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.

No significant differences among different ethnic groups for breast cancer related to hormone replacement therapy

The study, published online September 16, 2005 in the International Journal of Cancer, the official journal of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), did find that leaner women taking hormone replacement therapy had a relatively greater increase in breast cancer risks than heavier women.

26 Sep 2005

Parents advised to turn off the TV, encourage outdoor play

If mothers of preschoolers perceive their neighborhood as unsafe, their children tend to watch more television, but differ little in amounts of outdoor play or overweight, compared to peers in safer neighborhoods. Drawing from a study of three-year-olds in 20 U.S. cities, researchers reported these findings in the September issue of Pediatrics.

7 Sep 2005

Relationship between parental perception of neighborhood safety and obesity

6 Sep 2005

Americans in every state, apart from Oregon, are getting fatter!

According to the Trust for America's Health, it was found that Mississippi had the highest rate of obesity, with 29.5 percent of adults classified as obese in 2004, while Colorado was the slimmest state, with just 16 percent of adults classed as obese.

24 Aug 2005

Heart healthy habits are good for oral health

Heart healthy habits are good for oral health, too, according to a new study published in the current issue of the Journal of Periodontology, the official publication of the American Academy of Periodontology.

22 Aug 2005

Oral medications may control symptoms of Type II diabetes in children just as well as insulin injections

According to the medical records of 26 children diagnosed with the disease, oral medications reduced levels of a compound in the blood called hemoglobin A1C by an average of 2 percentage points.

15 Aug 2005

Robotic laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery

A system that allows surgeons to perform laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery from a remote console, controlling up to three robotic arms and a binocular camera, was successfully tested in 10 patients, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of Surgery.

15 Aug 2005

Early menstruation is not by itself a risk factor for later obesity

Although overweight girls are more likely to start their periods earlier than their peers who are at or below normal weight, early menstruation is not by itself a risk factor for later obesity, according to a long-term study released this week.

13 Aug 2005

Obese people are less likely to receive preventive services such as mammograms, Pap smears and flu shots

The Duke study showed that, for a sample of white middle-aged women, as body mass index (BMI) went up, the odds of receiving mammograms and Pap smears went down.

3 Aug 2005

Visceral obesity may be an important risk factor for insulin resistance syndrome in children

Waist circumference is associated with insulin resistance in children and may offer a simple way to identify children with risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

1 Aug 2005

Working class twins fare worse than their professional sibs on blood pressure, cholesterol and self-rated health

Nancy Krieger, professor of society, human development and health at the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues, compared the health status, education levels and adult occupational class among women who were identical twins and who lived together through adolescence, to demonstrate that adult socioeconomic conditions affect adult health, above and beyond genetics and early life conditions.

26 Jul 2005

Obese people are more likely than normal-weight people to injure themselves

Researchers collected health and injury data during a one-year period on more than 2,500 adults living in Colorado. More than one out of four (26 percent) of the extremely obese male participants reported personal injuries, and more than one out of five (21.7 percent) extremely obese women also reported injuries.

20 Jul 2005

Decline in physical activity plays key role in weight gain among girls

Girls who were inactive during adolescence gained an average of 10 to 15 pounds more than active girls, according to results of a 10-year observational study of obesity. Total calorie intake increased only slightly and was not associated with the weight gains.

19 Jul 2005

Decline in activity in the transition from childhood to adulthood could be responsible for increased weight gain in US girls

Obesity is either caused by an increase in energy intake, or reduced energy expenditure, or both. However, it is difficult to state with certainty the cause of obesity.

13 Jul 2005

Obese men may not process carbohydrates as efficiently as obese women

Obese men may not process carbohydrates as efficiently as obese women, a condition that can, ultimately, lead to a decrease in fitness level and the development of metabolic disorders.

12 Jul 2005

Obese men may not process carbohydrates as efficiently as obese women

A new study published in the July issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), showed that severely obese men were more carbohydrate intolerant and had less physical endurance than severely obese women, leading researchers to believe that gender plays a strong role in physical fitness and a person's ability to metabolize carbohydrates.

11 Jul 2005