Weight Loss News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers studying people with a rare genetic disorder have identified a brain chemical that may play a role in appetite and obesity, a finding they say could lead to new drugs to help some obese people.

EDINBURG, Texas - A nearly half-ton Texas woman charged in the death of her toddler nephew couldn't have beaten the boy to death because of her limited movement from weight problems, her attorney said Tuesday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A death row inmate who says he's too fat to be executed received poor legal help during his trial and later when he appealed the death sentence, his lawyers said Monday during a clemency hearing.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, in extremely obese patients can be cured by gastric bypass surgery, according to the findings from a new study.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, especially long-term use, appears to raise the risk of prostate cancer among obese men, according to findings of a new study.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An epilepsy drug being tested for use in treating addiction can help obese rats shed weight, U.S. government researchers said on Wednesday.

PARIS (AFP) - Scientists have found two genetic triggers for producing healthful "good" fat in mice, pointing the way to a new treatment for obesity, according to a pair of studies published Thursday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new understanding of the origins of brown fat cells -- the "good" kind of fat that burns energy and keeps us warm -- may lead to new treatments for obesity, two research teams reported on Wednesday.

TUESDAY, Aug. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The obesity epidemic in America has gotten worse -- not better -- in the last year, despite public service campaigns warning about the health risks posed by carrying too much weight, a new report found.

FRIDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Statins reduce the perils facing obese people after they have the bypass surgery that restores blood flow to an endangered heart, a study finds.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who are both obese and have diabetes are highly likely to develop heart disease during their lifetime, a new study shows.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Armchair athletics may not be an Olympic sport but it's the most popular activity in China this month, fuelling concerns about rising obesity rates.

THURSDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Damage caused by chronic ear infections in children may alter their sense of taste, making fatty and sweet foods more desirable and increasing the risk of obesity.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- A lack of physical control and coordination in childhood may be tied to an increased risk of obesity in later life, a new study says.

LONDON (Reuters) - Children with poor hand control and coordination are more likely to become obese adults, researchers said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Some obese people are in good health and are not predisposed to heart ailments, according to a surprise study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

CHICAGO - You can look great in a swimsuit and still be a heart attack waiting to happen. And you can also be overweight and otherwise healthy. A new study suggests that a surprising number of overweight people — about half — have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while an equally startling number of trim people suffer from some of the ills associated with obesity.

SUNDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have developed a strain of mice resistant to diet-induced obesity.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It may be possible to be both fat and healthy, researchers reported on Monday, for at least half of overweight adults, and close to a third of obese men and women, have normal blood pressure, cholesterol and other measures of heart health.

FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The standard screening test for prostate cancer may not be accurate for obese men, leaving them more vulnerable to the disease, and surgery is less likely to be effective for them, a new pair of studies found.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Prostate cancer diagnosis tends to be delayed and surgical treatment more difficult in obese men than in lean men, according to two studies published Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If the trends of the past three decades continue, it's possible that every American adult could be overweight 40 years from now, a government-funded study projects.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Former President Clinton is honoring 43 schools for their anti-obesity efforts, including one that banished candy from its building and another that offers a student fitness club.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research indicates that problems associated with being overweight occur at a much younger age than previously thought.

PARIS (AFP) - To combat the growing problem of child obesity, a French report Tuesday suggested imposing an anti-obesity tax on sweet and fatty foods, while British health officials want to avoid the label "obese" for very overweight children.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight and obese patients with heart failure seem to have a lower risk of dying than their normal-weight counterparts, according to a review of published studies involving more than 28,000 heart failure patients who were followed for an average of nearly three years.

MONDAY, Aug. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Getting too little sleep or not spending enough time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is associated with being overweight among children and teens, a new U.S. study.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Studies have shown that children and teens who fail to get the proper amount of sleep each night are more prone to obesity, and researchers now think it may be linked to a particular stage of sleep.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Participation in a childcare program appears to increase the likelihood that a child will be obese when he or she shows up for the first day of kindergarten, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.