Weight and Obesity

In a lab animal model, booming gut flora spawned by the Western diet is linked to obesity.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) publishes sobering statistics on the number of cancers that are linked to excess body fat.

Previously, studies have identified two peptides that signal satiety, namely peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1)   While knowledge of the mechanisms involved in appetite control by PYY and GLP-1 has increased, postprandial (after meal) concentrations of appetite-regulating hormones have not yet been examined. 

New insights into what makes for successful, long-term weight control.

In that overweight is a major risk factor for the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis, researchers find that weight loss not only reduces the risks of disease onset, but lessens the symptoms in those who develop it as well.

Women who are overweight or obese have an 18% increased risk of giving birth to a child with heart defects.

New Harvard study links a woman’s weight at age 50 to health status at age 70.

Gary D. Foster, from Temple University (Pennsylvania, USA), and colleagues have found that obese men and women with type-2 diabetes who lost weight consequently improve their symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea.

Fred Turek, from Northwestern University (Illinois, USA), and colleagues have found that eating at irregular times -- the equivalent of the middle of the night for humans, when the body wants to sleep -- influences weight gain.

In that low-carbohydrate and low-fat calorie-restricted diets are recommended for weight loss in overweight and obese people with type 2 diabetes, a study has found that the Mediterranean diet may reduce the need for antihyperglycemic drugs in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.  Katherine Esposito, from the Second University of Naples (Italy), and colleagues studied 215 overweight people (BMI greater than 25 kg/m2) between the ages of 30 and 75 who were newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, had never been treated with antihyperglycemic drugs, and had hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels less than 11%.