Perhaps even more disturbing is the current trends linking obesity to 20 different types of cancer. Leading experts in public heath are even predicting that obesity will soon replace smoking as the primary cause...
The hypertrophy (increase in size) of the adipocytes (fat cells) and the addition of visceral fat can be a dreaded combination that accelerates metabolic and immune responses, which promote type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and...
The extreme size of the obese carries a devastating social stigma. Often individuals are ostracized and self-esteem suffers as a result. Long-term depression is a common byproduct of obesity and can worsen the eating...
There is little mystery as to how a person accumulates excessive amounts of fat, and in many cases, it is controllable and preventable. Weight gain is a simple imbalance of caloric intake being higher...
Adipose tissue, or body fat, can be stored either subcutaneously (under the skin) or viscerally (surrounding the internal organs). The location on the body where fat is stored varies depending on gender, race, and...
400 million obese people worldwide and growing. In recent decades, the consequences of obesity have drastically shifted from a social and cosmetic issue to a serious epidemiological and clinical concern. The World Health Organization...
The key to a flat belly is more than traditional forward-and-back crunches. It’s essential you add rotation to get the sleek waistline of your dreams. Building up the muscles on the side, known as...
Visceral fat is more sensitive to the effects of cortisol, a hormone created when we’re under stress. When cortisol levels rise, visceral fat cells react by trapping fat. Lowering stress (through exercise, meditation, or...
New research has discovered that ab flab is unlike the fat in other parts of our bodies. Here’s how to lose it, for good. Don’t avoid avocados because they’re high in fat. They have...
At least 80 percent of us have visible patches of cellulite, usually on our backside and thighs, but also on our breasts, belly and upper arms. For most women, it’s just an inevitable fact...
It’s no secret that the key to effective weight loss is making positive changes in diet and exercise. That’s why USANA scientists developed the USANA RESET™ weight-management program—to help people jumpstart healthy eating habits...
Philly’s Fun, Fit and Free Program – It began in 1999 when Men’s Fitness magazine named Philadelphia as the fattest city in America. In response, Mayor John Street designed a comprehensive, community-based intervention to...
According to Roland Sturm, Ph.D., from RAND Health in Santa Monica, Calif., “Obesity is a chronic condition that affects morbidity, making people sick for a long period of time. Being obese is like aging...
Today Americans are moving less than ever before, yet the amount of energy we consume has not decreased accordingly. The result is a staggering trend toward overweight and obesity, shocking doctors, insurance companies and...
Alcohol contains sugar and will initially raise your blood glucose level. However, in larger quantities, alcohol prevents your liver from releasing glucose, therefore it can lower your blood glucose and increase the risk of...
New research sheds more light on high fat, no starch diets. The study shows these diets are effective in helping patients lose weight without adverse effects on their lipid levels. Obesity affects more than...
Low-carb diets are all the rage these days, but are they really effective over the long-term? And even if they are, are they really healthy? Those questions are addressed in an article in the...
At any given time, almost half of the women in the U.S. are on a diet. Americans dish our more than $40 billion each year on diet and diet-related products. Yet 95 percent of...
Dr. Sunil K. Sharma from the University of Florida, talks about a new experimental procedure that is helping patients shrink their stomach in a new and innovative way. Dr. Sunil K Sharma: This is...
Exercise! Find a sport you like, walk to school, or take a bike ride a few times per week. Drink milk, including fat-free or low-fat milk. (Many teens mistakenly think that milk has more...
Obesity can negatively affect a child’s physical and psychological well-being. Teasing by peers can lead to depression and anxiety. Many children who are teased about their weight will try restrictive dieting at an early...
As the rate of overweight and obesity climbs, so do the related physical and psychological consequences. Studies indicate that the lowest risks for heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers are in people who have...
Are American children overweight because their parents are, because they eat too many calories, or is something else going on? Researchers found babies who gain weight more rapidly than their peers in the first...
What is it about our culture that brought us here? Experts used to think weight was predetermined by a person’s set-point: a weight range at which the body is comfortable that can be maintained...
With more than 30 percent of children overweight and one in five considered obese, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher calls childhood obesity a national health problem with frightening long-term implications. The American Medical Association...
Despite all the hype about the benefits of a low carbohydrate and no carbohydrate diet, new research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates diets high in carbohydrates are actually lower in calories and...
There is an increasing number of drugs, fat and carbohydrate substitutes, surgical procedures and group programs that have the potential for helping people manage their weight. Some are effective; others are risky. None is...
Not only is weight control difficult, it’s not even fair. We are different in genetic makeup, age, gender, physical activity, medical problems and emotional health. Heredity and Environment If members of your family are...
There is little evidence that current weight loss strategies are very effective. Well over 30 percent of Americans are overweight and the number is growing. Those who do lose weight will drop an average...
Metabolic syndrome is really a clustering of risk factors that makes up the syndrome, like a high waist circumference. When you carry the weight around your waist, it puts you at higher risk of...