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.

UIC introduces robotic kidney transplantation surgery for obese recipients

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago are the first to offer robotic kidney transplantation to morbidly obese patients and report fewer complications among this high risk population.

17 Dec 2010

Quarter of all British school children obese: Report

A quarter of all British school children are obese and by the final year of primary school, the proportion rises to a third. Experts believe that this is not even the actual figure because many children opt out of being weighed. Urban children were much more likely to be overweight than those living in more rural areas.

16 Dec 2010

Early school entry lowers risk of obesity among adolescent girls

Effective strategies to fight the epidemic of childhood and adolescent obesity — one-third of kids under 20 weigh more than they should — have been elusive. A new study suggests a simple step that might help cut the problem down to size: start school sooner.

14 Dec 2010

Fat or obese – What’s in a name?

The question of whether the term ‘fat’ is more appropriate than ‘obese’ was raised in an Australian study that confirmed the former is the “lesser of two evils”. The study from University of NSW study which looked at public perceptions surrounding these words has found that, while both are unwelcome, obese was viewed more negatively.

13 Dec 2010

Depression treatment may help obese women to lose weight

The new study, which appears in the November/December issue of the journal General Hospital Psychiatry, cites past surveys that show having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more — classified as obese — increases a person's risk of depression by 50 percent to 150 percent.

10 Dec 2010

Obesity is associated with worse outcomes in patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative disease

Obesity was associated with worse overall and disease-free survival in women with operable breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy, but for the first time, researchers observed this finding in only a specific subset of patients - those with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/HER2-negative disease.

10 Dec 2010

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of expanded use of LAP-BAND gastric band

Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Gastroenterology and Urology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee has recommended with an 8-2 vote that the FDA extend the currently approved use of the LAP-BAND® System, Allergan's gastric band, on the basis of a favorable benefit-risk profile for weight reduction in obese adults who have failed more conservative weight reduction alternatives and have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35 or a BMI ≥30 and at least one comorbid condition.

4 Dec 2010

Spherix announces results of D-tagatose Phase 3 trial for Type 2 diabetes

Spherix Incorporated, an innovator in biotechnology for therapy in diabetes, metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis; and providers of technical and regulatory consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, today announced results from its first Phase 3 trial post hoc analysis in which the higher body mass index (BMI) of the U.S. population relative to the Indian population was a likely key contributor to the more positive effects of D-tagatose in the lowering of HbA1c levels in the U.S. population. Initial results were announced on October 7.

2 Dec 2010

Maintaining ideal BMI reduces mortality risk in healthy non-smoking adults: Study

A study looking at deaths from any cause found that a body mass index (BMI) between 20.0 and 24.9 is associated with the lowest risk of death in healthy non-smoking adults.

1 Dec 2010

People with OSA are prone to develop atherosclerosis: Study

People with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder associated with obesity, have more non-calcified or "bad" plaque in their coronary arteries, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

30 Nov 2010

Study finds abdominal fat as a risk factor for osteoporosis, bone loss in women

For years, it was believed that obese women were at lower risk for developing osteoporosis, and that excess body fat actually protected against bone loss. However, a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) found that having too much internal abdominal fat may, in fact, have a damaging effect on bone health.

30 Nov 2010

Children with high BMI have adverse heart disease risk factors at adolescence

Children who have a high body mass index (BMI) between 9 and 12 years of age are more likely to have high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood insulin levels (all risk factors for developing heart disease) by the time they reach adolescence, according to a study published today.

26 Nov 2010

Diogenes study investigates optimum diet composition for preventing, treating obesity

Researchers at the Faculty of Life Sciences (LIFE), University of Copenhagen, can now unveil the results of the world's largest diet study: If you want to lose weight, you should maintain a diet that is high in proteins with more lean meat, low-fat dairy products and beans and fewer finely refined starch calories such as white bread and white rice.

25 Nov 2010

Women view their weight wrong: Study

Researchers have found that among more than 2,200 women ages 18 to 25 seen at several Texas reproductive-health clinics there were many who did not know if they weighed normal or were overweight.

23 Nov 2010

High BMI remains primary problem among wealthier women in developing countries

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) finds that high body mass index (BMI) in developing countries remains primarily a problem of the rich. The findings suggest that the shift towards overweight and obesity among the poor that has already happened in wealthier countries has not yet happened in developing countries.

23 Nov 2010

Tips to improve obese children's surgical outcomes and health

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is taking action to educate parents about the increased risk of complications faced by obese children undergoing anesthesia. The number of obese children has doubled in the past two decades and tripled among adolescents and the ASA encourages parents to help improve both the surgical outcomes and long-term health of America's youth.

20 Nov 2010

Study reveals higher levels of body fat among South Asian children living in the UK

South Asian children living in the UK have higher average levels of body fat than white European and black African Caribbean children in the UK. The findings show that body mass index (BMI), the most widely used tool to measure body composition, underestimated their body fat, and add to doubts about its use as a measure.

18 Nov 2010

Bariatric surgery improves disease symptoms in obese heart failure patients

A small Mayo Clinic study has found that morbidly obese heart failure patients who undergo bariatric surgery gain long-lasting and meaningful improvements in disease symptoms and quality of life. The results were presented today at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010 in Chicago.

15 Nov 2010

Women and cancer today

Experts have warned that women who have their breasts removed out of fear of a high hereditary risk of breast cancer may be doing so needlessly. Genetic tests like for the BRCA mutations have predicted a high risk of getting breast cancer in women with many breast cancer sufferers among their first degree relatives. Earlier studies suggest the risk of the mutation to predict the cancer 87% of the time. Now experts want that this is an overestimate.

11 Nov 2010

High cholesterol in midlife does not increase risk for Alzheimer's disease among women

High cholesterol levels in middle age do not appear to increase women's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia later in life, new Johns Hopkins-led research finds, despite a body of scientific evidence long suggesting a link between the two.

11 Nov 2010