Feature Channels: Weight Loss

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Bringing healthy food programs to corner grocery stores in the inner city might be a step toward improving residents’ diet and reducing diet-related illnesses.

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A new study looks at the effect that mirthful laughter and distress have on modulating the key hormones that control appetite.

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Researchers have developed a program that helps people monitor their normal day-to-day physical activity using an everyday device like a cell phone or mp3 player.

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Disadvantaged urban preschoolers aren’t only at risk for failure in the classroom – they are likely to struggle on playgrounds and athletic fields as well, research suggests.

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Most elite gymnasts reach their peak at age 15 or 16, training 20 to 36 hours per week when a body’s calorie needs are at its highest. But in a sport where aesthetics can influence scores, some athletes adopt restrictive eating habits.

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Combining telephone counseling calls with a daily written diet plan increases a person’s success in improving fruit and vegetables consumption, according to research published in Preventive Medicine.

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For media covering the latest study in the Journal of the American Medical Association linking excessive amounts of sugar intake to high cholesterol levels, and the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation for government intervention in reducing salt levels, experts at the UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions are available for comment.

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Consuming a higher amount of added sugars in processed or prepared foods is associated with lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, the “good cholesterol”) and higher levels of triglycerides, which are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease, according to a study in the April 21 issue of JAMA.

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People who eat meat frequently, especially meat that is well done or cooked at high temperatures, may have a higher chance of developing bladder cancer, according to a large study at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010. This risk appears to increase in people with certain genetic variants.

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Exercise-based rehabilitation clearly improves the health-related quality of life of persons with heart failure, according to a new review.

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The summer is a great season for getting in shape. Whether by playing a sport, an aerobic exercise routine, or just returning to that familiar running path -- this is the time for activity.

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The Johns Hopkins Hospital will launch a campaign on Monday, April 12 to encourage healthier eating among patients, visitors and staff — Meatless Monday.

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A new report from critical care experts at Johns Hopkins shows that use of prescription sedatives goes down by half so that mild exercise programs can be introduced to the care of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Curtailing use of the drowsiness-inducing medications not only allows patients to exercise, which is known to reduce muscle weakness linked to long periods of bed rest, but also reduces bouts of delirium and hallucinations and speeds up ICU recovery times by as much as two to three days, the paper concludes.

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Loyola fitness expert comments on the important role of exercise, balance and posture in older adult independence.

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According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), regular moderate-intensity aerobic exercise led to a modest reduction in offspring birth weight without restricting the development of maternal insulin resistance.

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From starvation diets to sauna suits, athletes in sports like mixed martial arts, wrestling and boxing often to go unhealthy extremes to meet their weight class goals. Kansas State University research is showing that a high-protein diet can get the job done healthfully.

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Fewer than 1 in 4 pregnant women meet physical activity guidelines set by doctors and health officials, according to a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.

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Delicious new cakes and frostings may someday contain less fat and fewer calories, thanks to work by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists such as Mukti Singh at the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria, Ill.

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Governments around the world have been pressuring the food industry to offer healthier fare. The latest headlines indicate the industry is listening. But to whom are they listening?

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Among women consuming a usual diet, physical activity was associated with less weight gain over 13 years only among women of normal weight, according to a study in the March 24/31 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that women successful in maintaining normal weight averaged approximately 60 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity throughout the study.

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Orthopedic surgeons are seeing a wave of exercise-related injuries among baby boomers -- a phenomenon dubbed “boomeritis.”

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Increasing calcium intake is a common--yet not always successful--strategy for reducing bone fractures. But a study supported in part by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) underscores the importance of vitamin D and its ability to help the body utilize calcium. The study also may explain why increasing calcium alone isn’t always successful in dealing with this problem.

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Adults tend to eat less pizza and drink less soda as the price of these items increases, and their body weight and overall calorie intake also appear to decrease, according to a report in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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A new study shows both weight and diabetes risk fell for people in communities where fast food prices increased. “This study gives us strong scientific evidence that price policies, including taxes, could actually be effective at helping control obesity and the resulting chronic diseases, like diabetes,” researchers said.

