Doctors are being advised to avoid using loaded terms such as ‘obesity’ when talking with patients about their weight. According to a new study of 390 overweight patients, certain phrases may cause people to close up and avoid talking about weight with their doctor. “(The term obesity) is judgmental and has negative attributes… you’re imposing [...]

Can doing the standard 9:00 to 5:00 at a desk every week make you overweight? Maybe working in a knowledge-based work environment increases our chances of gaining weight? There’s new research to suggest that yes, it could. According to two studies by Canadian researchers Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput and Dr. Angelo Tremblay, the stress caused by [...]

While there may be no literal ‘Fountain of Youth’, that certainly hasn’t stopped researchers from investigating ways that might allow us to live longer lives. There have been studies about the age defying effects of red wine and the health benefits of blueberries. But the final word in longevity might be found in calorie restriction [...]

In addition to being an effective treatment for weight loss, bariatric surgery may create a ‘halo’ effect that allows a patient’s family members to lose weight. The finding recently appeared in the medical journal Archives of Surgery. Researchers at Stanford University’s School of Medicine discovered that 1 year after a patient underwent weight loss surgery, [...]

Carrying a little extra weight as you get older might help you live longer, acting as a cushion from the ‘slings and arrows’ of old age. Sound too good to be true? It is. Surprisingly, the idea has been floated around in the past few years, especially since a 2009 analysis of Statistics Canada data [...]

Alberta’s provincial government is taking steps to combat obesity by increasing access to weight loss surgery and funding programs in the province’s schools. Alberta Health, the provincial health agency, estimates there are one million obese Albertans, and another one million who are overweight. That’s about 25 per cent of the province’s population. The agency has [...]

Dr. Oz, host of the hit television show The Dr. Oz Show, is saying there should be more of a public focus on weight loss. Dr. Oz also says he’s an advocate for weight loss surgery. “I… think gastric bypass surgery will play a big role. We probably do only 1 per cent of the [...]

 A new children’s book aimed at readers as young as 4 is creating controversy because of its focus on dieting. Maggie Goes on a Diet will be released in Canada this coming October. Author Paul Kramer’s book tells the story of Maggie, a young, overweight girl who is bullied at school. Maggie decides to go [...]

Chances are you’ve heard the old saying, “dieting makes you gain weight.” It turns out there might be more truth to that statement than you think. A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition placed 78 post-menopausal women on a weight loss diet, then followed up 6 months, then12 months later. After [...]

A recent study by researchers in Somerset, UK, has shown that type 2 diabetes may be alleviated, or even go into remission, following gastric banding surgery. Two groups were used for the study. Group 1 followed 34 obese, type 2 diabetes patients for 36 months after their gastric banding or gastric bypass surgeries. In the [...]