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Major restaurant chains in Massachusetts would be required to prominently post the calorie counts for all their offerings - at the counter or on the menu - under a far-reaching anti-obesity campaign that Governor Deval Patrick's administration is expected to announce today. The administration's battle against bulging waistlines also calls for public schools to measure the height and weight of first-, fourth-, seventh-, and 10th-graders and calculate whether a child is overweight. The finding would be sent home with students along with detailed advice on eating better and exercising more, with the goal of reducing the incidence of health conditions...

The discovery more than a decade ago of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone secreted by fat tissue, generated headlines and great hopes for an effective treatment for obesity. But hopes dimmed when it was found that obese people are unresponsive to leptin due to development of leptin resistance in the brain. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report the first agents demonstrated to sensitize the brain to leptin: oral drugs that are already FDA-approved and known to be safe. Findings were published January 7 by the journal Cell Metabolism. In 1995, researchers reported in Science that they had isolated a protein...

New evidence in mice bolsters the notion that a version of a gene earlier shown to protect lean people against weight gain and insulin resistance can have the opposite effect in those who eat a high-fat diet and are heavier, reveals a report in the January 7th issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. The findings suggest that the 12 percent of people who carry the so-called Ala12 version of the gene that serves as a master controller of fat differentiation will be more sensitive than most to the amount of fat in their diets. (That fat-moderating...

Researchers from Loyola University Health System and other centers compared African American women in metropolitan Chicago with women in rural Nigeria. On average, the Chicago women weighed 184 pounds and the Nigerian women weighed 127 pounds. Researchers had expected to find that the slimmer Nigerian women would be more physically active. To their surprise, they found no significant difference between the two groups in the amount of calories burned during physical activity. "Decreased physical activity may not be the primary driver of the obesity epidemic," said Loyola nutritionist Amy Luke, Ph.D., corresponding author of the study in the September 2008...

1/2/2009 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyz Republic (AFPN) -- "I knew I was unhealthy and had to make some changes, especially when I thought about my five-year-old looking up at me," said Senior Airman Jarvis Johnson. "Without changes, I wouldn't be around to see him and my daughters grow up." When you ask someone what they can accomplish in six months -- just 24 short weeks -- they may say something like, "I plan to finish a couple college courses," or maybe, "I'm going to read a couple books," or "Tour a little." Many may say they are going to...

For the first time in a decade, losing weight will NOT be one of my New Year's resolutions. The reason? After years of piling on the padding (and a few failed weight-loss attempts) I've lost 60 lbs. over the past four months. I've only blogged about diet once and did so hesitantly. But that two-year-old post is still getting consistent hits. Everybody is Googling for the silver bullet to shedding pounds. They think that there must be some secret diet, high-tech fitness equipment, or miracle pill that will finally give them health. As I said back then, fat people offer...

WATERBURY — A local am­bulance company said Tuesday it was not responsible for the death of a 500-pound Water­town man who waited nearly half an hour for an ambulance that could carry him to the hos­pital. But the company’s internal investigation, which officials outlined Tuesday but did not re­lease in its entirety, doesn’t ac­count for 10 of the 27 minutes that 44-year-old Thomas Sprague waited to be transport­ed to Waterbury Hospital on Dec. 16. Sprague’s death from respi­ratory failure didn’t spur any changes in company policy, practice or personnel, or lead to the discipline of any employee, said Jeremy Rodorigo,...

Agency seeks recall of products that pose serious health risks The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting consumers nationwide not to purchase or consume more than 25 different products marketed for weight loss because they contain undeclared, active pharmaceutical ingredients that may put consumers’ health at risk. The tainted weight loss products are: *Fatloss Slimming (2 Day Diet & 3x Slimming Power) *Japan Lingzhi 24 Hours Diet (5x Imelda Perfect Slimming & 3 Day Diet) *7 Day Herbal Slim (8 Factor Diet & 7 Diet Day/Night Formula) *999 Fitness Essence (Extrim Plus & GMP) *Imelda Perfect Slim (Lida DaiDaihua...

Mayo Clinic cardiologist Apoor Gami, M.D., the lead researcher on the study, presented his findings at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008 in New Orleans. "Nighttime low oxygen saturation in the blood is an important complication of obstructive sleep apnea," according to Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D., the study's principal investigator. "Our data showed that an average nighttime oxygen saturation of the blood of 93 percent and lowest nighttime saturation of 78 percent strongly predicted SCD, independent of other well-established risk factors, such as high cholesterol. These findings implicate OSA, a relatively common condition, as a novel risk factor for...

