Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Journalism fellows to gather in Los Angeles to explore community health issues

USC Annenberg announced journalism awards totaling $53,500 to support investigative and explanatory reporting projects on topics ranging from health in America's underserved communities to the challenges for health reform and quality medical care.

30 Jul 2011

Middle-age health differences responsible for life expectancy gap

Forty years ago, Americans could expect to live slightly longer than Europeans. This has since reversed: in spite of similar levels of economic development, Americans now live about a year-and-a-half less, on average, than their Western European counterparts, and also less than people in most other developed nations

30 Jul 2011

AACE declares obesity as a disease state

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has declared that there is significant clinical evidence to declare obesity as a disease state. The decision was made in a unanimous vote of the AACE Board of Directors at their quarterly meeting, July 23, in Dallas, TX.

30 Jul 2011

WU researchers receive NCI grant to study link between obesity and cancer

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been awarded a $9.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study the relationship between obesity and cancer.

30 Jul 2011

FDA approves Lannett's ANDA for Phentermine Resin Extended-Release Capsules

Lannett Company, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Phentermine Resin Extended-Release Capsules, 15 mg and 30 mg, representing the fourth product approval the company has received in the last five weeks.

29 Jul 2011

South Asians more likely to add organ-hugging fat linked with cardiovascular disease

It's not fair, but it's true. A new study by researchers at McMaster University has found that some ethnic groups are more likely to be adding dangerous fat onto their internal organs like their liver when they gain weight, while others just add it to their waistline.

29 Jul 2011

WSU professor receives NIH grant for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease research

Kezhong Zhang, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular medicine and genetics and of immunology and microbiology in the School of Medicine at Wayne State University, was awarded $1.7 million by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to explore how molecular elements in the body regulate the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

29 Jul 2011

NCI awards Hutchinson Center to coordinate cancer and obesity consortium

The National Cancer Institute has awarded $8.2 million over the next five years to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to extend its role as the coordinating hub of a nationwide research consortium that aims to better understand the link between obesity and cancer.

29 Jul 2011

Patients with diabetes, depression more likely to develop serious eye disease

Patients with diabetes who also suffer from depression are more likely to develop a serious complication known as diabetic retinopathy, a disease that damages the eye's retina, a five-year study finds.

29 Jul 2011

Muscle mass may influence risk for diabetes: Study

According to a new study greater muscle mass may reduce the odds of developing diabetes. There have been studies that show having less body fat reduces diabetes risk and that exercise can help too, but the new study by UCLA scientists suggests a link between higher muscle mass and a lower risk of diabetes.

29 Jul 2011

Stroke in pregnancy on the rise

According to latest reports the number of strokes among pregnant women and new mothers has risen to a new peak probably because more of them are obese and suffering from high blood pressure and heart disease.

29 Jul 2011

Amylin, Lilly and Alkermes submit reply to FDA complete response letter for BYDUREON

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. today announced that the companies have submitted their reply to a complete response letter issued in October 2010 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding BYDUREON™ (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension), an investigational medication for type 2 diabetes.

28 Jul 2011

Relative muscle mass inversely linked with insulin resistance and pre-diabetes

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that the greater an individual's total muscle mass, the lower the person's risk of having insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes.

28 Jul 2011

Study examines effect of unhealthy food outlets on adolescent junk food consumption

Got lots of fast food restaurants and other outlets that sell junk food in your neighborhood? Then your teen is more likely to nosh regularly on burgers and fries and wash them down with a soda.

28 Jul 2011

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass appears to reduce dietary fat intake

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the most common type of bariatric surgery in the United States, is currently considered the most effective therapy for morbid obesity.

28 Jul 2011

Noninvasive brain computer interface could turn thoughts into motion

"Brain cap" technology being developed at the University of Maryland allows users to turn their thoughts into motion. Associate Professor of Kinesiology José 'Pepe' L. Contreras-Vidal and his team have created a non-invasive, sensor-lined cap with neural interface software that soon could be used to control computers, robotic prosthetic limbs, motorized wheelchairs and even digital avatars.

28 Jul 2011

U.S. food labelling system has a positive impact

Around a sixth of fast food customers used calorie information and, on average, bought food with lower calories since the introduction of a labelling system in the US, says a new study published on bmj.com today.

28 Jul 2011

New study shows high prevalence of gout in the U.S.

A new study shows the prevalence of gout in the U.S. has risen over the last twenty years and now affects 8.3 million (4%) Americans.

28 Jul 2011

A healthier ‘Happy Meal’ on the way

McDonald’s Happy Meal, under the pressure from health advocates, will now become a little more healthy. The company announced Tuesday that it would replace more than halve the amount of French fries and add fruit to its popular children’s meal in an effort to reduce the overall calorie count by 20 percent. A toy will still come with each Happy Meal despite criticism that the trinkets, often with tie-ins to movies, foster a powerful connection between children and the often calorie-laden meals.

27 Jul 2011

Gut microflora may influence obesity treatments

Obesity in the United States is reaching ever more alarming proportions, posing a severe menace to public health and exacerbating a crisis in health care costs both domestically and worldwide.

27 Jul 2011