Obesity

Fitness and Fatness Independently Linked with CVD Risk Factors

Maintaining or improving current fitness levels, as well as not packing on the fat pounds, are both independently associated with a lower risk of developing hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and hypercholesterolemia in healthy...

Brown Fat, Triggered by Cold or Exercise, Yields the Key to Weight Control

Fat people have less than thin people. Older people have less than younger people. Men have less than younger women....

Urinary Incontinence in Diabetes Prevented with Weight Loss

Overweight women with diabetes may be able to cut their risk of urinary incontinence if they lose some weight....

"Yo-yo Dieting" Not as Dangerous as Thought

Despite earlier concerns, dieters who repeatedly lose weight and then gain it back aren't at higher risk of early death than people who don't "yo-yo diet"....

Obesity Drug to Get Broader Label

Vivus Inc said the FDA has asked the company to remove a contraindication in the proposed label of its obesity drug Qnexa, a move that could help it reach a broader patient population....

Obesity Diagnosis May Depend on Medical Professionals Weight

The study findings indicate that medical professionals with normal BMI more frequently reported discussing weight loss with patients than overweight or obese medical professionals....

New Predictors May Determine Metabolic Risk in Kids on Atypicals

Two new studies from a team of investigators suggest two possible predictors for the development of metabolic syndrome in children prescribed second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs)....

Higher Protein Diet Helpful in PCOS

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome may do better on a diet with a high ratio of protein to carbohydrates....

Successful weight loss with GLP-1 agonists

Summary Insights GLP-1 agonists are effective in weight loss as they delay gastric emptying, induce satiety, and decrease food These agents have been successfully studied in obese,...

Drug Helps Both Patients with and without Diabetes Lose Weight

Researchers found that one class of diabetes drugs can help both diabetes patients and non-diabetes patients alike lose weight....

GLP-1 Help to Control Diabetes after Gastric Bypass

Insulin, glucagon-like peptide-1 positively linked in diabetes patients following gastric bypass surgery....

Weight-Loss Drugs Important in Type 2 Diabetes Management

Optimizing weight "should be a priority" in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes....

EASD: Liraglutide Plus Insulin Does Not Add Weight

The addition of insulin to the treatment regimen of type 2 diabetes patients on liraglutide (Victoza) doesn't wipe out previously seen weight loss, and insulin also appears to help these patients achieve glycemic control, researchers...

Good Carbs and Bad Carbs

A diet with a low-glycemic load may have benefits for overweight and obese individuals who are otherwise healthy....

Obesity Rates Remain Unchanged

Little changed in U.S. obesity rates in recent years, but we cannot let down in providing information and programs....

Birth Factors Predict Teen Metabolic Syndrome

Looking at a combination of three factors -- low birth weight, small head circumference at birth, and parental overweight or obesity -- proved a good predictor of the likelihood that the child would develop metabolic syndrome...

Soda Increases Fat Deposits

Drinking a liter of regular cola every day increases the amount of fat in the liver and in the muscles and surrounding the organs in the belly....

Gastric Bypass Provides More Rapid Weight Loss than Gastric Banding

According to the findings of a case-matched study, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) provides superior, more rapid weight loss than gastric banding (GB) and results in lower long-term complication and comorbidity rates, although it is...

Diabetes Prevention Program Can Deliver Modest Weight Loss

The U.S. Diabetes Prevention Program conducted a clinical trial in 2002 showing that modest weight loss through caloric restriction and increased physical activity reduced the incidence of diabetes in high-risk patients by...

Bariatric Surgery Not a Cure for Diabetes

According to Dimitrios Pournaras, MD as reported in the BMJ, "Bariatric surgery (gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, or gastric banding) leads to complete remission in only about one third of patients with type 2 diabetes, and should be...

Diabetes Mellitus 101 for Medical Professionals, PART 3

In this week's set of Homerun Slides, we discuss whether it is possible to delay the...

Letter from the Editor #607

Welcome back from the holiday season. This past week has been a real workout. Everyone who put health on the back burner last month seems to be showing up in our offices, wanting immediate service and quick fixes. In addition the "Resolution"...

More Years Obese Equals More Diabetes Risk

A longitudinal analysis found that, the longer one has an excessive BMI, the greater the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but race and young age also are risk factors....

