A Third of 9-Month-Olds Already Obese or Overweight

LiveScience for December 31, 2010 reported on obesity in babies.

Almost one-third of 9-month-olds are obese or overweight, as are 34 percent of 2-year-olds, according to the research, which looked at a nationally representative sample of children born in 2001. The study is one of the first to measure weight in the same group of very young children over time, said lead researcher Brian Moss, a sociologist at Wayne State University in Detroit. The results showed that starting out heavy puts kids on a trajectory to stay that way.

Obesity Increases Risk of Death in Severe Vehicle Crashes, Study Shows

ScienceDaily for December 22, 2010 reported on obesity and injuries from vehicle crashes.

In a severe motor vehicle crash, a moderately obese driver faces a 21 percent increased risk of death, while the morbidly obese face a 56 percent increased risk of not surviving, according to a study posted online ahead of print in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

High Activity Staves Off Pounds, Especially for Women

ScienceDaily for December 20, 2010 reported on activity and weight-loss.

Women particularly benefitted from high activity over 20 years, gaining an average of 13 pounds less than those with low activity; while men with high activity gained about 6 pounds less than their low-activity peers. High activity included recreational exercise such as basketball, running, brisk walking or an exercise class or daily activities such as housework or construction work.

Tendency to Obesity Starts With Pre-Schoolers, Canadian Study Finds

ScienceDaily for October 27, 2010 reported on obesity and pre-schoolers.

Spence and his team recruited 1730 Canadian children into the study -- an equal mix of boys and girls, and four- and five-year-olds -- via immunization clinics from 2005 to 2007 when they came for their pre-school vaccinations. Kids were classified according to body weight status and parents asked to complete the UK-developed Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ), which has been used in European studies to establish the relationship between food behaviours and body weight in children.

Dad's Weight and Diet Linked to Offspring's Risk of Diabetes

ScienceDaily for October 24, 2010 reported on weight of fathers and obesity in offspring.

"But until now, the impact of the father's environment -- in terms of his diet -- on his offspring had not been investigated." The work formed the basis of the PhD study of Dr Sheau-Fang Ng, who showed that paternal environmental factors such as diet and weight are important contributors to disease in the next generation.

Waist Circumference, Not BMI, Is Best Predictor of Future Cardiovascular Risk in Children, Study Finds

ScienceDaily for October 14m 2010 reported on obesity in children.

The researchers, whose results appear in the early online edition of the International Journal of Obesity, found that children with high waist circumference values (in the top 25 percent for their age and sex) were five to six times more likely than children with low waist circumferences (in the bottom 25 percent) to develop metabolic syndrome by early adulthood. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of key cardiovascular risk factors and is associated with an increased risk of subsequent coronary artery disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Too Much Light at Night at Night May Lead to Obesity, Study Finds

ScienceDaily
for October 12, 2010 reported on the effect of light on our body becoming obese.

"Although there were no differences in activity levels or daily consumption of food, the mice that lived with light at night were getting fatter than the others," said Laura Fonken, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in neuroscience at Ohio State University.

Fattening Pollutants? Chemicals in Mother’s Blood Contribute to Child’s Obesity, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily for October 6, 2010 reported on chemicals in mother's blood and the child's obesity.

Babies whose mothers had relatively high levels of the chemical DDE in their blood were more likely to both grow rapidly during their first 6 months and to have a high body mass index (BMI) by 14 months, according to a team of scientists based in Barcelona, Spain. DDE, an endocrine disruptor, is a by-product of the pesticide DDT.

Large Waist Size Linked to Higher Diabetes Rates Among Americans Compared to English

ScienceDaily for October 7, 2010 reported on waist-size and diabetes.

"Americans carry more fat around their middle sections than the English, and that was the single factor that explained most of the higher rate of diabetes seen in the United States, especially among American women," said James P. Smith, one of the study's author and corporate chair of economics at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. "Waist size is the missing new risk factor we should be studying."

Why Fat Thighs Are Not as Bad as a Fat Abdomen

ScienceDaily for October 5, 2010 reported on fat thighs vs. fat abdomens.

