Body Mass Index

Earlier this week, I wrote about a new study that pointed to the limits of the bathroom scale in terms of evaluating weight gain -- or weight loss. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that overeating a high-protein diet led to more weight gain than overeating a low-protein diet but that this extra weight gain came from added muscle, not body fat. That led me to wonder: just how much useful information does my $50 bathroom scale really yield?

The connection between lack of sleep and obesity has long been established in research studies, but can getting more sleep actually help you overcome a genetic propensity to excess weight gain? Perhaps if you're not getting at least seven hours a night. While it's tough to tease out just how much of a role genes play in determining our body weight, University of Washington researchers gave it their best shot by measuring the body mass index in 604 pairs of identical twins (who share the same genes)

BALTIMORE -- Girls and young women who regularly ate breakfast, particularly one that includes cereal, were generally slimmer than those who skipped it, according to a study that tracked almost 2,400 people for 10 years. Girls and young women who ate breakfast of any type had a lower average body mass index, a common obesity gauge, than those who said they did not. The index was even lower for girls who said they generally ate cereal for breakfast, according to the findings of the study, which was conducted by the Maryland Medical Research Institute.

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent Somerville's fitness challenge is back, and this year Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone is calling for recruits to join his fitness challenge team. The friendly competition, in its third year, is part of the city's ongoing effort to promote healthy eating and lifestyles. Residents interested in joining Curtatone's squad should submit written applications of less than 100 words explaining why they should be on the team. Winners for the three spots will be coached in fitness and nutrition by the mayor.

The connection between lack of sleep and obesity has long been established in research studies, but can getting more sleep actually help you overcome a genetic propensity to excess weight gain? Perhaps if you're not getting at least seven hours a night. While it's tough to tease out just how much of a role genes play in determining our body weight, University of Washington researchers gave it their best shot by measuring the body mass index in 604 pairs of identical twins (who share the same genes)

By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent Somerville's fitness challenge is back, and this year Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone is calling for recruits to join his fitness challenge team. The friendly competition, in its third year, is part of the city's ongoing effort to promote healthy eating and lifestyles. Residents interested in joining Curtatone's squad should submit written applications of less than 100 words explaining why they should be on the team. Winners for the three spots will be coached in fitness and nutrition by the mayor.

Federal health officials have issued warning letters to eight surgical centers and a marketing firm in California for misleading advertisements promoting the Lap-Band, a stomach-restricting device used to treat obesity. The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that advertisements by the centers and a marketing firm, 1-800-GET-THIN, do not provide mandatory information about the risks and side effects of Lap-Band implantation. The stomach-restricting band — made by Irvine, Calif.-based Allergan Inc. — limits food intake, but can...

CHICAGO -- Pudgy toddlers face a good chance of becoming overweight 12-year-olds, according to government research that shoots down the notion that children naturally outgrow early chubbiness. Children who were overweight at age 2 or later during their preschool years were five times more likely to be overweight at age 12 than youngsters who were not overweight early on, the study found. Sixty percent of the children who were overweight at any time during the preschool period were overweight at age 12. Children were considered overweight if their body mass index was in the 85th...

America's obesity epidemic is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and shows no sign of reversing course. More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children were obese in 2009-2010, echoing results since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. "It's good that we didn't see increases. On the other hand, we didn't see any decreases in any group," said CDC researcher Cynthia Ogden. Early in the decade, slight increases were seen among white, black and Hispanic men, and among Hispanic and black women.

ATLANTA - Nearly 36 percent of black Americans are obese - a higher percentage than in other major racial or ethnic groups - and that gap exists in most states, a new federal study finds. About 29 percent of Hispanics and 24 percent of whites are obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Racial differences in obesity rates have been reported before, and health officials were not surprised to see a larger number of blacks tipping the scales. But the new CDC report is the first to look at the gap on a state-by-state level, finding...

America's obesity epidemic is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and shows no sign of reversing course. More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children were obese in 2009-2010, echoing results since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. "It's good that we didn't see increases. On the other hand, we didn't see any decreases in any group," said CDC researcher Cynthia Ogden. Early in the decade, slight increases were seen among white, black and Hispanic men, and among Hispanic and black women.

Earlier this week, I wrote about a new study that pointed to the limits of the bathroom scale in terms of evaluating weight gain -- or weight loss. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that overeating a high-protein diet led to more weight gain than overeating a low-protein diet but that this extra weight gain came from added muscle, not body fat. That led me to wonder: just how much useful information does my $50 bathroom scale really yield?

Federal health officials have issued warning letters to eight surgical centers and a marketing firm in California for misleading advertisements promoting the Lap-Band, a stomach-restricting device used to treat obesity. The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that advertisements by the centers and a marketing firm, 1-800-GET-THIN, do not provide mandatory information about the risks and side effects of Lap-Band implantation. The stomach-restricting band — made by Irvine, Calif.-based Allergan Inc. — limits food intake, but can also cause irritation of the...

ATLANTA - Nearly 36 percent of black Americans are obese - a higher percentage than in other major racial or ethnic groups - and that gap exists in most states, a new federal study finds. About 29 percent of Hispanics and 24 percent of whites are obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Racial differences in obesity rates have been reported before, and health officials were not surprised to see a larger number of blacks tipping the scales. But the new CDC report is the first to look at the gap on a state-by-state level, finding blacks had much higher obesity...

CHICAGO - A striking new study says almost one in five American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly one-third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at such an early age. Overall, more than 500,000 4-year-olds are obese, the study suggests. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites.

CHICAGO - You can look great in a swimsuit and still be a heart attack waiting to happen. And you can also be overweight and otherwise healthy. A new study suggests that a surprising number of overweight people - about half - have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while an equally startling number of trim people suffer from some of the ills associated with obesity. The first national estimate of its kind bolsters the argument that you can be hefty but still healthy, or at least healthier than has been believed.

ATLANTA - Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee lead the nation when it comes to obesity, a new government survey reported yesterday. More than 30 percent of adults in each of the states tipped the scales enough to ensure the South remains the nation's fattest region. Colorado was the least obese, with about 19 percent fitting that category in a random telephone survey last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2007 findings are similar to results from the same survey the three previous years.

ATLANTA - Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee lead the nation when it comes to obesity, a new government survey reported yesterday. More than 30 percent of adults in each of the states tipped the scales enough to ensure the South remains the nation's fattest region. Colorado was the least obese, with about 19 percent fitting that category in a random telephone survey last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2007 findings are similar to results from the same survey the three previous years.