Author Interviews, NEJM, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, University of Pennsylvania, Weight Research / 13.06.2014

Julio A. Chirinos, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine Director, CTRC Cardiovascular Phenotyping Unit Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Director of Non-Invasive Imaging Philadelphia VA Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julio A. Chirinos, MD, PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine Director, CTRC Cardiovascular Phenotyping Unit Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Director of Non-Invasive Imaging Philadelphia VA Medical Center MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Chirinos: The main findings of the study is that, among patients with obesity and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, rather than OSA, appears to be the primary cause of inflammation, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. However, both obesity and obstructive sleep apnea appear to be causally related to hypertension. In this population, weight loss, but not CPAP, can be expected to reduce the burden of inflammation, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. However, CPAP, among patients who comply with therapy, can be expected to provide a significant incremental benefit on blood pressure. The latter is an important potential benefit of CPAP and should not be disregarded. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes Care, Endocrinology, Weight Research / 12.06.2014

Christian Benedict PhD Department of Neuroscience Uppsala University Uppsala, SwedenMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christian Benedict PhD Department of Neuroscience Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Benedict: By utilizing blood samples collected after an overnight fast, we demonstrated that humans carrying a common risk variant of the fat mass and obesity gene (obesity-associated gene (FTO)) (~16% of the population have two copies of this risk variant) had higher fasting blood concentrations of the hunger hormone ghrelin.  In contrast, fasting serum levels of the satiety enhancing hormone leptin were lower. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 10.06.2014

Lars Sjöström, MD, PhD Professor Department of Body Composition and Metabolism Sahlgrenska University Hospital Göteborg, SwedenMedicalResearch Interview with: Lars Sjöström, MD, PhD Professor Department of Body Composition and Metabolism Sahlgrenska University Hospital Göteborg, Sweden   MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Sjöström: In obese diabetic subjects, the 2-year diabetes remission was 72% in bariatric surgery patients but only 16% in obese controls obtaining conventional obesity and diabetes treatment. After 15 years, 30% were in remission in the surgery group and 6.5% in the control group. In addition, the 20-year incidence of diabetes complication was 30 -55% lower in surgery than control patients. (more…)
Weight Research / 06.06.2014

Dr. Charoula Nikolaou University of Glasgow Graduate StudentMedicalResearch. com Interview with Dr. Charoula Nikolaou University of Glasgow Graduate Student MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Obese people gain most of their excess weight during young adulthood. This study describes how regular, daily, exposure to prominent calorie labeling of main meals, in a residential catered setting, abolished the expected weight gain usually seen in young adults. The mean weight gain observed in 120 residents the year before (without calorie-labeling) was similar to that found in other studies of young adults at 3.5 kg. In a second year with calorie labeling, there was no weight gain at all. In addition, catering costs were 33% lower during the year with calorie labeling so the intervention could be sustainable as well as easy to implement. (more…)
Author Interviews, Depression, JAMA, Weight Research / 06.06.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aurélie Lasserre ,MD Center for psychiatric epidemiology and psychopathology Department of Psychiatry Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) Site de Cery, Switzerland MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Lasserre: Several recent studies have shown that Major Depressive Disorder with atypical features (defined as having a depressive episode where mood reactivity is maintained and two of the following features: increase in appetite, hypersomnia (oversleeping), leaden paralysis (heavy limbs) and increased sensitivity to rejection) was associated with obesity, but the temporal sequence was not known, i.e. it was not clear whether atypical depression predisposes to obesity or the converse. Our study revealed that Major Depressive Disorder with atypical features does lead to an increase in body-mass index, obesity, waist circumference and fat mass over a period of 5 years. This result was not explained by socio-demographic characteristics, alcohol or tobacco consumption, physical activity, co-existing mental disorders or medication. Interestingly, we also observed that the weight gain in subjects with atypical features was not a temporary phenomenon but it persisted after the remission of the depressive episode and was not attributable to new episodes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Lancet, Weight Research / 01.06.2014

Rhonda Stewart Senior Communications Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Seattle, WA 98121, USAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rhonda Stewart Senior Communications Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Seattle, WA 98121, USA MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Globally, obesity has become a public health epidemic. Obesity is affecting not just developed countries, but developing countries as well. Almost one-third of the world’s population, over 2 billion people, are considered to be overweight or obese. Of this group, nearly two-thirds (62%) are in developing countries. If current trends continue, this number will continue to rise. Between 1980 and 2013, the prevalence of overweight or obesity for children and adolescents increased by nearly 50%. This study is the first analysis of global trends on obesity and covers more than 30 years and 188 countries. (more…)
Diabetes, Weight Research / 30.05.2014

