Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Enzymatic activity essential for vision may provide target for drug transport

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have uncovered the mechanism that enables the enzyme Lecithin: retinol acyltransferase (LRAT) to store vitamin A--a process that is indispensable for vision.

10 Dec 2014

Novo Nordisk introduces new initiative to support healthy lifestyle programming in New Jersey area

Novo Nordisk today announced the launch of the Community Health Collaborative, a new initiative to support and expand healthy lifestyle programming in the Trenton, New Jersey area.

From Novo Nordisk 10 Dec 2014

Study: Long-term endurance training alters epigenetic pattern in the human skeletal muscle

A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that long-term endurance training in a stable way alters the epigenetic pattern in the human skeletal muscle. The research team behind the study, which is being published in the journal Epigenetics, also found strong links between these altered epigenetic patterns and the activity in genes controlling improved metabolism and inflammation.

10 Dec 2014

Study calls for new protocols to treat women with high blood pressure

That blood pressure plays a role in human health has been known for quite a while. Hypertension - the medical term for high blood pressure - was first described as a disease in the early 1800s, and the inflatable cuff that's used in measuring blood pressure was invented in 1896.

10 Dec 2014

McGill University scientists show how simple potato extract can fight obesity

Take a look in your pantry: the miracle ingredient for fighting obesity may already be there. A simple potato extract may limit weight gain from a diet that is high in fat and refined carbohydrates, according to scientists at McGill University. The results of their recent study were so surprising that the investigators repeated the experiment just to be sure.

10 Dec 2014

New guide documents threat endocrine-disrupting chemicals pose to human health

As governments, industry and public interest groups from across the globe prepare to meet next week to discuss endocrine-disrupting chemicals and other international chemical safety issues, the Endocrine Society and IPEN released a new guide documenting the threat endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) pose to human health.

10 Dec 2014

Scientists identify brain mechanism that drives our appetite for glucose-rich foods

Scientists have discovered a mechanism in the brain that may drive our appetite for foods rich in glucose and could lead to improved treatments for obesity.

10 Dec 2014

Weight loss surgery and exercise lower risks of serious health problems

Throughout the past year, studies on the positive effects of weight loss surgery have been published in a variety of medical journals in the US and abroad. We learned that weight loss surgery is relatively safe, and that it is effective in improving serious health conditions. More recently, we also learned that it is a factor in preventing Type 2 diabetes from developing in people considered to be pre-diabetic.

9 Dec 2014

Triple hormone reduces body weight, improves insulin sensitivity

Recently, the researchers had constructed several single molecules with dual hormone action. Now, for the first time, the researchers succeeded in designing a substance that combines three metabolically active hormone components (GLP-1, GIP and glucagon) and offers unmatched potency to fight metabolic diseases in pre-clinical trials.

9 Dec 2014

Adverse childhood experiences impact child health, school outcomes

Nearly half of all children in the United States are exposed to at least one social or family experience that can lead to traumatic stress and impact their healthy development - be it having their parents divorce, a parent die or living with someone who abuses alcohol or drugs - increasing the risk of negative long-term health consequences or of falling behind in school, suggests new research led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

9 Dec 2014

McMaster University researchers identify hormone that contributes to obesity, diabetes

Researchers from McMaster University have identified an important hormone that is elevated in obese people and contributes to obesity and diabetes by inhibiting brown fat activity.

8 Dec 2014

Researchers discuss effects of mother-infant bedsharing

Recommendations by physician groups to avoid bedsharing among mothers and their babies are intended to reduce sleep-related infant deaths. But evidence suggests that the risks of bedsharing have been over-emphasized, advice never to bedshare is unrealistic, and avoiding bedsharing may interfere with breastfeeding, according to an article in Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

8 Dec 2014

Weight-loss surgery may reduce lower urinary tract symptoms

Metabolic syndrome is linked with an increased frequency and severity of lower urinary tract symptoms, but weight loss surgery may lessen these symptoms. The findings, which come from two studies published in BJU International, indicate that urinary problems may be added to the list of issues that can improve with efforts that address altered metabolism.

8 Dec 2014

ACSM unveils strategic plan to improve health, fitness outcomes in Cincinnati

The American College of Sports Medicine, with support from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, is expanding the ACSM American Fitness Index Technical Assistance Program to Cincinnati. Working with the Cincinnati Health Department's Creating Healthy Communities Coalition, ACSM unveiled a comprehensive strategic plan today that will guide the Cincinnati metro area toward improved health and fitness outcomes.

6 Dec 2014

Study sheds new light on well-known mechanism required for immune response

A new study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America sheds new light on a well-known mechanism required for the immune response. Researchers at the IRCM, led by Tarik Möröy, PhD, identified a protein that controls the activity of the p53 tumour suppressor protein known as the "guardian of the genome".

6 Dec 2014

Risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease starts in pregnancy

The risk of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease is affected by exposures in the uterus. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden are now calling for updated guidelines in light of research evidence from the past decades.

5 Dec 2014

Researchers discover essential role of intestinal immune system in controlling energy metabolism

A group of UCL researchers (Louvain Drug Research Institute) identified an unsuspected mechanism impacting the development of obesity and diabetes type 2 after following a diet with a high dose of fat nutrition.

5 Dec 2014

Are you eating yourself to an early grave?

A new study, published today in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, has shown that obesity may shorten life expectancy by ≤8 years and reduce the duration of healthy life by ≤19 years as a consequence of developing diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease.

5 Dec 2014

Hormone leptin increases blood pressure that occurs with weight gain

Leptin, a hormone that regulates the amount of fat stored in the body, also drives the increase in blood pressure that occurs with weight gain, according to researchers from Monash University and the University of Cambridge.

5 Dec 2014

Researchers discover link between obesity and hypertension

The link between obesity and cardiovascular diseases is well acknowledged. Being obese or overweight is a major risk factor for the development of elevated blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases. But it has net been known how obesity increases the risk of high blood pressure, making it difficult to develop evidence based therapies for obesity, hypertension and heart disease.

5 Dec 2014