Targeting Obesity Alongside Hunger Obama Administration May Look to Tie Food Assistance to Improved Nutrition In many areas where lots of people receive aid, good, nutritious food can be scarce. The District's Ward 8 went nine years without a full-service grocer. By Jane Black Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 24, 2008; Page A02 The worsening economic crunch is causing the tab for food assistance programs to balloon, and with the rising costs has come an intensifying debate over whether -- and how -- the U.S. government can tackle simultaneously the paradoxically linked problems of hunger and obesity. The statistics...

Timesunion.com: "The plan will come with a host of revenue raisers — increased taxes on hospitals and insurance policies, for instance — and at least one new assessment, a so-called obesity tax on non-diet soda to raise $404 million." Yes, NY wants to tax non-diet sodas to keep us all from getting fat, all the while putting a little coin in their coffers. I have many, many problems with this. Let's see if I can put a few of those concerns into words. First, it's not the Governments place to tell you how you should drink or eat. It isn't...

Oprah Winfrey has admitted the obvious, that she has "fallen off the wagon" again in her lifelong fight against weight gain and that she has given up on being thin. The talk show host is disappointed about her recent weight gain.The country's most famous yo-yo dieter confesses in a brutally honest essay that she has ballooned to more than 200 pounds.

Oprah Winfrey opens up about her recent weight gain in an eight-page package in the January issue of O. The coverline reads: “How Did I Let This Happen Again?” Winfrey writes about how and why she has gained 40 pounds in four years, now reaching 200 pounds. That's right. 200. “I’m mad at myself. I’m embarrassed.” She goes on, “I didn’t just fall off the wagon. I let the wagon fall on me.” According to WWD, Winfrey posed for O in January 2005 when she was at 160 pounds, in her workout wear and an evening gown. “I want to...

Confused? Various local governments have declared obesity a crisis, fast food chains are being sued, school lunches are now abstaining from all fried foods, But last week the USDA release their report stating more children are hungry than before the downturn. Who is responsible for the food that these poor, hungry, obese children are given? Surely not Heather Mills.

In early November a six-year-old boy from Derby was taken into care by social workers for being overweight. This is the first time that obesity has been listed by social workers as one of the reasons for taking a child away from its family. But behind the scenes more and more families are targeted by social services. Last month it was reported that seven obese children have been put into care and that obesity was a factor in at least 20 child protection cases last year. In recent years public officials and child protection experts have taken upon themselves to...

Mice eating high-fat foods confer changes on at least two subsequent generations. You are what you eat, and so are your progeny and, perhaps, your progeny's progeny — at least, if you're a mouse. According to research presented at the Society for Neuroscience's 38th annual meeting in Washington DC held from 15–19 November, mice fed on a high-fat diet throughout their pregnancies and suckling had offspring that were larger than normal — a trait that was also passed on to their offspring's offspring. It is the first time that a gestating mother's diet has been shown to confer this trait...

Under the scheme people who exercise would receive supermarket-style vouchers to spend on sports gear and healthy food. Those attending keep-fit classes or weight loss clubs could be eligible for rewards, as well as those walking to bus or train stations. Critics claim the rewards will be a form of bribery. It is thought machines would be placed in schools or stations so parents or commuters could swipe their cards to tot up points. The proposal will be assessed during a pilot project in Manchester, one of nine areas designated as "healthy towns". It will be announced today by Alan...

By stressing the importance of a carbohydrate-based, low-fat diet, current U.S. dietary guidelines may have unexpectedly contributed to the current obesity epidemic, according to researchers. In accordance with national recommendations, Americans have slightly reduced their fat intake, wrote Dr. Paul Marantz of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, and his coauthors. But their carbohydrate and total-calorie intakes have increased, along with the rate of national obesity (Am. J. Prev. Med. 2008;34:234–40). The observation is not enough to establish a causal link, but enough data exist to make at least an inference. “The hypothesis that dietary fat admonitions actually...

Kids have a basic right to eat. No one can force someone else to eat, or to eat what certain segments of society have deemed “healthy.” Your body is your own. It doesn't belong to parents, politicians or the church. You don't leave the right to control your body at the schoolhouse door. It is your constitutional right to eat and to choose what you will put into your own body. No one can legitimately make that choice for you. We at Determined Digestion, a pro-eating advocacy organization, decry attempts to snatch food choices from individuals, no matter how cleverly...

ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2008) — Eating too much fructose can induce leptin resistance, a condition that can easily lead to becoming overweight when combined with a high-fat, high-calorie diet, according to a new study with rats. Although previous studies have shown that being leptin resistant can lead to rapid weight gain on a high-fat, high-calorie diet, this is the first study to show that leptin resistance can develop as a result of high fructose consumption. The study also showed for the first time that leptin resistance can develop silently, that is, with little indication that it is happening. The study...

To understand where fat comes from, you have to start with a skinny mouse. By using such a creature, and observing the growth of fat after injections of different kinds of immature cells, scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Rockefeller University have discovered an important fat precursor cell that may in time explain how changes in the numbers of fat cells might increase and lead to obesity. The finding could also have implications for understanding how fat cells affect conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. "The identification of white adipocyte progenitor cells provides a means for identifying...

MEXICO CITY - Abraham Leon was getting a checkup when he found out he had high blood pressure and was at risk of developing diabetes. On the spot, the 5-foot-6-inch, 240-pound lab researcher joined "Vamos Por Un Million de Kilos" (Let's Lose a Million Kilos), a national campaign to get Mexicans to collectively trim about 2 million pounds.

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MDAre there really certain foods that can help you lose weight and keep it off? We're not talking about any so-called miracle food that "melts the fat" (does the cabbage soup diet ring any bells?). These are foods that really can help you lose or maintain weight, either by helping you to eat less or to burn more calories -- or, in some cases, maybe even helping to decrease your body fat.Experts say there are two basic categories of foods that can be considered "keeping it off superfoods" because they fill your tummy without piling on...

Thinking too much can make you eat more. Researchers at Universite Laval say intellectual work raises peoples' calorie intake and could be a reason for obesity. A group of 14 students were invited to eat as much as they wanted at a buffet, after taking part in three different tasks: * Sitting down and relaxing * Reading and summarizing a text * Finishing memory and attention tests on a computer All the tasks turned out to be low energy -- students only needed three more calories to do the mental work than to rest. However, they spontaneously ate 203 more...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama, pushed to second in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat. The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit — or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.

Next year, the state will add a $25 insurance fee for being overweight Alabama, pushed to third in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat. The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit — or they’ll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free. Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don’t work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviors. Alabama already charges workers who smoke — and has seen...

More than 25 percent of adults are obese in 28 states, an increase from 19 states last year, Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported in their fifth annual obesity survey. More than 20 percent of adults are obese — 30 pounds or more overweight — in every state except Colorado. Nine of the Top 10 fattest states are in the south. Mississippi leads the pack with an adult obesity rate of 31.7 percent, according to the report, which is a follow-up analysis of the annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey by the federal Centers for...

The threat to Britain and the NHS from rising obesity is as grave as that posed by terrorism, a top expert says. Durham University public health expert Professor David Hunter, who also acts as a government adviser, said ministers should be taking "bold action" now. He said this could include compelling manufacturers to improve the salt, fat and sugar content of their products. The Department of Health said it was making progress in disease prevention in a number of areas. Professor Hunter said that governments since the 1970s, including the present Labour government, had "tinkered around the edges" of the...

The announcement this week from the Local Government Association that Social workers will consider taking 'dangerously overweight' children from their parents and placing them into care is guaranteed to tie all decent people in a veritable Gordian knot of conflicting liberal impulses. On the one hand we all abhor the idea that children might be so packed full of high-calorie low-nutrition takeaways and convenience food by uncaring or ignorant parents that they are effectively crippled by their own bulk. On the other hand we Britons have long rather fancied ourselves to be a more than averagely tolerant bunch, and the...

Attention will be riveted on the Olympic torch Friday during the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympiad, but in cyberspace, another torch relay is under way to promote visibility of a “sport” not yet ready for prime time in Beijing. It is the digital torch of the World Cyber Games, being passed from country to country, ultimately to land in Cologne, Germany, on Aug. 11. World Cyber Games? That’s right: pro video-game play. Before anyone snickers, remember that sports channel ESPN routinely showcases poker tournaments, which arguably involve even less athleticism than video-gaming. Indeed, competitive video-game leagues have contracts with...