John Wilding DM FRCP Professor of Medicine & Honorary Consultant Physician Head of Department of Obesity and Endocrinology Institute of Ageing & Chronic Disease Clinical Sciences Centre University Hospital Aintree Liverpool United KingdomMedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Wilding DM FRCP Professor of Medicine & Honorary Consultant Physician Head of Department of Obesity and Endocrinology Institute of Ageing & Chronic Disease Clinical Sciences Centre University Hospital Aintree Liverpool United Kingdom MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Wilding: This trial studied over 3700 obese people who were trying to lose weight. The main findings were that liraglutide (an injectable medication already approved for diabetes treatment at lower dose of 1.8mg) can help reduce body weight in people with obesity when used at a higher dose than is usually used in diabetes (3mg). Trial participants experienced a weight loss of 8 % from baseline compared to 2.6 % with placebo (diet and exercise alone). Some risk factors for diabetes and heart disease such as blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol also improved with liraglutide treatment to a greater extent than with placebo. The main side effects seen were nausea which in most cases resolved after a few weeks treatment; there were also more cases of gallstones (which could be due to weight loss) and a few more cases of acute pancreatitis in people treated with liraglutide. (more…)
Nutrition, Weight Research / 30.05.2014

Anna Peeters Associate Professor, BSc(Hons) PhD Head Obesity & Population Health | Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute President Australian & New Zealand Obesity SocietyMedicalResearch.com Interview Anna Peeters Associate Professor, BSc(Hons) PhD Head Obesity & Population Health | Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute President Australian & New Zealand Obesity Society MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Professor Peeters: The context for this study is that ‘point of sale menu labelling’ policies in fast food restaurants have some evidence of generally decreasing how many calories are consumed by people who go there. They may also lead the companies to reformulate their food to become slightly healthier. The key finding of our study is that  those from more disadvantaged/ poorer backgrounds are unlikely to have a direct benefit from ‘point of sale menu labelling’ policies in fast food restaurants through a decreased number of calories consumed. (more…)
Mediterranean Diet, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 29.05.2014

Dr Gianluca Tognon University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, SwedenMedicalResearch Interview with: Dr Gianluca Tognon University of Gothenburg Gothenburg, Sweden MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Tognon: We found that eating a pattern rich in vegetables, fruit, nuts, cereal grains and fish, that we call a Mediterranean-like diet was not only inversely associated to being overweight or obese, but also protective against an increase in body mass index and waist circumference at a 2-year follow up. (more…)
Testosterone, Weight Research / 28.05.2014

Dr. Farid Saad Global Medical Affairs Men’s Healthcare, Bayer Pharma, Berlin, Germany; Gulf Medical University School of Medicine Ajman, United Arab Emirates;MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Farid Saad Global Medical Affairs Men’s Healthcare, Bayer Pharma, Berlin, Germany; Gulf Medical University School of Medicine Ajman, United Arab Emirates MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Saad: There are two ongoing registry studies in men with testosterone deficiency (hypogonadism, defined by two separate measures of low serum testosterone and the presence of symptoms which are typical for testosterone deficiency). The studies are being conducted by office urologists. The total number of men who have been treated for a maximum duration of six years is 561, mean age just under 60 years. All men received three-monthly intra-muscular injections of a long-acting testosterone depot preparation. The main findings were that at baseline only five per cent of these men had normal weight, some 25 per cent were overweight and the majority obese. Both overweight and obese men showed reductions in weight and waist circumference. The more obese men were, the more they lost. Men in the highest obesity category grade III (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2), had a mean weight loss of 26 kg and a reduction of waist size by 12 cm. In parallel, all components of the metabolic syndrome improved in a clinically meaningful magnitude, i.e., blood pressure, lipid profile, and glycemic control. When we analyzed a subgroup of 156 men with type 2 diabetes, we found marked improvements in their diabetes as a result of adding testosterone to the standard diabetes treatment men are receiving by their famaily physicians. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Karolinski Institute, Rheumatology, Weight Research / 17.05.2014

Maria E.C. Sandberg, MSc PhD Institutet för Miljömedicin / Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, SwedenMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maria E.C. Sandberg, MSc PhD Institutet för Miljömedicin / Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden   MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sandberg: Overweight at diagnosis significantly decreases the chance of achieving good disease control during the early phase of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Mayo Clinic, Surgical Research, Weight Research / 02.05.2014

