Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Metabolic syndrome associated with cognitive and brain impairments in adolescents

A new study by researchers at NYU School of Medicine reveals for the first time that metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with cognitive and brain impairments in adolescents and calls for pediatricians to take this into account when considering the early treatment of childhood obesity.

3 Sep 2012

Articles explore potential policy measures that could promote healthier behaviour

Obesity rates in North America are a growing concern for legislators. Expanded waistlines mean rising health-care costs for maladies such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. One University of Alberta researcher says that if people do not take measures to get healthy, they may find that governments will throw their weight into administrative measures designed to help us trim the fat.

3 Sep 2012

UI Hospital surgeons perform first robotic-assisted kidney transplant and sleeve gastrectomy

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System are developing new treatment options for obese kidney patients.

1 Sep 2012

Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System initiates Pathway Fit clinical trial in obesity

Pathway Genomics Corporation, a San Diego-based genetic testing laboratory, has announced a clinical trial with the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS).

1 Sep 2012

French data highlight women under 60 at risk for heart disease

An analysis of four French registries has shown a dramatic drop in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction mortality from 1995 to 2010, accompanied by a significant change in patient characteristics.

31 Aug 2012

Prenatal exposures to polyfluoroalkyl compounds may lead to obesity in babies

Pregnant women who are highly exposed to common environmental chemicals - polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) - have babies that are smaller at birth and larger at 20 months of age, according to a study from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health published online in the August 30 edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.

31 Aug 2012

Researchers identify several genetic factors linked to C-reactive protein

African Americans have higher blood levels of a protein associated with increased heart-disease risk than European Americans, despite higher "good" HDL cholesterol and lower "bad" triglyceride levels. This contradictory observation now may be explained, in part, by a genetic variant identified in the first large-scale, genome-wide association study of this protein involving 12,000 African American and Hispanic American women.

31 Aug 2012

Study confirms link between hormone replacement therapy use and breast cancer

The Million Women Study is a study, conducted by UK researchers, of women's health analyzing data from more than one million women aged 50 and over. It is a collaborative project between Cancer Research UK and the National Health Service (NHS), with additional funding from the Medical Research Council (UK).

31 Aug 2012

Healthy diets during infancy and early childhood can prevent obesity in future

Rats born to mothers fed high-fat diets but who get normal levels of fat in their diets right after birth avoid obesity and its related disorders as adults, according to new Johns Hopkins research.

31 Aug 2012

Studies examine how PML gene regulates the fatty acid oxidation pathway

Two papers led by scientific teams from the Cancer Genetics Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) shed new light on the genetic mechanisms underlying cellular energy and metabolism and, at the same time, highlight both the challenges and opportunities of genetic approaches to cancer treatment.

31 Aug 2012

Enrollment complete in Arrowhead’s CALAA-01 phase 1b trial on solid tumors

Arrowhead Research Corporation, a targeted therapeutics company, today announced that, through its Calando Pharmaceuticals subsidiary, it has completed enrollment of a phase 1b clinical trial of CALAA-01, its RNAi therapeutic candidate targeting solid tumors. All patients participating in the trial have completed dosing with the exception of one patient who is still receiving treatment and will continue to be monitored.

31 Aug 2012

Grb10 plays a crucial role in increasing muscle mass during development

Scientists have moved closer toward helping people grow big, strong muscles without needing to hit the weight room. Australian researchers have found that by blocking the function of a protein called Grb10 while mice were in the womb, they were considerably stronger and more muscular than their normal counterparts.

31 Aug 2012

Single serve packages may help reduce energy intake at breakfast

Mega-sized portions clearly have contributed to our nation's obesity problem, but it is not just the super-sized menu items that are a concern. Serving sizes at home have also crept up over recent decades, with plates and bowls much larger than the dishes used by our great-grandparents. Packaged foods that are available in portion packs might be an easy aid for reigning in portion sizes, but do they actually help us to eat fewer calories overall?

30 Aug 2012

Stowers investigators define factors that regulate size of cellular fat pools

As the national waistline expands, so do pools of intra-cellular fat known as lipid droplets. Although most of us wish our lipid droplets would vanish, they represent a cellular paradox: on the one hand droplets play beneficial roles by corralling fat into non-toxic organelles. On the other, oversized lipid droplets are associated with obesity and its associated health hazards.

30 Aug 2012

Residency cap may hamper efforts to expand number of doctors

Bloomberg examines the need for more primary care physicians and the limit on the number of slots for training doctors.

30 Aug 2012

Israel's Ministry of Health approves Medgenics’ INFRADURE Phase I/II clinical trials for hepatitis C

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of Biopump, a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced that Israel's Ministry of Health (MOH) has approved two Phase I/II clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of INFRADURE in patients with hepatitis C.

30 Aug 2012

FAST-MI highlights young women at risk for heart disease

29 Aug 2012

Risk factors for obesity in pet rabbits similar to those in other animals

Companion rabbits that are female and neutered are more likely to be overweight than their male, entire counterparts, report UK researchers who highlight that these are similar risk factors for overweight as have been previously seen in cats and dogs.

29 Aug 2012

Study finds decline in 30-day mortality of acute myocardial infarction with improved treatment

Improved treatment after acute myocardial infarction and less severe patient profile have reduced 30-day mortality over the past 15 years, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2012.

29 Aug 2012

Study explains strategies that work against long-term weight loss in post-menopausal women

Many people can drop pounds quickly in the early phases of a diet, but studies have found that it is difficult to keep the weight off in the long term. For post-menopausal women, natural declines in energy expenditure could make long-term weight loss even more challenging. A new study finds that in post-menopausal women, some behaviors that are related to weight loss in the short term are not effective or sustainable for the long term. Interventions targeting these behaviors could improve long-term obesity treatment outcomes.

29 Aug 2012