Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Behavioral risk factors influence cancer risk among the elderly

Behavioral risk factors have a significant effect on cancer risk in the U.S. elderly population, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.

17 Nov 2008

Smoking linked to two forms of esophageal cancer and stomach cancer

Researchers who have been following the health of more than 120,000 residents of the Netherlands for more than two decades have found that smoking is associated with two forms of esophageal cancer as well as a form of stomach cancer, and that drinking alcohol is strongly linked to one form of esophageal cancer.

17 Nov 2008

Discovery of new mechanism that regulates formation of blood vessels

Researchers in one of the external groups of the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC), in Portugal, have discovered a novel mechanism which regulates the process whereby new blood vessels are formed and wounds heal, including chronic wounds, such as those found in diabetic patients and those suffering from morbid obesity.

17 Nov 2008

Sports fans may engage in riskier health related behaviors than non-sports fans

Ball park hot dogs may be putting sports fans at elevated health risk, researchers at UALR -- the University of Arkansas at Little Rock -- said in research presented last week.

16 Nov 2008

Pelvic girdle syndrome linked to diabetes

Diabetes appears to be linked with an increased risk of pelvic girdle syndrome. This is shown in a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Akershus University Hospital.

16 Nov 2008

Community-based physical activity interventions found to be cost-effective

Community-based physical activity interventions designed to promote more active lifestyles among adults are cost-effective in reducing heart disease, stroke, colorectal and breast cancers, and type 2 diabetes, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

16 Nov 2008

Aspirin lowers PSA levels

The use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is significantly associated with lower PSA levels, especially among men with prostate cancer, say researchers at Vanderbilt University.

16 Nov 2008

African-Americans with depression and heart attack have greater risk of death

African-American patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and previously treated depression that persists at their MI hospitalization have an increased risk of post-MI death, according to Emory researcher Susmita Parashar, MD, MPH.

12 Nov 2008

A large waistline doubles your risk of premature death

Having a large waistline can almost double your risk of dying prematurely even if your body mass index is within the 'normal' range, according to a new study of over 350,000 people across Europe, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

12 Nov 2008

Hydrogen sulfide could be used to treat humans with heart failure

At low concentrations, the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide protects the hearts of mice from heart failure, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have found.

12 Nov 2008

Staying active may lower health risks for large, retired athletes

The larger body size of professional football players doesn't increase risk of cardiovascular disease or atherosclerosis after they retire, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

12 Nov 2008

U.S. health trend in heart disease is not going down as expected

The positive U.S. health trend documented over the past 30 years of reduction in risk for heart disease is not as strong as is widely perceived - and, in fact, the trend has flattened, according to a new analysis of national data by Mayo Clinic.

11 Nov 2008

Neck arteries of obese children and teens look more like those of 45-year-olds

Researchers used ultrasound to measure the thickness of the inner walls of the neck (carotid) arteries that supply blood to the brain. Increasing carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) indicates the fatty buildup of plaque within arteries feeding the heart muscle and the brain, which can lead to heart attack or stroke.

11 Nov 2008

Catheter ablation works better than drugs for heart rhythm disorder

Treating a common heart rhythm disorder by burning heart tissue with a catheter works dramatically better than drug treatments, a major international study has found.

11 Nov 2008

High-fat diet during pregnancy makes new cells in fetal brain that cause early onset obesity

A study in rats shows that exposure to a high-fat diet during pregnancy produces permanent changes in the offspring's brain that lead to overeating and obesity early in life, according to new research by Rockefeller University scientists.

11 Nov 2008

Fatty diet during pregnancy produces new neurons in fetal brain

11 Nov 2008

Obesity raises levels of hormone leptin

Obese people who don't have high cholesterol or diabetes might think they're healthy - despite the extra pounds.

11 Nov 2008

Obstructive sleep apnea may be risk factor for sudden cardiac death

After studying the sleep characteristics of nearly 11,000 adults in an overnight sleep laboratory, Mayo Clinic researchers suggest that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - and, in particular, the low nighttime oxygen saturation of the blood it causes - may be a risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD).

11 Nov 2008

Latest research on diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases

Researchers are presenting more than 450 abstracts on investigational findings in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases at the ACAAI Annual Meeting in Seattle, Nov. 6-11. Following are highlights of some key studies on asthma.

11 Nov 2008

Lack of sleep tied to greater risk of heart disease

Sleeping less than seven and a half hours per day may be associated with future risk of heart disease, according to a report in the November 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 Nov 2008