http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Neurosurgeons at the University of Texas–Houston and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital (Houston, Texas) report on the success they achieved when they removed a hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) from a 10-year-old girl to combat hyperphagia (excessive appetite and compulsive overeating) and consequent unhealthy weight gain. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time resection of an HH was performed for this particular reason. Findings in this case are reported and discussed in "Successful treatment of hyperphagia by resection of a hypothalamic hamartoma. Case report," by Yoshua Esquenazi, M.D., David I. Sandberg, M.D., and Harold L. Rekate, M.D., published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-hypothalamic-hamartoma-curbs-compulsive-excessive.html Surgery Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:28:09 EST news284722076 The gene most strongly linked to obesity and overeating may also increase the risk of malignant melanoma – the most deadly skin cancer, reveals research published in Nature Genetics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-evidence-obesity-gene-factor-melanoma.html Genetics Mon, 04 Mar 2013 07:47:00 EST news281605613 How physicians view the causes of obesity may impact the advice they give their patients. The findings are from a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who compared the relationship between primary care physicians' beliefs about the causes of obesity with the frequency of nutritional counseling. They found that physicians who believed over consumption of food to be a major contributor to obesity were significantly more likely to counsel their patients to modify nutritional habits. The results are featured in the February 2013 issue of Preventive Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-physicians-belief-obesity-impacts-advice.html Overweight and Obesity Fri, 08 Feb 2013 09:24:15 EST news279537757 (Medical Xpress)—People setting a goal to lose weight in 2013 may want to first ask themselves if diet or exercise is more important to success. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-beliefs-weight-torpedo-year-resolutions.html Health Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:05:16 EST news276361491 Overeating and binge eating may be associated with initiating use of marijuana and other drugs in a study of adolescents and young adults, according to a study published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-binge-overeating-marijuana-drugs.html Sleep apnea Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:00:01 EST news274369610 Thanksgiving ushers in the long season of holiday treats. While many look forward to gobs of stuffing and plates piled high with cookies, others view the smorgasbords with dread. For them, holiday eating means blown diets, expanding waistlines and a lingering sense of guilt. Rutgers-Camden psychologist Charlotte Markey studies America's conflicted relationship with food and how eating habits are shaped by family and cultural norms. She talked to Rutgers Today about the key to avoiding holiday overindulgence and the futility of dieting. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-overeating-holidays-dieting.html Health Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:11:15 EST news272531466 (Medical Xpress)—Neither genes nor the environment alone can predict obesity in children, but when considered together a strong relationship emerges, according to researchers at Penn State, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The researchers found that children who have a genetic variant that makes them less sensitive to the taste of certain bitter compounds, also called "non-tasters," were significantly more likely to be obese than children who were "tasters" of these compounds—but only when they lived in an unhealthy food environment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-interaction-genes-environment-obesity-children.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 01 Nov 2012 06:52:46 EST news270971554 Joint research between the University of Michigan and the Argentina-based National Council of Science and Technology (CONICET) has shed light on one of the most frustrating mysteries of weight loss – why the weight inevitably comes back. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-weight-loss.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:50:06 EST news270306030 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have identified the lynchpin that activates brown fat cells, which burn fat molecules instead of storing them, making them the focus of pharmaceutical research aimed at fighting obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-lynchpin-brown-fat-cells.html Medical research Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:20:06 EST news269853594 (HealthDay)—People who skip breakfast may end up eating more and making less healthy food choices throughout the day, according to a new study. Eating breakfast, on the other hand, helps people avoid overeating and cravings for high-calorie foods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-brain-scans-downside-breakfast.html Neuroscience Wed, 17 Oct 2012 18:40:01 EST news269714349 New research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine sheds light on how overeating can cause a malfunction in brain insulin signaling, and lead to obesity and diabetes. Christoph Buettner, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease) and his research team found that overeating impairs the ability of brain insulin to suppress the breakdown of fat in adipose tissue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-overeating-impairs-brain-insulin-function.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:21:34 EST news269709688 Patients who undergo bariatric weight loss surgery may be at increased risk for substance use (drug use, alcohol use and cigarette smoking) following surgery, particularly among patients who undergo laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery who appear to be at increased risk for alcohol use following surgery, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Surgery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-weight-loss-surgery-substance.html Surgery Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:00:04 EST news269514600 As obesity rates soar worldwide, the antidote may seem obvious: Eat less! Move more! But the common-sense approach hasn't been terribly effective, prompting some scientists to question the simplicity of the formula. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-triggers-weight-gain-focus-air.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:20:01 EST news268916783 (Medical Xpress)—You're waiting in the reception area of your doctor's office. The magazines are uninteresting. The pictures on the wall are dull. The second hand on the wall clock moves so excruciatingly slowly that you're sure it must be broken. You feel depleted and irritated about being stuck in this seemingly endless moment. You want to be engaged by something—anything—when a thought, so familiar from childhood, comes to mind: "I'm bored!" http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-im-boredresearch-attention-unengaged-mind.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:16:28 EST news267891382 Your mood for food can be changed by a restaurant's choice of music and lighting, leading to increased satisfaction and reduced calorie intake, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-fast-food-restaurant-music-calorie.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:25:46 EST news265476277 Snack consumption and BMI are linked to both brain activity and self-control, new research has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-snacking-bmi-linked-effect-brain.html Neuroscience Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:28:58 EST news262258133 Deep brain stimulation reduces binge eating in mice, suggesting that this surgery, which is approved for treatment of certain neurologic and psychiatric disorders, may also be an effective therapy for obesity. Presentation of the results will take place Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-binge-deep-brain-surgery.html Surgery Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:40:01 EST news259848552 Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have zeroed in on a set of neurons in the part of the brain that controls hunger, and found that these neurons are not only associated with overeating, but also linked to non-food associated behaviors, like novelty-seeking and drug addiction. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-neurons-overeating-appetite-cocaine.html Neuroscience Sun, 24 Jun 2012 13:20:01 EST news259758511 When eating is motivated by pleasure, rather than hunger, endogenous rewarding chemical signals are activated which can lead to overeating, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The phenomenon ultimately affects body mass and may be a factor in the continuing rise of obesity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-pleasure-triggers-body-reward-overeating.html Medical research Thu, 03 May 2012 03:04:02 EST news255233034 Obesity is increasing worldwide in adults and children and is currently viewed by many as one of the most serious threats to public health. It is likely that solutions to the obesity pandemic will require changes in public policy and that scientific insight into obesity will be invaluable for guiding those changes. Now, a new review of human brain imaging studies published by Cell Press in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests that a major reason for the dramatic increase in obesity may be a heightened sensitivity to heavily advertised and easily accessible high-calorie foods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-heightened-sensitivity-cheap-high-calorie-food.html Medical research Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:00:01 EST news252845334 In a study conducted among 25 healthy individuals living in a controlled setting who were randomized to overconsumption of different levels of protein diets, those consuming the low-protein diet had less weight gain compared to those consuming normal and high protein diets, and calories alone, and not protein appeared to contribute to an increase in body fat, according to a study in the January 4 issue of JAMA. The researchers also found that protein did contribute to changes in energy expenditure and lean body mass. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-overeating-calories-protein-contribute-body.html Medical research Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:35:43 EST news244830894 Overeating, whether in children or adults, often takes place even in the absence of hunger, resulting in weight gain and obesity. Current methods to treat such overeating in youth focus on therapies that restrict what kids may eat, requiring them to track their food intake and engage in intensive exercise. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-approach-overeating-children.html Health Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:57:43 EST news242539054 (Medical Xpress) -- Overeating is common this time of year, between the large holiday feasts and more and more sweets creeping into the kitchen. With Thanksgiving only a few days away, we asked nutrition expert Katherine Tucker, chair of the Department of Health Sciences in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, to offer her tips to eat healthy and avoid overindulging. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-3qs-healthy-holidays.html Health Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:10:04 EST news241260188 Ditching the diet for Thanksgiving? Turkey with all the fixings isn't the only temptation causing would-be dieters to miss their goals, according to a new Cornell University review article that finds powerful environmental cues are subconsciously bending willpower every day. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-gobbling-extra-stuffing-willpower-cheap.html Health Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:30:01 EST news240674756 What's killing us? For decades, global health leaders have focused on diseases that can spread - AIDS, tuberculosis, new flu bugs. They pushed for vaccines, better treatments and other ways to control germs that were only a plane ride away from seeding outbreaks anywhere in the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-global-killers-heart-lung-disease.html Health Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:53:25 EST news235216372 Do you always get popcorn at the movies? Or snack while you're on the couch watching television? A new paper by USC researchers reveals why bad eating habits persist even when the food we're eating doesn't taste good. The study also reveals the surprisingly simple ways we can counter our habits to gain control over what we eat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-habit-bad-food-easy-swallow.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:45:39 EST news234103511