There is little evidence to support the use of many commercial
weight loss programs, according to a study in the US, which
suggests that the search for new, more effective methods will
continue to preoccupy dieters.
Young adults who eat frequently at fast-food restaurants gain more
weight and have a greater increase in insulin resistance in early
middle age, according to a large multi-center study published in
the January 1 issue of The Lancet.
There is little evidence to support the use of many commercial
weight loss programmes, according to a study in the US, which
suggests that the search for new, more effective methods will
continue to preoccupy dieters.
Nutrition 21 announced last week that a bill signed into law by
President George Bush recognizes the health benefits of chromium
picolinate towards diabetes and urges further research into its
capabilities.
Restricting the diets of mice reduces the build-up of plaques in
the brain that are linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to a
new study that offers further evidence of the benefits of calorie
restriction.
The US health department yesterday announced a national action plan
to stem the rising tide of diabetes, providing supplement
manufacturers with plenty of marketing opportunities.
Healthy foods targeted at children may be coming up against a
critical barrier to sales - most parents fail to recognise obesity
and overweight problems in their children, according to a study out
tomorrow.
Highly obese women are 12 times more likely to have diabetes or
knee replacement surgery, and five times more likely to have high
blood pressure than women who are at a normal weight, shows a new
study that reveals the extent of risk...
People who follow a healthy, low-fat, low-energy-density diet that
includes more water-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables,
consume more food but weigh less than people who eat a more
energy-dense diet, reported researchers...
Drinks companies are increasingly pushing bottled waters at the
body-conscious consumer, taking advantage of water's established
health position and shifting attitudes towards healthier
lifestyles.
Young adults who maintain their weight over time, even if they are
overweight, have lower risk factor levels for heart disease and are
less likely to develop metabolic syndrome in middle age than those
whose weight increases, according...
A large sample study in the US finds that obesity could more than
double an older woman's risk of acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML),
an often fatal cancer of the bone marrow and blood.
Chronic diseases linked to obesity could put the brakes on economic
progress in many developing countries unless urgent action is
taken, experts warned at the first major international conference
on obesity in Africa yesterday.
Soy appears to deliver tangible health benefits for the heart,
brain and kidney health but more research is needed in many areas,
heard a large audience attending this year's Soy and Health
conference.
The European Commission is funding a project to find out how food
labelling and advertising policies could be used to stem the rapid
rise of obesity in many member states.
Four common supplements - chromium, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and
multivitamins - may help slow weight gain in middle-age adults,
suggest results from an observational study.
Low fat diets are just as effective as the trendy Atkins diet and
have more scientifically solid evidence to support their long-term
weight loss effects, write Danish doctors in tomorrow's
Lancet.
A review article suggested earlier this week that the use of citrus
aurantium, or seville orange, as a substitute to ephedra may do
more harm than good to help people lose weight, but voices in the
supplements industry suggest these...
Harvard researchers have been studying 15 year-old toenails in
their attempts to discover whether there is a link between levels
of chromium in the body and incidences of diabetes.
Taking a daily chitosan supplement had little effect on weight loss
in a new study on obese volunteers, a finding that challenges
previous research showing that the fibre could help people lose
weight.
Thousands of European food ingredient specialists will join
colleagues from around the world tomorrow to learn about the latest
ingredients formulations as the 2004 IFT Annual Meeting kicks offs
in Las Vegas.
Progress towards tackling the obesity epidemic could come from a
new study which has found that a compound commonly found in red
wine boosts the activity of an identified gene which cuts the
growth of new fat cells.
Spending on health and healthcare in most developed countries has
risen dramatically over the past five years, according to a new
report from think-tank the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD).
US researchers believe they may have discovered a new cause of
insulin resistance, the condition that leads to the increasingly
prevalent type 2 diabetes. They say that high amounts of
antioxidants may promote the disease, contradicting...
Obesity is a growing threat for many poorer women in most countries
with upper-middle income national economies and even some with
lower-middle income economies, an international study concludes.
Diet changes alone will not combat the increasing rate of obesity
among children, according to a UK researcher, who instead puts the
blame on lack of exercise.
Scientists have discovered a protein that controls the amount of
fat stored in the body, offering potential new clues for obesity
treatments - welcome news as the world's health leaders agree to do
more to tackle the growing...
Yo-yo dieting, when a person repeatedly loses and regains weight,
may have a lasting negative impact on immune function, according to
new findings by US researchers.
The highly purified green tea extract Teavigo has been shown to
significantly inhibit the process that promotes fat cell formation
in mice, and may help prevent overweight in people, says
manufacturer DSM Nutritional Products.
New research appears to lend weight to the theory that rapid growth
in infancy, boosted by enriched infant formulas, might increase the
risk of heart disease and stroke later in life, say UK-based
scientists.
Greater weight loss was achieved by following a low-carb,
high-protein diet, than following a traditional low fat diet. In
addition, cholesterol levels improved on the Atkins-style diet when
compared to a low fat diet.
At least 155 million school-age children worldwide are overweight
or obese, a growing problem which needs to be tackled now if more
serious ailments such as type 2 diabetes or heart disease are to be
avoided, according to the International...
A highly complex web of signals in the brain that are vulnerable to
a single error could explain why some overweight people cannot shed
the kilos through simple diet and exercise. This is what UK
scientists said as they unveiled brand...
The US demand for forskolin, a compound that promotes increased
lean body mass has grown to such an extent that one manufacturer
has increased the amount of farmland used to grow the plant to meet
the year round demand for the herbal...
Human milk has long been thought to have an effect on reducing the
likelihood of obesity among adults, but scientists have struggled
to say exactly why this is the case - until now.
A fat hormone that causes weight loss could open up new routes to
tackling the rising tide of obesity currently affecting 200 million
people worldwide, say researchers in the US, following
investigations into the hormone adiponectin.
Most dietary supplements do not have sufficient evidence to support
claims for weight loss, according to two UK experts, who reviewed
the evidence for a number of natural products including yerba mate,
chromium picolinate, ephedra...
Grape seed extract could be a useful weight management supplement,
suggests a small study, the first to test the effects of the
extract on calorie intake in people.
A Swedish R&D company has launched a slimming pill based on a
green tea concentrate that it claims is almost as effective as the
weight loss drug Xenical, without similar side effects, writes
Dominique Patton.
Deaths due to poor diet and lack of exercise have risen by more
than a third in the last ten years, said the US government
yesterday, citing new research that suggests obesity could soon
overtake tobacco as the leading preventable...
The reason low-carb dieters often lose weight and sometimes show
improvements in their cholesterol, blood sugars, and blood
pressures is because they are, in essence, sickened by the diet,
writes a doctor in a science journal published...
People on the Atkins diet may be losing weight but they are also
likely to be in a bad mood, say researchers in the US, who say that
a lack of carbohydrates will reduce levels of the mood-regulating
hormone seratonin.
UK drug development company Phytopharm has raised approximately
£6.5 million (€9.7m) through a new share placement in preparation
for future supply of its plant-based appetite suppressant to
manufacturers of meal replacements.