Using ice cream, candy bars and energy drinks to help volunteers gain weight, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered the mechanisms of how body fat grows. Increased abdominal fat seems to heighten risk for metabolic disease, while fat expansion in the lower body -- as in the thighs -- seems to lower the risk. The findings, appearing in the October 4 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), help explain
why.

Research Examines Vicious Cycle of Overeating and Obesity

ScienceDaily for September 30, 2010 reported on obesity and overeating.

Obese individuals have fewer pleasure receptors and overeat to compensate, according to a study by University of Texas at Austin senior research fellow and Oregon Research Institute senior scientist Eric Stice and his colleagues published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Putting on the Pounds After Weight Loss? Hit the Gym to Maintain Health Gains

ScienceDaily for September 23, 2010 reported on changes in ones weight.

Although obesity is a major risk factor for disease, much of the threat may be associated with the metabolic (or cardiometabolic) syndrome, a cluster of risk factors related to diabetes and heart disease. Losing weight can improve health and reduce many of these risk factors. However, many people struggle to keep the weight off long-term. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that people who perform resistance training while regaining weight can help maintain strides in reducing their risks for chronic disease.

Higher Dairy Calcium Intake and Increased Serum Vitamin D Are Related to Greater Diet-Induced Weight Loss, Israeli Study Finds

ScienceDaily for September 22, 2010 reported on calcium, vitamin D, and weight-loss.

Regardless of diet, researchers also found participants with the highest dairy calcium intake -- equal to 12 oz. of milk or other dairy products (580 mg of dairy calcium) -- lost about 12 pounds (6 kg.) at the end of the two years. In comparison, those with the lowest dairy calcium intake -- averaging about 150 mg dairy calcium, or about half of a glass -- only lost seven pounds on average. The study was published in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Too Much TV, Video and Computer Can Make Teens Fatter

ScienceDaily for September 21, 2010 reported on the effect of TV, video, and computers have on teens.

Even
teens from the consistently low group exceeded two hours per day of screen time on average, yet organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society recommend limiting screen use to two hours per day. Increasers and consistently high screen users had the greatest increases in percent body fat, while decreasers had the lowest gains in percent body fat

Headaches in Teens Tied to Overweight, Smoking and Lack of Exercise

ScienceDaily for August 19, 2010 reported on health of teenagers.

Teens who are overweight, get little exercise or who smoke may be more likely to have frequent headaches and migraines than teens with none of these factors, according to a study published in the August 18, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Even Modest Weight Gain Can Harm Blood Vessels, Researchers Find

ScienceDaily for August 19, 2010 reported on weight-gain.

Mayo Clinic researchers found that healthy young people who put on as little as 9 pounds of fat, specifically in the abdomen, are at risk for developing endothelial cell dysfunction. Endothelial cells line the blood vessels and control the ability of the vessels to expand and contract.

Overweight American Children and Adolescents Becoming Fatter

ScienceDaily for August 19, 2010 reported on weight-gains in children.

Overweight American children and adolescents have become fatter over the last decade, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and National Institute on Aging (NIA). They examined adiposity shifts across socio-demographic groups over time and found U.S. children and adolescents had significantly increased adiposity measures such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and triceps skinfold thickness (TST).

Larger Waist Associated With Greater Risk of Death

ScienceDaily for August 10, 2010 reported on waist-circumference and risk of death.

Having a large waist circumference has previously been associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, abnormal cholesterol levels and heart disease, according to background information in the article. This may be because waist circumference is strongly correlated with fat tissue in the viscera -- surrounding the organs in the abdomen -- which is thought to be more dangerous than fat tissue under the skin.

Eliminating Diabetes and Depression, and Boosting Education, Most Likely to Ward Off Dementia

ScienceDaily for August 6, 2010 reported on Dementia.

While the exact cause of dementia is still unknown, several modifiable risk factors have already been identified. These include vascular risk factors (heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol), a history of depression, diet, alcohol consumption, and education level.

Obese Employees Take More Sick Leave

LiveScience for August 2, 2010 reported on obesity and the work-place.

The work suggests the current obesity epidemic in the United States and other developed countries may have economic costs beyond just rising medical bills. The researchers hope the findings may spur employers to take action to encourage their employees to lose weight.