Weight Management News

Imaging tests of obese children -- some as young as 8 years old -- showed signs of significant heart disease and heart muscle abnormalities, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2015. Comparing 20 obese kids with 20 normal-weight kids, researchers found that obesity was linked to 27 percent more muscle mass in the left … [Read more...]

Negative body image significantly increases the risk of obesity regardless of whether youth have depression, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. "Our last study found that participants who were depressed were twice as likely to be obese six years later, implying a cause-and-effect … [Read more...]

````   A new gastric balloon that can be swallowed like a pill and then filled while in the stomach, helped patients lose more than 37 percent of their excess weight over four months, according to new research presented at ObesityWeek 2015, the largest international event focused on the basic science, clinical application and prevention and treatment of obesity. The … [Read more...]

  Researchers have found that the recurrence of atrial fibrillation increases in patients who are overweight and decreases when patients are able to lose weight, and keep it off, following a cardiac ablation, according to two new studies. Though the outcomes of these studies seem like common sense, Jared Bunch, MD, heart-rhythm specialist and director of … [Read more...]

In a new study published in the Journal of Health Psychology, researchers from the University of Surrey have found dieters who eat 'on the go' may increase their food intake later in the day which could lead to weight gain and obesity. The findings from the study also showed that eating while walking around triggered more overeating compared to eating during other forms of … [Read more...]

Soda, candy, and fast food are often painted as the prime culprits in the national discussion of obesity in the United States. While a diet of chocolate bars and cheese burgers washed down with a Coke is inadvisable from a nutritional standpoint, these foods are not likely to be a leading cause of obesity in the United States according to a new Cornell University Food and Brand … [Read more...]

For the first time, researchers have identified two genetic variants that interact to alter the brain responses to high-calorie foods, a tie that could aid in the development of targeted treatments for obesity and overweight. Researchers at Imperial College London led by Tony Goldstone, MD, PhD, of Consultant Endocrinologist, found that two gene variants -- FTO and DRD2 -- … [Read more...]

'In the three years following bariatric surgery, the majority of patients experience an improvement in pain and walking ability, according to the preliminary results of a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health-led analysis presented today in Los Angeles at ObesityWeek, the annual international conference of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric … [Read more...]

New research finds that one night of sleep deprivation and six months on a high-fat diet could both impair insulin sensitivity to a similar degree, demonstrating the importance of a good night's sleep on health. This study, conducted by Josiane Broussard, PhD, and colleagues from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, used a canine model to examine whether sleep … [Read more...]

A recent study suggests that obese people with metabolic syndrome face an unexpected quandary when it comes to vitamin E -- they need more than normal levels of the vitamin because their weight and other problems are causing increased oxidative stress, but those same problems actually cause their effective use of vitamin E to be reduced. As a result, experts in the Linus … [Read more...]

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) shows that people carrying a certain genetic variant relating to vitamin D metabolism are more likely to benefit from a high-protein weight loss diet than those without it. The research is by Dr Qibin Qi, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, … [Read more...]

Removing an enzyme that controls bile acid and hormone levels significantly protects female mice from weight gain, according to a new study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh. The finding offers a new a therapeutic target in the fight against obesity. Steroid hormones and bile acids have multiple functions that affect appetite, … [Read more...]

The childhood obesity epidemic in the United States has been growing for decades. A new study focusing on African-American children shows how the issue can also impact social development. The University of Cincinnati study led by Laura Nabors, an associate professor of health promotion and education, will be featured in a poster presentation on Nov. 2, at the 143rd American … [Read more...]

A recent study suggests that obese people with metabolic syndrome face an unexpected quandary when it comes to vitamin E -- they need more than normal levels of the vitamin because their weight and other problems are causing increased oxidative stress, but those same problems actually cause their effective use of vitamin E to be reduced. As a result, experts in the Linus … [Read more...]

Eating too much high-fat, high-calorie food is considered the primary cause of obesity and obesity-related disease, including diabetes. While the excess calories consumed are a direct cause of the fat accumulation, scientists suspect that low-grade inflammation due to an altered gut microbiome may also be involved. A new study in the American Journal of Physiology -- … [Read more...]

