MedNews — Diet & Weight
Diet & Weight
Not Enough Doctors to Treat Increasing Number of Obese and Diabetic Children
The number of diabetic and obese children is growing so rapidly that there aren't enough doctors to treat the kids. According to a recent study by University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Hospital, there is only one board-certified pediatric endocrinologist per 290 children with diabetes. The ratio of obese children to board-certified endocrinologists is 17,000 to 1. The rate if childhood obesity in the United States meanwhile has more than doubled in the past 20 years, with a corresponding increase in the number of children at risk for type 1and type 2 diabetes. More »
The Desperate Housewives Result: First Scientific Study Reveals Growing Population Suffer From Eating Disorders in Midlife
The Eating Disorder Center of Denver has announced the results of a two-year study on the growing, but often overlooked population of "middle-aged" women with eating disorders. The study is the first to scientifically establish that there is an increase in the number of women in midlife seeking treatment for eating disorders. It has been a common misconception that the profile of someone with an eating disorder is an upper-class teenage girl. However it is often a woman between the ages of 30 and 65. More »
Heart Disease Appears Early in Obese Children
A new study published in the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Cardiometabolic Syndrome finds that early signs of heart disease appear in obese children or in children at risk for obesity.
"Based on this study, these subtle markers can help us predict who could be at risk for heart disease and heart attacks," said Angela Sharkey, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine and a pediatric cardiologist at St. Louis Children's Hospital. More »
Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide (GIP) Can Reverse Diabetes and Promote Weight Loss
A new study was designed to find whether prolonged receptor antagonism using daily injections of GIP was capable of reversing diet-induced obesity and related metabolic abnormalities in an animal model.
The 8-week old mice selected for the study were given access to drinking water and a high fat diet—20% protein and 35% protein, percent of total energy 26.15kg/g. Control mice were fed a standard rodent maintenance diet—10% fat, 30% protein, 60% carbohydrate, percent of total energy of 12.99. More »
Physical Activity Plus A Mediterranean Diet Can Lower Death Rate Over 5 Years
Eating a Mediterranean diet and following nationally recommended physical activity are associated with a reduced risk of death over 5 years, according to two reports in Archives of Internal Medicine . Data provided by the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study was used in both studies, when 566,407 AARP members aged 50 to 71 returned questionnaires between 1995 and 1996. More »
What You Don't Want for Christmas: Weight Gain and Back Pain
In a recent survey conducted by SpineUniverse, 69%
of people estimated that they typically gain up to 8 pounds during the
holiday season. Another 9% put their weight gain at over 8 pounds. More »
Insufficient Sleep Could Lead to Overweight Kids
Research findings from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital indicate that kids who don't get enough sleep may be at increased risk of being overweight.
A study researching the connection between length of sleep and weigh for third and sixth grade children showed that kids who got less than 9 hours sleep per day were at greater risk of being overweight—regardless of their gender, race, socioeconomic status, or home environment quality. More »
Researchers ID Brain Circuits Responsible for Hunger
A team of researchers has identified the brain circuits controlling hunger that are influenced by a hormone called leptin. The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, found that leptin reduced activation in regions of the brain linked to hunger, while enhancing activation in regions linked to inhibition and satiety. The study suggests possible new targets for the treatment of obesity. More »
Can Viruses Increase Obesity Risk?
According to an article published by Dr. Richard Atkinson in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, "the growing body of evidence that viruses produce human obesity supports the concept that at least some of the worldwide epidemic of obesity in the past 25 years is due to viral infections." More »
Obesity linked to increased risk of esophageal cancer
Writing in the aptly named online journal Gut, Australian researchers have discovered a disproportionate incidence of increased esophageal cancers in overweight individuals.
According to the researchers, those with a "body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more, were six times as likely than those with a BMI of between 18.25 and 25."
Gastric reflux increased the incidence of this cancer 5X, and combined with obesity, the risk increased 15X.
Men 50 years old and younger were particularly vulnerable.