Tina Hieken, M.D. Associate Professor of Surgery Mayo Clinic,Rochester, MinnMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tina Hieken, M.D. Associate Professor of Surgery Mayo Clinic,Rochester, Minn   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hieken: Among more than 1,300 newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer patients, 36 percent of whom were obese (BMI ≥ 30), preoperative axillary ultrasound with fine needle aspiration biopsy of suspicious lymph nodes identified metastasis to the lymph nodes in 36 percent of patients found to be node-positive at operation.  For all BMI categories (normal, overweight, obese) axillary ultrasound was predictive of pathologic nodal status (p<0.0001).  The sensitivity of axillary ultrasound did not differ across BMI categories while specificity and accuracy were better for overweight and obese patients, respectively, than for normal weight patients.  Furthermore, patients across all BMI categories who had suspicious axillary lymph nodes on ultrasound and had a positive fine needle aspiration biopsy had significantly more positive lymph nodes at operation, an average of five metastatic nodes, and an overall higher nodal disease burden at operation. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, OBGYNE, Weight Research / 15.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dagfinn Aune MS Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics School of Public Health Imperial College London St. Mary's Campus Norfolk Place, Paddington, London W2 1PG, UK MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and risk of fetal death, stillbirth, neonatal, perinatal and infant death. We found that the risk of all these outcomes increased with greater BMI in a dose-response fashion. For example even within the high end of what is considered the normal BMI range (BMI of 24-25) there was a 10-20% increase in the relative risk, but the strongest relations were seen for those who were obese and morbidly obese with 30-60% and 2-3 fold increases in the relative risk respectively (depending on the outcome examined). (more…)
Author Interviews, Weight Research / 10.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview witih: Dr. Constance Tom Noguchi, Ph.D. Molecular Medicine Branch National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892  and Dr. Mawadda Al-Naeeli Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main findings of our study are: 1) EPO treatment has an anti-inflammatory effect on white adipose tissue macrophage population during diet-induced obesity in addition to its associated metabolic improvements on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in vivo. 2) In this model of obesity, EPO treatment was found to reduce M1-like [pro-inflammatory] and increased M2-like [anti-inflammatory] macrophages in visceral white adipose tissue depot. 3) In addition, EPO decreased circulating inflammatory monocytes. 4) These anti-inflammatory effects of EPO were found to be driven, at least in part, by direct EPO-R response in macrophages via Stat3 activation, where EPO effects on M2 but not M1 macrophages required interleukin-4 receptor/Stat6 axis. 5) The anti-inflammatory effects of EPO are not restricted to treatment with exogenous high dose EPO (1000U/kg), but also include endogenous physiological EPO levels as demonstrated by the series of studies conducted using ΔEpoR mice with EPO-R restricted to erythroid cells. (more…)
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, General Medicine, Weight Research / 02.04.2014

Shanthi Srinivasan, M.D. Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Digestive Diseases Department of Medicine Emory University Atlanta, GA 30322MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shanthi Srinivasan, M.D. Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Digestive Diseases Department of Medicine Emory University Atlanta, GA 30322   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Srinivasan: The main findings of this study are that the neurotrophic factor GDNF is was able to protect against the weight gain induced by mice on a high fat diet. The mice that had overexpression of GDNF showed less weight gain while eating the same high fat diet as the control mice. GDNF seems to have effects on the genes regulating fat metabolism and energy expenditure and this could be the mechanism of prevention of weight gain. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, OBGYNE, Weight Research / 25.03.2014

Dr. Kristy Ward Department of Reproductive Medicine UCSD School of MedicineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Kristy Ward Department of Reproductive Medicine UCSD School of Medicine   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Ward: As the second leading cause of preventable death, obesity is one of the nation’s most serious public health problems.  Over two-thirds of the US population is currently overweight or obese and the prevalence continues to increase.  A number of studies have linked obesity with an overall elevated risk of cancer and with many individual cancer types. Among obesity related cancers in women, endometrial cancer is most strongly associated with increasing body mass, with 39% of cases in the US attributable to obesity. In patients with clinically severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2), bariatric surgery results in rapid weight loss and has greater long-term success when compared to non-surgical weight loss methods. Surgical weight loss procedures have been found to reduce obesity-related comorbidites and improve outcomes in clinically severe obese populations. In addition to improved cardiovascular risk factors and mitigation of physical symptoms, there is increasing evidence that cancer risk is reduced after bariatric surgery. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 23.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christos S. Mantzoros, MD, DSc, PhD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the VA Boston HealthcareChristos S. Mantzoros, MD, DSc, PhD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the VA Boston Healthcare Cynthia R. Davis PhD Judge Baker Children’s Center in Boston, MA.Cynthia R. Davis PhD Judge Baker Children’s Center in Boston, MA.     MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study? Answer: These results highlight that chronic stressors in childhood, like child abuse and family violence, parental substance abuse, divorce and separation from a parental figure, can potentially have a long standing impact on brain structures and functioning, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.  Our work supports the notion of allostatic load, and is the first of its kind to demonstrate links between childhood adversity and central obesity later in life which leads to increased cardio metabolic risk. This study describes the role of these novel molecules in mediating metabolic dysregulation highlighting them as a novel mechanism linking childhood adversity to obesity. We have also used more sensitive assessments of childhood adversity, not typically employed in biomedical research, that incorporate the severity of adversities and their chronicity across childhood.  Assessments of this nature are better able to detect severe and chronic adversity, and are critical in the measurement of stress, its role in allostatic load and its impact on the brain.  Furthermore, the current study and others from our lab show that severe and chronic adversity in childhood is associated with metabolic dysregulation and obesity in adulthood, regardless of lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise and psychosocial factors like depression and social support. Clinicians and patients need to be aware of the fact that subjects exposed to early life adversity are at increase risk for central obesity and cardio metabolic risk. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Genetic Research, Medical Research Centers, Nutrition, Weight Research / 19.03.2014

