Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Study finds association between socioeconomic position and risk of death

An analysis of nearly 25 years of data for about 10,000 civil servants in London finds an association between socioeconomic position and risk of death, with much of this relation accounted for by health behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and physical activity, according to a study in the March 24/31 issue of JAMA.

27 Mar 2010

CRC Health's 2009 consolidated net revenue down 5.4%

CRC Health Corporation, a leading provider of substance abuse treatment and youth services through its wholly owned consolidated subsidiaries, announced its results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2009.

27 Mar 2010

FDA approves Graceway Pharmaceuticals' NDA for Zyclara

Graceway® Pharmaceuticals announced today that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the New Drug Application for Zyclara™, determining it to be safe and effective for the treatment of clinically typical, visible or palpable actinic keratoses.

27 Mar 2010

FDA Advisory Committee to review VIVUS' NDA for Qnexa

VIVUS, Inc. today announced that the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is tentatively scheduled to review the Company's New Drug Application for Qnexa® for the treatment of obesity on July 15, 2010.

26 Mar 2010

Educating African Americans on colorectal cancer screening can reduce death rates

Physician experts from the American College of Gastroenterology raised concern that the majority of African Americans are not aware of the recommendation that they should undergo colorectal cancer screening beginning at age 45—five years before current guidelines generally recommend.

26 Mar 2010

Diabetes reached epidemic proportions in adult population of China: Study

A large population-based study of diabetes in China conducted by investigators from Tulane University and their colleagues in China has concluded that the disease has reached epidemic proportions in the adult population of China. The study estimates that 92.4 million adults age 20 or older (9.7 percent of the population) have diabetes and 148.2 million adults (15.5 percent) have prediabetes, a key risk factor for the development of overt diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

26 Mar 2010

Lack of good health care curtails academic performance: Study

"Educationally relevant health disparities" are key drivers of the achievement gap, "but they are largely overlooked," said Charles Basch, the Richard March Hoe Professor of Health Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

25 Mar 2010

Chronic job stress linked to obesity

A new study that provides a snapshot of a typical American workplace observed that chronic job stress and lack of physical activity are strongly associated with being overweight or obese.

25 Mar 2010

Findings suggest adipose inflammation is necessary for fat cell turnover

It has been a common opinion that inflammation in adipose tissue may cause insulin resistance, and thereby type 2 diabetes. However, recent research from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, question the theory that inflammation in the body fat is only pernicious.

25 Mar 2010

NIH grant for study on impact of gastric bypass surgery on Type II diabetes patients

Gastric bypass surgery, thought of by many as the last hope of morbidly obese people for losing weight, has many other benefits researchers are only beginning to understand.

25 Mar 2010

Bariatric surgery may delay onset of type 2 diabetes, says study

A team of researchers, led by a UC Davis veterinary endocrinologist, has shown for the first time that a surgical procedure in rats that is similar to bariatric surgery in humans can delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

25 Mar 2010

Palatin Technologies receives $2.5M to develop and commercialize compounds for treating obesity

Palatin Technologies, Inc. announced today that it received $2.5 million from AstraZeneca AB pursuant to the September 2009 amendment of the exclusive research collaboration and license agreement to discover, develop and commercialize compounds that target melanocortin receptors for treatment of obesity and related indications.

24 Mar 2010

60 minutes of moderate-intensity activity needed to maintain normal weight: Study

Among women consuming a usual diet, physical activity was associated with less weight gain over 13 years only among women of normal weight, according to a study in the March 24/31 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that women successful in maintaining normal weight averaged approximately 60 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity throughout the study.

24 Mar 2010

Consumers choose indulgent food items while shopping for others

Feel like Mom is pushing dessert? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, consumers choose foods that are less healthy when they are purchasing for others.

24 Mar 2010

High-density genotyping array launched to study complexity of mouse genetics

Affymetrix, Inc. and The Jackson Laboratory today announced the full commercial launch of the Affymetrix® Mouse Diversity Genotyping Array. This is the first high-density genotyping array that enables researchers to study the complexity of the mouse genome and the diversity among mouse strains.

24 Mar 2010

Lap band surgery acceptable only for morbidly obese adolescents over 15

Lap band surgery is a procedure that involves placing a ring around the stomach and thus restricting it. It is a controversial procedure undertaken in obese patients to decrease food absorption.

24 Mar 2010

Researchers create audio CDs to encourage physical activity among school students

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University $1.22 million to combat childhood obesity in the Bronx.

24 Mar 2010

Heavy drinkers more likely to have adverse health-related practices

Women and men who engage in frequent heavy drinking report significantly worse health-related practices, according to a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study in the journal Addiction Research & Theory.

23 Mar 2010

School-based program raises awareness about preventing type 2 diabetes

It is well known that type 2 diabetes is largely a preventable chronic disease with proper nutrition, regular physical activity and the maintenance of a healthy body weight. Yet despite growing awareness, the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) reports that more than three million Canadians currently have diabetes, with an overwhelming 90% of cases reflecting type 2 diabetes. The CDA also suggests that a child born in the year 2000 has a frightening 1 in 3 chance of developing diabetes.

23 Mar 2010

Researchers investigate link between consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

23 Mar 2010