Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Research finds resistance training results in 20% decrease in person's blood pressure

Research conducted in the College of Health Sciences' Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science at Appalachian State University has shown that resistance training has some similar effects as aerobic exercise in lowering a person's blood pressure.

18 Jan 2011

Eating less during early pregnancy impairs fetal brain development: Study

Eating less during early pregnancy impaired fetal brain development in a nonhuman primate model, researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio reported today.

18 Jan 2011

Infant macrosomia is a risk factor for postneonatal death among First Nations

High birth weight in First Nations babies are linked to a higher risk of postneonatal death, according to a study published in CMAJ.

18 Jan 2011

First Round Table Meeting on Metabolomics & Diabetes takes place in Vienna

Metabolomic biomarker research is a young research area that carries great hopes for both medicine and the nutritional sciences, particularly for the early detection of genetically determined diseases.

14 Jan 2011

USDA revises corn, soybean crop estimates driving up prices

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday "reported that last year's corn and soybean crop was smaller than its earlier estimates," Minnesota Public Radio reports. "As a result, prices for corn, soybeans and wheat are rising quickly, sparking concern about higher food prices" (Steil, 1/13).

14 Jan 2011

Study finds racial disparities in weight-related counseling

When it comes to advising obese patients, blacks receive less weight reduction and exercise counseling from physicians than their white counterparts. This is according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who examined the impact of patient and doctor race concordance on weight-related counseling.

14 Jan 2011

Higher number of daily steps prevents obesity and reduces risk of diabetes

Simply taking more steps every day not only helps ward off obesity but also reduces the risk of diabetes, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

14 Jan 2011

Gut bacteria may play a role in weight loss and gastrointestinal problems: New research

If you are looking to lose weight in the coming year, you may need help from an unexpected place: the bacteria in your gut. That's because scientists have discovered that the bacteria living in your intestines may play a far more significant role in weight loss and gastrointestinal problems than ever imagined.

14 Jan 2011

First 6 months of exclusive breast feeding: Child health experts question recommendation

Current guidance advising mothers in the UK to exclusively breast feed for the first six months of their baby's life is being questioned by child health experts on bmj.com today.

14 Jan 2011

New study finds prevalence of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans

A new study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reveals that the prevalence of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest region of the United States has increased slightly in the last decade.

14 Jan 2011

Cataloguing microbes in gut could lead to cause of necrotizing enterocolitis

Scientists have for the first time sequenced and reconstructed the genomes of most of the microbes in the gut of a premature newborn and documented how the microbe populations changed over time.

14 Jan 2011

Personal genetic tests have promising effects on consumers

New findings from a landmark research study led by Scripps Health and the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) reveal that personal genetic tests have some promising effects on consumers who choose to undergo the screenings. STSI is an initiative of Scripps Health in collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute.

13 Jan 2011

Largest long-term examination of children's health and development in the US

The National Children's Study (NCS) has begun inviting women in San Diego to participate in the largest long-term examination of children's health and development ever conducted in the United States.

13 Jan 2011

NIH awards VistaGen and NuPotential $500,000 grant to advance iPS stem cell technology

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. and NuPotential, Inc. today announced that the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded to the companies a grant of approximately $500,000 to accelerate development of novel and safer approaches to generate patient-specific induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for regenerative medicine, drug discovery and drug rescue.

13 Jan 2011

Health, social and economical consequences of sleep disorders: A controlled national study

"Snoring, sleep apnoea, and obesity-related respiratory difficulties are fairly common disorders that affect a large proportion of the population," according to Poul Jennum, Professor of Clinical Neurophysiology at the Center for Healthy Ageing at the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health Sciences. He is head of the Danish Centre for Sleep Medicine, Glostrup Hospital, which treats patients from all over the country.

13 Jan 2011

Scientists quantify amount of energy lost during sleep deprivation

American scientists have quantified for the first time ever the amount of energy lost during a night of sleep deprivation according to new research published in The Journal of Physiology.

13 Jan 2011

Obesity in children today may contribute to 2-5 year decline in life expectancy

For the first time in history, the next generation will not live longer, or even as long, as their parents. "Diseases such as Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, heart conditions and joint deterioration - what were once considered 'adult' diseases - are regularly being diagnosed in children, due to the prevalence of obesity," said Jessica Bartfield, MD, internal medicine and medical weight-loss specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of the Loyola University Health System.

13 Jan 2011

BPA more harmful to women with hormonal and fertility imbalances

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), found higher Bisphenol A (BPA) levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared to controls. Furthermore, researchers found a statistically significant positive association between male sex hormones and BPA in these women suggesting a potential role of BPA in ovarian dysfunction.

13 Jan 2011

Lipoprotein receptor LRP1 also regulates food intake and energy balance in central nervous system: Study

A study by researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida and Washington University School of Medicine adds a new twist to the body of evidence suggesting human obesity is due in part to genetic factors. While studying hormone receptors in laboratory mice, neuroscientists identified a new molecular player responsible for the regulation of appetite and metabolism.

12 Jan 2011

Kaiser Permanente Northwest leads nation in counseling against childhood obesity

Kaiser Permanente Northwest leads the nation among all reporting commercial health plans with top marks in counseling children for physical activity and nutrition, according to the National Committee on Quality Assurance's Quality Compass for 2010.

12 Jan 2011