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As Obesity Rates Rise, Cases of Kidney Stones Double: Study
Posted 2 days 9 hours ago by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, May 25 – The number of Americans suffering from kidney stones has almost doubled since 1994, researchers report, and the obesity epidemic is the most likely reason why. About one in 11 Americans now develops kidney stones, according to scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles and RAND Corp. In contrast, only one in 20 Americans developed kidney stones back in 1994, they noted. "Kidney stones are becoming a very common health condition in the United States," said lead researcher Dr. Charles Scales Jr., a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinical scholar in the David Geffen School of Medicine departments of urology and medicine at UCLA. They are more common than heart disease, stroke and diabetes, he added. A kidney stone is like any small rock, Scales said. "It's an accumulation of crystals of substances that are dissolved in ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Urinary Tract Stones
Obese More Likely to Be Diagnosed With Advanced Thyroid Cancer
Posted 6 days ago by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 21 – Obese patients are more likely than other patients to have advanced, aggressive forms of papillary thyroid cancer when they're diagnosed with the disease, a new study has found. Thyroid cancer is on the rise in the United States and most of that increase is due to papillary thyroid cancer, said Dr. Avital Harari and colleagues at the University of California-Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine. Papillary thyroid cancer accounts for about 80 percent of thyroid cancer cases, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. For the study, the researchers reviewed the medical records of nearly 450 patients with an average age of 48 who had surgery to remove most or all of the thyroid gland as an initial treatment for papillary thyroid cancer or its variations. The patients were divided into four groups – normal weight, overweight, obese and morbidly obese – ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Thyroid Cancer
Obese Teens Can Have Heart Damage Without Showing Signs
Posted 6 days ago by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 21 – Heart damage can be present in obese teens who don't have any symptoms of heart disease, a small, preliminary study found. Obesity is a risk factor for heart disease, and previous research has shown that obese adults have damage to their hearts. In the new study, researchers examined the heart structure and function of 97 adolescents – 32 lean, 33 overweight and 32 obese – with no symptoms of heart disease. The results showed that the obese adolescents had damaged hearts with thicker walls and impaired heart function. The study is scheduled for presentation today at the Heart Failure Congress in Belgrade, Serbia, an annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology. "Education on healthy food and exercise is needed in schools to prevent obesity and early cardiovascular disease in adolescents," lead author Gani Bajraktari, professor ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Heart Disease
U.S. Teens Heading for Heart Trouble: Study
Posted 6 days ago by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 21 – Many American teenagers, including some with a normal, healthy weight, already have one or more risk factors for heart disease, researchers say. About 22 percent of today's teens have borderline-high or already high LDL cholesterol – that's the bad type. And 15 percent have pre-diabetes or diabetes, according to the new research based on data spanning from 1999 to 2008. When the study authors looked at the year-by-year differences, however, one risk factor stood out. At the start of the study period, the rate of pre-diabetes/diabetes was 9 percent. By the end of the study, that number was 23 percent. "Pre-diabetes and diabetes increased over time among adolescents," said the study's lead author, Ashleigh May, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May added that the rate of pre-diabetes/diabetes as well as the other cardiovascular ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction
Sooner Is Better for Controlling Obese Kids' Weight: Study
Posted 13 days ago by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, May 11 – A type of therapy that helps people change their behavior seems to benefit severely obese children but not severely obese teens, new research suggests. The study included 643 Swedish youngsters (313 female and 330 male) aged 6 to 16, who began "behavioral treatment" for obesity between 1998 and 2006. The investigators used a scoring method for assessing weight data that took into account the age and gender of each study participant and allowed for analysis of differences over time. Moderately obese children in the youngest age group had a good response to behavioral therapy. The treatment was less effective in older children with moderate obesity, but still had a significant effect, the researchers found. Severely obese young children had the best response to behavioral therapy, but it had little effect on severely obese teens, said Pernilla Danielsson, of the ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity
New Weight-Loss Drug Qnexa Shows Promise in Trial
Posted 16 days ago by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 10 – A new weight-loss drug that is awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration showed promising results in a recent international trial, researchers report. Volunteers who took Qnexa, a combination of the drugs phentermine and topiramate, experienced substantial weight loss, even if they had many weight-related health problems, the study found. The findings were reported this week during the European Congress on Obesity in Lyon, France. The 56-week clinical trial included 994 patients who took a placebo, 498 who took a medium dose of Qnexa, and 995 who took a high dose of the drug. Patients who took Qnexa had significantly greater weight loss than those who took the placebo, researchers Stephan Rossner, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and Arya Sharma, of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, said in a news release from the ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Phentermine, Topamax, Adipex-P, Topiramate, Fastin, Ionamin, T-Diet, Topamax Sprinkle, Suprenza, Pro-Fast SA, Obephen, Oby-Trim, Obenix, Teramine ER
Weight-Loss Surgery May Also Help Menstruation, Skin, Hair
Posted 17 days ago by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, May 11 – Obese women often stop getting their periods, but new research suggests weight-loss surgery can help regulate their monthly cycles, while also stemming excessive hair growth and skin problems that often accompany significant weight gain. "Obesity is a huge problem in the United States," said study author Chandhana Paka, a fellow in minimally invasive gynecological surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. "We wanted to see if bariatric surgery [weight-loss surgery] was a solution to helping restore menstruation in morbidly obese women whose periods have become irregular or disappeared." She said hormonal changes that occur when women reach a high body-mass index (BMI) – production of more male hormones, for example – can lead to menstrual disturbances. BMI is a calculation based on weight and height. Paka, who was a resident at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Gastric Bypass Surgery
FDA Panel Gives Blessing to New Weight-Loss Drug
Posted 17 days ago by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 10 – An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended approval of the weight-loss medication lorcaserin, even though concerns remain about cardiovascular side effects. If the agency were to give the nod to the drug, lorcaserin would become the first new weight-loss pill made available to Americans in a decade. The FDA is not bound to follow the advice of its expert panels, but it typically does. The panel of experts voted 18 to 4, with one abstention, for approval, saying the drug's benefits "outweigh the potential risks when used long term" for people battling excess weight, the Associated Press, reported. Lorcaserin has not always received such a favorable reception. According to the AP, in 2010 scientists voiced concern that the drug might come with health risks, citing tumors that had developed in animal testing involving the drug. ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity
Gut Bugs Might Influence Child's Odds for Obesity
Posted 17 days ago by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 10 – Levels of certain gut bacteria and low protein intake may raise children's risk of being obese, new research suggests. The study included 26 obese and 27 non-obese children aged 6 to 16 who completed a dietary and physical activity survey. Stool samples from the children were analyzed to assess the presence of different types of gut bacteria. Overweight and obese children had different proportions of various gut bacteria than normal weight children. The ratio of Bacteroides fragilis to Bacteroides vulgatus was 3:1 in overweight and obese children, while this ratio was reversed in normal weight children, the investigators found. Like the normal weight kids, children who ate more protein also had lower levels of B. fragilis. That suggests a possible connection between dietary protein and obesity, according to the researchers from the University of Hasselt and the ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity
Can Testosterone Therapy Help Obese Men Lose Weight?
