The Thyroid Blog

Are You Gaining Weight Because of a Virus?

Scientists reported new evidence that infection with a common virus may be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic sweeping through the United States and other countries. In laboratory experiments they showed that infection with human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36), long recognized as a cause of respiratory and eye infections in humans, transforms adult stem cells obtained from fat tissue into fat cells. Stem cells not exposed to the virus, in contrast, were unchanged.

Estrogen's Secret Role in Obesity

New research on the effects of the female sex hormone estrogen in the brain lend credence to what many women have suspected about the hormonal changes that accompany aging: Menopause can make you fat.

Scientists long have sought to understand how changes in hormones during menopause could account for the increase in appetite and accompanying weight gain that often occurs among aging women.

Are Your Friends Making You Fat?

Are your friends making you fat? Or keeping you slender? According to new research from Harvard and the University of California, San Diego, the short answer on both counts is "yes."

Appearing in the July 26, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a study coauthored by Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School and James Fowler of UC San Diego suggests that obesity is "socially contagious," spreading from person to person in a social network.

The study -- the first to examine this phenomenon -- finds that if one person becomes obese, those closely connected to them have a greater chance of becoming obese themselves. Surprisingly, the greatest effect is seen not among people sharing the same genes or the same household but among friends.

Obesity And Environmental Chemicals: Research Probes Potential Link

Could your couch be making you fat?

A team of researchers at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) is investigating whether the increasing ubiquity of chemical flame retardants found in foam furniture, carpeting, microwaves and computers might be related to the climbing rate of obesity in the United States.

Belly Fat May Drive Inflammatory Processes

As scientists learn more about the key role of inflammation in diabetes, heart disease and other disorders, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that fat in the belly may be an important promoter of that inflammation.

Excess fat is known to be associated with disease, but now the researchers have confirmed that fat cells inside the abdomen are secreting molecules that increase inflammation. It's the first evidence of a potential mechanistic link between abdominal fat and systemic inflammation.

Common Chemicals Tied to Rising Obesity

Exposure to phthalates, a common chemical found in everything from plastics to soaps, already has been connected to reproductive problems and now, for the first time, is linked to abdominal obesity and insulin resistance in adult males, according to a study by the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Safe Workouts For Cold Weather Months

With the temperatures plummeting this time of year, many of us tend to hibernate inside our homes. But, hibernating is for bears. As humans it's important to stay active through all four seasons. Yet, a poll of 5,000 people found that 30 percent get no exercise at all during the winter months.

Just because it is cold outside doesn't make it open season for an excuse not to exercise. There are multiple exercise options one can choose to participate in regardless of what the outdoor thermometer reads. Depending on your location and likes, you can choose to workout inside or outside.

Shedding Pounds from Diet or Exercise—Take Your Pick

People looking to lose those extra pounds have been told for decades that dieting together with exercise will bring about the best results. Not so, says new research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, which reveals that dieting alone is as effective as dieting plus exercise. The key is in the calories and the study shows that calories can be lost effectively by either dietary restrictions or exercise.

Natural Fiber May Take Away Extra Pounds

It sounds almost too good to be true, but Dr. Raylene Reimer, a researcher at the University of Calgary, Faculty of Kinesiology, believes she may have found an important weapon in the war against obesity. Reimer and her colleagues are launching the first human trials anywhere to assess a promising natural fibre, which has already been shown to be effective in tests involving genetically obese rats.

 

Calcium Lowers Heart Disease Risk in People on a Diet

Researchers at the Université Laval Faculty of Medicine have discovered that taking calcium and vitamin D supplements while on a weight loss program lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers Geneviève C Major, Francine Alarie, Jean Doré, Sakouna Phouttama, and Angelo Tremblay published the details of their findings in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.