Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

One million serious medical complications could be avoided with improvements in blood glucose levels in diabetics

Sanofi, Diabetes UK and JDRF today announce the publication of IMPACT 2 in the journal Diabetic Medicine. This new study shows that, if sustained, even modest improvement in blood glucose levels can provide significantly improved outcomes for the 3.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK.

4 Feb 2016

Potential treatment target identified for fatty liver disease

Two proteins, p38 gamma and p38 delta, control the accumulation of fat in the liver, a process linked to the development of insulin resistance and diabetes, which are common outcomes of obesity. These findings are presented in an article published by researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC).

4 Feb 2016

Genetic variants associated with preference to mornings or nights

23andMe, Inc., the leading personal genetics company, today announced the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) identifying genetic variants associated with being a morning person.

3 Feb 2016

Parents need to take active role in oral health of children

February is National Children's Dental Health Month, an opportunity for parents of toddlers, young children or teenagers to explore questions about keeping your child's teeth clean, your child's first dental visit or how to protect children's smiles.

3 Feb 2016

Study: Young African-Americans often have distorted view of stroke risk

Young African-Americans often hold a distorted view of their personal risk for a stroke, two nursing researchers at Georgia State University's Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions say in a recently published study in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing.

3 Feb 2016

Researchers publish work on how news articles shape perceptions of obesity

Researchers at Chapman University, UCLA, and Stanford have just published work on how news media coverage shapes perceptions of obesity. They examined how perspectives on obesity portrayed in news articles affect people's support for different obesity-related public policies and their prejudice towards fat men and women.

2 Feb 2016

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in offspring

As the study shows, a high-fat diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in the offspring. These changes affect metabolic pathways regulated by the gut hormone GIP, whereby the adult offspring are more susceptible to obesity and insulin resistance, the precursor to type 2 diabetes. Similar mechanisms cannot be ruled out in humans, according to Pfeiffer.

2 Feb 2016

Sleep durations associated with gestational weight gain during in pregnancy

In a study to be presented on Feb. 4 at 1:15 p.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Atlanta, researchers will present findings from a study titled, Short and long sleep durations in pregnancy are associated with extremes of gestational weight gain.

1 Feb 2016

Electronic medical data could help verify link between maternal obesity and diabetes to autism

Scientists show they can use electronic medical records and birth information to verify and strengthen an already suspected link between autistic children and pregnant mothers with obesity and diabetes.

1 Feb 2016

Children born to obese women with diabetes at higher risk of developing autism

Children born to obese women with diabetes are more than four times as likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder than children of healthy weight mothers without diabetes, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

30 Jan 2016

Early puberty may increase risk of developing gestational diabetes

Women who began having menstrual cycles at a younger age are at greater risk of developing gestational diabetes, a disease affecting up to 7 percent of pregnant women that can cause babies to develop type 2 diabetes and other complications, new research shows.

30 Jan 2016

Increased breastfeeding could save over 800000 children’s lives annually

Just 1 in 5 children in high-income countries are breastfed to 12 months, whilst only 1 in 3 children in low and middle-income countries are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months.

30 Jan 2016

Second-hand smoke exposure linked to larger waist, poorer cognition in children

Exposure to second-hand smoke is associated with a larger waist and poorer cognition in children, researchers say.

29 Jan 2016

Scientists discover epigenetic switch linked to obesity

It is well known that a predisposition to adiposity lies in our genes. A new study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg now shows that it is also crucial how these genes are regulated. The scientists led by Andrew Pospisilik discovered a novel regulatory, epigenetic switch, which causes individuals with identical genetic material, such as monozygotic twins, to either be lean or obese.

29 Jan 2016

BMI affects outcomes following lung cancer surgery

Body mass index (BMI) affects outcomes following lung resection (removal of part of the lung) for lung cancer. Patients with very high or very low BMIs (a measure of body mass based on height and weight) have the highest risks for complications, according to a scientific presentation at the 52nd Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

27 Jan 2016

Spouses could play key role in helping patients lose weight

Spouses ideally could play a key role in helping patients lose pounds and keep them off after weight-loss surgery, but being married might actually work against patients, researchers from The Ohio State University have found.

27 Jan 2016

CNIC researchers identify how two proteins control heart growth and adaptation to hypertension

Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III have identified how two proteins control the growth of the heart and its adaptation to high blood pressure (hypertension).

25 Jan 2016

Study finds possibility of targeting Orai3 as novel treatment for obesity-related inflammation

A new study by a team of Rosalind Franklin University researchers headed by Carl White, PhD, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, has discovered that the degree of chronic inflammation caused by obesity is highly dependent on levels of the signaling molecule, hydrogen sulfide, which alters the activity of a calcium channel, Orai3.

22 Jan 2016

Bariatric surgery prior to knee replacement benefits morbidly obese patients with end-stage osteoarthritis

Previous research studies have linked obesity to adverse outcomes and increased costs following total knee replacement surgery (TKR). A new, computer model-based evaluation appearing in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, supports bariatric surgery in morbidly obese patients with end-stage osteoarthritis (loss of cartilage and joint pain, caused by aging and use) prior to TKR.

22 Jan 2016

Aged Garlic Extract beneficial for preventing heart disease

The supplement Aged Garlic Extract can reverse the buildup of deadly plaque in arteries and help prevent the progression of heart disease, according to a new study scheduled for publication in the Journal of Nutrition.

22 Jan 2016