Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

News outlets report on sessions at World Health Summit

As the World Health Summit continues in Berlin, some media outlets wrote about the discussions taking place.

14 Oct 2010

Dangers of over the counter 'natural' slimming products

The desire for a quick-fix for obesity fuels a lucrative market in so-called natural remedies. But a study of medical records in Hong Kong revealed 66 cases where people were suspected to have been poisoned by a "natural" slimming therapy. In eight cases the people became severely ill, and in one case the person died. The study is published today in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

14 Oct 2010

Watermelon effective against prehypertension

No matter how you slice it, watermelon has a lot going for it -- sweet, low calorie, high fiber, nutrient rich -- and now, there's more. Evidence from a pilot study led by food scientists at The Florida State University suggests that watermelon can be an effective natural weapon against prehypertension, a precursor to cardiovascular disease.

14 Oct 2010

Researchers propose Nintendo Wii gaming to control gestational diabetes in women

Many women have trouble finding time to exercise in their busy lifestyles. That's especially true for pregnant women who live in northern climates such as Canada, where the weather can limit outdoor activity during winter months every year. But exercise is critical to managing gestational diabetes, a growing problem that occurs in 2 to 9 per cent of pregnancies.

14 Oct 2010

Bariatric surgery reduces healthcare costs for morbidly obese diabetics

New data presented today at Obesity 2010, the 28th annual scientific meeting of The Obesity Society, find that bariatric surgery is associated with reduced healthcare costs for diabetes patients who are morbidly obese.

13 Oct 2010

Metabolic screening before conception predicts development of diabetes in subsequent pregnancy

Cardio-metabolic risk factors such as high blood sugar and insulin, and low high density lipoprotein cholesterol that are present before pregnancy, predict whether a woman will develop diabetes during a future pregnancy, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the current issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

13 Oct 2010

Kuwait Healthy Life Study to examine metabolic health in children

In the face of a dramatic worldwide increase in adolescent obesity and Type 2 diabetes, The Forsyth Institute today announced a research alliance with the Dasman Diabetes Institute of Kuwait to initiate studies that could lay a scientific basis for prevention. This collaboration, called The Kuwait Healthy Life Study, will examine conditions in children that predispose them to obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

13 Oct 2010

Australian women stressed and overweight: Survey

In a poll known as “Australia's Biggest Health Check” 26,000 responders showed that Australia's women feel stressed out and unfit and overworked. It also shows that they have barely half an hour of leisure time per day and the mismatch between how much sex women want versus what they get. The survey was promoted via two magazines - Women's Health and Prevention - and also had the backing of Priceline and the Seven Network’s Sunrise program. There were 24,500 women and 1,500 men in on the poll.

12 Oct 2010

Dr. Phil helps lose weight with meals from BistroMD

In its all-new season, Dr. Phil is tackling more challenges, and helping more guests achieve their personal dreams of losing weight with meals from BistroMD. On the show airing Tuesday, October 12th, the Dr. Phil housewives are opening up, getting real, and taking the first big steps towards living healthier and happier lives.

12 Oct 2010

EMA approves TWYNSTA therapy that reduces BP in hypertensive patients

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that the European Commission confirmed the positive opinion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approving TWYNSTA. TWYNSTA is indicated for the treatment of hypertension in adults whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled on amlodipine or as replacement therapy in adult patients receiving telmisartan and amlodipine from separate tablets containing the same component doses.

12 Oct 2010

Global study finds new set of genes associated with body fat distribution and obesity

Two major international studies looking at data from a quarter of a million people around the globe have found a new set of genes associated with body fat distribution and obesity. Researchers at 280 institutions worldwide, including Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, conducted the studies. The research, published in the October 10 online edition of Nature Genetics, sheds light on the biological processes involved in body fat distribution, possibly leading to new ways of treating obesity.

12 Oct 2010

Abbott agrees to voluntarily withdraw obesity drug Meridia from U.S. market

Abbott Laboratories has agreed to voluntarily withdraw its obesity drug Meridia (sibutramine) from the U.S. market because of clinical trial data indicating an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today.

12 Oct 2010

Research shows potatoes can be part of weight loss regimen

Research just released by the University of California, Davis and the National Center for Food Safety and Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology demonstrates that people can include potatoes in their diet and still lose weight. This research was presented at the Obesity Society's 28th Annual Scientific Meeting October 8-12, 2010.

12 Oct 2010

Persistent exposure to light at night leads to weight gain

Persistent exposure to light at night may lead to weight gain, even without changing physical activity or eating more food, according to new research in mice.

12 Oct 2010

Study finds rapid increase in diabetes hospitalizations among young women

A study published in Journal of Women's Health shows a rapid increase in the number of hospitalizations due to diabetes for young adults - particularly young women.

12 Oct 2010

Apollo completes first clinical case with FlexShears Endoscopic device

Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. announced completion of the first clinical case involving its FlexShears Endoscopic Scissors. The new device was used to cut and remove an obstructing eroded suture from the patient's GI tract in a procedure that embodies the Apollo vision of improving patient care with flexible surgery.

12 Oct 2010

Insulin resistance increases risk of stroke in non-diabetic patients

Insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin produced by the body becomes less effective in reducing blood glucose levels, appears to be associated with an increased risk of stroke in individuals without diabetes, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

Healthy Eating Decisions program helps to reduce childhood obesity

Pittman, a psychology professor at Wofford College in Spartanburg, ran tests in two different elementary schools in his area. He was trying, in part, to convince the children to select white milk instead of sugary, flavored milk for their lunch. And then, with an array of menu selections, to pick the healthiest food for lunch. All this comes at a time when America is confronting an epidemic of childhood obesity.

12 Oct 2010

Incentivized structured weight loss program with free prepared meals effectively promotes weight loss

In another article being released early online, Cheryl L. Rock, Ph.D., R.D., from Moores UCSD Cancer Center, La Jolla, Calif., and colleagues, conducted a randomized controlled trial of weight loss and weight maintenance in 442 overweight or obese women (BMI, 25 - 40), ages 18 to 69, over a two year period with follow-up between November 2007 and April 2010.

11 Oct 2010

Obesity treatments falter, but researchers announce gene links

The Wall Street Journal: "An international research consortium says it has identified 18 new gene sites linked to obesity and 13 others associated with how fat is distributed in the body, advances that shed new light on the complex biology underlying one of the world's most pressing public-health problems. The findings are based on studies involving nearly 250,000 people, making the effort the largest so far to unravel the genetic basis of common human traits, researchers said.

11 Oct 2010