A new study, reported by the American Heart Association, estimates that the increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages between 1990 and 2000 contributed to 130,000 new cases of diabetes. Sugar-sweetened soda, sport and fruit drinks (not 100 percent fruit juice) contain equivalent calories, ranging from 120 to 200 per drink, and thus play a role in the nation’s rising tide of obesity, researchers said. Previous research has linked daily consumption of these sugary beverages to an increased risk of diabetes, even apart...

A new study, reported by Reuters, has found that children in the U.S. snack so often that they are moving toward constant eating. The study conducted by Carmen Piernas and Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina found that 27 percent of calories that American kids consume come from snacks, and that the average child eats 3 snacks a day in addition to three regular meals. The study published in the journal Health Affairs may help to explain the surge in obesity among children across America.

A new study published in the online version of the journal Pediatrics, found that efforts to prevent childhood obesity should begin far earlier than currently thought, perhaps even before birth. The study, reported by EurekAlert, tracked 1,826 women,  (1,343 white, 355 black and 128 Hispanic) from pregnancy through their children’s first five years of life. The researchers found that minority women were more likely to be overweight when they became pregnant and Hispanic women had a higher rate of gestational diabetes,...

According to a new study from the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute, over the past few years, the number of strokes among younger Americans is on the rise while among older American the numbers have declined. According to the report in Business Week, the study found that while doctors are getting a handle on the problem among seniors, the proportion of strokes that occurred among those ages 20 to 45 rose from 4.5 percent in 1993-94 to 7.3 percent in 2005. The researchers found that the average age of stroke patients...

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced that following positive phase 2 study results in a new obesity treatment, they will  advance towards phase 3 development of a combination treatment for obesity which includes pramlintide (an analog of the natural hormone amylin)  and metreleptin  (an analog of the natural hormone leptin). The phase 2 results demonstrated sustained weight loss over a 52 week period. In November 2009 the two companies announced an agreement to co-develop and commercialize...

Telegraph reports 8 in 10 men and nearly 7 in 10 women in the UK will be overweight or obese by 2020.  According to a new study, an update of the Government-commissioned Foresight report, released in 2007, there is no basis for hope that the obesity crisis is easing.  Moreover, the study predicts that cases of diabetes related to obesity will rise by 98 percent by 2050.  Cathy Moulton, from Diabetes UK, said: “This new report paints a gloomy picture of the future state of the UK’s health. If left undiagnosed or...

The National Institutes of Health provided a  research grant of $2.4 million to  Sean Blackwell, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, to study the link between obesity and high-risk pregnancies caused by preeclampsia and diabetes. Medical News Today reports that researchers hope the observational study will provide them with a better understanding of the cause, diagnosis and history of preeclampsia and diabetes in pregnant...

In the United States over 30% of children are overweight or obese, and childhood obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, hypertension and a high risk for adult obesity and cardiovascular disease.  According to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, and reported in ScienceDaily,  extended release metformin appears to cause a small but significant decrease in body mass index (BMI) in non-diabetic obese adolescents, when combined with a lifestyle intervention program. The study, which...

I read this New York Times article, “Childhood Obesity Battle Is Taken Up by First Lady,” which details Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign – America’s Move to Raise a Healthier Generation of Kids.  Thank you so much for doing this, Michelle Obama! What struck me as I was reading the article was that, while kids are the focus of Mrs. Obama’s efforts, much of what she said applies to adults too, especially to diabetic adults.  Take this quote for example: “The truth is, our kids didn’t...

Barry Popkin, a professor of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina, and a nutrition expert who has advised the U.S. government and health policy makers around the world, says sugary drinks should be taxed. Popkin told Reuters that  the epidemic of obesity and weight gain sweeping the globe could be slowed dramatically by limiting the intake of sugary drinks since, depending on the country you live in, 10 to 25 percent of all calories consumed are in sugary or caloric beverages. Reviving a taste for water could cut between...