Simple blood test predicts obesity

"According to new research from the Monell Center, the degree of change in blood triglyceride levels following a fatty meal may indicate susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. The findings open doors to new methods of identifying people, including children, who are at risk for becoming obese. Triglycerides are a form of fat that is transported in the blood and stored in the body's fat tissues. They are found in foods and also are manufactured by the body" - newswise

Obesity, other health problems delay MS diagnosis

"People with pre-existing medical conditions, such as obesity, and vascular problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, may experience a delay in being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or experience an increase in severity of the disease at diagnosis, according to a study published in the October 29, 2008, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology"

Green neighborhoods may reduce childhood obesity

"Childhood obesity can lead to type 2 diabetes, asthma, hypertension, sleep apnea and emotional distress. Obese children and youth are likely to be obese as adults, experience more cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and stroke and incur higher healthcare costs. In an article published in the December 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers report that children living in inner city neighborhoods with higher 'greenness' experienced lower weight gains compared to those in areas with less green space. Researchers from the University of Washington, Indiana University-Purdue University and Indiana University School of Medicine followed more than 3800 children, predominantly African-American and poor, aged 3-16 over a two-year period. Using satellite imaging data to measure vegetation coverage, the investigators found that higher greenness was significantly associated with lower body mass index (BMI) changes in those children. In previous studies of adults, residential density tended to predict physical activity levels, with highly urban environments leading to more walking, less driving and lower BMI. The current study did not find this correlation for children" - EurekAlert

Child obesity linked to overweight moms

"Australian researchers say they have highlighted a link between childhood obesity and a mother's diet before and during pregnancy. University of New South Wales researchers say the animal study shows that overweight expectant mothers are more likely to have babies with more body fat, who are at greater risk of diabetes and lipid metabolic disorders later in life. The study, published in the journal Endocrinology, shows pups from obese mother rats that were fed more milk are almost twice as heavy as those born to lean mothers with regular milk consumption at weaning age. The diet used to feed the mother rats is designed to approximate a western diet - high fat content, palatable, with a lot of variety. The study found that the mother rats ate more than double the calories of the control group" redOrbit

The European Medicines Agency recommends suspension of the marketing authorisation of Acomplia

"The European Medicines Agency has recommended the suspension of the marketing authorisation for Acomplia (rimonabant) from Sanofi-Aventis. The EMEA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has concluded that the benefits of Acomplia no longer outweigh its risks and the marketing authorisation should be suspended across the European Union. Acomplia has been authorised in the EU since June 2006 as an adjunct to diet and exercise for the treatment of obese patients or overweight patients with associated risk factors. Warnings about psychiatric side effects, in particular depression, have been included in the product information since Acomplia was first authorised. The product information for Acomplia has been continuously updated and strengthened to include further contraindications and upgraded warnings on these concerns to manage the risks associated with the use of Acomplia" - EMA

New developments could allow people to eat and lose weight

"Scientists are working to develop foods that slow down the digestive system and make the body feel full. The foods being developed by Peter Wilde and colleagues at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, England will help trigger a signal to the brain that suppresses appetite. 'That fools you into thinking you've eaten far too much when you really haven't,' said Wilde. From his studies on fat digestion, he said it should be possible to make foods, from bread to yogurts, that make it easier to diet. Doctors see great potential in the use of these foods in the fight against obesity"

Overweight women find healthcare access and attitudes a constant struggle

"Women who are overweight and obese can find accessing healthcare difficult and stressful, according to research in the Journal of Advanced Nursing (64:2). Researchers from Texas, USA, carried out in-depth interviews with women aged between 20 and 61, after recruiting them through local advertisements placed in community agencies and a regional newspaper. 'The participants in our study described the experience of seeking healthcare as a constant battle and struggle and were upset by the reactions of healthcare staff' says lead author Professor Emily Merrill from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. 'They told us that they felt even more uncomfortable with specialists than with their own family doctors and nurse practitioners.' Four themes emerged: struggling to fit in, not feeling quite human, being dismissed and refusing to give up"

