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Weight loss Supplement News Capsules August 2006
10 Aug 2006
Reducing the size of abdominal fat cells - which are a risk factor for
diabetes and heart disease - takes more than cutting calories, according
to new research from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Early results from a five-year study show that exercise should be added
to the equation.
"The message is very clear," said Tongjian You, Ph.D., instructor in
geriatric medicine at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author. "Exercise is
important to reducing the size of these cells, and may one day be part
of a prescription for treating the health complications associated with
abdominal fat."
A team of American scientists has developed a
vaccine which prevents weight gain in rats and in time, according to the
head of the research unit, will be developed for humans.
The vaccine prompts the body to produce antibodies against ghrelin, a
hormone that stimulates hunger and weight gain. Vaccinated rats put on
less weight while eating the same amount as those who did not have the
jab.
Imagine a vaccine which allows you to eat as much
as you like and slows down your weight gain. Scientists from the Scripps
Research Institute gave 17 rats a series of injections and found the
over-eaters put on weight at a significantly reduced rate.
Researchers believe this vaccine may well lead to an effective treatment
for human obesity.
Rising Obesity Will Thwart Efforts To Reduce Health Costs, Former
President Clinton Says
Increased rates of obesity and related health problems will limit the
effectiveness of electronic health records and other measures
implemented to reduce U.S. health care costs, former President Bill
Clinton said on Monday.
"All these things people want to do to help the health care system in
our country and increasingly in other countries will be eroded, and I
worry about that a great deal for our children's future." In addition,
Clinton announced the criteria for a pilot program sponsored by his
foundation in partnership with the American Heart Association and the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that seeks to address the issue of
childhood obesity. The program, which involves 202 schools from 12
states, will reward schools that meet criteria for food served in
cafeterias, physical education classes and physical activities, Clinton
said. Clinton also announced a partnership with KaBOOM! to provide
playgrounds at some of the schools. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who
lost more than 100 pounds after he was diagnosed with diabetes and has
partnered with Clinton in the alliance, will speak at the forum on
Tuesday (DeMillo, AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/31).
"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can
view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives,
or sign up for email delivery at
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily
Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service
of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company
and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=48558
Teens at risk of developing diabetes can prevent or delay its onset
through strength training exercise, a University of Southern California
study has found.
Research led by Michael Goran, PhD, professor of preventive medicine in
the Keck School of Medicine of USC, showed that overweight Latino
teenage boys who lifted weights twice per week for 16 weeks
significantly reduced their insulin resistance, a condition in which
their bodies don't respond to insulin and can't process sugars properly.
Insulin resistance is common in obese children and is a precursor of
diabetes. The findings were published in the July issue of Medicine and
Science of Sports Exercise.
Previous research has demonstrated that aerobic and resistance exercise
is effective in improving insulin sensitivity in adults, but no
controlled studies of resistance exercise had been done on overweight
youth. The research group is working on developing a home exercise
routine that teens could do with exercise bands and hand weights.
You cast your eye on the table. Mmm - one after
another, great heaping dishes of food. Comfort food. Holiday food. You
dig in, savoring every bite. Now the meal is over and you are going
through that terrible cycle of holiday remorse. Sure, it's great to be
able to indulge in some festive food favorites, but there is always that
guilt afterward.
Wahida Karmally, Dr.P.H., R.D., C.D.E., a registered dietitian on the
Nutrition Advisory Committee at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia
University Medical Center and director of nutrition at the Irving Center
for Clinical Research at Columbia University Medical Center, says you
can avoid this psychological turmoil by adopting a more sensible
approach to holiday eating and exercise. "You will not gain weight from
one meal by itself. Consistency is the key; if you eat healthful meals
during the months before the holidays, a splurge or two can be fit in."
"Don't deny yourself the occasional treat. What people need to realize
is that everybody can eat something of everything -- it's just a
question of how much," she adds.
GNC Corp. Withdraws Initial Public Offer
PITTSBURGH — Supplement and vitamin retailer GNC Corp. has withdrawn
a $400 million initial public offering because of unfavorable market
conditions, including the London terror plot reported this week, a
company spokesman said Friday.
The delay comes two years after Apollo scrapped
earlier plans to take the vitamin retailer public.
Apollo, a private equity firm, bought GNC from
Dutch company Numico for $750 million in 2003. It had planned to take
GNC public the following year, but the company's sales began to falter
and Apollo withdrew the offering.
Since the acquisition, GNC has boosted sales and
profit by introducing a national pricing structure, diversifying its
marketing program, focusing on competitive pricing, realigning its
franchise system and launching an Internet sales site.
But the company suffered from a 2004 Food and Drug
Administration ban on the stimulant ephedra. GNC's sales of products
containing ephedra totaled $35.2 million, or 3.3 percent of retail
sales, in 2003. As of March, the company had been named as a defendant
in 227 pending cases involving products with
ephedra. |
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