Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

AAP recommends limiting screen time to 2 hours per day for preschool-age children

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents limit combined screen time from television, DVDs, computers, and video games to 2 hours per day for preschool-age children. In a study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that many children are exposed to screen time both at home and while at child care, with 66% exceeding the recommended daily amount.

28 Oct 2010

Study examines children's tendencies toward food and development of obesity

When it comes to understanding where tendencies to overweight and obesity develop, you have to begin with the very young, says John Spence, a behavioural scientist in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta.

28 Oct 2010

New national campaign to drive awareness on DVT and PE prevention in women

As many as 600,000 people are affected by deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) every year, and more than half of those are never diagnosed. Some people experience swelling and varying levels of discomfort in the affected area, and some don't feel anything at all. But the symptoms of DVT can be similar to other conditions, like a pulled muscle, and because some people with DVT do not have any symptoms, there is often a delay in diagnosis. That's when DVT can be fatal.

28 Oct 2010

IPC investigating relationship between BMI and severity of psoriasis in childhood

As people around the world get ready to participate in events for World Psoriasis Day on October 29, the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) is nearing completion with enrollment in a multi-center study on the relationship between obesity and psoriasis in children. The theme of this year’s World Psoriasis Day is childhood psoriasis.

28 Oct 2010

Tips to maintain healthy weight through Halloween and holidays

For many people, the scariest part of every Halloween is not a visit from ghouls and ghosts, but the chocolaty temptation of crunchy candy bars and sweet treats that surround us in stores, at work - even in our own homes. And sometimes it can be just too hard to resist. In fact, the average American will spend more than $20 on candy treats this Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation's 2010 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.

27 Oct 2010

Playnormous Video Games receive Creative Child Magazine's 2010 Media of the Year Award

As childhood obesity rates continue to shock the nation, parents and teachers alike are seeking resources to help children learn about making healthier choices. Playnormous, an award-winning producer of research-based health video games and media, puts the power of good health back into the hands of children through creative gameplay. And parents agree. The company's first CD-ROM, Playnormous: Fun For A Change Health Video Games, has been awarded Creative Child Magazine's 2010 Media of the Year Award.

27 Oct 2010

Lifestyle intervention programs result in significant weight loss for overweight and severly obese adults

Lifestyle interventions, including physical activity and structured weight loss programs, can result in significant weight loss for overweight, obese and severely obese adults, according to two reports that were posted online October 9 by JAMA. The studies and accompanying editorials were made available early online to coincide with the presentation of these papers at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Obesity Society. The articles appear in the October 27 print issue of JAMA.

27 Oct 2010

Bayer launches unique fitness program for hemophilia A children

Bayer HealthCare is introducing a fitness program to help children ages 7-12 and young adults ages 13-16 with hemophilia A live active lives. "Living Fit! A Joint Effort" is a unique strength training, fitness and wellness program created to increase awareness of the importance of exercise and nutrition among this population and their caregivers.

27 Oct 2010

Study finds anti-obesity drug reduces brain’s response to appetizing foods

Scientists have revealed that an anti-obesity drug changes the way the brain responds to appetising, high-calorie foods in obese individuals. This insight may aid the development of new anti-obesity drugs which reduce the activity in the regions of the brain stimulated by the sight of tasty foods.

27 Oct 2010

Trilogy receives four-year federal grant from SAMHSA

Trilogy, Inc., a behavioral healthcare organization serving people in recovery from serious mental illness, is the recipient of a four-year federal grant from the national Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced John Mayes, President and CEO of Trilogy, Inc.

27 Oct 2010

DGAC Report highlights effective approaches to facilitate better eating habits among Americans

In an insightful Commentary in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, Chair of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and Professor and Associate Dean, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, highlights the key features and noteworthy findings of the 2010 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) Report.

26 Oct 2010

Omeros to develop new drugs for major diseases

The Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) today announced a $5 million grant to Seattle-based Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ: OMER) to discover, develop, and commercialize new drugs to treat a variety of major diseases. With successful generation of proceeds through partnering and the sales of drugs in the marketplace, an additional outcome of the grant would be establishment of a new non-profit initiative to advance the life sciences sector and improve health and economic growth in Washington state.

26 Oct 2010

Eye-gaze technology opens world of communication for Rett Syndrome children

Special eye-gaze technology now being used in the Department of Neurology at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) is revealing the hidden, inner world of children who have Rett Syndrome, a rare and severe autism spectrum disorder that primarily affects little girls. It is a neurological disease in which mobility and autonomic functions are severely impaired, seizures and orthopedic problems are common, and the children lose functional hand use and the ability to speak.

26 Oct 2010

Sleep disorders threaten kids with premature heart disease and stroke

Poor sleep patterns and lack of proper sleep could be threatening thousands of Canadian adolescents with premature heart disease and stroke, warns Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher Dr. Brian McCrindle, a pediatric cardiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

26 Oct 2010

Junk food taxes not the answer for childhood obesity: Report

A Productivity Commission report, “Childhood Obesity: an Economic Perspective”, released this Monday said that junk food taxes were not a cure for childhood obesity. It read, “Bans or taxes on particular energy-dense nutrient-poor foods, for example, face design difficulties, affect all consumers regardless of their weight status, and in the case of taxes, can have perverse budgetary and health effects particularly for the neediest groups.”

25 Oct 2010

Childhood allergies and asthma linked to development in the womb

A child's chances of developing allergies or wheezing is related to how he or she grew at vital stages in the womb, according to scientists from the University of Southampton.

25 Oct 2010

Neptune launches Onemia medical food

Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. enters the pharmaceutical market with the launch of Onemia™, the first medical food of Neptune's subsidiary Acasti Pharma Inc.. Only two years since its foundation, Acasti has completed the development and launch of "Onemia™" on October 21, 2010 at the Cardiometabolic Health Congress meeting in Boston.

25 Oct 2010

Research Roundup: U.S. life expectancy ratings; Medicare Advantage outlook; Should advanced cancer patients have routine screening tests?

Health Affairs: What Changes In Survival Rates Tell Us About US Health Care -- Proponents of changes in the U.S. health system have often pointed to studies that find health outcomes in this country are worse than other developed nations, even though the United States "spends well over twice the median expenditure of industrialized nations on health care, and far more than any other country as a percentage of its gross domestic product." Others point to high rates of smoking, obesity and traffic fatalities.

25 Oct 2010

Nestle announces plan to decrease sodium content in products

Nestle Prepared Foods Company today announced a comprehensive plan to decrease the sodium content in its products by another 10 percent from reductions made earlier this decade.

25 Oct 2010

UC San Diego researchers receive two federal grants for biomedical informatics

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by Lucila Ohno-Machado, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Biomedical Informatics in the Department of Medicine, have received two federal grants totaling more than $25 million to develop new ways to gather, analyze, use and share vast, ever-increasing amounts of biomedical information.

25 Oct 2010