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The traditional body mass index (BMI) measure may have misclassified millions of Americans as not having obesity, according to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. Among over 9,700 adults identified as having obesity according to total body fat percentage estimates using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans, the BMI measure only accurately classified 47%, reported Aayush Visaria, MD, MPH, of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, at ENDO 2023opens in a new tab or window, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. When ruling out obesity, BMI and DEXA measures were congruent 95% of...

The Air Force is reportedly loosening its body composition requirements and allowing recruits to have higher percentages of body fat. "The Air Force is looking to open the aperture on qualifying a broader pool of young Americans for service in the Air Force. These changes bring the Air Force in line with DOD policy," Air Force Recruiting Service spokeswoman Leslie Brown said in a statement. "While recruits will be allowed to join with greater body fat percentages, they will still be expected to meet the same fitness standards as everyone else to stay in the service," she added. "That means...

The virus that causes COVID-19 undertakes a massive takeover of the body's fat-processing system, creating cellular storehouses of fat that empower the virus to hijack the body's molecular machinery and cause disease. After scientists discovered the important role of fat for SARS-CoV-2, they used weight-loss drugs and other fat-targeting compounds to try to stop the virus in cell culture. Cut off from its fatty fuel, the virus stopped replicating within 48 hours. The team embarked on the study based on observations that people with a high body-mass index and conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes are more sensitive to the...

<p>According to the researchers mainly based at Stanford’s School of Medicine, studies have shown that fat cells can act as a reservoir for RNA viruses like influenza A and HIV. Their new research, which was released in an October preprint and is awaiting peer-review, suggests that the same is occurring with the CCP virus, which causes the disease COVID-19.</p>

Beige is considered a calming paint color, and scientists have new evidence that beige fat has a similar impact on the brain, bringing down the inflammation associated with the more common white fat and providing protection from dementia. They have found that beige fat cells, which are typically intermingled with white fat cells in the subcutaneous fat present on “pear shaped” people, mediate subcutaneous fat’s brain protection, Dr. Alexis M. Stranahan and her colleagues report in the journal Nature Communications. Pear-shaped people, whose weight is generally distributed more evenly, rather than “apple shaped” individuals with fat clustered around their middle...

New research from the University of East Anglia and Quadram Institute reveals how our immune cells use the body’s fat stores to fight infection. The research, published today (December 8, 2021) in the journal Nature Communications, could help develop new approaches to treating people with bacterial infections. The research team says their work could one day help treat infections in vulnerable and older people. The team studied Salmonella — a bacterial infection that causes diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, and sepsis. The UEA team collaborated with the Quadram Institute and colleagues at the Earlham Institute, to track fatty acid movement...

A series of new experiments on mice have revealed a key process by which the brain and immune system communicate to burn deep stores of visceral fat. It's the first time scientists have identified a neuro-immune pathway directly linked to fat control, and while the findings are limited to mice, the authors are hopeful the system extends to other mammals, like humans, too. Visceral or 'deep' fat is the yellow matter that envelops the abdominal organs. Like most forms of fat, its presence is crucial to maintain a body's fundamental functions, but if it builds up too much, it can...

Navy Petty Officer Lentoyi White, 26, feared she’d be dismissed from the service after twice failing the Navy’s body composition assessment (BCA), which measures body fat percentage. But in January, the Navy loosened its body fat restrictions for both men and women, giving White and thousands of other sailors another chance to stay in the Navy. “I am very grateful for a second chance with this new policy,” said White, a single mother with a 5-year-old daughter. White has gone from 212 pounds to 188 and is optimistic she’ll pass this spring under the new standards. Under the Navy’s previous...

The Navy is giving another chance to thousands of sailors who otherwise would be kicked out for repeatedly failing their physical fitness tests because they exceeded body fat limits. The service branch loosened its body fat restrictions in January and is allowing those who failed their exams three or more times to get one more opportunity to be tested this spring under the more lenient guidelines. The Navy said it has been losing too many talented sailors. Some were resorting to liposuction, diet pills and other measures to save their careers. The Navy allowed about 2,400 sailors who passed a...

You may want to program the thermostat in your office down a couple of degrees today, despite the more-than-chilly temperatures outside. A paper published Wednesday in the scientific journal Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism suggests doing so could help you lose weight. Regular exposure to mildly cold temperatures help people burn more calories, according to the paper's authors, who have been studying this phenomenon for more than a decade. "Since most of us are exposed to indoor conditions 90 percent of the time, it is worth exploring health aspects of ambient temperatures," lead author Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt said. "What...

Doctors say a number of military personnel are turning to liposuction to remove excess fat from around the waist so they can pass the Pentagon’s body fat test. Some service members say they have no other choice because the Defense Department’s method of estimating body fat is weeding out not just flabby physiques but bulkier, muscular builds. …

Too much coffee can lead to weight gain and other health problems, even if drinkers stick to decaffeinated, according to research. Experts warned that drinking five or more cups a day increased the amount of fat stored in the abdomen. It was revealed that even a “moderate intake” of coffee in the average day could also lead to problems such as increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Repeated studies in the past have shown that coffee can have benefits for regular drinkers, including lowing the chances of a stroke and certain forms of cancer. …

Being fat can actually be good for you -- with obese people who are otherwise healthy living just as long as slim people -- according to a Canadian study published Monday. The study, published in the Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism journal, found that obese people with no other health problems were also less likely to die of cardiovascular causes than their slim counterparts. Researchers at York University, Toronto, said the study of thousands of obese Americans indicated that trying and failing to lose weight may be even worse for obese individuals than remaining fat. Lead author Jennifer Kuk, an...

EDMOND, OK -- Two women are arrested for shoplifting and police say they used their bodies to conceal the goods. Edmond police authorities say it was at the Edmond TJ Maxx that loss prevention officers found the duo stuffing items under their belly fat and breasts. They say they took four pair of boots, three pair of jeans, a wallet and gloves; $2,600 worth of store merchandise. Ailene Brown, 28, and 37-year-old Shmeco Thomas were arrested for shoplifting and are facing felony charges. Officer James Hamm said, "These two were actually concealing them in areas of their body where excess...

People who live in the densest, pedestrian-friendly parts of New York City have a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) compared to other New Yorkers, a new study finds. Lower BMI indicates less body fat. The researchers say placing shops, restaurants and public transit near residences may promote walking and independence from private automobiles.

AUBURN - A gym teacher's tests of fourth- through sixth-graders' body fat at Webster Intermediate School have triggered complaints by parents who say some children were upset and embarrassed by the results."It didn't give any explanation," said Jane Clavet of the slip of paper her sixth-grader received. "It just gave a number. You're fat or your not," she told the Sun Journal of Lewiston.The furor began about two weeks ago when gym teacher Mary Jo Hodgkin measured students' body mass index, or body fat compared to height and weight, using new laser equipment that the school system had purchased...