Content about Obesity

NEW YORK — A new Harris Poll published Tuesday suggested that many doctors are doing little or nothing to help their overweight patients to lose weight.

Using classifications defined by the World Health Organization, 19% of those who are morbidly obese (with a body mass index of 35 or greater), 46% of those who are obese (BMI of between 30 and 34) and 72% who are overweight but not obese (BMI of between 25 and 29), said that their doctors have never told them to lose weight.

CINCINNATI — As an official sponsor of the National Football League, Procter & Gamble has donated $300,000 to the NFL's campaign to fight childhood obesity and promote health and wellness among kids nationwide.

Through P&G's donation, NFL Play 60 has allowed the league to create health centers, rehab playgrounds, purchase sports equipment and help thousands of children lead happier, healthier lives, according to the company.

WASHINGTON — Addressing the obesity epidemic in the United States, the Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services unveiled the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

DGA can help Americans maximize the nutritional content of their meals by providing advice for making food choices that promote good health, a healthy weight and prevent disease for healthy Americans ages 2 years and older, the USDA and HHS said. Key recommendations include:

• Balancing calories to maintain a healthy weight;

ATLANTA — Obesity rates continue to soar among the U.S. population, particularly in children. And the result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, leads both to “psychosocial problems and to cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, high cholesterol and abnormal glucose tolerance or diabetes.”



Sales of diet-aid and weight-loss solutions for the past year have been relatively flat, but a confluence of factors — childhood obesity approaching “epidemic” status combined with the real need to reduce escalating healthcare costs connected to obesity — could become a real driver behind weight-loss products in the coming year. 


SILVER SPRING, Md. — As a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee convenes to decide whether or not to approve a new drug for treating obesity, two nonprofit groups centered on the epidemic said more means of addressing it are needed.

SAN DIEGO Two drug makers conducting a late-stage clinical trial of a drug for treating overweight and obese patients said the drug produced significant weight loss in patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Arena Pharmaceuticals and Eisai reported results of the one-year “BLOOM-DM” phase-3 trial of the drug lorcaserin, showing that a significant number of patients lost 5% to 10% of their weight by the end of the trial. Patients taking the drug also showed improvements in blood sugar levels, compared with those taking placebo.

SAN DIEGO The Food and Drug Administration declined to approve a regulatory approval application from Arena Pharmaceuticals and Eisai for a drug to treat obesity, the two companies said Saturday.

The FDA issued a complete response letter for the drug lorcaserin, designed for weight management and weight loss in patients who are overweight or obese and have at least one co-morbid condition. The FDA issues a complete response letter when it finishes reviewing an approval application, but issues remain that preclude final approval.

NEW YORK New research by Duke University found that obese workers cost U.S. employers $73.1 billion a year.

SILVER SPRING, Md. Clinical trial data indicating an increased risk of heart attack and stroke has led to the removal from the market of an obesity drug made by Abbott, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

The FDA said the drug maker voluntarily withdrew the drug Meridia (sibutramine) following a required post-marketing trial showing that the drug increased by 16% the risk of nonfatal heart attacks and strokes, the need for resuscitation after the heart stopped and death.

PARIS Nestle will set up a health-and-wellness division to address such problems as obesity, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and others, according to published reports.

The New York Times reported Monday that the company would create the Nestle Institute of Health Sciences, set to begin operations on Jan. 1.

The division, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, will be based at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in the city of Lausanne, the Times reported. Nestle is based in Vevey, Switzerland.