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.

New clinical trial to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes

A new clinical trial at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is among the first to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study is to understand whether surgery can control diabetes, as well or even better than the best medical treatment available today. This is the first study of its kind open to patients who are overweight or mildly obese.

14 Feb 2011

New trial tests surgery for Type 2 diabetes

11 Feb 2011

RF technology effective in detection of retained surgical items during bariatric procedures

RF Surgical Systems, Inc., the market leader in the prevention and detection of retained surgical sponges, today announced the first published data on the power of radio frequency technology to identify retained surgical items in all patient types.

11 Feb 2011

Withings WiFi Body Scale that imports body weight data directly into Gazelle now available

Quest Diagnostics and Withings announced that the Withings WiFi Body Scale, the world's first WiFi connected personal weight scale, can now automatically import body weight data directly into Gazelle, the secure mobile health platform from Quest Diagnostics.

From Quest Diagnostics 11 Feb 2011

Women with high folic acid levels may impact child's risk of developing asthma

Recent Norwegian research suggests that there may be a connection between high levels of folic acid in pregnant mothers and the development of asthma in their children. However, the researchers stress that pregnant women should continue to take folic acid supplements.

10 Feb 2011

Gastric bypass surgery good for the heart in obese: Study

A new study has found that gastric bypass surgery, besides enabling severely obese people to lose weight, may also help their overly stressed hearts return to more normal function and appearance. The study appeared in the Feb. 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

7 Feb 2011

Studies show growing problems of non-communicable diseases in low-, middle-income countries

Obesity rates have doubled worldwide since 1980," according to a study published Friday as part of a series in the Lancet that also looked at global blood pressure and cholesterol trends, ABC News reports (Carolo, 2/4).

5 Feb 2011

Children's BMI increase linked to more years mothers work

Childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the past three decades, and prior research has linked maternal employment to children's body mass index (BMI), a measure of their weight-for-height. A new study in the January/February issue of the journal Child Development has found that children's BMI rose the more years their mothers worked over their children's lifetimes.

4 Feb 2011

Study: Worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly doubled since 1980

The worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, according to a major study on how three important heart disease risk factors have changed across the world over the last three decades. The study, published today in three papers in the Lancet, looked at all available global data to assess how body mass index, blood pressure and cholesterol changed between 1980 and 2008.

4 Feb 2011

Poor adolescents with strong community get protection from risky health behaviors

Children who grow up in poverty have health problems as adults. But a new study finds that poor adolescents who live in communities with more social cohesiveness and control get some measure of protection; they're less likely to smoke and be obese as adolescents.

3 Feb 2011

Tonsillectomy linked to obesity later in life: Study

The study involved 795 children from 0 to 18 years who were described as normal to overweight prior to their operations, and they were separated into three separate groups. Group 1 included three studies involving 127 children, whose body mass index (BMI) increased by 5.5 per cent to 8.2 per cent.

2 Feb 2011

Tonsillectomy increases risk of pediatric obesity

Tonsillectomy is the most common major surgical procedure performed in children. Children who undergo the surgical removal of their tonsils (tonsillectomy), with or without the removal of their adenoids (adenoidectomy), are at increased risk for becoming overweight after surgery, according to new research published in the February 2011 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.

1 Feb 2011

Nutritionist offers tips to keep on track with weight loss and health goals

At a time when many people are working to lose weight and get healthier, more than half of Texans admit to lying to family or doctors about their health and fitness habits such as nutrition and amount of exercise, according to the True Results Health Honesty Survey. Forty-six percent are not honest with family members and 32 percent admit to lying to doctors.

31 Jan 2011

Weighty problem: 127kg man trying to put on weight

When Darin McCloud, 45 from Portsmouth, was told he did not qualify for a gastric bypass, he planned to get fatter to tip the scales at more than 133kg - the weight deemed necessary by his local NHS primary care trust. At present he is eating three-quarters of a loaf of bread, four packets of crisps and bacon rolls each day to put on the weight. He also has diabetes ad he believes that the surgery could get him off the insulin injections.

26 Jan 2011

Polysomnography may predict adverse outcomes following pediatric adenotonsillectomy: Study

Performing polysomnography prior to pediatric adenotonsillectomy may help identify children at a higher risk of developing postoperative respiratory complications, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology - Head Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

18 Jan 2011

Study finds racial disparities in weight-related counseling

When it comes to advising obese patients, blacks receive less weight reduction and exercise counseling from physicians than their white counterparts. This is according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who examined the impact of patient and doctor race concordance on weight-related counseling.

14 Jan 2011

Obesity in children today may contribute to 2-5 year decline in life expectancy

For the first time in history, the next generation will not live longer, or even as long, as their parents. "Diseases such as Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, heart conditions and joint deterioration - what were once considered 'adult' diseases - are regularly being diagnosed in children, due to the prevalence of obesity," said Jessica Bartfield, MD, internal medicine and medical weight-loss specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of the Loyola University Health System.

13 Jan 2011

Extreme obesity a powerful risk factor for death among 2009 H1N1 patients

For those infected with the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus, extreme obesity was a powerful risk factor for death, according to an analysis of a public health surveillance database. In a study to be published in the February 1, 2011, issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers associated extreme obesity with a nearly three-fold increased odds of death from 2009 H1N1 influenza. Half of Californians greater than 20 years of age hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 were obese.

7 Jan 2011

Positive topline results from ZGN-433 Phase 1b study in obesity patients

Zafgen, a pharmaceutical company pioneering novel obesity therapeutics to help the body regain and sustain a lean, healthy state by targeting imbalances in fat metabolism, today announced positive topline results from its Phase 1b study of ZGN-433, a methionine aminopeptidase 2 inhibitor, for the treatment of severe obesity.

6 Jan 2011

Moderately and morbidly obese drivers face increase risk of death during severe vehicle crashes

Moderately and morbidly obese persons face many health issues -- heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, gallbladder disease and others. Now, increased chances of dying while driving during a severe auto accident can be added to the list.

22 Dec 2010