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. The figure might sound alarming, or impossible, but researchers say that even if the actual rate never reaches the 100-percent mark, any upward movement is worrying; two-thirds of the population is already overweight....

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. The figure might sound alarming, or impossible, but researchers say that even if the actual rate never reaches the 100-percent mark, any upward movement is worrying; two-thirds of the population is already overweight. "Genetically and physiologically, it should be impossible" for all U.S. adults to become overweight, said Dr. Lan Liang of the federal government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, one of the researchers on the study. However,...

<p>A death row inmate scheduled for execution in October says he's so fat that Ohio executioners would have trouble finding his veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs.</p> <p>Lawyers for Richard Cooey argue in a federal lawsuit that Cooey had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and that the problem has been worsened by weight gain.</p>

In the Aug. 1 Wall Street Journal, Amy Chozick asked, "[C]ould Sen. Obama's skinniness be a liability?" Most Americans, Chozick points out, aren't skinny. Fully 66 percent of all citizens who've reached voting age are overweight, and 32 percent are obese. To be thin is to be different physically. Not that there's anything wrong, mind you, with being a skinny person. But would you want your sister to marry one? Would you want a whole family of skinny people to move in next door? "I won't vote for any beanpole guy," an "unnamed Clinton supporter" wrote on a Yahoo politics...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A death row inmate scheduled for execution in October says he's so fat that Ohio executioners would have trouble finding his veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs. Lawyers for Richard Cooey argue in a federal lawsuit that Cooey had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and that the problem has been worsened by weight gain.

<p>COLUMBUS -- A death row inmate scheduled for execution in October says he's so fat that Ohio executioners would have trouble finding his veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs.</p> <p>Lawyers for Richard Cooey argue in a federal lawsuit that Cooey had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and that the problem has been worsened by weight gain.</p>

Government bans the word 'obese' to describe overweight children Obesity is a growing problem in the UK Parents of primary school children will start getting letters in September telling them how fat their children are. But however much they weigh, no child will ever be described as obese. The Department of Health has found in surveys that the term obese is a turn-off, so instead will use the term “very overweight” for those children whose body mass index exceeds 30, in an attempt to enlist parents’ support. Primary care trusts have been given a detailed set of instructions, and a...

Study Predicts Obesity Apocalypse by 2030 Experts Weigh in on Fate of Rapidly Fattening Populace By DAN CHILDS ABC News Medical Unit Aug. 2, 2008— Rising sea levels. Flying cars. Speculation about what the world will look like a quarter century from now are in no short supply. But if new research released this week is correct, we can at least be sure of one thing: The forecast calls for fatness. The study, released this week in the journal Obesity, suggests that by the year 2030, nearly every American will be overweight or obese. Currently, figures from the U.S. Centers...

A Richmond man who killed his wife by sitting on her during an argument has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. Originally charged with murder, Pierre Ramon Mays Sr., 47, accepted a plea bargain Monday and pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the Oct. 23, 2006, death of Marilyn Mays, his partner off and on for 20 years. Marilyn Mays, 47, died of asphyxiated chest compression from her husband, who weighed 270 pounds, sitting on her chest during a struggle, prosecutor Jerry Chang said. When he saw she had stopped breathing, Pierre Mays immediately summoned an ambulance and...

Melbourne: Tried everything but can’t seem to get rid of your post-marriage love handles? Well, don’t question your determination for the failed plan, for the real culprit behind all weight worries is your hubby. Yes, you heard it right. According to health experts, a husband is more of a hindrance than help in a wife's battle with the bulge. "For some women, marriage definitely can be fattening," the Courier Mail quoted Dr Brian Steadman, a leading British authority on nutrition, as saying. "It's hard enough for them to stick to good eating habits when they're single, but they can find...

In a bid to “kill two birds with one stone,” Democrats in congress have introduced the Transportation and Housing Options for Gas Price Relief Act of 2008. This bill calls for the federal government to issue every American a “good pair of walking shoes” and mandates that “large appliance boxes be set aside as temporary housing for those who lose their homes due to mortgage defaults.” “The beauty of this plan is that the housing will be portable,” said an enthusiastic Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore). “People will be able to live closer to jobs they can walk to. We will...

