Body Mass Index News and Research

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Discovering Age and Sex-Specific Obesity Genes in the Genome

Right from impacting how the human body stores fat to how the brain regulates appetite, hundreds of genes, together with environmental factors, jointly identify weight and body size.

3 Aug 2023

Scientists Identify "Footprints" of Participation Bias in Genetic Data

Why do some people take part in genetic studies while others do not? The answer may lie within our genetic makeup. According to a groundbreaking study by Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Big Data Institute, people who participate in genetic studies are genetically more likely to do so, leaving detectable 'footprints' in genetics data. This breakthrough equips researchers with the ability to identify and address participation bias, a significant challenge in genetic research.

14 Jul 2023

Identification of Unique Proteins That Might be Body Weight Regulators

Genetic factors may account for up to 50% of the diversity in body mass index, or BMI, in the population.

5 Apr 2023

Blunted inflammatory response in obese individuals responsible for susceptibility to severe COVID-19

Individuals who are obese may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 because of a poorer inflammatory immune response, say Cambridge scientists.

23 Mar 2023

Blunted inflammatory response could make obese patients more susceptible to severe COVID-19

Individuals who are obese may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 because of a poorer inflammatory immune response, say Cambridge scientists.

21 Mar 2023

Study reveals the detrimental effects of even a few extra pounds on young people

A Kaiser Permanente study of more than 800,000 young people between the ages of 3 and 17 showed that youth at the upper range of average weight had a 26% higher risk of developing hypertension than those closer to what is considered average weight. The study was published March 14, 2023, in JAMA Network Open.

15 Mar 2023

Specific types of gut fungi play a role in infant weight gain and growth

Researchers in the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) at the University of Calgary in collaboration with the Canadian CHILD Study have found a link between the diversity, or number, of fungal species in the infant gut and the body-mass index (BMI) of infants.

10 Feb 2023

Digital microbe database unlocks patient response to treatment

Scientists at the University of Galway, in collaboration with APC Microbiome Ireland, a world-class SFI Research Centre, have developed a database of over 7,000 digital microbes, allowing computer simulations of how drug treatments operate and how patients may respond.

24 Jan 2023

Role of adolescent lifestyle in biological aging

According to findings published in eLife, genetics may contribute to the explanation of the connection between unhealthy lifestyles and increased biological aging in young adults.

10 Nov 2022

Lager beer consumption may increase men’s gut microbiome’s diversity

Like wine, beer can have health benefits when consumed in moderation. Non-alcoholic beers have become wildly popular recently, but are these drinks also healthful?

16 Jun 2022

New research demonstrates genetic markers in leadership positions

The locations of nine core genetic markers related with leadership have been discovered in a recent study led by the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School.

From National University of Singapore (NUS) 21 Mar 2022

Largest nationwide study analyzes the link between food environment and dietary health

An estimated 19 million people in the U.S. live in so-called food deserts, which have lower access to healthy and nutritious food.

19 Jan 2022

Drug company pipelines are developing new molecules to help people safely shed extra weight

Drugs that promise to help people lose weight have had a checkered past, such as the infamous fen-phen that was pulled from the market in 1997 after reports of heart valve damage.

21 Oct 2021

Healthy diet improves weight and reduces cardiovascular disease risks in overweight children

A Cleveland Clinic-led research team found that statistically overweight children who followed a healthy eating pattern significantly improved weight and reduced a variety of cardiovascular disease risks.

22 Sep 2021

Smoking-related DNA methylation patterns explain the variation in BMI between individuals

Smoking-related DNA methylation patterns explain around a fifth of the variation in body mass index (BMI) between individuals, according to a study publishing September 9th in the open-access journal PLOS Genetics, led by Carmen Amador at the University of Edinburgh.

13 Sep 2021

Some Type 2 diabetes patients could benefit from bone marrow stem cell transplants, study shows

Type 2 diabetes patients who are not overweight and who have had the disorder for less than a decade can benefit from stromal stem cells transplanted from their own bone marrow, according to a study published today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine.

4 Jun 2021

Studies highlight different aspects of link between obesity and cancer

Multi-factorial metabolic and inflammatory abnormalities in obesity, independently or in combination, seems to be the critical biological link of obesity, cancer and racial/gender health disparities. However, the specific cross-talk between these factors remain elusive.

24 May 2021

Vegan diet leads to poorer bone health, shows study

The vegan diet is on-trend. How this type of diet affects health is the subject of scientific studies. In a new study from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the bone health of 36 vegans, as well as 36 people following a mixed-food diet, was determined with an ultrasound measurement of the heel bone.

5 Mar 2021

School-based gardening improves vegetable intake among children

Getting children to eat their vegetables can seem like an insurmountable task, but nutrition researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have found one way: school gardens and lessons on using what's grown in them.

5 Feb 2021

Cancer survivors face barriers in maintaining a healthy diet

New research and analysis appearing in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, published by Elsevier, highlights the barriers cancer survivors face in maintaining a healthy diet, as well as the role nutrition may play in cancer risk and treatment.

4 Feb 2021