Fast, full eaters may weigh more

"Looking to lose some extra weight? Eating more slowly and stopping before you're full might help. A new study shows that fast eaters who eat until they're full may be three times more likely to be overweight than slow eaters who stop eating before they're full. That study appears in BMJ, formerly called the British Medical Journal. Nearly 3,300 Japanese adults took part. They reported how quickly they eat and whether they usually eat until they're full -- and they got their height and weight measured." - WebMD

Western diet causes 30 per cent of all heart attacks

"A diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of a heart attack while eating fried salted foods increases the risk. according to a study published Monday. Canadian Researchers examined 16,000 patients infarction between 1999 and 2003, worldwide, contrary to previous work which took into account that the developed countries. Patients filled out a questionnaire about their eating habits, based on 19 groups of foods including both good and bad foods for health, and taking into account the food preferences of each country taking part in the study. The researchers noted that those who ate fried foods, the salty snacks, eggs and meat - the so-called "Western" diet - had a 35% increased risk of having a heart attack than those consuming little or no fried food or meat, whatever the country where they live" - eCanadaNow

Parents often blind to obesity

"The battle against the childhood bulge has a new culprit: clueless parents. While public awareness campaigns have been carping on the issue of childhood obesity for years, an Australian study released this week has found that mom and dad are not getting the message: Almost half of all parents of overweight children thought their kids were a normal weight. The study also found roughly two in five parents of underweight children believed their kids were average weight and parents were more likely to report sons as underweight and daughters as overweight. University of Melbourne researcher Pene Schmidt analyzed data from a survey of more than 2,100 Australian children aged 4 to 12 and their parents. She compared standard measures of children's size - body mass index and waist circumference - with parental perceptions and found that the two rarely jibed" - Globe and Mail

Obesity 'lifts inflammation risk'

"Obesity and lack of fitness raise the risk of illness by impacting negatively on the body's internal chemistry, research suggests. A US team found levels of white blood cells were highest in men who were unfit and overweight. White blood cells are key to fighting infection, but high levels can be a sign of inflammation, which is linked to coronary heart disease. The study appears in the British Journal of Sports Medicine" - BBC

Brain signals predict weight gain

"The brain's response to food is linked to future weight gain in women, US researchers report in Science. Brain imaging showed those who had the weakest response to drinking a chocolate milkshake were most likely to have put on weight a year later. Poor responses to food were also associated with a gene controlling the brain's response to dopamine - a chemical controlling pleasure. It backs previous work showing obese people may get less pleasure from food" - BBC

Inflammation may drive heart effects of fitness and obesity

"The benefits of physical fitness and the hazards of obesity may result in part from opposing effects on systemic inflammation, investigators suggested. Fitness had an inverse association with total white blood cell count and white cell subfraction concentrations whereas a higher body mass index correlated with higher white cell levels, Timothy Church, M.D., Ph.D., of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and colleagues reported online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The findings add to those from a previous study showing similar associations among fitness, fatness, and total white cell count" - MedPage Today

Obese enjoy food less and less

"Obese people expect to enjoy food more than lean people do, but when they eat, they enjoy it less, a brain study shows. And that's a problem. To make up for the missing enjoyment, obese people eat more high-calorie food. Overeating further dulls food enjoyment and locks people in a vicious circle. The finding comes from real-time brain-imaging studies in obese and lean women by Eric Stice, PhD, of the Oregon Research Institute, and colleagues" - WebMD

Exercise recommendations for children lacking

"Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth, UK, have carried out research that suggests the one hour of moderate exercise a day recommended to children from health experts may not be enough to tackle the rising problem of childhood obesity. Their research has been published in the most recent issue of the journal Archives of Diseases in Childhood. The results come from the EarlyBird study, which has followed the development of over 200 children in Plymouth born in 1995 and 1996" - redOrbit