Posted 19 days ago by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, May 9 – Older obese men with low levels of testosterone can lose weight when levels of the male hormone are restored to normal, a new study suggests. But it might not be the testosterone itself. Rather, it could be that men undergoing the hormone therapy feel better and stronger so they exercise more and watch their diet, speculated experts not involved with the study. "It [the study's conclusion] is overly optimistic," said Dr. Bradley Anawalt, a spokesman for The Endocrine Society and chief of medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. "There is very little evidence that testosterone should cause weight loss in men obese or otherwise; it usually results in weight gain." Anawalt, who was not involved in the study, noted the study was sponsored by Bayer, which makes testosterone supplements. "If you were a drug company, the best product in the world ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Testosterone, AndroGel, Testim, Axiron, Androderm, Testosterone Enanthate, Fortesta, Delatestryl, Depo-Testosterone, Testopel, AndroGel 1.25 g/actuation, Depotest, Testim 5 g/packet, Striant
U.S. Report Outlines Strategies to Prevent Obesity
Posted 19 days ago by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, May 8 – The United States' progress against the battle of the bulge has been slow, but certain strategies could speed obesity prevention efforts, a new report concludes. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) on Tuesday outlined five recommendations with the greatest potential to prevent obesity. Those recommendations come not a moment too soon: On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released startling statistics on obesity that predicted 42 percent (or 32 million more people) of the American population would be obese by 2030, while 11 percent would be severely obese. The price tag for the associated health care costs: $550 billion. The IOM strategies include: integrating physical activity into people's daily lives; making healthy food and beverage choices available everywhere; changing marketing about nutrition and physical activity; using schools to promote ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction
U.S. Obesity Rate Set to Soar, Costing Billions: CDC
Posted 7 May 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 7 – Even if the skyrocketing rates of obesity level off, 42 percent of Americans will be obese and 11 percent will be severely obese by the year 2030, a new report predicts. That means 32 million people will be tipping the scales in the wrong direction, costing the country billions, according to the study, appearing online May 7 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The (slightly) good news is that the number of people becoming obese may not be increasing as much as previously thought. "There's some evidence that the curves of increase in obesity may have changed and, at best, may be a plateau," Dr. William Dietz, director of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a Monday news conference. "[But] we still have a very serious problem." The computer model devised by report author ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity
42% of Americans Could Be Obese by 2030: CDC
Posted 7 May 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 7 – If no action is taken to halt the rising obesity rate in the United States, 42 percent of the U.S. population could be obese by 2030, a new study warns. Preventing the current rate from rising by 32 million more people could save nearly $550 billion in medical costs over the next two decades, noted study author Eric Finkelstein, an associate research professor in Duke University's Global Health Institute, and colleagues. If the current trend continues, the number of severely obese people could increase to 11 percent of the U.S. population by 2030, the researchers said. People who are severely obese – defined as having a body-mass index over 40, or being about 100 pounds overweight – have the highest risk for health problems caused by excess weight and have much higher medical costs and rates of job absenteeism than other people. The findings of the forecasting study ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity
Research May Point to New Obesity Treatments
Posted 6 May 2012 by Drugs.com
SUNDAY, May 6 – Scientists who found a way to make white fat behave more like brown fat say their discovery could lead to new obesity treatments. Brown fat burns energy (preventing obesity), while white fat stores energy (causing weight gain). White fat cells are associated with fat accumulation around organs in the belly, and this so-called "visceral fat" has been linked to an increased risk for diabetes and heart disease, the researchers explained. The new study, published in the May 6 online edition of the journal Nature Medicine, reports that U.S. researchers found that they could make white fat take on the characteristics of brown fat by blocking vitamin A metabolism in white fat. "Brown fat, and mechanisms that might allow white fat to take on brown fat characteristics, has been receiving increasing attention as a possible way to treat obesity and its complications," study leader ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity
Rising Obesity Rates Might Mean More Rheumatoid Arthritis
Posted 4 May 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, May 4 – A new study suggests that severe weight gain might raise the risk for rheumatoid arthritis – a painful, chronic ailment – especially among obese women. The epidemiological research indicated that about half of the increase in rheumatoid arthritis cases in one Minnesota county may be linked to rising obesity rates there over three decades. "The findings outline yet another disease, or disease group, associated with the current obesity epidemic," said study co-author Dr. Sherine Gabriel. "We are likely to see an increasing incidence of rheumatoid arthritis as a result of the increasing prevalence of obesity if we don't address this health crisis." Moreover, the research suggested that obesity precedeS the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, said Gabriel, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The impact of obesity on rheumatoid ... Read more
Related support groups: Obesity, Rheumatoid Arthritis
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