Obesity: It's ALL About Calories

Excess calories, not mix of protein, fat, or carbohydrate, key in causing obesity....

Cardovascular Risks Reduced with Weight-loss Surgery

A new study shows that weight-loss surgery clearly cuts the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death from cardiovascular disease and patients with higher insulin levels before surgery experienced the greatest benefits from...

Genetic Variants Found to Predispose to Weight Regain

Genotypes may help identify people at risk for weight regain after intentional weight loss....

Medication Combo Improved Weight Loss When Added to Lifestyle Modifications

Controlled-release phentermine/topiramate combined with lifestyle modifications appears to be an effective option for sustained treatment of obesity complicated by cardiometabolic disease....

Early Childhood Factors Can Predict Adult Obesity

Childhood growth patterns, childhood obesity, maternal body mass index (BMI), and father's employment are probable early markers for adult obesity....

United States of Diabetes Report

  You can use the information in this report to provide evidence for your ...

Weight Loss Improves Beta Cell Function in Type 2 Diabetes

Beta cell function can improve after just 12 weeks of weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes....

Diabetes Reversed with Investigational Weight Loss Drug

Slightly more than a year of treatment with an investigational obesity drug that the FDA rejected for approval last year reversed type 2 diabetes in 15% of subjects....

Ninety-two Percent of Obese Kids Have a Vitamin D Deficiency

Overweight kids have lower levels of vitamin D than their slimmer counterparts, regardless of season, sex, or race and ethnicity....

Low Carbs for Just Two Days a Week Spurs Weight Loss

Adhering to a strict, low-carbohydrate diet two days per week led to greater reductions in weight and insulin levels when compared with standard daily dieting....

Flight and Fight Can Be Key to Weight Loss

Patients' activity in the sympathetic nervous system that controls the fight or flight response appears to predict how well they will do when trying to lose weight....

Weight Loss Improves Beta Cell Function in Type 2 Diabetes

Beta cell function can improve after just 12 weeks of weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes....

New Approach to Management of Overeating in Children

The published study describes two new methods for reducing overeating....

Nervous System Holds Key to Weight Loss

People who have 'sympathetic nerve activity' are more likely to shed pounds....

Medicare Now Pays for Intensive Obesity Counseling

Medicare will pick up the tab for obesity screening and intensive behavioral counseling, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid announced this week....

Cutting Calories to 500 per Day Reduces Need for Insulin

Four months of a restricted-calorie diet produced lasting reductions in pericardial fat and improvements in left ventricular diastolic function in a study of obese adults with type 2 diabetes....

Racial Disparities in Weight Due to Socioeconomics?

The rate of obesity and chronic diseases varies substantially across different racial and ethnic groups, but the underlying causes of those disparities remain obscure. In a new study, low socioeconomic status (SES) appears to account for...

Research Finds Obesity Negatively Impacts Income, Especially for Women

A new report uncovered an overall wage differential between those of normal weight and those who are obese, especially when it comes to women. The research, demonstrates the impact obesity may have on a person's paycheck....

Scientists Develop Weight-Loss Chewing Gum

A team of US scientists believes they're close to delivering a gum that can help users fight the battle of the bulge one chew at a time....

Overweight People Eat Fewer Meals than Others

In a new study looking at factors that may help in preventing weight gain researchers found that normal weight adults, including those who had lost a lot of weight and kept it off, ate more often than overweight people....

Heavy Kids Aren't Doomed to Heart Disease Risks

Being heavy in childhood doesn't guarantee an increased risk of heart disease in the long run, provided children lose weight as adults....

Resveratrol Improves Metabolism in Obese Men

Resveratrol, an ingredient found in red wine, may improve the health of obese men....

New Drug Cuts Blood Supply to Fat Cells for Weight Loss without Exercise

Adipotide basically reduces the blood supply specifically to fat cells, causing them to simply wither away....

Weight-Loss Surgery and the New Addiction, Part 2 of 2

By Tricia Greaves, President of The Nelson Center

Obese Children with Disabilities Tool Kit

Children with special needs are far more likely to be overweight or obese than their counterparts according to a new report, "Finding Balance: Obesity and Children with Special Needs." This landmark report, the first to focus exclusively on...

Commercial Weight-Loss Programs vs. Primary-care Programs

A new study finds that commercial weight-loss programs are more effective and less costly than primary care-based programs led by specially trained staff....

Hormone Changes May Fuel Weight Regain after Dieting

Losing weight is hard, but keeping the pounds off can be even harder. By some estimates, as many as 80% of overweight people who manage to slim down noticeably after a diet gain some or all of the weight back within one...

An "IRA" for Health Dividends

Losing weight in midlife pays huge dividends later in life....

Even a Low Level of Physical Activity Helps Cut Mortality Risk in Metabolic Syndrome

For individuals with metabolic syndrome, physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of mortality from all causes and from cardiovascular causes....

Weight Loss First, Then Exercise

Physical activity only has a modest effect in lowering chronic disease risk factors....

Lower BMI Cutpoints Predict Diabetes and Hypertension in Asians

Asians may need lower body mass index (BMI) cutpoints for overweight and obesity....

BEWARE: Gastric Bypass Increases Risk for New-Onset Alcohol Abuse

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery is associated with an increased risk of developing new-onset alcohol abuse, according to findings from a study of 340 patients who underwent the procedure....

Pedometers Work to Improve CV Health Faster in Gastric Bypass Patients

Patients who use a pedometer to record the number of steps they take each day after gastric bypass surgery are more active and may be healthier....

Obesity Drug Contrave Back on Track

The investigational weight-loss combination of naltrexone standard release and bupropion standard release (Contrave) reduces the predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular events, an analysis of four phase III trials...

Children Destined to Be Obese and Eventually Diabetic Identified by Age 3.5

A prospective analysis of body mass index (BMI) in 1957 children from ages 5 months to 8 years reveals that an "atypically elevated BMI trajectory" that leads to obesity is identifiable by age 3.5 years....

Multiple Lifestyle Factors Contribute to Diabetes Risk

Collectively, lifestyle factors, including not smoking, regular physical activity, healthy diet, moderate alcohol consumption, and normal body weight, are associated with a substantially decreased risk of developing diabetes, according to...

How Long a Person Is Overweight May Decide their Diabetes Risk

Being obese might up the chance of developing Type 2 diabetes, but the true risk factors may lie in how much someone is overweight and how long they've been that way. This is crucial information because we are seeing more obesity in young...

Start Obesity Screening as Early as Age 2

Screening children as young as 2 years for obesity may be more successful in weight control and preventing metabolic abnormalities than waiting until they are older....

Rare Surgery Shows More Effective Weight Loss with More Risks

A less common form of obesity surgery may spur more weight loss than its far more popular cousin, gastric bypass, but at the price of greater long-term risks, researchers reported....

Weight Loss through Cutting Calories Results Less than Expected

Common rules of thumb exaggerate how much weight people will lose from a given dietary calorie reduction, leading to unrealistic expectations and disappointment, researchers said....

164 Million Obese Adults by 2030

Half of U.S. adults will be obese by 2030 if current trends continue, a new report shows....

New Drug Improves Lipids and Glucose in Metabolic Impairment

In two recent trials, the investigational drug GFT505 improved lipid and glucose disorders in abdominally obese patients with combined dyslipidemias or prediabetes....

Two Years of Obesity Increases Risk of Death by 7 Percent

A study found that participants face a 7% increase in mortality risk for every two years of being obese, while every 10 years of obesity more than doubles the risk of all-cause mortality....

Obesity Ranking System Predicts Mortality

  An obesity classification system that distinguishes between fat and lean tissue and takes into account functional status and the various comorbid conditions that can be associated with obesity may be a more effective ...

Lifestyle Changes Prevents Diabetes in Nonobese with Elevated Fasting Glucose

A lifestyle-modification program aimed at changes in diet and increased activity levels seemed to significantly cut the risk of type 2 diabetes that was primarily "overweight" rather than obese and that had elevated fasting glucose levels...

U.S. Pediatrician: Take Obese Children and Put in Foster Homes

Boston pediatrician David Ludwig, the center of a media firestorm recently, wants to set the record straight on his view that a state should intervene in the most extreme cases of child obesity....

Hypertriglyceridemia in the Obese is Due to Two Defects

Obesity is a recognized risk factor for heart disease, but it is the location of fat -- in the belly or in the liver -- that combines to drive metabolic defects that produce hypertriglyceridemia, researchers found....

