Scans of the human brain after ingesting fructose have provided insights into how the substance affects brain chemistry and increases food-seeking behavior and food intake. The new work, published in JAMA, appears to confirm the much discussed association between fructose intake and bulging waistlines. Conducted by Kathleen A. Page of Yale University, the study set […]
Tag Archives | Obesity
Significant testosterone deficiency found in obese boys
For the first time, medicos have measured testosterone levels in teens of different weights and found that obese males aged between 14 and 20 have up to 50 percent less testosterone, significantly increasing their potential to be impotent and infertile as adults. The study was conducted by researchers from the University at Buffalo and the […]
Lack of sleep causing obesity epidemic?
Challenging the long-held notion that the main function of sleep is to give rest to the brain, researchers have found that not getting enough sleep has a significant impact on fat cells, reducing by 30 percent their ability to respond to insulin, a hormone that regulates energy. The new findings, detailed in the Annals of […]
Blood-brain barrier in obese people hotwired for fatty foods
Scientists from American University say diets high in saturated fat and refined sugar appear to cause changes to the blood-brain barrier of obese people that in turn may fuel overconsumption of those same foods and make weight loss more challenging. “It is a vicious cycle that may explain why obesity is so difficult to overcome,” […]
Hunter-gatherer study contradicts obesity theory
New findings published in the journal PLoS ONEsuggest that diet – rather than lack of exercise – may be the main driver for expanding waistlines in the Western world. The research team behind the study, led by Herman Pontzer of Hunter College, measured daily energy expenditure (calories/day) among the Hadza, a population of traditional hunter-gatherers […]
Diesel fumes causing waistlines to bulge?
Pregnant mice exposed to diesel exhaust pollution gave birth to offspring with a significantly higher rate of obesity and insulin resistance in adulthood. The effect, say the researchers, was especially prevalent in male mice, which were heavier regardless of diet. The findings were published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’sFASEB Journal. The […]
Food and sex behaviors predicted with MRI
Previously used in experiments to see whether it could predict pop music success, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain is now being turned to more serious endeavors. Dartmouth College scientists using MRI to investigate the areas of the brain to do with reward and self-control found they could predict the subjects’ levels of weight […]
Obesity and infertility linked across generations
The hormonal changes which are triggered by obesity can “program” the reproductive systems of the female offspring of obese women and lead to infertility, report endocrinologists in the journal Endocrinology. Hormones involved in energy balance and metabolism have been shown to regulate reproductive function in animals and humans. Levels of one of these hormones – […]
Low birth weight infants “programmed” for obesity
When mothers have poor or inadequate nutrition, their newborns are “programmed” to eat more because they develop less neurons in the region of the brain that controls food intake, say researchers in the journal Brain Research. In the past, other studies have found a small size at birth followed by accelerated catch-up growth is associated […]
Vitamin D brouhaha gets heavy
While public health professionals continue to argue about whether current federal standards for vitamin D intake are too low, a new University of Michigan (UM) study has linked vitamin D deficiency to abnormal weight gain in children. Vitamin D is primarily provided to the body by the sun. Other sources of vitamin D are fortified […]