news 2009

The link between obesity and mortality from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain forms of cancer may be substantially underestimated, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet. The study, which is published in the scientific journal BMJ, also suggests that some of the adverse consequences of being underweight may be overstated.

For obese men, a dramatic weight loss can be an effective way to improve moderate to severe sleep apnoea, scientists at Karolinska Institutet report. Those with severe sleep apnoea when the study began benefited most from weight loss. "Our findings suggest that weight loss may be an effective treatment strategy for sleep apnoea in obese men," says Kari Johansson, one of the researchers involved in the study.

People with common mental disorders are at increased risk of becoming obese, according to new UCL research. Professor Mika Kivimäki of UCL Epidemiology & Public Health led research published today on the website of the British Medical Journal that shows that individuals with chronic or repeat episodes of common mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, are particularly at risk of becoming obese.

Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, is increasing at an alarming state with more than 180 million people affected worldwide.

PA 220/09 Exciting research into Brown adipose tissue (BAT) — brown fat, which is found in abundance in hibernating animals and newborn babies — could lead to new ways of preventing obesity. Studies have already shown that BAT activity in adults is reduced with obesity. Therefore, promoting BAT function could prevent or reduce obesity in some people.

A major study of more than 40,000 patients has shown that social deprivation significantly reduces patients' chances of survival after heart surgery. Research from the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has shown that patients from more socially deprived backgrounds had poorer survival rates after cardiac surgery both immediately after the operation (in hospital) and over five years of follow up.

A new analysis of almost one million people from around the world has shown that obesity can trim years off life expectancy. The Oxford University research found that moderate obesity, which is now common, reduces life expectancy by about 3 years, and that severe obesity, which is still uncommon, can shorten a person's life by 10 years.

Obese adolescents have the same risk of premature death in adulthood as people who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet. What most interests the researchers is that the combination of overweight and smoking did not act synergistically as mortality risk factors.

Scientists from the University of Birmingham's medical school are looking for volunteers to take part in major study investigating the underlying causes of obesity and diabetes. The study will look at the specific role naturally occurring enzymes in the liver may play in raising the risk of developing obesity or Type 2 Diabetes.

BERKELEY — Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified a new enzyme that plays a far more important role than expected in controlling the breakdown of fat. In a new study to be published Jan. 11 in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers report that mice that have had this enzyme disabled remained lean despite eating a high-fat diet and losing a hormone that suppresses appetite.

A collaboration of scientists led by Professor Jane Wardle (Director of Cancer Research UK's Health Behaviour Research Centre in UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) have published today in the 'International Journal of Obesity' new evidence that the tendency to overeat could be genetic. UCL researchers, who were funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, created a new experiment to see if eating when full was linked to a gene called FTO**.

Mice exposed to low temperatures develop more blood vessels in their adipose tissue and metabolise body fat more quickly, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet. Scientists now hope to learn how to control blood vessel development in humans in order to combat obesity and diabetes. The growth of fat cells and their metabolism depend on oxygen and blood-borne nutrients.