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In a study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, Güler and his colleagues demonstrate that the pleasure center of the brain that produces the chemical dopamine, and the brain's separate biological clock that regulates daily physiological rhythms, are linked, and that high-calorie foods—which bring pleasure—disrupt normal feeding schedules, resulting in overconsumption. Using mice as study models, the researchers mimicked the 24/7 availability of a high-fat diet, and showed that anytime snacking eventually results in obesity and related health problems. Güler's team found that mice fed a diet comparable to a wild diet in calories and fats maintained normal eating...

The Algemeiner reports: Ten overweight hedgehogs have had to go on strict diets and exercise regimes after they ate so much on the streets of Israel they struggled to curl up into a ball to fend off predators. Animal lovers found them waddling around and brought them into the hospital at the Ramat Gan Safari. Staff there said the hedgehogs had probably been snacking on food left out for pets. “A lot of people put cat food on the streets for the stray cats, which is very nice but … the problem is that there’s other wildlife that eats it,”...

This is your brain on sugar—for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating. After drinking a fructose beverage, the brain doesn’t register the feeling of being full as it does when simple glucose is consumed, researchers found. It’s a small study and does not prove that fructose or its relative, high-fructose corn syrup, can cause obesity, but experts say it adds evidence they may play a role. These sugars often are added to processed foods and beverages,...

Children who have a poor emotional relationship with their mother are more than twice as likely to become obese, research claims. A study found toddlers who struggle with their mothers are at higher risk of being grossly overweight by the time they are 15. Those who had the worst emotional relationship were almost two-and-half times more likely to be obese at 15 than those with a strong bond. Meanwhile, only 13 per cent who had close bonds in their formative years became obese. U.S. researchers studied nearly 1,000 toddlers and their mothers at play then rated how strong the bond...

Obesity is more dangerous than smoking and will dramatically shorten the lives of millions, a landmark study has found. While smoking reduces life by an average of ten years, the research says being seriously overweight can cut life expectancy by as much as 13 years. The Foresight report, written by 250 leading scientists, says Britain's obesity crisis is so severe that it would take at least 30 years to reverse. If current trends continue, by 2050 about 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and 25 per cent of children in the UK will be clinically obese...

You won't be able to buy a ticket for under $10 on game day at Dodger Stadium next season, but you will be able to pay $40 for a bleacher seat and an endless supply of Dodger Dogs. The Dodgers are converting the right-field pavilion into an all-you-can-eat section. They also are raising the price of the cheapest game-day ticket, in the top deck, from $6 to $10, matching the price in the left-field pavilion. A ticket to the right-field pavilion — at $35 in advance and $40 on game day — will entitle fans to an endless supply of...

ST. LOUIS - The microorganisms that live in your gut could explain one of the sources of obesity, says a new study from researchers at Washington University. Bacteria live throughout the body, but some intestinal bacteria appear to be better than others at helping their hosts turn food into energy, say researchers Buck S. Samuel and Dr. Jeffrey I. Gordon. They believe changing the mix of bacteria in the intestine could influence how much people weigh. Bacteria and archaea, another kind of single-celled organism, are common in the human intestine. Researchers are discovering that together, they help their human hosts...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Treating obesity-related disorders costs as much or more than illnesses caused by aging, smoking and problem drinking.  It accounts for 2 percent of the national health expenditure in France and Australia, more than 3 percent in Japan and Portugal and 4 percent in the Netherlands. A review of research into the economic causes and consequences of obesity presented at the 14th European Congress on Obesity showed that in 2003 up to $96.7 billion was spent on obesity problems in the United States. "An increase in the prevalence of obesity increases the healthcare costs," Anne Wolf of the...

The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com Chronic overeating called an addictionBy Joyce Howard PriceTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished August 15, 2004 Just as federal health officials defined obesity as an illness, researchers at the University of Florida say mounting evidence suggests chronic overeating may be a substance abuse disorder and should be considered an addiction.     "What's the difference between someone who's lost control over alcohol and someone who's lost control over good food? When you look at their brains and brain responses, the differences are not very significant," said Dr. Mark Gold, chief of addiction medicine at UF's College of Medicine.     Dr. Gold,...

Stressors of the season Experts recommend exercise, rest and relaxation to keep holiday headaches at bay By Michelle Dynes rep2@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - While Christmas brings to mind nativity scenes, Santa Claus and mistletoe, other people may be thinking of family fights and January bills. The holidays can cause headaches, mostly stemming from added stress. Stressors are defined as anything that causes stress, but these can be positive or negative. Negative stressors around the holidays could be family arguments or money worries. But even things people normally enjoy can cause stress, such as visiting friends or...

You're in distress. Maybe it's a heart attack. Maybe you've blacked out. Here comes the ambulance. Trouble is, you're too big for the gurney. Even worse, you're too big for the ambulance. "Oh my yes, we regularly get 700-pound people in this town," says Joe Gulotta, deputy chief with the Tucson Fire Department. "We can fit a 700-pound person in back of the ambulance, but it's not good," says Gulotta. To do so, they have to strip out the gurney racks in back, place the person on a tarp on the back of the ambulance floor, then use the tarp...

Washington --- Fast-food consumers who spend a few extra cents upgrading their value meal also might be supersizing their health risks, a coalition of nutrition organizations said Tuesday. The study by the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity found that Americans are substantially increasing their calorie and fat intake as chains make it more economical and enticing to order larger serving sizes. The group said the resulting rising rates of obesity, responsible for 300,000 deaths annually, can lead to diseases such as cancer and diabetes. ''Americans are quite literally eating ourselves into an early grave,'' said Carol Tucker Foreman, director...