The dangers of weight loss pills

I was shocked today to learn some of the side effects of weight-loss pills being considered by the FDA. One of them, called Qnexa, can cause birth defects and heart problems. Can it get any worse?! The drug was already rejected by the FDA before, but now they want to review it again.

It is great that pharmaceutical companies are trying to find a magic bullet for the weight epidemic, but when we hear stories such as this one, it is not hard to realize how far science is from understanding how the human body functions, especially when it comes to weight, which is controlled by so many factors.

How to lose weight naturally

There is a natural way to lose weight and it is a combination of diet and exercise. Losing weight is as simple as elementary math: calories you consume minus calories you burn. If the difference is negative, you will lose weight. If the difference is positive, you will gain weight. The more you exercise, the more calories you will burn. In fact, if you can control the number of calories you consume, you can still lose weight even without exercising. Let's take a few examples:

Overweight Teen Girls May Have Higher Acne Risk

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Teenage girls who are overweight or obese are significantly more likely to develop acne than their normal-weight peers, a new Norwegian survey suggests.

Researchers looked at whether weight, and more specifically body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height), had any bearing on the onset of the common skin condition among teens.

Teens' responses to questionnaires focusing on acne history and weight suggested an association among girls but not boys.

'Tell loved ones they are overweight this Christmas'

Published by BBC

Christmas may be a time of indulging for many, but health experts believe it is the perfect time to tell a loved one they are overweight.

The National Obesity Forum and International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk said it was important to be upfront because of the health risks.

Being overweight - particularly around the waist - increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

But a poll by the groups suggests too many people shy away from the issue.

More people choose diet over exercise to lose weight

By: Katie Gibas

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Kelly Pasley is just recently back at the gym after a year without exercise with a goal to get back in shape and lose weight.

"I just sort of felt like something was missing. And I recently quit smoking, quit smoking in April and felt great because of that and wanted to go back to exercise and see how that felt having quit smoking," said Pasley.

Pasley is in the 50 percent of Americans

Chew on this: How you eat can help you lose weight

Chewing can help you lose weight? Seriously?

Yes, it can, but only if you do it right, says Brian Udermann, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse who studies health myths.


A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2008 found that participants who ate a meal in eight minutes consumed 11 percent more calories than those who ate the same meal in 21 minutes — 645 for the fast eaters versus 579 for the slow eaters. The researchers also found that the slower eaters drank more water during the meal and rated the food more satisfying and pleasant.

Text Messaging, Social Media can Help College Students Lose Weight

October 17, 2011

Melissa Napolitano, PhD.

Look around on any college campus and you'll likely see hordes of students with heads down and thumbs furiously tapping away on their smart phones. A new study from Temple finds that this very act — texting and visiting Facebook — can help college students lose weight. The study, led by Melissa Napolitano, an Associate Professor of Kinesiology and a psychologist at the Center for Obesity Research and Education, compared weight loss among a cohort of 52 college-age students, mostly women, who were broken into three groups:

• Facebook group — these participants visited a private Facebook page to get eating and exercise tips and viewed podcasts on how to improve diet and exercise routines.
• Facebook-plus group — participants visited the same page, but also received personalized, one-on-one feedback from a researcher via text messaging.
• Control group — participants received no diet or exercise advice and were put on a waiting list to participate in the program.