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Obesity & Weight Loss Articles and Videos

Precursor Fat Cells May Shed Light on Diseases

To understand more about the mystery of obesity, it's important to understand how fat cells are born, nurtured and matured. And the enlightenment that will flow from understanding obesity may sweep away mysteries relating to the generation of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which seem to be so much more prevalent among people who are obese.

So it was with delight that scientists greeted a recent study identifying precursor cells that develop into full-blown fat tissue. The research, performed on "skinny" mice genetically modified to have no fat deposits, showed that injecting one particular type of cell into the mice caused them to form fat. (Read more)

Another Five Predictors of Long Life

Being conscious of fat and sugar in your diet, and working out at the gym, may seem like the keys to a long and healthy life. But you may easily tire of calorie counting and workouts. It seems the real signs of whether you will be blessed with considerable longevity is if you've adopted certain lifelong healthy lifestyles and attitudes - some of which you can still start.

Here are five of them. (Read more)

Signs of a Good Bariatric Surgery Candidate

If you're obese and have tried every diet imaginable, sticking to it faithfully, and still can't lose the excess poundage, you might be a candidate for weight-loss surgery.

But bariatric surgeons don't choose just anyone. To qualify, a prospective patient must satisfy certain criteria. First, a person's body mass index, or BMI, must be at least 40 - or he or she must weigh at least 100 pounds more than his or her ideal weight. (Read more)

Researchers Control "Hunger Hormone"

Investigators may have found a novel route to weight loss by controlling the hormone that produces appetite.

The hormone, ghrelin, is produced by the fundus, or upper part of the stomach. Since ghrelin requires a rich supply of blood to be created, the scientists shut down the blood supply to that area of the stomach by chemically blocking the main artery there. (Read more)

Researchers Control "Hunger Hormone"

Investigators may have found a novel route to weight loss by controlling the hormone that produces appetite.

The hormone, ghrelin, is produced by the fundus, or upper part of the stomach. Since ghrelin requires a rich supply of blood to be created, the scientists shut down the blood supply to that area of the stomach by chemically blocking the main artery there. (Read more)

Healthy Feet Incompatible With Fat

Obesity can lead to foot amputations, warns a podiatry organization in Australia.

This is "particularly [true of] those patients who have diabetes, because they can lose feeling in their feet and sustain injuries, which can get infected and sometimes require amputation," said Brenden Brown, vice president of the Australasian Podiatry Council. And, he said, most people are completely unaware of the feet-fat connection. (Read more)

Chocolate Milkshakes Shed Insight on Obesity

The journal "Science" reports on the impact of chocolate milkshakes on obese people versus non-obese people.

The Oct. 17 issue of the journal "Science" reports on the impact of chocolate milkshakes on obese people versus non-obese people. Chocolate milkshakes in particular were studied because: "There are very few things that excite the brain as much as chocolate." So says researchers at the Oregon Research Institute and the University of Oregon, where the study was conducted. (Read more)

Chocolate Milkshakes Shed Insight on Obesity

The journal "Science" reports on the impact of chocolate milkshakes on obese people versus non-obese people.

The Oct. 17 issue of the journal "Science" reports on the impact of chocolate milkshakes on obese people versus non-obese people. Chocolate milkshakes in particular were studied because: "There are very few things that excite the brain as much as chocolate." So says researchers at the Oregon Research Institute and the University of Oregon, where the study was conducted. (Read more)

Calorie Overload Creates Brain Imbalances

Overeating can cause the brain to lose control and cause damage potentially leading to diabetes, heart disease, and other ills - according to new U.S. research.

Eating too much appears to make a usually dormant immune system pathway in the brain, sending out immune cells to attack and destroy non-existent invaders. The finding could help explain why obesity causes so many different diseases, and also may offer a way to prevent obesity itself. (Read more)

Five Foods to Slim By

Instead of getting on a fad diet, only to crash and burn a few weeks later, it's best to eat wholesome, natural foods in five or so small meals a day, according to anti-aging expert Dr. Maoshing Ni.

Dr. Mao, as the doctor of Chinese medicine and author of the best-selling book Secrets of Longevity is known, says a good weight-loss diet includes lean proteins, such as chicken breast; legumes, such as split peas and lentils; and whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Fad diets, he says, almost inevitably deny a person some important nutrients, leading to cravings all too often cause the dieter to regain his weight - and perhaps even more. He advocates eating the following as part of a sensible weight-loss program: (Read more)