Prof. Lu Qi, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition Harvard School of Public Health and Channing Division of Network Medicine Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Lu Qi, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition Harvard School of Public Health and Channing Division of Network Medicine Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lu Qi: In this study, we for the first time provide reproducible evidence from three large cohort studies to show that the association between regular consumption of fried foods and higher BMI was particularly pronounced among people with a greater genetic predisposition to obesity. On the other hand, the adverse genetic effects on BMI were also amplified by consuming more fried foods, the effects among those who ate fried foods more than four times a week was about twice as large compared with those who ate them less than once a week. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Weight Research / 04.03.2014

Dr. Laurie K. Twells, PhD School of Pharmacy, Memorial University, St. John’s Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University St. John’sNewfoundland and LabradorMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Laurie K. Twells, PhD School of Pharmacy, Memorial University, St. John’s Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Twells: Obesity rates in Canada tripled between 1985 and 2011. Although class I obesity (BMI ≥ 30) appears to have increased at a slower rate, obese classes II (BMI ≥  35) and III (BMI ≥40) continued to increase disproportionately. Over the last decade, every province in Canada experienced increases in obesity rates. Overall obesity rates were lower in the west and higher in the eastern provinces and people over age 40 years were more likely to be overweight/obese than younger people. By 2019 it is projected that twenty-one per cent of Canadians will be obese but this will vary by province from 15.7% in British Columbia to 34.6% in Newfoundland and Labrador. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Weight Research / 25.02.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cynthia L. Ogden, PhD, MRP Epidemiologist and Analysis Branch Chief NHANES Program/NCHS/CDC Hyattsville, MD 20782 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ogden: We continue to track obesity levels in the US population using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. New data are now available for 2011-2012. We found that 17% of youth and 35% of adults were obese.  Overall there has been no change in obesity levels among either youth or adults in the last 10 years. The prevalence of obesity among youth was 16.9% - exactly the same as in 2009-2010.  In separate age groups analyses we found a decrease in obesity among 2-5 year olds and an increase in obesity among older women 60+ years. (more…)
Author Interviews, PLoS, Weight Research / 25.02.2014

Nir Y. Krakauer Ph.D Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering The City College of New York New York, New YorkMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nir Y. Krakauer Ph.D Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering The City College of New York New York, New York MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Krakauer: We studied the association between the recently proposed body shape index (ABSI) -- which combines waist circumference, height and weight measurements -- and risk of death in a United Kingdom population sample. We found that high ABSI predicted greater mortality hazard, with death rates increasing by about 13% per standard deviation increase in ABSI. Further, ABSI was a stronger predictor of early death than BMI, waist circumference, or other indices based on waist circumference such as waist to height ratio and waist to hip ratio. For a given starting ABSI value, reducing A Body Shape Index over a 7-year period was associated with lowered mortality risk, . (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA, Weight Research / 18.02.2014

Dr Clare Llewellyn PhD Cpsychol Lecturer in Behavioural Obesity Research Health Behaviour Research Centre Department of Epidemiology and Public Health University College London, LondonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Clare Llewellyn PhD Cpsychol Lecturer in Behavioural Obesity Research Health Behaviour Research Centre Department of Epidemiology and Public Health University College London, London  MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Llewellyn:This study indicated that appetite – and, in particular, satiety sensitivity (how quickly you feel full during eating, or how long you remain full after eating) – could be one of the mechanisms through which ‘obesity genes’ influence body weight. We know that body weight has a strong genetic basis, but the mechanisms through which ‘obesity genes’ influence weight are largely unknown. We showed that children with a higher genetic predisposition to obesity (estimated from a score comprising 28 known obesity-related genes) not only had more body fat (a larger BMI and waist circumference), but importantly they were also less sensitive to satiety. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, General Medicine, PLoS, University of Michigan, Weight Research / 09.02.2014

