Tag: obesity

Breaking the link between obesity, gastrointestinal cancers

Studies have demonstrated a connection between obesity and a person’s risk of developing colon and other gastrointestinal cancers. Now, scientists are investigating approaches that can break this relationship. In an article in the journal Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, UNC Lineberger’s Stephen Hursting, Ph.D., MPH, along with Cornelia Ulrich, Ph.D., MS, the director of the

Bariatric surgery linked to safer childbirth for the mother

Obese mothers who lose weight through bariatric surgery can have safer deliveries. The positive effects are many, including fewer caesarean sections, infections, tears and haemorrhages, and fewer cases of post-term delivery or uterine inertia. This according to an observational study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in PLOS Medicine. Today, more than one

Caspase-2 enzyme inhibitor shows promise for ameliorating fatty liver disease: Researchers identify enzyme as responsible for onset and progression of fatty liver disease in mice and human clinical specimens

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have discovered using mice and human clinical specimens, that caspase-2, a protein-cleaving enzyme, is a critical driver of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a chronic and aggressive liver condition. By identifying caspase-2’s critical role, they believe an inhibitor of this enzyme could provide an effective way to

Communication among organs, tissues regulating body’s energy revealed: First-ever ‘atlas’ of circadian metabolism shows how disruptions may lead to disease

An international research team led by the University of California, Irvine has identified a system of communication networks that exists among organs and tissues that regulate metabolism. Findings from their study provide, for the first time, a detailed “atlas” illustrating how the body creates and uses energy, and how imbalances in the networks may impact

9 old age health problems that can strike young people

There are diseases or problems we tend to associate with older people but unfortunately, they can happen at any time. Here’s what to be aware of… Arthritis It’s a common misconception that arthritis is an old person’s disease. While osteoarthritis is caused by wear and tear, and therefore most common among those over 65, rheumatoid

Lipid droplets play crucial roles beyond fat storage

Lipid droplets: they were long thought of merely as the formless blobs of fat out of which spare tires and muffin tops were made. But these days, they’re “a really hot area of research,” says Michael Welte, professor and chair of biology at the University of Rochester. That’s in part because lipid droplets have been

Obesity, infertility and oxidative stress in mouse egg cells

Excessive body fat is associated with negative effects on female fertility and pregnancy. In mice, maternal obesity impairs proper development of egg precursor cells called oocytes. In a recent paper published in Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, Qiang Wang and colleagues at the State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine in China describe the link between poor

Potential target for developing obesity and diabetes treatment identified

A newly published study by researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine has identified a potential therapeutic target for treating obesity and diabetes. The scientists studied the biological function of an epigenetic modifier known as histone deacetylase 11 (HDAC11), and determined that deleting it in mice stimulates the formation of brown adipose tissue.

To Fight Childhood Obesity, Moms to the Rescue

WEDNESDAY, July 4, 2018 — Moms can play a big role in combating America’s childhood obesity epidemic, researchers contend. The key: kids are less likely to be obese if their mothers follow five healthy habits, according to the report from Harvard. The five habits are: eating a healthy diet; exercising regularly; maintaining a healthy body

Know how obesity may cause early onset of Alzheimer’s

The results showed that ageing, combined with a high fat and high sugar diet, results in increased inflammation and stress in the hippocampus — responsible for long-term memory While ageing has been long identified as a significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, a new study shows that obesity during middle age may contribute to the

Survey: Exercise and obesity are both rising in US

It may seem like a contradiction, but more adults in the U.S. say they are exercising at the same time more of them are becoming obese. About 24 percent of adults last year said they exercise enough each week to meet government recommendations for both muscle strengthening and aerobic exercise, according to a large annual

Normalisation of ‘plus-size’ risks hidden danger of obesity, study finds

New research warns that the normalisation of ‘plus-size’ body shapes may be leading to an increasing number of people underestimating their weight—undermining efforts to tackle England’s ever-growing obesity problem. While attempts to reduce stigmatisation of larger body sizes—for example with the launch of plus-size clothing ranges—help promote body positivity, the study highlights an unintentional negative

Having a meal activates the functioning of human brown fat

The importance of the human brown adipose tissue (BAT) has become clearer during the past ten years. Using positron emission tomography, PET, it was shown that adult humans have functional BAT. Coldness is an effective activator of the BAT metabolic function but, in rodents, eating has the same effect. Now, the researchers at Turku PET