Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Stricter school meal nutrition standards linked with better weight status among students

A study suggests that states with stricter school meal nutrition standards were associated with better weight status among students who received free or reduced-price lunches compared with students who did not eat school lunches, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

9 Apr 2013

Relationship between obesity and PCOS may be exaggerated, say researchers

The relationship between obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome may be exaggerated, likely because the women who actively seek care for the condition tend to be heavier than those identified through screening of the general population, researchers report.

9 Apr 2013

Roundup: Abortion restriction measure goes to Kan. governor's desk

Kansas legislators gave final passage to a sweeping anti-abortion measure Friday night, sending Gov. Sam Brownback a bill that declares life begins "at fertilization" while blocking tax breaks for abortion providers and banning abortions performed solely because of the baby's sex.

9 Apr 2013

Increasing number of hours of sleep may reduce prevalence of adolescent obesity

Increasing the number of hours of sleep adolescents get each night may reduce the prevalence of adolescent obesity, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

9 Apr 2013

Researchers identify four genes newly associated with severe childhood obesity

Researchers have identified four genes newly associated with severe childhood obesity. They also found an increased burden of rare structural variations in severely obese children.

8 Apr 2013

Researchers identify seven new gene loci linked to obesity

An international research team has identified seven new gene loci linked to obesity. Researchers were also able to show that the genetic mechanisms that cause extreme obesity are similar to those that cause milder forms of overweight and obesity.

8 Apr 2013

Stress circuits in brain undergo profound learning early in life

Researchers at the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute have discovered that stress circuits in the brain undergo profound learning early in life. Using a number of cutting edge approaches, including optogenetics, Jaideep Bains, PhD, and colleagues have shown stress circuits are capable of self-tuning following a single stress.

8 Apr 2013

Researchers study influence of muscle types, body metabolism in diabetes

Researchers in the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan have challenged a long-held belief that whitening of skeletal muscle in diabetes is harmful.

8 Apr 2013

Updated guidelines for metabolic and bariatric surgery

Significant new scientific evidence published over the last four years has prompted three major medical societies to change its guidance on who should get metabolic and bariatric surgery and which methods should be used.

6 Apr 2013

Scientists say detecting single viral protein components challenging for Ebola

By screening a library of a billion llama antibodies on live Ebola viruses in the Texas Biomedical Research Institute's highest biocontainment laboratory, scientists in San Antonio have identified a potential weakness in the make-up of these deadly agents that can immediately yield a sensitive test.

6 Apr 2013

Brown University professor awarded grant to study childhood obesity among Southeast Asians

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's leading philanthropy on health and health care, has awarded Akilah Dulin Keita, Brown University Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, a 24-month grant through the New Connections program.

6 Apr 2013

Insulin resistance can increase risk of breast cancer in women

In a previous work the authors analyzed a large cohort of breast cancer patients to look whether an association existed between the risk of tumor development and the presence of the metabolic syndrome — a syndrome that predisposes to cardiovascular and other diseases, which is characterized by abdominal obesity, high levels of triglycerides and low concentrations of HDL cholesterol, increased blood pressure and insulin resistance

5 Apr 2013

UEA research could offer long-lasting solution to eating disorders

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have made a discovery in neuroscience that could offer a long-lasting solution to eating disorders such as obesity.

5 Apr 2013

Roundtable Discussion offers novel strategies, solutions to control childhood obesity

The battle to control the childhood obesity epidemic is being fought on many levels. It could benefit from targeted programs and funding to support and integrate worksite and school-based health promotion initiatives.

5 Apr 2013

Global interconnectedness influences population health

In a global health review article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Anthony McMichael of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University examines the effects of globalization and "international connectivity" on "human health, international health care, and public health activities."

5 Apr 2013

Non-invasive gut health testing breakthrough

Health and functional claims made for foods such as probiotics still need to prove their effectiveness ― an important part of the answer rests in our small intestines and their role in digestion, and immunity.

5 Apr 2013

Understanding ethics involved in selecting transplant candidates

Results from an anonymous survey of U.S. transplant providers report that incarceration, marijuana use, and psychiatric diagnoses, particularly suicide attempts, may lower patients' eligibility for liver transplantation.

5 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Rove offers strategy to fight Democrats' 'Mediscare' tactics; GOP offers no 'pragmatic alternative' to health law

The midterm election is still 19 months away, but for some it's never too early for demagoguery. And so this week the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a new "Mediscare" ad.

5 Apr 2013

SLU student aims to improve easy access to fresh, healthy food by creating mobile farmer's market

When the State of Texas decided to slash tuition grants for private schools, Goss lobbied against the measure, saving his university from a steep cut. After living in St. Louis for two years, the second-year medical student at Saint Louis University has decided to tackle another problem - food deserts.

5 Apr 2013

AIM suppression could help prevent obesity-associated diseases

Obesity is linked to the widespread epidemics of diabetes and heart disease that plague society, but a lesser-known fact is that the weight can also lead to autoimmune disease.

5 Apr 2013