Obese white women are less likely to get recommended colon cancer screening than thinner white women, or black people of any gender or weight, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. Obesity is a risk factor for colon cancer, and obese people are at an increased risk of [...]
New research published in the Journal of Health Economics found that obesity now accounts for 21 percent of healthcare spending in the United States. This figure is more than twice the previous estimate of just over 9 percent. Researchers at Cornell University used new methods to calculate the causal effects of obesity on medical costs, [...]
April 17, 2012
The New York Times recently published an article about how obese people are going to Canada to receive the intragastric balloon weight loss device, which is not approved for use in the United States. The intragastric balloon is a small balloon-like device that is inserted in the stomach and is filled with liquid, providing a [...]
A new study, comparing specific neighborhoods in Seattle and San Diego found that where a child lives–including factors such as the neighborhood’s walkability, proximity to higher quality parks, and availability of healthy food options–has a substantial effect on childhood obesity rates. Specifically, the study found that children living in neighborhoods with favorable environmental attributes were [...]
Good news for wine drinkers: Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a compound in red wine that may keep fat cells from developing! The compound is found in red wine, grapes, and a few other fruits such blueberries and passion fruit. It is similar in structure to resveratrol, a key ingredient in red wine that [...]
The American obesity epidemic may be even worse than experts believe, according to a new report from the New York University School of Medicine. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) cites that 35 percent of American adults and 17 percent of American children are obese. However, this new research found that using Body Mass Index [...]
April 3, 2012
New research presented at last month’s American Heart Association meeting found that people who are genetically-inclined toward obesity can decrease the effect of obesity-related genes by 50 percent by spending an hour each day briskly walking. Researchers from Harvard studied data on more than 12,000 people who were participating in two studies by health professionals. [...]
Previous, short-term studies have shown that how people rate their own health is a predictor of their chances of survival. Poor self-rated health has been found to be associated with increased risk of death. However, research has been limited to examining the issue over just 5-10 years, leaving questions about whether patients who reported poor [...]
25.8 million people in the United States have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Because of the current prevalence of this disease, the expected increase in people suffering from it (an estimated 79 million US adults & children are pre-diabetic), and the devastating effects the disease can have (including blindness, amputation, heart disease and [...]
Scammers looking to defraud the Government and take money from Americans have a new target: people with diabetes. The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG)–which fights fraud in Government programs–has issued a warning about a scheme in which people receive a call from someone pretending to be from ‘the Government’, [...]
April 23, 2012