Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Ember, Joslin aims to utilize brown fat for treatment of obesity and diabetes

Joslin Diabetes Center and Ember Therapeutics, Inc. today announced an agreement aimed at utilizing "brown fat," a type of fat that helps increase energy expenditure within the body, as a novel technique for managing obesity and diabetes. Joslin's Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Ronald Kahn and other Joslin faculty, Drs. Yu-Hua Tseng and Aaron Cypess, have performed pioneering work in this field over the past several years, and were the first to show that a natural protein called BMP7 can help modulate the levels of brown fat.

29 Mar 2012

Anthropologists discover lower testosterone levels in Tsimane men

As part of an isolated indigenous group in central Bolivia, Tsimane men spend much of their time hunting, foraging, fishing, and clearing land by hand to grow crops. Their ability to maintain the physical activity required to survive each day might imply they have higher than average male testosterone levels.

29 Mar 2012

Providing nutritional information may not be encouraging healthy eating habits

A study by Universit- Laval's Maurice Doyon and French and American researchers shows that U.S. consumers know surprisingly more about the fat content of the foods they buy than their French counterparts. Paradoxically, the obesity rate is nearly three times higher in the United States (35%) than it is in France (12%).

29 Mar 2012

Bariatric surgery may eliminate need for diabetes medication

Diabetes has become an epidemic in the United States, with the number of cases tripling over the last three decades. Most of those cases are Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and can lead to serious medical issues that range from heart disease to renal failure, blindness, and more.

29 Mar 2012

Rates of cancer diagnoses and deaths continue to decline in the U.S.

A report from the nation's leading cancer organizations shows rates of death in the United States from all cancers for men and women continued to decline between 2004 and 2008. The findings come from the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.

29 Mar 2012

Losing weight and increasing physical activity reduces decline in mobility in obese adults with type 2 diabetes

Weight loss and increased physical fitness nearly halved the decline in mobility in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes, according to four-year results of the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) trial funded by the National Institutes of Health.

29 Mar 2012

Positive results from Allergan's BOTOX Phase III trials on idiopathic overactive bladder

Allergan, Inc. today announced that two Phase III clinical trials of BOTOX (onabotulinumtoxinA) as a potential treatment option for patients with idiopathic overactive bladder met their pre-specified primary endpoints.

29 Mar 2012

EU-funded project to help control appetite, combat obesity

The University of Liverpool is leading a £6milllion European project to develop and test new food products with satiating qualities to help control appetite, manage weight and combat obesity.

29 Mar 2012

CSEP develops two guidelines to improve health and activity levels of infants, toddlers

In response to an urgent call from public health, health care, child care, and fitness practitioners, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), with assistance from multiple partners, has developed two important sets of guidelines directed at improving the health and activity levels of infants and toddlers.

28 Mar 2012

North Shore-LIJ's first-ever walking challenge kicks off this week

The North Shore-LIJ Health System's first-ever walking challenge, the Walk to Paris, kicked off this week with 15,000 employees lacing up their sneakers to compete for a free trip to Paris. The fitness challenge is one of many initiatives that the 15-hospital health system has rolled out to improve the health and wellness of its employees.

28 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Opposition from the right weakening support for Ryan's budget plan; Doctors need to confront overweight patients

It's no surprise that the White House has denounced Paul Ryan's new House budget as the end of welfare-state civilization. The puzzle is why some conservatives are taking shots at the best chance in decades for serious government reform.

28 Mar 2012

Diet guru Pierre Dukan to face ethical hearing

Dr. Pierre Dukan, the founder of the controversial Dukan Diet now faces an ethics hearing after suggesting children could pass a new exam by staying thin. His diet, said to be followed by some celebrities, recommends avoiding starch and carbohydrates. Some nutritionists say it can be dangerous. Dr Jean-Michel Cohen said the protein-rich diet could cause heart disease and breast cancer.

27 Mar 2012

Chocolate for weight loss: Study

The US survey of a population of more than 1000 adults, published as a research letter in the Archives on Internal Medicine, reinforces the idea that chocolate packs heart healthy benefits, despite its high calorie and sugar content. For the study the participants reported eating chocolate an average of twice a week and exercising an average of 3.6 times a week. Their average age was 57.

27 Mar 2012

Previously unknown mechanism helps intestinal bacteria to affect formation of blood vessels

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have discovered a previously unknown mechanism which helps intestinal bacteria to affect the formation of blood vessels. The results, which are presented in Nature, may provide future treatments of intestinal diseases and obesity.

27 Mar 2012

Obese youths with particular genetic variants may be more prone to fatty liver disease

Obese youths with particular genetic variants may be more prone to fatty liver disease, a leading cause of chronic liver disease in children and adolescents in industrialized countries, according to new findings by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

27 Mar 2012

State roundup: Wash. state exchange bill now law

Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday signed into law a bill setting rules for insurers preparing for the state's online-insurance exchange. ... The state exchanges for individual and small-group plans are set to go live on Jan. 1, 2014. ... State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said that his office is committed to getting the exchange in place on schedule. "If we slowed down to be anxious, we'd be in trouble," Kreidler said. "It's the health law, and we're proceeding as quickly and as prudently as we can."

27 Mar 2012