Weight in Biological News

UTMB study identifies women at risk of gaining excessive weight with injectable birth control

GALVESTON, Texas Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have identified women who are likely to gain weight while using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, more commonly known as Depo-Provera or the birth control shot. These findings dispel the myth that all women who u...

Smaller plants punch above their weight in the forest, say Queen's biologists

New findings from Queen's University biologists show that in the plant world, bigger isn't necessarily better. "Until now most of the thinking has suggested that to be a good competitor in the forest, you have to be a big plant," says Queen's Biology professor Lonnie Aarssen. "But our research...

Probiotics help gastric-bypass patients lose weight more quickly, Stanford study shows

STANFORD, Calif. New research from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital & Clinics suggests that the use of a dietary supplement after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery can help obese patients to more quickly lose weight and to avoid deficiency of a critical B vitamin. ...

3 to 6 months to lose weight gained in pregnancy is normal

This release is available in German . Kilos often melt away by themselves but there is no guarantee Gaining weight in pregnancy is not only normal, it is necessary. The mother's body has to nourish the growing baby. Her body needs to take on more fluid to support the extra circulati...

'Shortcuts' of the mind lead to miscalculations of weight and caloric intake, says Penn study

PHILADELPHIA - Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a cognitive shortcut, or heuristic, they call "Unit Bias," which causes people to ignore vital, obvious information in their decision-making process, points to a fundamental flaw in the modern, evolved mind and may also...

Report updates guidelines on how much weight women should gain during pregnancy

WASHINGTON -- A growing amount of scientific evidence indicates that how much weight women gain during pregnancy and their starting weight at conception can affect their health and that of their babies, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council. The report...

LSUHSC public health researcher finds reason for weight gain

New Orleans, LA Liwei Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, is the lead author of a research paper showing that weight gain and obesity are more linked to an increase in liquid calories, particularly sugar-sweeten...

A diet rich in calcium aids weight loss

Qubec City, March 12, 2009 Boosting calcium consumption spurs weight loss, according to a study published in the most recent issue of the British Journal of Nutrition , but only in people whose diets are calcium deficient. Angelo Tremblay and his team at Universit Laval's Faculty of Medicine ...

Researchers uncover 'obesity gene' involved in weight gain response to high-fat diet

COLUMBUS, Ohio Scientists have determined that a specific gene plays a role in the weight-gain response to a high-fat diet. The finding in an animal study suggests that blocking this gene could one day be a therapeutic strategy to reduce diet-related obesity and associated disorders, such as ...

Natural brain substance blocks weight gain in mice, UT Southwestern researchers discover

DALLAS Jan. 28, 2009 Mice with increased levels of a natural brain chemical don't gain weight when fed a high-fat diet, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. The chemical, orexin, works by increasing the body's sensitivity to the "weight-loss hormone," leptin, the researc...

Nutritional supplementation program helps prevent weight loss among children in African country

Children in Niger who received a daily nutritional supplement for three months had a lower rate of weight loss and a reduced risk of wasting compared to children who did not receive the supplementation, according to a study in the January 21 issue of JAMA . Wasting (defined as a certain deviat...

Brain enzyme may play key role in controlling appetite and weight gain

December 10, 2008 - (BRONX, NY) - Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that overactivity of a brain enzyme may play a role in preventing weight gain and obesity. The findings were reported in Cell Metabolism . To understand what drives hunger and...

Lack of vitamin D causes weight gain and stunts growth in girls

This release is available in French . Montreal, December 10th, 2008 Insufficient vitamin D can stunt growth and foster weight gain during puberty, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism . Even in sun-drenched California, where scientists f...

Gaining too much weight during pregnancy nearly doubles risk of having a heavy baby

(PORTLAND, Ore.) October 31, 2008 A study by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research of more than 40,000 women and their babies found that women who gained more than 40 pounds during their pregnancies were nearly twice as likely to have a heavy baby. Published in the November issue of O...

Research shows that the pill does not deserve its reputation for causing weight gain

For This release is available in German . Research has not proven that the Pill causes weight gain. But many women are put off using contraceptive pills because this has been listed as one of their adverse effects. Their concern may be narrowing their contraceptive choices without good reason,...

Fructose sets table for weight gain without warning

BETHESDA, Md. (Oct. 16, 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 resis...

New study indicates link between weight gains during pregnancy and dieting history

October 1, 2008, St. Louis, MO Women who have a history of dieting or other restricted eating practices are at risk of gaining an inappropriate amount of weight during pregnancy. In a study published in the October 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers from...

Accelerated bone turnover remains after weight loss

COLUMBIA, Mo. When a person is losing a significant amount of weight, they expect to notice changes in their body. However, they may overlook changes happening in their bones. During weight loss through calorie-restricted diets, bones are being remodeled - breaking down old bone and forming new b...

Limiting fructose may boost weight loss, UT Southwestern researcher reports

DALLAS July 24, 2008 One of the reasons people on low-carbohydrate diets may lose weight is that they reduce their intake of fructose, a type of sugar that can be made into body fat quickly, according to a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Elizabeth Parks, associate professo...

The epigenetics of increasing weight through the generations

Overweight mothers give birth to offspring who become even heavier, resulting in amplification of obesity across generations, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Houston who found that chemical changes in the ways genes are expressed a phenomenon called epigenetics -- could affect succ...