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Personal health recommendations and diets tailored to better prevent diseases may be in our future, just by focusing on genetics. Kansas State University researchers say nutrigenomics could completely change the future of public health and the food and culinary industries.

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Food products are evolving to meet the needs of health-conscious consumers who demand new products that aim to promote better health, increase longevity, and prevent the onset of chronic diseases. Presented by Food Technology magazine, Wellness 10, March 24-25 in Chicago, addresses six of the most rapidly growing industry application areas associated with healthful foods: applied science, consumer research/trends, innovation & new technologies, marketing & packaging, product development, and regulations.

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Community support of school obesity prevention programs is critical to achieving a significant decrease in obesity among children, according to researchers at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, which is part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

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Innovative, kid-friendly strategies for losing weight and gaining nutrition savvy–plus physical fitness skills–are emerging from scientific studies funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

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Children in the United States are snacking more than ever before on salty chips, candy and other junk food, according to a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study.

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Not getting enough sleep does more damage than just leaving you with puffy eyes. It can cause fat to accumulate around your organs – more dangerous, researchers say, than those pesky love handles and jiggly thighs.

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Study finds that taxing unhealthy foods leads to more reduced purchase of calories than subsidizing healthy foods.

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How avoiding the foods down the aisles at grocery stores and just shopping around the perimeter can help you keep off unwanted pounds.

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The latest data on U.S. food availability per capita is available in a USDA database that allows users to gauge consumption of individual foods and food groups. For many of the several hundred food commodities covered, the data covers 100 years - from 1909 to 2008.

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Highly fit multiple sclerosis patients perform significantly better on tests of cognitive function than similar less-fit patients, a new study shows.

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Childhood obesity expert available to weigh in on the childhood obesity crisis and discuss Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign.

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Most people know the rules of healthy eating, but most of us might eat a little healthier if we were reminded. Now a researcher at Georgia Tech is testing using a mobile phone to help community members steer themselves away from that chocolate cake and toward the fruits and veggies.

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Orange carrots are highly revered and regarded as “good for you” vegetables but a review from Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety describes carrots of the purple and red variety and suggest they offer just as much nutritional benefit.

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Two new review studies in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, published by the Institute of Food Technologists, take a closer look at fiber—from the different types available to the role fiber plays in cardiovascular disease and overall health.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have reported new reasons for choosing “heart-healthy” oats at the grocery store.

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Andrew Hooge, a certified personal trainer at the UNC Wellness Center at Meadowmont and founder of FitSkiing.com, explains three simple exercises you can do to improve your skiing.

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An expert in the physiology of exercise gives tips on how to exercise safely in cold temperatures.

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Being active for at least 30 minutes every day reduces your risk of developing some types of cancer. Fitness experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have designed an exclusive exercise plan based on this evidence that will fit into almost anyone’s lifestyle.

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Researchers from 14 institutions has peered into the human genome and has found a way to predict who will benefit the most from exercise.

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What if the energy generated by Furman University students exercising in the fitness center could be harnessed and then converted into electricity to power the building? It’s no pipe dream, and the Class of 2010 plans to bring the technology to campus as its senior gift to Furman.

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Don't let super snacking run up the calorie score on the super bowl, Loyola dietitian says.

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Many of the health benefits of aerobic exercise are due to the most recent exercise session (rather than weeks, months and even years of exercise training), and the nature of these benefits can be greatly affected by the food we eat afterwards.

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This is a column by Stefanie Barthmare, psychotherapist with The Methodist Weight Management Center in Houston. The topic is about how food can overtake us and cause us to gain weight.

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Kansas State University researchers have been studying how to improve oxygen delivery to the skeletal muscle during physical activity by using antioxidants. Their findings show that sometimes antioxidants can impair muscle function.

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People's preferences for current versus later rewards may be influenced by fluctuating blood glucose levels: Volunteers who drank a regular soda containing sugar were more likely to select receiving more money at a later date while the volunteers who drank a diet soda were likelier to opt for receiving smaller sums of money immediately.

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In a new study, the amount of calories selected by parents for their child’s hypothetical meal at McDonald’s restaurants were reduced by an average of 102 calories when the menus clearly showed the calories for each item.