center are trying to understand how Fen-phen behaves in the brain in order to develop safer anti-obesity drugs with fewer side effects.

25 Nov 2008

Pregnancy and fertility following bariatric surgery

Women who undergo weight-loss surgery, known as bariatric surgery, and later become pregnant after losing weight may be at lower risk for pregnancy-related diabetes and high blood pressure-- complications that can seriously affect the mother or her baby--than pregnant women who are obese, according to new findings from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that are published in the November 19 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

24 Nov 2008

Telephone counseling may be as effective as face-to-face counseling in weight loss maintenance

Face-to-face and telephone follow-up sessions appear to be more effective in the maintenance of weight loss for women from rural communities compared with weight loss education alone, according to a report in the November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Nov 2008

A potential new procedure for treating obesity

Lining the upper portion of the small intestine with an impermeable sleeve led to both weight loss and restoration of normal glucose metabolism in an animal model of obesity-induced diabetes.

24 Nov 2008

Self-weighing and weight control behaviors among adolescents with a history of overweight

Overweight teens who weigh themselves at least once a week are more likely to engage in other healthy weight control measures than teens who step on the scale less frequently, according to a new small study.

20 Nov 2008

Pregnancy and fertility following bariatric surgery

Women who undergo weight-loss surgery, known as bariatric surgery, and later become pregnant after losing weight may be at lower risk for pregnancy-related diabetes and high blood pressure - complications that can seriously affect the mother or her baby - than pregnant women who are obese, according to new findings from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that are published in the November 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Nov 2008

Obese women who undergo bariatric surgery decrease pregnancy-related health complications

Obese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

18 Nov 2008

Pros and cons of gastric bypass surgery

Severely obese patients who underwent two different gastric bypass techniques had lost up to 31 per cent of their Body Mass Index (BMI) after four years, with no deaths reported among the 50 study subjects, according to the November issue of the British Journal of Surgery.

18 Nov 2008

Risk of maternal and newborn complications may be lower after bariatric surgery

A review of previously published studies suggests that rates of adverse outcomes for mothers or pregnant women and newborn babies, such as gestational diabetes and low birth weight, may be lower after bariatric surgery compared with pregnant women who are obese, according to an article in the November 19 issue of JAMA.

18 Nov 2008

Exercise after bariatric surgery can yield better postoperative outcomes

A new study by researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine suggests increased physical activity after bariatric surgery can yield better postoperative outcomes.

17 Nov 2008

Plastic surgeons warn of malnutrition in body contouring patients

Identifying malnutrition before surgery in massive weight loss patients seeking body contouring will significantly decrease surgical complications, accelerate wound healing, improve scar quality and boost patient energy levels, according to a study in the December issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery ®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

16 Nov 2008

Adalimumab therapy may reduce health-care costs for Crohn's disease patients

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term that refers to both ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD).

12 Nov 2008

Text messaging could help children to stay a healthy weight

Many children love sending and receiving text messages through their cell phones - sometimes to the great annoyance of their parents.

12 Nov 2008

Fat tissue found to produce melanin

A two-year study conducted by researchers at George Mason University, INOVA Fairfax Hospital and the National Cancer Institute may open the door to new therapies for combating chronic diseases associated with obesity, a condition that affected more than 33 percent of American adults in 2005-06 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

7 Nov 2008