Free sports sessions for the over-60s in Liverpool, UK

"Every Liverpool resident over 60 is being offered free swimming, gym membership, badminton, squash and tennis. It is part of a drive to improve the health and fitness of the city's 70,000 senior citizens. The city council and Liverpool Primary Care Trust wants every adult to take part in 30 minutes of physical activity five times a week and reduce the growing problem of obesity and help people stay healthy"

Child heart disease risks on the rise

The rate of premature heart disease among obese teens is set to triple, and the increasing prevalence of high blood pressure in children is a major culprit, experts warned at a news conference sponsored by the American Society of Hypertension. "The presence of child obesity results in higher rates of high blood pressure," which is a major risk factor for stroke and heart attack, said Bonita Falkner, MD, a professor of medicine and pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. "This is a problem that is not going to magically go away, and it puts children at risk for premature cardiac events at an earlier period in their adult lives." WebMD

CONDUIT - from the Canadian Obesity Network

"CONDUIT is not your average corporate newsletter - it's a glossy, full-colour magazine that celebrates leading, collaborative obesity research in Canada and the people and partnerships that make it happen. From basic science to new business ventures and innovative public policy developments that grow from Canadian research, CONDUIT will explore the latest obesity news for a diverse audience of CON members and other key stakeholders. Each issue will be available online as a free download, four to six weeks after it mails"

GBP6.3 billion bill by 2015 shows Britain is fast becoming the 'obesity capital of the world'

"Responding to the figures from the UK Department of Health that obesity could cost NHS GBP6.3bn by 2015, council leaders have warned that social services will increasingly have to step in to deal with cases where the welfare of dangerously overweight children is put at risk. The Local Government Association, which represents over 400 councils in England and Wales, is calling for a national debate about the extent to which dangerous childhood obesity could be considered as a factor contributing to parental neglect"

A little exercise goes along way for severely obese

"When it comes to exercise and physical activity, people who are severely obese often feel defeated and think - why bother. But a new study shows why they should bother, according to the study team. Even a little bit of exercise - as little as 1 hour a week - can boost their quality of life and ability to complete everyday tasks like getting dressed, tying shoes and simply moving around, the study found"

Reading can help fight children's obesity

"Reading is good for the brain but researchers at Duke Children's Hospital say a good book can also help kids lose weight. It just has to be the right kind of book. The Duke researchers asked obese females aged 9 to 13 who were already in a comprehensive weight loss program to read an age-appropriate novel called Lake Rescue (Beacon Street Press) - a book carefully crafted with the help of pediatric experts to include specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models" - OverTheLimit

'No KFC in cricket'

"Obesity experts have called on Cricket Australia to end its sponsorship deal with the fried chicken chain KFC, saying the relationship is 'unhelpful and irresponsible' during a childhood obesity epidemic. Specialists at the University of Sydney's Institute of Nutrition Obesity and Exercise say they were alarmed during the last Australian cricket season to see Australian cricket players prominently badged with the logo of KFC and heavy advertising of KFC products. The chain has been the official fast food restaurant for the sport since 2003. But Professor Stephen Colagiuri and Professor Ian Caterson say the sponsorship relationship must end." - WA Today

Obesity triples prostate cancer death risk

"Obese men are nearly three times as likely to die from a diagnosis of prostate cancer than normal weight men. And the prognosis is even worse if they have high insulin levels as well. Harvard and McGill universities' researchers who analyzed data from more than 2,500 men have not only confirmed what smaller studies have found - namely, prostate cancer death rates get higher as men get heavier - they may have also discovered why: overweight men make more insulin. And because human prostate cancers have insulin receptors, they respond to insulin" - Ottawa Citizen

Health Matters: Obesity and Social Networks

"Are your friends making you fat? Or keeping you slender? According to a recent study, obesity is socially contagious or spreads from person to person in a social network. James Fowler, PhD, coauthor of the study, and Michael Gottschalk, MD, join our host, David Granet, MD, for a lively discussion on social networks and how they influence weight staring in childhood through adulthood"

