Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Baxter to commence second GAMMAGARD LIQUID Phase III trial in Alzheimer's

Baxter International Inc. today provided an update on its clinical program evaluating the use of its GAMMAGARD LIQUID 10%, for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

From Baxter International Inc. 24 Jan 2012

Study documents a need for increased injury prevention efforts in many popular activities for kids

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents a need for increased injury prevention efforts in many of the most popular activities for kids (walking, bicycling, swimming, sports and playground use) in the United States.

21 Jan 2012

Exposure to phthalates may increase risk of obesity in young children

Researchers from the Children's Environmental Health Center at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York have found an association between exposure to the chemical group known as phthalates and obesity in young children - including increased body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.

20 Jan 2012

Wave of physical inactivity could have a major long-term health impact

Youngsters in Norway today are not as fit as earlier generations, and even the best perform less well. Researchers now warn that a wave of inactivity could have a major long-term health impact.

20 Jan 2012

External stimuli control hormonal regulation of our eating behavior

Max Planck researchers have proven something scientifically for the first time that laypeople have always known: the mere sight of delicious food stimulates the appetite. A study on healthy young men has documented that the amount of the neurosecretory protein hormone ghrelin in the blood increases as a result of visual stimulation through images of food.

20 Jan 2012

Quebec ban on junk-food ads more effective in reducing childhood obesity

With mounting concerns over childhood obesity and its associated health risks in the U.S., would a ban on junk-food advertising aimed at children be more effective than the current voluntary, industry-led ban? According to published research from a University of Illinois economist, advertising bans do work, but an outright ban covering the entire U.S. media market would be the most effective policy tool for reducing fast-food consumption in children.

20 Jan 2012

Report reveals 45.9M American adults suffered from mental illness in the past year

A new national report reveals that 45.9 million American adults aged 18 or older, or 20 percent of this age group, experienced mental illness in the past year. The rate of mental illness was more than twice as high among those aged 18 to 25 (29.9 percent) than among those aged 50 and older (14.3 percent). Adult women were also more likely than men to have experienced mental illness in the past year (23 percent versus 16.8 percent).

20 Jan 2012

New book focuses on improving care for chronic diseases

Why does health care need to be redesigned? First - the current system is broken. It costs too much, and too often yields little value for patients and society. Second - it's fixable. The editors and authors of Great Health Care - Making It Happen are convinced of it.

20 Jan 2012

FDA issues complete response letter to Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca's dapagliflozin

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for investigational compound dapagliflozin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults.

19 Jan 2012

Health care solutions through social media and cell phones

Nova Southeastern University's College of Pharmacy recently launched America's first Center for Consumer Health Informatics Research to deliver health care solutions through social media and cell phones.

19 Jan 2012

The AJMS publishes updates on type 2 diabetes, STIs

Research is leading to new insights on two major public health challenges: preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and improving disease control for patients with type 2 diabetes. Expert updates on these critical topics appear in a special symposium section of the January issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (The AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

19 Jan 2012

CDC reports obesity rates in U.S. level off

The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. largely leveled off over the last decade, even as some individual groups, such as boys from ages 6 to 19, saw increases, according to government data. Obesity rates in adults rose slightly to 35.7 percent from 30.5 percent between 1999 and 2010, compared with rates that nearly doubled in the two previous decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today. The rate among boys climbed 29 percent, surpassing girls for the first time, according to the Atlanta-based health agency.

19 Jan 2012

N.Y. cardiologist to discuss metabolic conditions at The Jeremy Kyle Show

The New York Cardiac Diagnostic Center announced today Dr. Steven Reisman, a New York City cardiologist, will be featured on an upcoming episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show. Dr. Reisman will be discussing the increased risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome for individuals who are overweight or obese.

19 Jan 2012

New hypothesis seeks to explain how stress can cause obesity

Stress can make you fat - and being obese can create stress. A new hypothesis seeks to explain how. Diet and lack of exercise are not sufficient to explain the worldwide rise in obesity. Stress is one of many other factors which could contribute, according to human biologist Brynjar Foss from the University of Stavanger.

19 Jan 2012

USPTO issues new patent to PBL's RNAi technology

Plant Bioscience Limited (PBL) is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued out US Patent No. 8,097,710 with fundamental claims directed to methods of inducing gene silencing using short RNA molecules, or DNA constructs encoding short RNA molecules, in a wide range of organisms, including in plants and humans.

19 Jan 2012

Obesity in the U.S. stabilize: Report

New figures from the federal government shows that the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. largely leveled off over the last decade, even as some individual groups, such as boys from ages 6 to 19, saw increases.

18 Jan 2012

New pathways in battle against obesity and other lifestyle diseases

The world is encountering an epidemic of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. In the west it is already widespread and it is now exploding in the developing world with the rapid change in the lifestyles of recent generations.

18 Jan 2012

PCORI to meet this week to release national priorities for medical effectiveness research

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, an independent board established by the health law, will meet this week to set priorities for "comparative effectiveness research." In other news related to the health law, the News Hour reports on how the overahul has impacted pediatric cancer patients and the New York Times reports on the law's provisions related to screening kids for obesity and providing them counseling.

18 Jan 2012

No significant change in prevalence of obesity in the U.S.

There has not been significant change in the prevalence of obesity in the U.S., with data from 2009-2010 indicating that about one in three adults and one in six children and teens are obese; however, there have been increases in certain demographics, according to two studies being published by JAMA. The studies are being released online first because of their public health importance.

18 Jan 2012

Neuronal energy deficits may contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Turning off a protein that helps cells balance energy increases animal mobility and reduces the death of nerve cells that control movement in animal models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a study in the January 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The findings may one day guide new directions for the treatment of the progressive neurodegenerative disorder, for which there is currently no cure.

18 Jan 2012