Waistline Predictor of Mortality for Kidney Patients

Belly fat is better predictor of mortality than body-mass index alone....

Surgeons Pioneer New Ways to Treat Diabetes

Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center are innovating new ways to treat diabetes using techniques from weight-loss surgery, including experimental procedures to improve blood glucose levels and address...

Baseline Waist Circumference Predicts Weight Change

In nondiabetic and prediabetic individuals, insulin sensitivity and secretion do not predict spontaneous weight changes; whereas, baseline waist circumference is a positive, independent predictor of weight gain and loss....

Liraglutide Shows Potential as Treatment for Weight Loss in Non-Diabetics

Liraglutide, recently approved in the US for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, has demonstrated its potential as a weight-loss drug for nondiabetic, obese patients....

Do Bariatric Surgery Patients Fare Better?

A new study in VA patients has found no survival benefit associated with bariatric surgery among older, severely obese people when compared with usual care, at least out to seven years....

Increased Circulating Vitamin D Levels Associated with Weight Loss

Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations in postmenopausal women are directly associated with weight loss, whether achieved through lower caloric intake or increased physical activity....

Insulin Resistance Tied to Early Heart Problems

Insulin resistance appears to be an important link between obesity and early adverse cardiac changes in teens....

Low-carb, Higher-fat Diets Add No Arterial Health Risks for Obese People Seeking to Lose Weight

Overweight and obese people looking to drop some pounds and considering one of the popular low-carbohydrate diets, along with moderate exercise, need not worry that the higher proportion of fat in such a program compared to a low-fat,...

How Important Is Fat Distribution?

In obese individuals, the distribution of adipose tissue both on the body, and in the liver and skeletal muscle is an important predictor of insulin sensitivity....

Low Glycemic Diet More Effective than Low Fat Diet in Reducing HbA1c in Obese T2DM Patients

A glycemic- rather than a fat-targeted dietary regimen may be more effective in lifestyle modification programs for obese T2DM patients....

Less Sweat, More Fat as Work Becomes Easier

Overeating may not be the only culprit in the obesity epidemic; the changed landscape of the American workforce may have lent a hand....

One Reason Patients Don't Follow Doctors' Orders: The Emotional Barriers to Weight Loss

  by Tricia Greaves, President,...

Benefits of Modest Weight Loss in Improving Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes

Overweight and obese individuals are encouraged to lose 5–10% of their body weight to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, but data supporting this recommendation are limited, particularly for individuals with type 2...

Gastric Bypass Increases Risk for Alcohol Abuse

Patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery are at greater risk for alcohol abuse than similar obese patients undergoing restrictive procedures....

Weight Loss Surgery May Benefit Older Adults

Age does not appear to significantly increase the risks associated with having weight loss surgery....

Naltrexone/Bupropion Combo Increases Women's Weight Loss

Two phase 3 studies have found that a combination of naltrexone SR/bupropion SR can produce significant weight loss in overweight and obese women, regardless of menopausal status....

ACE-I Lowers the Risk for Renal Disease in Obese Patients

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition with the drug ramipril reduced the rate of renal events among patients with proteinuria in all body mass index (BMI) strata, but the effect was greater among obese patients....

Obesity Types in Vitamin D-Deficient Children Vary with Race

Obesity types in vitamin D-deficient children vary with race, according to the results of a reported study....

Start Obesity Screening as Early as Age 2

Screening children as young as 2 years for obesity may be more successful in weight control and preventing metabolic abnormalities than waiting until they are older....

Study Helps Clarify Link between High-Fat Diet and Type 2 Diabetes

New research adds clarity to the connection that saturated fatty acids but not the unsaturated type can activate immune cells to produce an inflammatory protein, called interleukin-1beta....

Why Gastric Bypass Surgery Cures Type 2 Diabetes

Gastric bypass surgery is great for curing Type 2 diabetes. It works for almost 80% of patients. Now scientists are beginning to figure out why and weight loss may be the least of it....

Paying People to Lose Weight Works

Paying obese patients to lose weight does work....

Half of U.S. Adults Could Have Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by 2030

The European Association for the Study of the Liver researchers who conducted the study projected that unless something is done to curb rising diabetes and obesity rates....  

Nobiletin in Tangerines Fights Obesity and Protects against Heart Disease

New research has discovered a substance in tangerines not only prevents obesity, but also offers protection against Type 2 diabetes, and even atherosclerosis....

