Body Mass Index (BMI) News and Research

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Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure that relates body weight to height. BMI is sometimes used to measure total body fat and whether a person is a healthy weight. Excess body fat is linked to an increased risk of some diseases including heart disease and some cancers.

Moderately drinking women at lower risk of becoming obese than non-drinkers

Normal-weight women who drink a light to moderate amount of alcohol appear to gain less weight and have a lower risk of becoming overweight and obese than non-drinkers, according to a report in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Mar 2010

Investigators disprove reports that well-fed children are more vulnerable to dengue virus

A new study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators disproves reports that well-fed children are more vulnerable to the dengue virus. Mosquitoes spread the virus, which can cause severe flu-like symptoms and sometimes lethal complications.

5 Mar 2010

Eliminating sugary beverages and junk foods from schools may help slow childhood obesity

New policies that eliminate sugary beverages and junk foods from schools may help slow childhood obesity, according to a San Francisco State University study released today and published in the March issue of the journal Health Affairs.

2 Mar 2010

Inadequate sleep may lead to increase in belly fat

A study in the March 1 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that African-American and Hispanic young adults with short or long sleep durations had greater increases in belly fat over a five-year period compared with those who reported sleeping six to seven hours a night.

1 Mar 2010

Obese children as young as 3 years old have elevated levels of C-reactive protein

A study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers found that obese children as young as 3 years old have elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that in adults is considered an early warning sign for possible future heart disease.

1 Mar 2010

Food-attributed illness poses a major problem for food manufacturers and suppliers

Over the past several years Americans have seen numerous food recalls related to our nation’s food supply. Spinach, peanut butter and even pet food are just some of the food items that have been subject to massive recalls.

25 Feb 2010

A surgical cure for diabetic and obese patients

Dr. Francesco Rubino, chief of gastrointestinal metabolic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, is now enrolling overweight and mildly obese patients -- those with a body mass index (BMI) of 28 to 35 -- in a study of gastric bypass surgery aimed at reversing Type 2 diabetes.

25 Feb 2010

Individuals with higher midlife BMI scores have lower cognitive ability: Study

The adverse affects of being overweight are not limited to physical function but also extend to neurological function, according to research in the latest issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological and Medical Sciences (Volume 65A, Number 1).

24 Feb 2010

Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceutical to advance pramlintide/metreleptin combination therapy development

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced today that the companies have selected the combination treatment of pramlintide, an analog of the natural hormone amylin, and metreleptin, an analog of the natural hormone leptin, for advancement toward Phase 3 development. The decision to advance the program followed encouraging results from a 52-week blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 2 extension study. The pramlintide/metreleptin combination met the key target criteria of sustained and robust weight loss.

23 Feb 2010

Researchers develop guidelines for assessment, treatment and management of lymphedema

Lymphedema, a chronic swelling condition that can appear after breast cancer surgery, is a risk for 1.3 million breast cancer survivors. Although lymphedema can cause lifelong swelling in the arms, back, neck and chest, there is no national standard of diagnosis or care.

18 Feb 2010

Obesity doubles the risk of developing kidney stones: Study

Obesity in general nearly doubles the risk of developing kidney stones, but the degree of obesity doesn't appear to increase or decrease the risk one way or the other, a new study from Johns Hopkins shows.

18 Feb 2010

RWJF awards nearly $2M in grants to address childhood obesity epidemic

Seven organizations representing policy-makers from across the country have received a total of nearly $2 million in grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to help communities increase children's access to affordable healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity.

17 Feb 2010

Revisional bariatric surgery linked to higher risk of complications

Revisional bariatric surgery appears to be associated with a higher risk of complications than the initial procedure, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

16 Feb 2010

Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery performs 100th LAGB procedure

Few treatments are available to help obese adolescents who are unable to lose weight and are already suffering from obesity-related health problems. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), an option for adults in the United States since 2001, is showing promise for teens. The Center for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery, which opened at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital in 2006, recently performed its 100th LAGB procedure.

12 Feb 2010

Study suggests obesity prevention efforts should begin much earlier

While many adults consider a chubby baby healthy, too many plump infants grow up to be obese teens, saddling them with Type-2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure, according to an article published this month in the journal Clinical Pediatrics (published by SAGE).

11 Feb 2010

Obese adolescents who receive laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding lose excess weight

A higher percentage of severely obese adolescents who received laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding lost more than 50 percent of excess weight and experienced greater benefits to health and quality of life compared to those in an intensive lifestyle management program, according to a study in the February 10 issue of JAMA.

10 Feb 2010

Exposure to unhealthy food commercials linked to childhood obesity

The association between television viewing and childhood obesity is directly related to children's exposure to commercials that advertise unhealthy foods, according to a new UCLA School of Public Health study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

10 Feb 2010

Three in ten overweight teenagers think they are underweight

Three in ten overweight teens believe they are actually underweight or "about right," according to a study of more than 65,000 high school students.

9 Feb 2010

Excessive TV viewing, lack of sleep and low frequency of family meals increases risk of childhood obesity

A new national study suggests that preschool-aged children are likely to have a lower risk for obesity if they regularly engage in one or more of three specific household routines: eating dinner as a family, getting adequate sleep and limiting their weekday television viewing time.

8 Feb 2010

Stigma and social stereotyping of obesity impacts individuals' beliefs and behaviours

A Monash University-led nationwide study into the health beliefs and behaviours of obese people has found that the more severely obese a person is, the less likely they feel they can reduce their weight.

6 Feb 2010