Exiling the Happy Meal Los Angeles Lawmakers Want to Escalate The War on Obesity (And Fast Food) By SARAH MCBRIDE July 22, 2008 Despite its health-crazy reputation, parts of Los Angeles are plagued by obesity rates that rival any city in America. Now, the city may join a growing roster of local governments aiming to put their residents on diets by cracking down on the fast-food industry. Jan Perry, a Los Angeles city-council member, is spearheading legislation that would ban new fast-food restaurants like McDonald's and KFC from opening in a 32-square-mile chunk of the city, including her district. The...

For Some Ohioans, Even Meat Is Out Of Reach by Yuki Noguchi All Things Considered, July 17, 2008 · A generation ago, the livelihood of Gloria Nunez's family was built on cars. Her father worked at General Motors for 45 years before retiring. Her mother taught driver's education. Nunez and her six siblings grew up middle class. Things have changed considerably for this Ohio family. Nunez's van broke down last fall. Now, her 19-year-old daughter has no reliable transportation out of their subsidized housing complex in Fostoria, 40 miles south of Toledo, to look for a job. Nunez and most...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than a quarter of all Americans are now obese, the latest U.S. government figures show. The percentage of U.S. adults who are obese grew by nearly 2 percent between 2005 and 2007, from just under 24 percent to 25.6 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday. Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee had the worst rates, with 30 percent of adults reporting weights that made them medically obese. Colorado had the slimmest population, with 18.7 percent of people reporting weights that put them in the obese category. Obesity is defined as having a body...

Minister calls for children to be locked in school to stop them buying junk food Last updated at 16:47pm on 06.07.08   Children's Minister Kevin Brennan has called for secondary school children to be locked inside school grounds during breaks to stop them buying unhealthy food Children should be locked inside school grounds to stop them buying unhealthy food from shops and takeaways, a minister said yesterday.The drastic proposal comes amid new evidence that the Jamie Oliver-inspired drive to ensure school canteens offer more nutritious meals is being shunned by pupils.Children's Minister Kevin Brennan said secondary school children should...

Common Cooking Spice Found In Curry Shows Promise In Combating Diabetes And ObesityResearchers believe that curcumin, the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant ingredient in turmeric, may lessen insulin resistance and prevents Type 2 diabetes in these mouse models by dampening the inflammatory response provoked by obesity. (Credit: iStockphoto/Nilesh Bhange) ScienceDaily (June 23, 2008) — Turmeric, an Asian spice found in many curries, has a long history of use in reducing inflammation, healing wounds and relieving pain, but can it prevent diabetes? Since inflammation plays a big role in many diseases and is believed to be involved in onset of both obesity and Type...

ScienceDaily (June 19, 2008) — Exercise does not suppress appetite in obese women, as it does in lean women, according to a new study. "This [lack of appetite suppression] may promote greater food intake after exercise in obese women," said Katarina Borer, PhD, a University of Michigan researcher and lead author of the study. "This information will help therapists and physicians understand the limitations of exercise in appetite control for weight loss in obese people." Borer and her co-workers sought to better understand how changes in body fat level influence appetite and a hormone called leptin,

It’s not likely dieticians will be endorsing his regimen, but a Virginia man demonstrated it is possible to regularly dine at a fast-food restaurant without being criticized for signing your own death certificate. Despite media attacks on fast-food for being unhealthy, ABC’s “Good Morning America” showed that healthier options are available without heavy-handed involvement from government in its June 19 broadcast. “Meet Chris Coleson – for years the Virginia man said he was eating too much and, of course, no diet seemed to work,” co-host Diane Sawyer said. “Then last December, he tipped the scales at 278 pounds and made...

Australia has a higher proportion of obese people than the United States, with the health system facing a "fat bomb" unless action is taken, a study warned Thursday. The report from the Baker Heart Institute found that 70 percent of men and 60 percent of women aged 45-65 had a body mass index of 25 or more, meaning they were overweight or obese. Titled "Australia's Future Fat Bomb," the study compiled the results of height and weight checks carried out on 14,000 adult Australians in 2005. The institute's head of preventative cardiology professor Simon Stewart said the results meant Australia...

The shocking death of Tim Russert last Friday has left an entire nation wondering what happened.  He was a model patient, doing everything his doctors asked.  All major media have run articles trying to explain the nuances and difficulties in treating coronary artery disease.  These articles find little fault in Russert’s care, trying to create the idea that his heart attack was just too hard to predict and that all that could have been done for him was done.  I beg to differ.  His death represents the failure of standard medical care to produce a positive result – an occurrence...