International Diabetes Federation Announces New Position Supporting Surgery to Treat Type 2 Diabetes

Bariatric surgery should be considered much earlier in the treatment of eligible patients to help stem the serious complications that can result from diabetes according to an IDF position statement....

Effects of Grapefruit on Energy Balance, Weight Loss, Body Composition, and Cardiometabolic Risk in Obese Adults

Reducing dietary energy density has proven to be an effective strategy to reduce energy intakes and promote weight control. This effect appears most robust when a low energy dense preload is consumed before meals....

Plant Oil Possible Key to Reducing Obesity

A University of Missouri researcher has found a plant oil that may be able to reduce belly fat in humans....

Gastric Banding Associated with Relatively Poor Long-Term Outcomes

In a study of 82 patients who were evaluated 12 or more years after undergoing laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding for morbid obesity, a majority of patients reported that...

A Healthy Waist Bigger for Black Women

The definition of a healthy waistline may have a bit more room for African-American women than for white women....

Unexplained Weight Loss and Decreased Insulin Needs in Severely Obese Type 2 Patients

by Ashley Berry, Mercer University Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate 2011    Is it possible for an obese Type 2 diabetic patient who administers large quantities of insulin daily to b...

Missing Sugar Molecule Raises Diabetes Risk in Humans

Findings help refine understanding of why obese humans appear to be particularly vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes....

Fatty Liver Linked to Diabetes Risk

Having an accumulation of fat in your liver cells may raise your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes regardless of the fat in other places of your body....

Children at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes More Likely to Develop Osteoporosis

Children who develop risk factors for Type 2 diabetes before hitting puberty may also be more likely to have weak bones in adulthood....

Effects of Metformin in Obese Insulin-resistant Children

Metformin had modest but favorable effects on body weight, body composition, and glucose homeostasis in obese insulin-resistant children participating in a low-intensity weight-reduction program....

Is Surgery the Best Option for Type 2 Diabetes Even If Not Obese?

A new clinical trial at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is among the first to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes....

Waistlines Expand Worldwide

Increase in waistlines may knock the earth of its axis....

The Pathway from Diabetes to Cancer

Increased insulin, IGF-1, and IGF-2 signaling through the insulin receptor and IGF-1 receptor can induce....

Children Need More Sleep to Prevent Diabetes

If your children are getting less than 9 hours of sleep per night, they need more to avoid metabolic factors that predispose them to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease....

Do Diet Programs Prevent Disease Risk?

In the US, 73% of adults are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....

Diabetes Drug Perks Up Weight Loss in Obese Kids

In severely obese, insulin-resistant children, metformin treatment improves weight loss and raises insulin sensitivity compared with placebo....

First in Class SGLT1 Inhibitor - Positive Results

LX4211 rapidly lowered blood sugar and increased GLP-1 and PYY, mediators of glycemic and appetite control....

Appetite Hormones May Predict Weight Regain after Dieting

Study results may point way to effective weight-loss maintenance....

The Tummy Tube That May Save Millions

A new treatment for obesity and diabetes could save enough money to have a sizeable impact on the economy, a surgeon claims....

As Insulin Rises, Sense of Smell Decreases Potentially Affecting Desire to Eat

Acute, short-term insulin spikes increase the olfactory threshold and might be involved in regulation of food intake....

Diabetes Disaster Averted #11: Label Literacy

I am a dietitian working as a diabetes educator. I often work with patients on insulin, and teach insulin to carb ratios and correction factors....

YOU: On A Diet, Revised Edition: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management

By Dr. Michael F. Roizen and Dr. Mehmet C. Oz    

Get Your Kids Moving, Too

The Serotonin Power Diet

by Judith Wurtman, PhD, and Nina Frusztajer, MD

HIV-infected patients are at an increased risk for developing Diabetes

More and more patients with HIV are controlling their disease well. When viral loads are under control, patients often are seen by clinicians for other problems. Diabetes seems to be one of those problems that get a lot of attention. My current...

Preteens, teens doubled use of diabetes drugs

A recent article in Pediatrics, discussed how preteens and teens have doubled use of diabetes drugs in the past 4 years and that the prevalence is dramatically higher among young girls vs. boys. Why is this occurring? Why is it higher in girls?...