The Houston Wellness Association's 2008 Wellness Symposium

"The Houston (Texas) Wellness Association's 2008 Wellness Symposium promises to be the most unique two-day healthcare event of its kind in the country. Never before has a Symposium brought so many diverse leaders from the Private, Public, Not-For-Profit, Medical and Academic sectors together with the simple purpose of Translating Knowledge into Collaborative Action to enhance the health of the residents of our community. The Symposium will have two distinct days of programming":

Day 1: Obesity Summit focusing on the impact of obesity from a multitude of perspectives, including personal, economic, and environmental levels
Day 2: Worksite Wellness Conference reviewing the latest information on improving employee health to increase productivity and profits

Two obese men help each other diet

"When dangerously obese, bedridden Jose Luis Garza begged for any help in losing hundreds of pounds, he received it from the world's chief weight watcher. Garza is receiving diet guidance from Manuel Uribe, a man who has been fighting to lose his label as the world's heaviest man. Both men reside in the Monterrey area in Mexico. Neither man can leave his bed. Even though Garza has not stood on a scale in a long time, doctors approximate he weighs about 990 pounds. He received a call from Uribe following his appearance on national television to implore for help"

UK 'fat map' shows obesity hotspots

A new "fat map" of the UK shows high levels of obesity in the Midlands, Wales, North East and parts of the South East. The map, created by Dr Foster Research, suggests the problem may be getting worse when compared with a similar map published two years ago. Although different methodology was used, researchers said the 2008 map is now revealing pockets of obesity in previously unexpected areas. The data, from GP practices across the UK, shows that more than one in 10 patients registered with GPs in some parts of the country is obese.

Obesity more harmful to heart than smoking: study

"Heart attacks are hitting the overweight more than a decade sooner than 'normal' weight people, researchers are reporting. A study of more than 111,000 people is one of the first to put real numbers to the risk of obesity and suggests 'excess adiposity' - fat tissue - is more dangerous to the heart than smoking. 'The leading theory in cardiology right now is that the fat tissue is actually producing factors that precipitate heart attacks,' says lead author Dr. Peter McCullough, consultant cardiologist and chief of nutrition and prevention medicine at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. The study appears in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Obesity affects buffet eating styles

"When dining at Chinese buffets, overweight individuals serve themselves and eat differently than normal weight individuals. This may lead them to overeat, according to a recent study by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab. Compared to normal weight diners, overweight individuals sat 16 feet closer to the buffet, faced the food, used larger plates, ate with forks instead of chopsticks, and served themselves immediately instead of browsing the buffet. The study was published in the journal Obesity"

Overeating makes the brain go haywire

"U.S. researchers have determined that overeating makes the brain go haywire, which could lead to diabetes, heart disease, and many other problems. Eating too much food activates a typically dormant immune system pathway in the brain. This process sends out immune cells to attack and destroy invaders that are not there, according to Dongsheng Cai of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The findings were published in the journal Cell. The research could help explain why obesity causes so many different diseases. 'This pathway is usually present but inactive in the brain,' Cai said. Obesity is a growing problem worldwide with 1.8 billion people estimated to be overweight or obese in 2007. Cai's team studied mice, and tried to explain previous studies that have shown that obesity causes chronic inflammation throughout the body"

Fat children 'should be taken from parents and given stomach-stapling surgery'

"Tam Fry, a member of the UK National Obesity Forum's board, will tell a key conference that young people who are overfed by their parents should be treated as victims of abuse, just as malnourished children are. He will argue that authorities should take obese children away from their families and into care, and that those whose health is at risk should then undergo stomach-stapling operations. Mr Fry insists Britain's obesity epidemic poses such a risk to public health, with the overweight likely to suffer from heart disease and diabetes, that drastic action must be taken" - Daily Telegraph

2008 National Obesity Forum Conference (UK)

The 2008 National Obesity Forum Conference takes place 6-7 October 2008 in London, UK - "In planning the programme we have tried to provide you with up to date information on the scientific aspects of obesity, while at the same time making room for consideration of what might be termed socio-political issues. In the allocation of time Day 1 concentrates on the science, while the content of Day 2 focuses on the socio-political" - Colin Waine