Review of Popular Weight Loss Diets
The following review examines the advantages and disadvantages of several popular diet plans. Most of the diets are based on low-carbohydrate approaches. These hotly debated low-carbohydrate diets were subject of a recent study in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” that found more research is needed on the [...]

Choosing a safe and successful Weight-Loss Program
Almost any of the commercial weight-loss programs can work, but only if they motivate you sufficiently to decrease the amount of calories you eat or increase the amount of calories you burn each day (or both). What elements of a weight-loss program should a consumer look for in [...]

What is new in obesity research?
Researchers at UC Davis are studying how genes influence the amount of arachidonic acid (a fatty acid important in the synthesis of prostaglandins in the body) in the liver and muscle cells of a special strain of rats called Zucker rats. They found that rats that have inherited obese [...]

What is the role of Surgery in the treatment of obesity?
The National Institute of Health consensus has suggested the following guidelines for surgery in obese patients:
Patients with a BMI of greater than 40.
Patients with a BMI of greater than 35 who have serious medical problems such as sleep apnea, that would improve with weight [...]

What about herbal fen/phen?
Since the withdrawal of fen/phen from the market, “herbal fen/phen” has been proposed as an alternative in treating obesity. But the Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that “herbal fen/phen” has not been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for obesity and may contain ingredients that have [...]