Jenifer I Fenton Assistant Professor Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jenifer I Fenton Assistant Professor Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Fenton: This was a cross-sectional study, and thus, a snapshot in time. Although it cannot infer cause or temporality of obesity and colon polyp risk in men, it does show that obese men were more likely to have a polyp than their lean counterpart. In addition, there were serum biomarkers also associated with this risk. This could eventually lead to future blood tests to identify individuals at greater risk for polyps and inform screening recommendations. (more…)
Author Interviews, Sleep Disorders, University of Pittsburgh, Weight Research / 06.12.2013

Dr G. Neil Thomas, 
Regional Director, NIHR Research Design Service West Midlands 
 Deputy Director, Master of Public Heath Programme 
Reader in Epidemiology Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
 School of Health and Population Sciences
 College of Medical and Dental Sciences The University of Birmingham
 Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TTMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr G. Neil Thomas, 
Regional Director, NIHR Research Design Service West Midlands Deputy Director, Master of Public Heath Programme 
Reader in Epidemiology Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
 School of Health and Population Sciences
 College of Medical and Dental Sciences The University of Birmingham
 Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Thomas: This population of severely obese individuals (mean BMI 47kg/m2) from a regional specialist weight management service poor sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) and daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale) were strongly associated with poorer quality of life (Impact of Quality of Life-Lite (IWQOL-Lite) (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Weight Research / 25.11.2013

Ira Tabas, M.D., Ph.D. Richard J. Stock Professor and Vice-Chair of Research Department of Medicine Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology (in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics) Columbia University New York, NY 10032MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ira Tabas, M.D., Ph.D. Richard J. Stock Professor and Vice-Chair of Research Department of Medicine Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology  (in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics) Columbia University New York, NY 10032 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?  Dr. Tabas: We discovered a new pathway in the liver, relevant to humans, that controls the two hallmarks of type 2 diabetes (T2D), namely, excessive glucose production and defective insulin signaling.  Thus, if drugs could be developed to inhibit this pathway, they could be very effective at treating or preventing T2D. (more…)
Author Interviews, PLoS, Weight Research / 16.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Guang Sun MD, PhD Professor, Discipline of medicine Faculty of medicine, Memorial University Canada MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sun: Plenty of anecdotal reports on how ‘Food Addiction’ may be a potential culprit of the rising prevalence of obesity. However to date no scientific study, based on a comprehensive criterion of the diagnosis of Food Addiction, has been performed at the population level. The main findings are in the following fours aspects: 1)         Food Addiction is indeed an important contributing factor in the development of obesity. 2)         The prevalence of Food Addition was 5.4% and increased concomitantly with obesity status defined by either body mass index (BMI) or body fat percentage (%BF). In another word, there is one food addict in every twenty adults (Newfoundland Province, Canada) 3)         Clinical Symptom Count(s) of Food Addiction is strongly associated with the severity of obesity. 4)         Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with “Food Addiction” than men. (more…)
Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Sleep Disorders, Weight Research / 05.11.2013

Chantelle Hart, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Public Health Center for Obesity Research & Education Department of Public Health 3223 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19140MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chantelle Hart, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Public Health Center for Obesity Research & Education Department of Public Health Philadelphia, PA 19140   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Hart: Following one week of sleeping their typical amount, children 8-11 years old were asked to decrease and increase their time in bed by 1.5 hours/night for one week each in random order.  Compared to when children decreased their sleep, when they increased their sleep, they reported consuming 134 kcal/day fewer, had lower fasting levels of leptin, a hunger-regulating hormone that is also highly correlated with the amount of adipose tissue, and weighed approximately 0.5 lbs less.  Reported decreases in food intake were most pronounced later in the day. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Sugar, Weight Research / 02.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adam D M Briggs Academic Clinical Fellow British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: For the first time this study estimates the impact of a sugary drinks tax in the UK on obesity. We estimate the tax would reduce the number of adults with obesity by around 180,000 or just over 1% of all adults who are obese, and the number of adults who are either overweight or obese by 285,000. The greatest reductions are seen in young adults. We also estimate that the effects of the tax will be similar across all income groups. (more…)