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Bariatric Surgery Before Pregnancy Could Reduce Complications

If you are currently obese and you are considering having a child you might want to think about bariatric surgery before conception. It has been shown that by having this procedure prior to pregnancy could reduce the risks of neonatal and maternal complications during pregnancy and have a better chance to result in a healthy and happy infant.

Big Around the Middle = Big Health Risks

The link between obesity and health problems is well known. Current guidelines rely on body mass index (BMI), a ratio of height and weight, to determine if a person is obese; between 18 and 24.9 is considered normal, between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight and over 30 is considered obese. However, the problem is that BMI does not distinguish between fat and muscle mass or how fat is distributed, which may make more of a difference to your health. Excess belly fat has been linked to

Can Red Wine in Pill Form Help You Lose Weight?

Scientists have long been on the search for a new fat-burning medication and it looks like they have found a new candidate that could help keep extra weight off, even on a high-fat diet. The new medication, which is in development, mimics a health-boosting compound that is found in red wine and may prove to be a powerful weapon in the fight against diabetes and obesity.

Increased Prescription Rate for Kids Due to Obesity

There has been an alarming increase in the number of children in the United States who are taking medication for chronic diseases. The growing problem of childhood obesity is apparently the culprit for health issues arising among the nation’s youngsters.

Incision-Free Weight Loss Surgery in Experimental Phase

Obesity is proliferating in the United States. Research statistics show that between 1962 and 2000, the number of obese Americans grew from 13 percent to 31 percent of the population. Obesity surgery has been shown to be the only long-term effective means of weight loss for morbidly obese patients, typically working far better than diet, exercise or drugs.

Parents Not Recognizing Children's Weight Issues

Over 40 percent of parents of both underweight and overweight children are misguided in their belief that their children are within the average weight range. In what is becoming a common problem—the misconception about a child's real weight—parents allow unhealthy habits to continue, which can lead to life-long issues.

Link Between Sedentary Behavior and Uterine Cancer

Women, put down the remote or romance novel and get to exercising! It seems that not only could a little exercise help to reduce weight and other weight-attributing side effects, it may even help to ward off endometrine cancer, also known as uterine cancer, in obese or overweight women. Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women behind breast cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer.

New Evidence of The Brain’s Role in Obesity

People are obese because they love to eat, right? Not according to a recent brain study. Researchers found that obese people actually enjoy the food they eat less than lean people do, and therein lies the problem. In order to compensate for the missing pleasure, obese people eat more high-calorie food. In turn, overeating further dulls the enjoyment and begins a vicious cycle. They also found that people who carry a variant gene are more likely to gain weight.

Overeating Triggers “Master Switch” of Inflammation in Brain

Scientists are finding that obesity is a complex issue, and as they continue to search for clues to its causes, much focus has been placed on a small but vital region of the brain—the hypothalamus. Referred to as the "head ganglion of the autonomic nervous system" by the great Oxford neurophysiologist Sir Charles Sherrington, this almond-sized region of the brain organizes and controls an immense number of bodily functions such as body temperature, circadian cycles, feelings and moods as well as all motivational states including thirst, hunger and appetite,

A New Way to Effectively Suppress the ‘Hunger Hormone’?

Considering that more than two-thirds of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese, understanding the cause of obesity and finding treatments is crucial. It is known that obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories from food than he or she burns. Our bodies need calories to sustain life and be physically active, but when a person eats more calories than they burn, the balance is tipped toward weight gain and obesity. While some people eat even when they are not hungry and for other, complex reasons, many people eat because they ‘feel’ hungry.