Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/fitness-obesity/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113838.php In the first study of its kind, using sophisticated methods to measure body composition, the nationally known commercial weight loss program, Weight Watchers, was compared to gym membership programs to find out which method wins in the game of good health. A University of Missouri researcher examined the real-life experiences of participants to determine which program helps people lose pounds, reduce body fat and gain health benefits. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113762.php A longitudinal study of childhood physical activity at the Government-recommended level and obesity-related health outcomes questions the value of UK and US government guidelines and the use of BMI as the outcome measure. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113657.php The California Legislative Black Caucus Foundation and Assembly member Sandre Swanson (D) on Friday sponsored a health care summit that focused on ways to address diabetes and obesity, particularly in minority communities, the Contra Costa Times reports. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113626.php A comprehensive, population-based strategy is needed to reduce the alarming prevalence of obesity in the United States, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. "Population-Based Prevention of Obesity" recommends an approach that would complement individually-oriented strategies, including clinic-based prevention and treatment programs. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113669.php "The pathways are parallel, and the idea is if you can somehow disrupt the fat production pathway, you will get more bone," says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. He's found the short-acting protein GILZ appears to make this desirable shift and wants to better understand how it does it with the long-term goal of targeted therapies for osteoporosis, obesity and maybe more. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113612.php Obesity is an epidemic, and lesbians are nearly twice as likely to be overweight than heterosexual women. Sarah Fogel, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor of Nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, is using an extraordinarily successful, predominately lesbian weight loss group in Atlanta, as a model system for discovering how to target obesity in a lesbian population. Fogel is studying the group, and her findings are giving her a different view on weight loss. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113611.php Saturday can be the worst enemy for our waistlines, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They found that study subjects on strict diet and exercise programs tend to lose weight more slowly than expected because they eat more on weekends than during the week. The investigators report their findings in the advance online publication of the journal Obesity. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113636.php The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued new guidance recommending use of Acomplia® (rimonabant) in England and Wales, within its licensed indications, as an adjunct to diet and exercise for adults who are obese or overweight and who have had an inadequate response to, are intolerant of or are contraindicated to other anti-obesity agents that have previously been reviewed by NICE. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113525.php The peer groups teenage girls identify with determine how they decide to control their own figure. So reports a new study (1) by Dr. Eleanor Mackey from the Children's National Medical Center in Washington DC, and her colleague Dr. Annette La Greca from the University of Miami. Also influencing weight control behavior is girls' own definition of normal body weight and their perception of what others consider normal body weight. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113519.php A new review of studies from UC shows that a little shove from the workplace may actually be the ticket to dropping weight. According to Michael Benedict, MD, and colleagues at UC, employer-based programs for weight loss are modestly effective at helping workers take off extra pounds. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113494.php The July 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association contains articles and research studies you may find of interest. Below is a summary of some of this month's articles. Eat Slowly to Help Lose Weight People looking for ways to manage their weight are often advised to eat slowly, allowing a feeling of fullness to register before they eat too much. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113485.php A fatty liver disease that is not well-known in overweight and obese children may be a precursor of cardiovascular disease, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers performed a case-controlled study of 150 overweight children with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and 150 overweight children without NAFLD. Participants were well matched in age (average 12.7 years), sex and severity of obesity. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113115.php According to a new report published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, there needs to be a revision in the UK and the US of the recommended amount of physical activity children need to prevent obesity. Currently, only 42% of boys and about 11% of girls are achieving the weekly recommended levels. Researcher Brad S. Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113088.php Morbidly obese patients who undergo a particular type of gastric bypass surgery called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) are at an increased risk of developing kidney stones - small, pebble-like deposits that can result in severe pain and require an operation to remove them - earlier than previously thought. Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113123.php Weight-loss drug Rimonabant has been approved for use on the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has announced the drug will be made available to overweight or obese people who have had no success with making life style changes or who cannot take the two other weight loss drugs Orlistat and Sibutramine. Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113194.php Obese women (those with a body mass index greater than 30) tend to both give birth to larger babies and to experience longer labors. Both of these factors contribute to an increased likelihood that a C-section will be necessary. Moreover, Cesareans are more difficult to perform on obese women, and carry increased risks for the mother during pregnancy and childbirth. In Canada: -- In 2004, 23% of Canadian women were considered obese. Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113014.php The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research (FPWR) announced a partnership that will forge new research to study a rare genetic disorder that thwarts appetite regulation and leads to extreme obesity. Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112957.php A new implantable medical device, developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic researchers, shows promise as a reversible and less extreme alternative to existing bariatric surgeries, according to findings published in the current issue of the journal Surgery. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112870.php Can watching TV news or crime shows trigger overeating? According to new research in the Journal of Consumer Research, people who are thinking about their own deaths want to consume more. Authors Naomi Mandel (Arizona State University) and Dirk Smeesters (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands) conducted several experiments in Europe and the United States where participants wrote essays on their feelings about their own deaths. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112694.php While more than two-thirds of parents surveyed say they are concerned about the healthy ingredients in the food their child eats, just under half of parents know the correct number of recommended daily servings of whole grains for children. And more than half say their child exercises for an hour or less each day, while nearly nine of every 10 people eat fast food one to two times a week, according to a recent online survey about healthy living from Disney Family.com ( Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112616.php The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued new guidance recommending use of Acomplia® (rimonabant) in England and Wales, within its licensed indications, as an adjunct to diet and exercise for adults who are obese or overweight and who have had an inadequate response to, are intolerant of or are contraindicated to other anti-obesity agents that have previously been reviewed by NICE. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112575.php "Directed Thinking" involves asking people to think about information related to a topic that they already know which directs them to action. A study in the Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research shows how "directed thinking" led to an increase in exercise performance and fitness in sedentary college students. Laura L. Ten Eyck, PhD, Dana P. Gresky, PhD, and Charles G. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112485.php Obesity rates in the U.S. are driving up costs for employers that provide health insurance to workers, but few companies have introduced programs intended to curb the trend, the New York Times reports. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112531.php Health experts at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) weighed in today on a weight-loss story in the headlines, warning that the "McDonald's Diet" adopted by one man is little more than a crash diet, not the kind of behavior change that results in safe, permanent weight loss. Chris Coleson, a 42-year old Quinton, Virginia man who shed 80 pounds in six months by eating most of his meals at McDonalds, has attracted much media attention. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112443.php Informa Healthcare, one of the world's premier medical scientific publishers, is introducing Handbook of Obesity: Clinical Applications, Third edition, an in-depth examination of all the clinical aspects relating to obesity. Society's view of obesity has changed throughout history.