Obese men have less semen, more sperm abnormalities, and should lose weight before trying for a baby

This release is available in Spanish . Obese men should consider losing weight if they want to have children, a scientist told the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday 9 July). Dr. A Ghiyath Shayeb, from the University of Aberd...

Weekends slow weight loss, researchers find

Saturday can be the worst enemy for our waistlines, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They found that study subjects on strict diet and exercise programs tend to lose weight more slowly than expected because they eat more on weekends than during ...

Too much or too little weight gain poses risks to pregnant mothers, babies

CHAPEL HILL Women who gain more or less than recommended amounts of weight during pregnancy are likely to increase the risk of problems for both themselves and their child, according to a new report by the RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Cente...

Second genetic link to weight and obesity

A study of 90,000 people has uncovered new genetic variants that influence fat mass, weight and risk of obesity. The variants act in addition to the recently described variants of the FTO gene: adults carrying variants in both genes are, on average, 3.8 kg (or 8.5 lb) heavier. The variants map ...

Advertisements saying dairy products help you lose weight are misleading

Asheville, N.C. May 1, 2008 There have been recent claims that dairy products can help people lose weight, and the dairy industry has hyped the assertion by investing millions of dollars in commercial advertising. However, a new review of the evidence published in the journal Nutrition Reviews r...

Study confirms that low-calorie sweeteners are helpful in weight control

A recent review of the scientific literature concluded that low-calorie (or no-calorie) sweeteners may be of help in resolving the obesity problem. Although they are not magic bullets, low-calorie sweeteners in beverages and foods can help people reduce their calorie (energy) intakes. Low-calori...

Lipoic acid could reduce atherosclerosis, weight gain

CORVALLIS, Ore. A new study done with mice has discovered that supplements of lipoic acid can inhibit formation of arterial lesions, lower triglycerides, and reduce blood vessel inflammation and weight gain all key issues for addressing cardiovascular disease. Although the results cannot be d...

Body weight influenced by thousands of genes

PHILADELPHIA (January 14, 2008) Reporting in the online journal BMC Genetics, researchers from the Monell Center have for the first time attempted to count the number of genes that contribute to obesity and body weight. The findings suggest that over 6,000 genes about 25 percent of the genom...

'Knocking out' cell receptor may help block fat deposits in tissues, prevent weight gain

CINCINNATIUniversity of Cincinnati (UC) pathologists have identified a new molecular target that one day may help scientists develop drugs to reduce fat transport to adipocytes (fat cells) in the body and prevent obesity and related disorders, like diabetes. Detailed in the Oct. 18 online edit...

New drug makes weight loss safer

TEL AVIV More than 60 percent of American women are overweight, with nearly a third falling into the category of obese and at greater risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Until now, there has been no safe, long-term medical remedy that tackles unwanted weight gain. Dr. Nir Barak of T...

Study suggests obese women should not gain weight

For years, doctors and other health-care providers have managed pregnant patients according to guidelines issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). In 1986, ACOG stated, "Regardless of how much women weigh before they become pregnant, gaining between 26-35 pounds du...

Babies born to native high-altitude mothers have decreased risk of low birth weight

BETHESDA, Md. (May 18, 2009) Pregnant women who are indigenous to the Andes Mountains deliver more blood and oxygen to their fetuses at high altitude than do women of European descent. The study helps explain why babies of Andean descent born at high altitude weigh more than European babies born a...

Research suggests vegetable juice may help people with metabolic syndrome lose weight

NEW ORLEANS, April 19, 2009 Drinking at least one glass of low sodium vegetable juice daily may help overweight people with metabolic syndrome achieve better weight loss results. A study, conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine and presented at this week's Experimental Biology Meeting, found...

Beverage consumption a bigger factor in weight

When it comes to weight loss, what you drink may be more important than what you eat, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers examined the relationship between beverage consumption among adults and weight change and found that weight loss was po...

Adults who eat eggs for breakfast lose 65 percent more weight

Park Ridge, Ill. (August 5, 2008) A study published online today in the International Journal of Obesity shows that eating two eggs for breakfast, as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic than those who eat a bagel breakfast of equal ca...

How and where fat is stored predicts disease risk better than weight

DALLAS April 16, 2008 A new study in mice indicates that overeating, rather than the obesity it causes, is the trigger for developing metabolic syndrome, a collection of heath risk factors that increases an individuals chances of developing insulin resistance, fatty liver, heart disease and type...

Soft drinks alone do not affect children's weight

Soft drink consumption has increased in both the USA and the UK over the years and this has often been blamed for a rise in childhood body mass index (BMI). However, many of the review methodologies investigating the alleged links have been flawed. A recent scientific analysis of a nationally rep...

How to lose weight and not go hungry: HU researcher develops drug that mimics feeling of 'fullness'

Yaniv Linde in his lab. Millions of people the world over suffer today from obesity, yet there is no “magic bullet” that has yet provided a universally accepted solution. However, a young researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem feels he has come up with a practical weight loss solution...

Male owls pitch their hoots to advertise body weight to competitors

Why do male owls hoot? Researchers from the Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (France) and the University of Sussex (UK) have studied the vocal communication of male European Scops owls, one of the smallest living species of nocturnal raptors. The study, published in the April issue of the Ameri...

Brown seaweed contains promising fat fighter, weight reducer

The study, which was directed by Scripps Research Professor Benjamin Cravatt, Ph.D., is being published in the September 8 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry. The new study describes a pathway-different than the one previously suggested-for the biosynthesis of neurotransmitter lipids, N...