Weight Management News

New research from Royal Holloway, University of London has found that changes in lifestyle over the past 30 years have led to a sharp reduction in the strenuousness of daily life, which researchers say may explain why there has been a dramatic rise in obesity. The study, carried out by Dr Melanie Luhrmann from the Department of Economics along with Professor Rachel Griffith … [Read more...]

Ear acupuncture can help shed the pounds, indicates a small study published online in Acupuncture in Medicine. Using continuous stimulation of five acupuncture points may be better at reducing abdominal fat (the midriff bulge) than single point stimulation, the findings suggest. Auricular acupuncture therapy is based on the understanding that the outer ear represents all … [Read more...]

Study author Melanie J. Davies, professor of diabetes medicine at the Leicester Research Centre, and colleagues publish their findings in JAMA. Obesity is an ongoing global health concern. In the US, almost 35% of adults are obese, and as a result, are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular problems. According to the International Diabetes … [Read more...]

Cutting fat from your diet leads to more fat loss than reducing carbohydrates, a US health study shows. Scientists intensely analysed people on controlled diets by inspecting every morsel of food, minute of exercise and breath taken. Both diets, analysed by the National Institutes of Health, led to fat loss when calories were cut, but people lost more when they reduced fat … [Read more...]

Obesity represents a global health problem with limited options available for its prevention or treatment. The finding that a key regulator of energy expenditure and body weight is controlled by a drug-targeted inflammatory enzyme opens new possibilities for pharmacologically modulating body weight. This is the conclusion of a study led by Toshihiro Nakajima of Tokyo Medical … [Read more...]

Obesity is not only a risk factor for developing knee and hip arthritis. It is also linked to less favorable outcomes after joint replacement surgery. Two new studies at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City find that bariatric surgery prior to joint replacement is a cost-effective option to improve outcomes after hip or knee replacement. The research was … [Read more...]

The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) can be predicted by low birth weight, having older siblings and hospitalisation for infection between the ages of 5-16 years. These data suggest that these factors play an important role in the … [Read more...]

Consumers place great faith in weight loss pills and remedies, buying and using them more than ever before. American obesity rates, however, are skyrocketing. According to a new study in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, false beliefs about these drugs are causing Americans to gain more weight. "Weight management remedies that promise to reduce the risks of being … [Read more...]

Using an antioxidant to reverse inflammation in the brain caused by a high-fat diet greatly improves symptoms related to obesity and type II diabetes, a new study from New Zealand's University of Otago suggests. The research, which appears in the leading international journal Diabetes, was led by Dr Alex Tups of the University's Centre for Neuroendocrinology and Department of … [Read more...]

A treatment known as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may decrease fasting glucose and improve quality of life in overweight and obese women, new research suggests. The results will be presented in a poster Friday, March 6, at ENDO 2015, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego. MBSR is a secular mindfulness meditation program that was developed by … [Read more...]

A new study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers of patients hospitalized with anorexia nervosa shows that a faster weight gain during inpatient treatment -- well beyond what national standards recommend -- is safe and effective. The work, recently published online in International Journal of Eating Disorders, challenges long-held guidelines for dangerously underweight … [Read more...]

Researchers at The John B. Pierce Laboratory and the Yale School of Medicine have revealed that the ability to vividly imagine the smell of popcorn, freshly baked cookies and even non-food odors is greater in obese adults. Their research is to be presented this week at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for … [Read more...]

When it comes to weight gain for women, childhood stress appears to be a bigger culprit than stress during adulthood, finds a national study led by a Michigan State University sociologist. Interestingly, though, neither childhood nor adult stress was associated with weight gain for men. The federally funded study, which appears online in the journal Social Science & … [Read more...]

The current recommended minimum daily dose of vitamin D is not sufficient to restore healthy vitamin D levels in overweight or obese blacks, researchers report. Rather, daily intake of more than three times the recommended minimum is needed to restore what is generally considered a healthy blood level of vitamin D, said Dr. Yanbin Dong, geneticist and cardiologist at the … [Read more...]

