Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Sugared-sweetened beverages eliminated from Nationwide Children's Hospital campus

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, sweetened drinks are the primary source of added sugar in the daily diet of children. Each 12-ounce serving of a carbonated, sweetened soft drink contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. A child who consumes one can of regular soda needs to walk 45 minutes just to burn it off.

5 Jan 2011

UC professor receives Fulbright Scholar Award to explore health education efforts in China

The New Year has a University of Cincinnati professor sharing his vast and vital research background on health education in a new location. Randall Cottrell, a UC professor of health promotion and education in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH), is spending the winter and spring academic quarters at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.

5 Jan 2011

Study shows adolescents who were breastfed at birth have stronger leg muscles

Breast feeding new born babies has lots of advantages in the short and in the long-term for babies. A study has confirmed the recently discovered benefits, which had not been researched until now. Adolescents who are breast fed at birth have stronger leg muscles than those who received artificial milk.

5 Jan 2011

Betulin in birch bark appears to provide metabolic benefits

An ingredient found in abundance in birch bark appears to have an array of metabolic benefits, according to new studies in animals that are reported in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.

5 Jan 2011

ACE identifies key objectives to combat obesity epidemic in the U.S.

The American Council on Exercise, America's leading authority on fitness and the largest nonprofit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world, today announced its vision for the future of the fitness industry and overall outlook for America's focus on healthy living in 2011.

5 Jan 2011

Critical tuning dial for controlling whole body energy

Researchers have found what appears to be a critical tuning dial for controlling whole body energy, according to a new report in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. When energy levels within cells drop, it sets off a series of events designed to increase the amount of calorie-rich dietary fat that the body will absorb.

5 Jan 2011

New mouse model with deficiency of lipoprotein lipase in neurons

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have created a new and exciting mouse model to study how lipid sensing and metabolism in the brain relate to the regulation of energy balance and body weight. The research team, led by Hong Wang, PhD, created mice with a deficiency of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in neurons, and observed two important reactions.

5 Jan 2011

New research finds physicians are not following standard care guidelines for OA

New research found clinicians who care for patients with osteoarthritis are likely not following standard care guidelines that are based on current medical evidence.

5 Jan 2011

Metabolic cost of missing one night of sleep equivalent to walking two miles

In the first-ever quantification of energy expended by humans during sleep, a University of Colorado team has found that the metabolic cost of an adult missing one night of sleep is the equivalent of walking slightly less than two miles.

5 Jan 2011

Clinicians rely upon analgesics and surgery; overlook exercise and weight loss for OA patients

New research found clinicians who care for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) are likely not following standard care guidelines that are based on current medical evidence. Researchers noted physicians were prescribing medications for pain and inflammation, or opting for surgical interventions rather than recommending weight loss plans or exercise programs to OA patients.

4 Jan 2011

Baby boomers lack knowledge about Alzheimer's disease

An online survey of baby boomers across Canada conducted by the Alzheimer Society reveals a worrying lack of awareness about Alzheimer's disease.

4 Jan 2011

Brits get free healthy food vouchers in 2011

As the festive season comes to a close the British government has announced a £250 million ($390 million) industry-financed plan to promote healthy eating. Now millions of people will receive vouchers offering discounts on healthy foods. It is a part of the coalition government’s ‘Change4Life’ programme that is targeting Britain’s growing rates of obesity. The Change4Life campaign was initially begun in 2009 by the previous Labour government, which said that if the plan failed to reduce obesity within three years it might look at regulating the food industry. Now the eight month old Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition feels regulations do not do the job but a gentle push towards healthy habits may help.

3 Jan 2011

Fear of the fat promoted to curb obesity

The Australian Medical Association has recommended the use of graphic television advertisements in Victoria to warn people about the risks of eating fatty foods. Rising rates of obesity has prompted these extreme measures. The proposed ads in television and newspaper would cost $25 million and would show the effects of fat on the body’s internal organs. The AMA’s proposals are part of a submission calling for $63 million to fight obesity.

3 Jan 2011

People magazine features another Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet success story

For the second time in three years, Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet success stories are celebrated in People magazine's annual Half Their Size cover story. Marty and Grace Moorehead of Phoenix lost 182 and 51 pounds respectively by following celebrity weight-loss expert Dr. Sanford Siegal's 36 year old weight-loss regimen under the supervision of their own physicians. Marty Moorehead lost half of his 360 pounds and has kept the weight off for a year. The People article is online at http://tinyurl.com/2vl2apk.

3 Jan 2011

New women’s health policy inadequate

The Gillard government is being criticized for issuing a women’s health policy without announcing more funding for struggling women’s services. This is the first national women’s health policy in 21 years that claims to ensure women “have access to the right healthcare at the right time”.

30 Dec 2010

Low levels of microbe-killing molecules improve survival rate of people with CGD

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have observed that the survival rate of people with a rare immunodeficiency disease called chronic granulomatous disease is greatly improved when even very low levels of microbe-killing molecules are present.

30 Dec 2010

New study reports close association between obesity and fibromyalgia

Afflicting up to 5 percent of the U.S. population, mostly women, fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread pain and range of function problems. A new study in The Journal of Pain reports there is close association between obesity and disability in fibromyalgia patients.

29 Dec 2010

Controlling the amount of adipose tissue is key to combat obesity

Obesity is seen as the great pandemia of the XXI century. Recent data point to more than a billion adults in the world suffering from overweight, of which 300 million are clinically obese. What is more, the rates of child obesity show a worrying increase, with more than 155 million children and adolescents being overweight, of which 40 million are clearly obese.

29 Dec 2010

Primal fitness offer tips that help you get in shape for 2011

For your New Year's fitness resolution, why not turn to something new, but at the same time, very old? A new trend, called Primal fitness, involves practicing activities that our early hunter-gatherer ancestors would have experienced in the wild - movements such as walking, running, balancing, climbing, lifting, carrying, throwing and catching.

29 Dec 2010

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham and Takeda enter obesity research collaboration

Florida Hospital, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda)(TSE: 4502), announced today that they have signed a research agreement to form a collaboration to discover and evaluate new therapeutic approaches to obesity, a growing worldwide health problem. The partnership aligns complementary strengths in biomedical research, clinical research and drug development to identify and validate obesity- related biomarkers and new peripheral molecular targets of mutual interest.

29 Dec 2010