Weight Loss, Dieting & Obesity Blog

Blog of Weight Loss, Dieting & Obesity Research - Archive #0124.

Help for the overweight could be at the end of a phone

January 8, 2009 - EurekAlert / BMC Public Health

Counselling via the phone and internet can help weight management in overweight individuals

Control of blood vessels a possible weapon against obesity

January 7, 2009 - EurekAlert / Cell Metabolism

Mice exposed to low temperatures develop more blood vessels in their adipose tissue and metabolize body fat more quickly, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet. Scientists now hope to learn how to control blood vessel development in humans in order to combat obesity and diabetes.

Wii Fit a promising tool for all ages

January 6, 2009 - EurekAlert / Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews

A Kansas State University researcher thinks games like Nintendo's Wii Fit can help promote physical rather than sedentary activities for people of all ages

Physical activity may not be key to obesity epidemic

January 6, 2009 - Loyola University Health System / Obesity and also Yahoo! / LiveScience

A recent international study fails to support the common belief that the number of calories burned in physical activity is a key factor in rising rates of obesity

Obesity: Reviving the promise of leptin

January 6, 2009 - EurekAlert / Cell Metabolism

The 1995 discovery of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone, generated great hopes for an effective obesity drug. But hopes dimmed when it was found that obese people are leptin-resistant. Now, researchers have for the first time, re-sensitized the brain to leptin, using oral drugs that are already FDA-approved. In mice, this led to significant weight loss when combined with leptin treatment

Factor has pivotal role in obesity, metabolic syndrome

January 6, 2009 - EurekAlert / Cell Metabolism

COUP-TFII, a protein known to play a role in development and the formation of organs is also an important factor in the control of obesity and diabetes

On a high-fat diet, protective gene variant becomes bad actor

January 6, 2009 - EurekAlert / Cell Metabolism

New evidence in mice bolsters the notion that a version of a gene earlier shown to protect lean people against weight gain and insulin resistance can have the opposite effect in those who eat a high-fat diet and are heavier

Approved drugs restore sensitivity to appetite suppressant fat hormone

January 6, 2009 - EurekAlert / Cell Metabolism

A new study helps to explain why obese people and animals fail to respond to leptin, a hormone produced by fat that signals the brain to stop eating. What's more, they show that two FDA-approved drugs might restore leptin sensitivity, offering a novel treatment for obesity

Low-carb diets prove better at controlling type 2 diabetes

January 5, 2009 - EurekAlert / Nutrition and Metabolism

In a six-month comparison of low-carb diets, one that encourages eating carbohydrates with the lowest-possible rating on the glycemic index leads to greater improvement in blood sugar control

Studies reveal lifelong gender difference in physical activity

January 5, 2009 - EurekAlert / UK Society for Behavioral Medicine Annual Conference 2009

Females of all ages are less active than their male peers. Two studies reveal the gender difference in activity levels among school children and the over 70s. Both studies show males to be more physically active than females.