All Obesity Articles

People suffering from common mental health problems like anxiety or depression are more likely to become obese, researchers said. The risks increase every time a person suffers an episode of feeling depressed or anxious. The research was carried out on more than 4,000 adults (3,122 men and 1,241 women) aged 35 to 55 who were followed for more than 19 years. They were asked questions Read more...

LONDON -- Being fat in middle age may slash women's chances of making it to their golden years in good health by almost 80 percent, a new study says. American researchers observed more than 17,000 female nurses with an average age of 50 in the U.S. All of the women were healthy when the study began in 1976. Researchers then monitored the women's weight, along with other health changes, every Read more...

LONDON -- Being fat could become the leading cause of cancer in women in Western countries in the coming years, European researchers said. Being overweight or obese accounts for up to 8 percent of cancers in Europe. Experts said that figure is poised to increase substantially as the obesity epidemic continues, and as major causes of cancer, such as smoking and hormone replacement therapy for Read more...

An obesity "master switch" has been found that makes it possible to feast on junk food without getting fat. The discovery in mice could lead to new slimming treatments for humans within 10 years, scientists believe. A U.S. study found that mice lacking the IKKe gene became effectively immune to obesity. It meant the animals could eat a super-fatty diet and still stay slim. Read more...

Along with a risk of hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, scientists have come up with another reason to avoid obesity: Brain shrinkage. A UCLA study released last week shows the brains of obese older adults are on average 8 percent smaller than their more fit counterparts. "If you can do anything about obesity, know that you are not only saving your waistline, but saving the life Read more...

Israeli and German researchers suggest body fat can become stressed and behave dysfunctionally. The consequences of this dysfunctionality, the researchers say, may include common diseases -- such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases -- attributed to obesity. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, has identified a signaling pathway in Read more...

WASHINGTON -- Obesity is not just dangerous, it is expensive. New research shows medical spending in the United States averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who is normal weight. Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, says the study published Monday by the journal Health Affairs. The higher expense Read more...

ATLANTA -- Some swine flu cases in Michigan are raising questions about obesity's role in why some people with infections become seriously ill. A high proportion of those who have gotten severely ill from swine flu have been obese or extremely obese, but health officials have said that might be due to the fact that heavy people tend to have asthma and other conditions that make them more Read more...

WASHINGTON -- Obesity rates among adults rose in 23 U.S. states over the past year and did not decline anywhere, says a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. And while the U.S. has long been bracing for a surge in the government-funded medical program for the elderly as the the generation born after World War II starts turning 65, the new Read more...

WASHINGTON -- It isn't just the thunder thighs that shrink after obesity surgery. Melting fat somehow thins bones, too. Doctors don't yet know how likely patients' bones are to thin enough to break in the years after surgery. But one of the first attempts to tell suggests they might have twice the average person's risk, and be even more likely to break a hand or foot. The Mayo Clinic's Read more...

As men get fatter, they are more likely to have trouble getting sexually aroused, since fat converts testosterone to estrogen, a U.S. sex expert says. Dr. Ronald Lewis, an impotence expert at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine and president-elect of the 300-member Sexual Medicine Society of North America, said it's becoming clear that the inability to get an erection can be one Read more...

LONDON -- Women who have their stomachs stapled not only lose weight, they also may reduce their cancer risk by up to 40 percent, new research says. In a study of more than 2,000 obese people who had surgery to reduce the size of their stomachs, Swedish researchers found women who had the procedure were less likely to get cancer than those who did not. But for some reason, the surgery Read more...

WASHINGTON -- Scan the breathless headlines at any magazine rack -- Fight Flab in Minutes! Get Beach Ready! Add the skinny yet buxom model, and it should be no surprise that the average woman feels insecure if not downright unhappy with her real-world figure. Hang on: Are we worried just about appearance, or about whether our size signals a health problem? There is a big disconnect Read more...

We all know that being obese ratchets up your risk for a number of diseases, including heart disease, some cancers and diabetes, right? You may also know that it may be a contributing factor in the development of dementia. But here's some surprising news about weight. Research published in the journal Neurology, finds that being too thin in later years-especially for those who lose weight rapidly Read more...

A study funded by a German health food company suggests Chinese white tea may fight obesity by reducing fat cells. The study by Beiersdorf AG, published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism, said extracts of white tea reduced fat levels on laboratory-grown human fat cells, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday. Nutritionist Marc Winnefeld said the white tea extract induced a decrease in Read more...

Are portion sizes that much larger than they used to be? You betcha’! Cookies, muffins, candy bars, steaks, sodas, and countless other foods started blimping out during the1970s, dramatically inflating in the 1980s, and have continued to swell, to the point where some food products are now Godzilla-sized versions of their original selves. Food portions weren’t always so massive. Back in Read more...

Though fish is a must-have item on every dieter’s menu, a new study by Michigan State University researchers has found that some fish may actually cause the pounds to pile on. More than 250 mothers and their children who live along and eat fish from Lake Michigan were tested for their exposure to DDE – a chemical component that results from the breakdown of now-banned insecticide DDT. Read more...

Men who lose weight after surgery can look forward to a better sex life. A study of severely obese Utah men who underwent weight loss surgery found their testosterone levels and their sexual satisfaction went up. They reported more enjoyment and desire and fewer difficulties. A prior study of obese Utah women found they also reported more sexual satisfaction after surgery. Researchers Read more...

Every week, it seems, new research on alcohol is published. One study promotes drinking to help reduce heart disease. Another discovers that alcohol increases your cancer risk. What's a health conscious American to do? "For many, moderate intake can raise good cholesterol and reduce blood clotting, which can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke and possibly for type 2 diabetes," Read more...

Oprah is mad as hell and she isn't going to take it anymore.  Once again she lost a bunch of weight, looked good and felt great.  And once again she put on a bunch of weight, looked fat and felt awful.  She's certainly not alone.  Studies show that in our lifetime 7 out of 10 women and 9 out of 10 men will become overweight.  We've all been on the latest diet, taken off some poundage and Read more...

See also: fat, Jed Diamond, obesity, oprah, weight, weight loss