Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Weight linked to prostate cancer death

New research, funded in part by the Canadian Cancer Society, shows that men suffering from prostate cancer are up to 2 1/2 times more at risk of dying from the disease if they are overweight or obese. The men who participated in the study had been weighed prior to being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

5 Oct 2008

Discovery of important fat precursor cell

To understand where fat comes from, you have to start with a skinny mouse. By using such a creature, and observing the growth of fat after injections of different kinds of immature cells, Rockefeller University scientists have discovered an important fat precursor cell that may in time explain how changes in the numbers of fat cells might increase and lead to obesity.

5 Oct 2008

Researchers discover genes linked to increased gout risk

A team of researchers from the United States and the Netherlands has identified mutations in three genes that are associated with high levels of uric acid in the blood, which is a risk factor for gout.

5 Oct 2008

Research reveals strong link between music and cardiovascular exercise performance

Brunel University's School of Sport and Education today reveals that, according to Dr Costas Karageorghis's latest research, carefully selected music can significantly increase a person's physical endurance and make the experience of cardiovascular exercise far more positive.

2 Oct 2008

Merck ditches taranabant for obesity

Merck & Co., Inc. will not seek regulatory approval for taranabant, an investigational medicine, to treat obesity and is discontinuing its Phase III clinical development program for taranabant for obesity.

2 Oct 2008

Research suggests doctors should consider kidney-sparing surgery

A study of almost 1,500 kidney cancer patients treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center suggests that surgery to spare as much kidney tissue as possible may improve overall survival in patients who also have reduced kidney function at the time their cancer is diagnosed. The finding is significant because both kidney cancer and decreased kidney function appear to be increasing.

2 Oct 2008

Cholesterol research, begun in the 'Little Skate,' Garners Award

New research on the way the body processes cholesterol has earned a scientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center one of the highest honors in the field.

2 Oct 2008

Shoppers happier with 'traffic light' food labelling

A recent survey by a consumer advocacy group in Australia has found that a "traffic light" labelling system is more popular with the public than the current daily intake guide labelling system.

1 Oct 2008

Discovery of genetic link between obesity and colon cancer risk

A new study reveals the first-ever genetic link between obesity and colon cancer risk, a finding that could lead to greater accuracy in testing for the disease, said a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

30 Sep 2008

Arthritis treatments glucosamine and chondroitin shown to be no better than placebo

According to the latest research, the popular supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, used to fight arthritis and joint pain, do not seem to work any better than a placebo in slowing the loss of knee cartilage in osteoarthritis.

30 Sep 2008

Existing anti-obesity drugs may be effective against flu, hepatitis and HIV

Viruses dramatically increase cellular metabolism, and existing anti-obesity drugs may represent a new way to block these metabolic changes and inhibit viral infection, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

29 Sep 2008

Breast feeding lowers breast cancer risk

Experts say women who breastfeed for a year over the course of their lifetime are less likely to develop breast cancer.

29 Sep 2008

New York City blacks more likely than other races to have high blood pressure, report finds

New York City blacks have the highest rate of high blood pressure of any racial or ethnic group in the city, according to a report released on Wednesday by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Staten Island Advance reports.

29 Sep 2008

New pig model of cystic fibrosis provides better understanding of human disease

For the first time, researchers have developed a genetically altered animal model for cystic fibrosis (CF) that closely matches the characteristics of the disease in humans. By studying the complex and multi-organ disease process in the pig model, researchers can now better understand how the complications of CF develop, an advancement that may lead to new avenues for research in prevention and treatment.

25 Sep 2008

Gene variant boosts risk of fatty liver disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that individuals who carry a specific form of the gene PNPLA3 have more fat in their livers and a greater risk of developing liver inflammation.

25 Sep 2008

Oversize waistlines are a potent risk factor for heart disease in women

A heart expert at Johns Hopkins is calling for all women with a waistline measuring more than 35 inches to get an annual check-up and detailed risk assessment for heart problems because excess abdominal fat, even in the mildly obese and overweight, leads more than a third of women to underestimate their lifetime risk of having a heart attack, stroke or chest pain (angina).

24 Sep 2008

Major study aims for new approaches to cardiovascular disease management

The Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control (COSEHC), headquartered at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, is launching a major five-year study designed to update current guidelines for treating cardiovascular diseases, improve disease management and reduce heart attacks and strokes in the Southeast.

24 Sep 2008

Funding dispute affects plans to develop office of minority health in Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Enquirer on Sunday examined a dispute over funding to establish a local Office of Minority Health. In March, City Manager Milton Dohoney recommended that the Cincinnati City Council approve an ordinance that would have allowed the City of Cincinnati Health Department to apply for and accept a $69,023 grant from HHS to establish the center. He said the city would supply $17,489 in matching funds.

24 Sep 2008

Obesity linked to repeated miscarriages

Research carried out by specialists in Britain has found that women who have experienced a number of miscarriages are more likely to continue to miscarry if they are obese - they say obesity significantly increases the risk of further miscarriages.

23 Sep 2008

Huckabee discusses need to focus on preventable health problems

Former Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday during the "State of Our Health" conference in Columbia, S.C., said that the U.S. must seek to decrease rates of obesity and other preventable health problems to help reduce health care costs, the AP/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

22 Sep 2008