A new study from the University of Sydney has found that high protein diets are more effective in helping young women manage their weight than diets high in carbohydrates. The study looked at the effect of diet, exercise and behaviour change in overweight and obese women aged 18-25. Researcher Dr Helen O’Connor and her colleagues tracked 71 overweight and obese women aged 18-25 years over 12 months. The women were randomly placed the women on either a higher-protein or a higher-carbohydrate diet,... ...Read more »

New research from Uppsala University, in Sweden, has found a new link between poor sleeping habits and increased risk of becoming overweight. The research, which was published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, found that a specific brain region which contributes to a person’s appetite is more active when the person is deprived of sleep. In the latest study, Christian Benedict, together with Samantha Brooks, Helgi Schiöth and Elna-Marie Larsson from Uppsala University and... ...Read more »

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which is the Australian government regulatory agency for medicines, legal drugs and complementary health products, has issued a public safety advisory to notify consumers (or potential consumers) of  serious risks that a product known as Lipro Diet Pills may pose to health. The TGA points out that the commercial supply of Lipro Diet Pills in Australia is illegal. However a number of people in Australia appear to have bought the product, seemingly through... ...Read more »

Australian and U.S. scientists claim to have demonstrated for the first time that a hormone that helps people feel “full” after eating can be delivered into the bloodstream orally. Scientists at Syracuse University, in New York, and Murdoch University, in Perth, Western Australia, led by chemist Dr Robert Doyle had their study published this week in the American Chemical Society’s ‘Journal of Medicinal Chemistry’. The scientists are now hoping to find an application for the hormone as an... ...Read more »

Obese people may regain weight after dieting due to hormonal changes, a University of Melbourne and Austin Health study has shown. The study, which was undertaken in collaboration with La Trobe University, in Melbourne, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine today. According to the study’s findings, although restriction of diet often results in initial weight loss, more than 80 per cent of obese dieters fail to maintain their reduced weight. The study involved 50 overweight or obese... ...Read more »

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health has found that small changes in diet, lifestyle and sleep patterns are strongly linked with long term weight gain, with humble potato the single biggest offender. Where previous studies have examined patterns of weight loss, the Harvard study examined factors in weight gain, finding changes in diet to have the biggest association with gaining weight. “An average adult gains about one pound per year. Because the weight gain is so gradual and occurs... ...Read more »

Synthetic fat substitutes used in low-calorie potato chips and other foods, such as olestra, could backfire and contribute to weight gain and obesity, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. The study, by researchers at Purdue University, challenges the conventional wisdom that foods made with fat substitutes help with weight loss. By feeding rats Pringles potato chips – either full-fat or both full-fat and ‘low-fat’ olestra varieties – researchers... ...Read more »

Research by Datamonitor, the independent market analyst firm, has revealed that women tend to encounter weight problems more than men and by 2014 one-third (32.6%) of them will be either obese or overweight. In fact 7.3 million people will be obese in Australia by 2014. Mark Whalley, analyst at Datamonitor said, “It is surprising that despite intense government campaigns and continual media attention around healthy eating, obesity levels are continuing to rise. However this attention may have... ...Read more »

New wellness company MyWhey has partnered exclusively with Woolworths to bring Australians an evidence-based weight management program. Formulated by leading medical experts and using a unique combination of natural ingredients, the MyWhey program provides consumers with an optimal weight management formulated meal replacement using the highest quality organic whey protein isolate available in Australia. A number of the clinicians involved in the formulation process have formed a special advisory... ...Read more »

The proportion of the adult population in the UK classified as obese has soared, according to a report by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).The ‘Social Trends’ report, published yesterday (6 July), revealed that in the UK, a quarter of UK adults were obese in 2008, up from 16% in 1994. Campaigners have placed the blame on food manufacturers for the rising number of people in the UK who are obese. However, the country’s food industry trade body said manufacturers have “shown... ...Read more »