Obesity, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 30, 2007

Study: Obesity is Socially Contagious

People who notice a friend packing on pounds might want to steer clear if they value a sleek physique. A new study finds that when the scale reads obese for one individual, the odds that their friends will become obese increase by more than 50 percent. The study, published in...

Sep 30, 2010

Obesity: A 'Winnable' Public Health Battle?

This is the fourth in a six-part MyHealthNewsDaily series examining the problems and solutions related to six winnable battles in public health, as recently announced by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Americans are eager voyeurs into the lives of obese people on TV shows such as The...

Jul 31, 2010

Can the Growing Obesity Problem Be Curbed?

Despite a decade of programs, messages, guilt trips and warnings, Americans are getting even fatter. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention reported this month that 26.7 percent of adults over the age of 18 are obese, compared with 19.8 percent in 2000. The alarming rate of growth is in...

Jan 31, 2010

Childhood Obesity Takes Psychological Toll, Too

The ballooning waistlines of children hit the spotlight when Michelle Obama admitted publicly her daughters had an unhealthy body mass index. And while many urge kids to slim down to avoid heart disease and other physical ailments, the emotional consequences from teasing and low self-esteem could be just as debilitating,...

Jul 31, 2011

Fat Can Be Healthy: Some Obese People Live Long Lives

Not everyone who is obese needs to lose weight — it's possible to carry extra pounds and still be healthy, a new study says. Although obesity brings an increased risk of many health complications, the new study shows that people who are obese but do not have such complications might...

Feb 28, 2011

Gastric Band Patients Suffer Major Complications Years Later

Gastric bands for obesity may help people lose weight, but patients frequently experience problems with the device years after they've had the procedure, a new study finds. Nearly 40 percent of patients in the study had some type of major complication with their band 12 or more years after they...

Oct 31, 2012

Obesity Gene May Shield Against Depression

Perhaps there is a bit of truth to the stereotype about being fat and happy — new research finds that people who have a gene linked with obesity may have a slightly lower risk of depression. People who had a version of a gene called the FTO gene were 8...

Dec 31, 2012

Car Crashes More Deadly for Obese Drivers

Obesity increases the risk of death during car crashes, a new study suggests. In the study, obese drivers — those with a body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 35 — were 20 percent more likely to die during a car crashcompared to normal-weight individuals. Morbidly obese individuals — those...

Mar 31, 2015

'Obesity Signature' Written in Pee

A person's urine could reveal whether he or she is at risk for obesity and its related harmful conditions, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed information from more than 2,000 people in the United States and United Kingdom. The subjects had samples of their urine collected over two separate 24-hour...

Jan 31, 2015

Why Exercise and Diet Changes May Not Be Enough to Treat Obesity

To treat people who are obese, doctors need to move beyond simply telling their patients to eat less and exercise more, some researchers argue. Instead, doctors should focus on the biological mechanisms that make it hard for obese people to lose weight, these researchers say. When people diet, the body...

Jun 19, 2013

What Causes Obesity? Answer May Affect Your Waistline

People's beliefs about what causes obesity may affect their waistlines, according to a new report. People who named a lack of exercise as the main cause of obesity were more likely to be heavier than those who blamed a poor diet, according to the findings. Across multiple studies, we found...

Jul 10, 2013

How Counties Rank in Obesity and Physical Fitness Rates (Infographic)

A 2011 study conducted by the University of Washington counted the percentage of obese and physically active people in each U.S. county. Obesity has increased steadily over the past 20 years, but physical activity is also on the rise. Which counties were the most and least active for men in...

Jul 10, 2013

Physical Activity and Obesity: Both Rising

Obesity rates in the United States are still increasing, and have reached nearly 60 percent for women in some counties. But the good news is that physical activity is on the rise too, according to a new study of counties across the nation. The study found the percentage of people...

Jul 16, 2013

The Sad Truth About Boy Scouts and Childhood Obesity (Op-Ed)

Dr. Mitchell Roslin is chief of obesity surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. He holds several patents for the treatment of obesity and designed a method for treating relapse after gastric bypass surgery. Roslin has expertise in laparoscopic obesity surgery, duodenal switch surgery and revisional bariatric surgery. He...

Aug 6, 2013

Preschool Obesity Rates Finally Drop in Some States

For the first time in decades, there has been a widespread decrease in obesity rates among low-income preschoolers, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2008 and 2011, obesity rates among low-income children ages 2 to 4 declined slightly in 18 states and...