Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Probiotic containing common gut bacterium could halve cardiovascular disease rates

A small study has found that supplements of the gut bacterium, A. muciniphila, may cut cardiovascular disease rates in half.

3 Jul 2019

American medical students less likely to choose to become primary care doctors

Despite hospital systems and health officials calling out the need for more primary care doctors, graduates of U.S. medical schools are becoming less likely to choose to specialize in one of those fields.

3 Jul 2019

JAMA commentary: Nutrition knowledge essential for today's physicians

Nutrition knowledge is essential for today's physicians, according to a JAMA Internal Medicine commentary published July 1.

3 Jul 2019

Cancer Research UK urges Government action to tackle obesity

New figures from Cancer Research UK show that people who are obese now outnumber people who smoke two to one in the UK, and excess weight causes more cases of certain cancers than smoking, as the charity urges Government action to tackle obesity.

3 Jul 2019

Intermittent fasting may protect against type 2 diabetes

Intermittent fasting is known to improve sensitivity to the blood glucose-lowering hormone insulin and to protect against fatty liver.

2 Jul 2019

Study: Antidepressants reduce mortality by 35% in patients with diabetes

Antidepressants reduce deaths by more than a third in patients with diabetes and depression, according to a study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

2 Jul 2019

Maternal obesity may negatively affect children's lung development

Obesity during pregnancy may negatively affect children's lung development, according to new research. The study, published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, was chosen as an APSselect article for July.

2 Jul 2019

WVU researcher investigates how nursing homes can best meet obese residents' healthcare needs

About 30 percent of nursing home residents are obese. That can complicate their care. The facility may need to buy them special wheelchairs or motorized lifts. Nursing aides may struggle to help them shower. And doctors may grapple with how--or even whether--to restrict their diets.

2 Jul 2019

Supervised fun, exercise both improve psychosocial health of children with obesity

A program with clear rules, routines and activities, attentive adults and a chance to interact with peers appears to work as well at improving the quality of life, mood and self-worth of a child who is overweight or obese as a regular exercise program, researchers report.

2 Jul 2019

Federal nutrition program improves health of pregnant women and children

A major 2009 revision to a federal nutrition program for low-income pregnant women and children improved recipients' health on several key measures, researchers at UC San Francisco have found.

2 Jul 2019

Postmenopausal women may be healthier if more pear-shaped than apple-shaped

Apple-shaped women are three times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke while being pear-shaped in postmenopausal years cuts the risk by almost half, a new study found.

2 Jul 2019

Blood pressure self-monitoring can help patients with hypertension to stick with exercise program

Using blood pressure self-monitoring is an effective way to empower patients with hypertension to stick with an exercise program, according to a first-of-its-kind study conducted by a multidisciplinary team of UConn researchers in collaboration with Hartford Hospital.

1 Jul 2019

Vitamin D deficiency at birth increases risk of high blood pressure in children

Vitamin D deficiency from birth to early childhood was associated with an increased risk of elevated blood pressure in later childhood and adolescence, according to new research in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension.

1 Jul 2019

Joslin researchers selected by Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative for Human Cell Atlas project

Researchers from Joslin Diabetes Center have been selected by the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative as one of 38 collaborative science teams that will launch CZI's Seed Networks for a Human Cell Atlas projects.

29 Jun 2019

Researchers propose new avenue in the search for anti-obesity drugs

Effective weight-loss strategies call for eating less food, burning more calories--or ideally, both. But for the more than 90 million Americans who suffer from obesity, a disease that contributes to conditions ranging from cancer to heart disease, behavioral change is hard to accomplish or not effective enough--which is why scientists have long sought drugs that would help people shed pounds.

29 Jun 2019

High sleep variability and short sleep duration predict blunted weight loss

This is one of the conclusions of the Predimed-Plus study, Prevention with the Mediterranean Diet, which has been published in the June issue of the International Journal of Obesity. It is the first study to examine whether the quality of sleep is related to weight loss and a reduction in adipose tissue.

28 Jun 2019

It’s never too late to take up exercise, advise researchers

Taking up exercise later in life can significantly increase life expectancy, even if a person has been inactive their whole life, according to a new study.

28 Jun 2019

Scientists develop new way to detect and switch off ticking time bomb of liver disease

A new way of detecting liver disease decades before it can become fatal has been developed by a team of scientists at the University of Dundee and NHS Tayside.

26 Jun 2019

How an orchestra of neurons control hunger pangs

A new study has shown that multiple neurons within the brain come together to regulate the need to eat and feeling of fullness, or satiety.

26 Jun 2019

TV watching proves more of heart health threat than a desk job among African Americans

Binge watching TV may be a greater risk factor for heart disease and premature death among African Americans than sitting at a desk job, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

26 Jun 2019