Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

2012 ‘Best Diets’ rankings

Those aspiring to lose weight and eat healthy this New Year may benefit from the U.S. News & World Report's 2012 Best Diets rankings. Each year, U.S. News accumulates data from scientific journals, government reports, and solicits input from 22 experts in food science and nutrition, to come up for its rankings.

5 Jan 2012

Partnering can boost likelihood of sticking to resolutions

Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits. While you are more likely to do something if you plan it in advance, research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), shows that partnering up or planning with someone can really boost the likelihood of sticking to your resolutions.

5 Jan 2012

Study refutes perinatal programming theory about adipose tissue growth

Is obesity in infants "programmed" in the womb? Previously, researchers assumed that consumption of "bad" fats during pregnancy contribute to excessive infant adipose tissue growth and that "good" omega-3 fatty acids prevent expansive adipose tissue development. A study run by the Technische Universit-t M-nchen showed no evidence to support this "perinatal programming" theory.

5 Jan 2012

ACS report shows decline in overall cancer death rates

The American Cancer Society's annual cancer statistics report shows that between 2004 and 2008, overall cancer incidence rates declined by 0.6% per year in men and were stable in women, while cancer death rates decreased by 1.8% per year in men and by 1.6% per year in women.

5 Jan 2012

Weight loss surgery can improve blood sugar control in diabetes patients

Weight loss surgery is not a cure for type 2 diabetes, but it can improve blood sugar control, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Surgery. Whereas some previous studies have claimed that up to 80 per cent of diabetes patients have been cured following gastric bypass surgery, researchers at Imperial College London found that only 41 per cent of patients achieve remission using more stringent criteria.

5 Jan 2012

Arrowhead receives FDA IND approval for Adipotide obesity drug

Arrowhead Research Corporation, a nanomedicine company with development programs in oncology and obesity, today announced that the Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for its first obesity drug candidate, Adipotide, was accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowing the initiation of a clinical trial to test the safety of the compound.

5 Jan 2012

Weight loss surgery cuts risk of heart attacks, strokes: Study

A new study shows that weight loss surgery clearly cuts the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death from cardiovascular disease. But the research also raises questions regarding which patients benefit the most from surgery.

4 Jan 2012

Extra calories from proteins may lead to weight gain but more muscle than fat: Study

A new study shows that people who eat extra calories will gain the same amount of fat regardless of how much of their daily diet comes from protein. The study is one of the most extensive where researchers look at differences among food types on weight gain.

4 Jan 2012

Bariatric surgery may reduce cardiovascular deaths and events in obese patients

Among obese individuals, having bariatric surgery was associated with a reduced long-term incidence of cardiovascular deaths and events such as heart attack and stroke, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jan 2012

Two new studies offer clearer picture of rise of hepatocellular carcinoma

Doctors have known for years that the incidence of deadly liver cancer is on the rise, but what is causing that trend has remained a mystery. Two recent Mayo Clinic studies published in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings offer a clearer picture of the rise of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, which has tripled in the U.S. in the last three decades and has a 10 to 12 percent five-year survival rate when detected in later stages.

4 Jan 2012

BioMarin to initiate BMN-111 Phase 1 trial in achondroplasia

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced today that the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for BMN-111, an analog of C-type Natriuretic Peptide (CNP), for achondroplasia is active.

4 Jan 2012

In-your-face advertisements target childhood obesity

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is hearing strong criticism from some camps for its in-your-face advertising campaign designed to attack Georgia's childhood obesity epidemic. But the pediatric health system stands firmly by its approach, saying the grim advertisements featuring overweight kids are necessary to get families to recognize the widespread public health problem.

4 Jan 2012

FDA issues PMA response letter to BioMimetic's Augment Bone Graft

BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it received a comprehensive post-panel response letter from the FDA related to the Company's Pre-Market Approval (PMA) application for Augment Bone Graft for use as an alternative to autograft in hindfoot and ankle fusion procedures.

4 Jan 2012

Protein increases lean mass while extra calories increase fat mass

In a study conducted among 25 healthy individuals living in a controlled setting who were randomized to overconsumption of different levels of protein diets, those consuming the low-protein diet had less weight gain compared to those consuming normal and high protein diets, and calories alone, and not protein appeared to contribute to an increase in body fat, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jan 2012

Arena, Eisai collaborate in response to FDA's lorcaserin Complete Response Letter

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eisai Inc. announced today that Arena has submitted its response to the Complete Response Letter (CRL) issued by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) following review of the lorcaserin New Drug Application (NDA).

4 Jan 2012

Many obese people in denial mode: Survey

According to a new survey only six per cent of overweight people believe they should be described as obese. Three quarters of those with an obese body mass index underestimated their weight category, according to the Yougov poll of 2,065 people.

3 Jan 2012

Hormone Adiponectin linked to dementia in women: Study

New research has shown that there may be a possible connection between a hormone found in body fat and the risk of dementia, adding to the growing evidence on the potential link between the condition and diabetes.

3 Jan 2012

Gestational diabetes along with poverty raises risk of ADHD in the child: Study

According to a new study pregnant mothers with gestational diabetes are more likely to have kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Additionally if they have a poorer socioeconomic status, the child is 14 times more likely to be diagnosed with the behavioral disorder, researchers at Queens College and Mount Sinai School of Medicine found.

3 Jan 2012

Poll surveys New Year resolutions on weight loss and smoking

Roughly one-third of Americans say they have made a New Year's resolution to lose weight in the last five years and 42 percent of people who said they smoke regularly in that timeframe pledged to quit the habit, according to the Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll.

31 Dec 2011

CATCH Healthy Habits program will come to Albany in early 2012

Remember riding your bicycle all over town until dark and then coming home to a hot, healthy meal your mom prepared? Lots of adults do, and now many of them are volunteering to help the next generation – and in the process themselves – get and stay healthy through an innovative program called CATCH Healthy Habits.

31 Dec 2011