obesity

The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control on obesity trends are mixed. Adults – especially women – continued to gain, but the same wasn't true for younger folks. Maybe, just maybe, there's hope on the horizon for diminishing the obesity epidemic.  
Some parasites "turn down" the host's immune response, and evidence suggests that helminth infection can help patients suffering from allergies, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes. Now, there is evidence that helminths could help treat obesity.
Twenty years ago, an expert panel at the National Institutes of Health lowered the BMI cutoff for being overweight from 27 to 25. But a recent report suggests that for one segment of the population — postmenopausal women – that might not be low enough. Also, to define obesity in this population the cutoff of 30 might be too high.
Excess body fat is associated with many ailments — including breathing problems. Recent research has found reducing adiposity, particularly in the deep abdominal area (visceral fat), is associated with improved breathing as well as ameliorating other ills.
While obesity has been reliably linked to many serious health problems – such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers – there's a minority of obese people who are metabolically healthy. A new study points to physical fitness as being a key component in these folks' avoidance of some of the usual obesity-linked health issues.
Bariatric surgery is the most effective means of dealing with severe obesity. But there are several types of surgery which involve more, or less, alterations of the gastrointestinal tract. Choosing among them depends on a variety of factors relating to GERD, or gastro-esophageal reflux symptoms.
A recent study published in Nature Genetics, describes a genetic link to obesity in humans discovered by studying obese children in Pakistan.
Obesity, especially severe obesity, is a harbinger of many health problems. And the longer someone remains obese the greater the chance problems will develop. But here's some good news: severe obesity prevalence among children in the Women, Infants, and Children program has come down.
This isn't really about fat cats — the real ones or the rich ones. Rather, it's about the results of being overweight or obese. According to the CDC, there are 13 types of cancer linked to obesity. And as one might expect, as the prevalence of obesity increases so does the prevalence of these cancers.
Obesity is known to be a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, as well as for the insulin resistance that's a hallmark of the disease. Mouse studies suggest that obesity results in the production of microRNAs by adipose tissue, which diminishes the ability of tissues to respond to insulin.
It's an ongoing debate: Can breakfast help deter obesity? Some research has found no connection. But a recent study of Spanish adults suggests that breakfast-eaters have a lower risk of developing abdominal obesity, the most dangerous kind.  
In a nod to science, Newsweek reported that there might be genetic underpinnings to obesity. So kudos, for at least that. But why not share the actual science instead of dumbing it down to, “Regardless of how much you eat, your weight may be out of your hands?” For the scientifically-literate explanation, here it is.