obesity

An anti-obesity drug that homes in on and destroys blood vessels that support fat reduced the weight of obese rhesus monkeys by 11 percent in one month. It also trimmed their waistlines by eradicating 27 percent of their abdominal fat. Obesity raises a person's risk for developing breast, ovarian, prostate, colon and other cancers and also hinders treatment for cancer patients. Scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who developed the drug discuss results of the...

Background: Dairy product and calcium consumption have been associated with modifying body fat and body weight in children and adults. Objective: In overweight adolescent boys and girls, we aimed to determine the effect of the doubling of habitual calcium intake to the recommended intake from dairy or calcium carbonate on energy balance and purported mechanisms including fecal fat excretion, macronutrient use, and parathyroid hormone suppression. Design: Twenty-five girls with a mean...

This research project set out to determine whether a farmers' market can serve as an effective intervention in the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity through expansion of access to fresh fruits and vegetables in communities with high levels of food insecurity. The use of a farmers' market as a community-based health intervention appeared to be a successful tool in the community of City Heights. Implementation of a farmers' market in similar communities may also help...

BACKGROUND: Active living integrates physical activity into one's daily routine. Current understanding of active living among children and their families living in rural communities is limited. A community perspective is critical to understand the contextual factors that influence children's physical activity in rural areas. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived environmental factors that support or hinder physical activity among rural children to develop...

Background: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in school-aged children is potentially linked to contextual influences such as the food environment around schools. The proximity of fast-food and convenience stores to schools may enhance access to unhealthy foods and have a negative impact on diet. Purpose: This study used spatial cluster analysis to determine whether food outlets are clustered around schools and evaluated the extent of food outlet clustering by school...

The prevalences of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and the metablic syndrome are rising rapidly both in Europe and worldwide. There is evidence that this is due to the population taking less exercise and becoming more sedentary, coupled with the increased consumption of high fat, low fibre foods (fast food or convenience food). The EXGENESIS consortium aims to provide insights into the reasons why poor diet and lack of exercise contribute to increasing levels of obesity and diabetes.

Context Recommended daily physical activity accumulated in short intervals (e.g., <10 minutes) may be more feasible and appealing to the relatively sedentary populace than longer bouts. The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of the evidence for the effectiveness of short activity bouts incorporated into organizational routine as part of the regular “conduct of business.” Evidence acquisition PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar databases were searched in August...

Following experts’ consensus, waist circumference (WC) is the best anthropometric obesity index. However, different anatomic sites are used, and currently there is no universally accepted protocol for measurement of WC. In this study, we compare the associations between WC measured at different sites with total visceral adipose tissue (VAT) volume and cardiometabolic risk. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 294 adults and 234 children and adolescents. In addition, longitudinal...

Conditional transfer programs are increasingly popular, but the impact on household nutrient consumption has not been studied. We evaluated the impact of the Programa de Apoyo Alimentario (PAL), a cash and in-kind transfer program, on the energy and nutrient consumption of poor rural households in Mexico. The program has been shown to reduce poverty. Beneficiary households received either a food basket (including micronutrient-fortified milk) or cash. A random sample of 206 rural...

Research Day presentation by Dr. Michael Olivier on the genetics of obesity conducted at the Biotechnology & Bioengineering Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI USA.