A new study suggests the road to obesity may be paved with non-nutritious carbohydrates in breast milk, shifting popular notions about how and why children grow to become overweight adults. Previous research has shown that maternal obesity strongly affects a baby's risk for becoming overweight, but scientists are unsure about how fatness is transmitted, said Michael Goran, … [Read more...]

Forget counting calories. The next new diet trend could be as simple as counting bites. A new study from BYU health science researchers found people who counted bites over a month's time lost roughly four pounds--just about what the CDC recommends for "healthy" weight loss. Those in the pilot test counted the number of bites they took each day and then committed to taking … [Read more...]

A single variation in the gene for brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) may influence obesity in children and adults, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study suggests that a less common version of the BDNF gene may predispose people to obesity by producing lower levels of BDNF protein, a regulator of appetite, in the brain. The authors … [Read more...]

Researchers conducted a systematic review of randomized clinical trials comparing the long-term effectiveness of low-fat and higher-fat dietary interventions on weight loss. The effectiveness of low-fat diet on weight-loss has been debated for decades, and hundreds of randomized clinical trials aimed at evaluating this issue have been conducted with mixed results. … [Read more...]

Your job could be having an effect on your waistline, suggests new research published in Social Science & Medicine -- and it could be bad or good news depending on the sort of control you have over your work. The new study, by researchers at the University of Adelaide, Central Queensland University and the University of South Australia, shows that having skills and the … [Read more...]

Danish researchers have found that the ability to produce insulin is pivotal to the success of weight loss surgery in patients with type 2-diabetes. The study provides a better point of departure for advise and determining which patients will benefit from surgery. Type 2-diabetes is a serious complication for people with obesity. Obesity affects the economy as well as the … [Read more...]

A world-first study by QUT's Sleep in Early Childhood Research Group has revealed pre-schoolers exposed to more light earlier in day tend to weigh more. Cassandra Pattinson, a PhD student and her colleagues studied 48 children aged three to five from six Brisbane childcare centres over a two week period, measuring each child's sleep, activity and light exposure along with … [Read more...]

Delivering the hormone leptin directly to the brain through gene therapy aids weight loss without the significant side effect of bone loss, according to new collaborative research from Oregon State University and University of Florida. Rapid or significant weight loss through dieting can trigger bone loss. Loss of bone density, in turn, can lead to increased susceptibility … [Read more...]

In the study, researchers showed a protein called NLRP1 is switched on when increased dietary energy (food) intake triggers the cell to become 'unstable'. Activating the protein sets off a chain of events that instructs cells to use up their energy or fat stores to prevent excess fat accumulating. The research, led by Dr Seth Masters from Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall … [Read more...]

Kids who receive antibiotics throughout the course of their childhoods gain weight significantly faster than those who do not, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research. The findings, published online Oct. 21 in the International Journal of Obesity, suggest that antibiotics may have a compounding effect throughout childhood on body mass index … [Read more...]

Being overweight or obese does not lead to improved survival among patients with type 2 diabetes. The large-scale study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers refutes previous studies that have suggested that, for people with diabetes, being overweight or obese could lead to lower mortality for people compared with normal-weight persons -- the so-called … [Read more...]

A common weight-loss operation called sleeve gastrectomy can make testosterone levels normal in obese men, according to new findings presented at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Surgeons from Stanford University in California reported that after undergoing this bariatric surgical procedure, obese patients with low testosterone levels experienced … [Read more...]

While high levels of the satiety hormone leptin don't help obese individuals lose weight, they do appear to directly contribute to their cardiovascular disease, researchers report. "With obesity, leptin cannot tell our brain to stop eating, but it can still tell our brain to increase the activity of the cardiovascular system," said Dr. Eric Belin de Chantemele, physiologist … [Read more...]

A study of nearly 400 people finds that those who exhibited more 'dispositional mindfulness', or awareness of and attention to their current feelings and thoughts, were less likely to be obese and had less abdominal fat than people who did not exhibit as much of that awareness. Dispositional mindfulness is not the same as mindfulness meditation, in which people make a … [Read more...]