In a study that seems to defy conventional dietary wisdom, University of Iowa scientists have found that adding high salt to a high-fat diet actually prevents weight gain in mice. As exciting as this may sound to fast food lovers, the researchers caution that very high levels of dietary salt are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease in humans. Rather than … [Read more...]

Aging can cause many changes to the body, including obesity and a loss of lean mass. Now, a group of University of Florida Health researchers has discovered that an existing drug reduces body fat and appetite in older rats, which has intriguing implications for aging humans. Rapamycin, a pharmaceutical used to coat coronary stents and prevent transplant rejection, reduces … [Read more...]

New estimates suggest that more than two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Overweight and obesity are associated with a variety of chronic health conditions, which could potentially be avoided by preventing weight gain and obesity. Graham A. Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., and Lin Yang, Ph.D., … [Read more...]

Adventurous eaters, known as "foodies," are often associated with indulgence and excess. However, a new Cornell Food and Brand Lab study shows just the opposite -adventurous eaters weigh less and may be healthier than their less-adventurous counterparts. The nationwide U.S. survey of 502 women showed that those who had eaten the widest variety of uncommon foods -- including … [Read more...]

People on a vegetarian diet, and especially those following a vegan one that includes no animal products, see better results than dieters on other weight-reducing plans. In fact, they can lose around two kilograms more on the short term, says Ru-Yi Huang of E-Da Hospital in Taiwan after reviewing the results of twelve diet trials. The findings appear in the Journal of General … [Read more...]

Scientists have discovered a new inherited form of obesity and type 2 diabetes in humans. A large number of genes are involved in regulating body weight, and there are now over 30 genes known in which people with harmful changes in DNA sequence become extremely overweight. Similarly, there are a number of genes that can, when altered, cause type 2 diabetes. These conditions … [Read more...]

New research using data from the reputable Look AHEAD study suggests doctors may want to look at results from a patient's first two months of intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) to help predict his or her long-term success. These secondary analyses conducted by Unick and colleagues published in the July issue of Obesity, the scientific journal of The Obesity Society examined … [Read more...]

Muscadine grape seed oil supplies a form of Vitamin E, giving scientists another clue to reducing obesity, a new University of Florida study shows. The oil may help mitigate the formation of new fat cells because it produces tocotrienol, an unsaturated form of Vitamin E, said Marty Marshall, a UF professor of food science and human nutrition. “Thus, consuming foods made … [Read more...]

It is generally assumed that marriage has a positive influence on health and life expectancy. But does this "marriage bonus" also apply to the health indicator of body weight? Researchers have investigated this question in cooperation with the market research institute GfK. Specifically, they compared the body mass index of married couples with that of singles in nine European … [Read more...]

A study has inferred that a simple new computerized game could help people control their snacking impulses and lose weight. Psychologists at the University of Exeter and Cardiff University have published a study that shows that participants lost an average of 0.7kg and consumed around 220 fewer calories a day whilst undergoing the week of training. With 64% of adults in the … [Read more...]

A study has proved that compulsive snacking is leading cause of weight gain. A QUT researcher has had an article on how compulsive snacking is a major cause of weight gain published in the international journal Eating Behaviors. Dr Stephanie Fay wrote the article entitled "Psychological predictors of opportunistic snacking in the absence of hunger" as part of her PhD … [Read more...]

A study has confirmed that weight loss, combined with vitamin D, reduces inflammation. For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that weight loss, in combination with vitamin D supplementation, has a greater effect on reducing chronic inflammation than weight loss alone. Chronic inflammation is known to contribute to the development … [Read more...]

For those wishing to lose weight and keep it off, here's a simple strategy that works: step on a scale each day and track the results. A two-year Cornell study, recently published in the Journal of Obesity, found that frequent self-weighing and tracking results on a chart were effective for both losing weight and keeping it off, especially for men. Subjects who lost weight … [Read more...]