The World Health Organization now considers obesity to be a global epidemic and a public health problem as more nations become “Westernized.” Globally, an estimated 250 million adults are now obese, and…

Identifying Obesity in Children
The same BMI standards used for adults along with anthropometry (measurement of fat by skin fold thickness) may be used to identify overweight adolescents, although there…

Age plays an important role in helping to define the risk from obesity. The mortality rates due to being overweight decline with age. One study suggested, for example, that being over…

General Adverse Effects of Obesity
Over 300,000 lives could be saved each year if all Americans maintained a healthy weight. Obesity is associated with more chronic health problems than…

Commercial Weight Loss Programs.  This report cannot possibly address the many commercial and nonprofit weight-loss programs currently available or assess their claims. Most of the commercial programs, such as Weight Watchers,…

High-protein low-carbohydrate diets have become popular again. They include the Zone, Dr. Atkins, Protein Power, Sugar Busters, and Dr. Stillman. As an example, the Atkins diet has a four-phase program:

Some studies suggest that replacing foods high in fats with low-fat complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) may be more effective than calorie counting, particularly in maintaining weight loss. This dietary approach…

Drugs used for weight loss are generally called anorexiants. All the drugs are potentially effective when used appropriately and with additional weight loss measures, including exercise and behavioral…

Naltrexone. The drug naltrexone (Trexan) blocks the euphoria of drug abusers and is being tested for people who binge. Its effects have been promising. (The drug has no effect on people who do…

Surgical procedures for obesity (also called bariatric surgery) may be appropriate for some dangerously obese people and may reduce risk factors for heart problems, including high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and diabetes. The…

The term BMI is often used when discussing the obesity epidemic, but what is BMI?

BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is a number that shows body weight adjusted for height. BMI…

A new guide to make it easier for people to increase their intake of fruit and vegetables was launched by the Government today.

As efforts to tackle the emerging obesity…

Ideas on how to tackle the nation’s problems with obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise were being discussed at a Government summit.

The Diet and Exercise Summit, organised by the Department…

A new ‘obesity’ gene test may detect babies at risk before their first birthday. Cambridge University researchers are developing a genetic test that will identify children destined to pile on…

An alarming increase in obesity among children is due to their increasingly lazy lifestyle, according to a study.

The number of officially obese six-year-olds has doubled in the last ten years…

Children are fatter than ever before, official figures showed yesterday.

Almost a third of youngsters between two and 15 are overweight, including one in six classed as clinically obese.

This reflects a…

A shocking new report has revealed that 10 per cent of children worldwide are overweight or obese.

The findings have prompted a health expert to call for urgent action to tackle…

Almost half of all adults are carrying dangerously high levels of cholesterol, the hidden killer which clogs the arteries and causes heart disease.

The figure is just one in a series of shocking…

Obesity could cause as many cancers as smoking, health experts warn today.

Cancer Research UK say Britain’s obesity epidemic is the biggest risk to health.

They say millions of people are putting…

Food and drink cause as many as 80,000 cases of cancer each year in the UK, researchers warned today.

A third of the cases could be blamed on obesity and over-consumption…

There’s nothing new about children blaming their parents for everything imaginable. But, as far as body fat is concerned, new research confirms that weight problems really do run in the family.

Recent…

“Big food” is threatening public health and adding to the growing obesity epidemic in the UK, increasing the risk of cancer and other diseases, campaigners said today.

Trends in larger “Americanised” portion sizes,…

Many parents and children do not recognise that they are obese, and being overweight is increasingly seen as “the norm”, research showed today.

A study of 300 families found that mothers and fathers…

A fresh attempt to help tackle childhood obesity through legislation is being launched today.

Debra Shipley MP is due to present a Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons…

Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food - usually “comfort” or junk foods - in response to feelings instead of hunger. Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions.