Latest Obesity/Overweight/Fitness News From Medical News Today.

Contrave (naltrexone SR/bupropion SR), an investigational drug aimed at combination therapy to address both biological and behavioral drivers of obesity, will be developed and commercialized by Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The two drug firms have just signed an exclusive partnership for the North American area...

University of Illinois scientists will learn whether protein supplements and cycling during treatments can help dialysis patients fight cardiovascular disease and retain physical function, thanks to a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "Patients with kidney failure face many health problems...

Scientists are reporting new evidence that the fat tissue in those spare tires and lower belly pooches - far from being a dormant storage depot for surplus calories - is an active organ that sends chemical signals to other parts of the body, perhaps increasing the risk of heart attacks, cancer, and other diseases...

News outlets report on how the delivery of health care is being changed by empowered patients. USA Today: "In the past, most patients placed their entire trust in the hands of their physician. Your doc said you needed a certain medical test, you got it. Not so much anymore. Though some doctors find the newer 'empowered' patients taxing, others ...

Nearly one out of every three American children is clinically overweight or obese. The health and well-being of future generations is undeniably at risk. And yet the fastest-growing fitness club chain in the world is about to launch a nationwide campaign featuring TV commercials and full-page ads in USA Today and People magazine which declare "There is no childhood obesity epidemic...

Ezlopitant, a compound known to suppress craving for alcohol in humans, was shown to decrease consumption of sweetened water by rodents in a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, which is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco...

Those Picked Last, a foundation created to educate and bring together parents, children, clinicians, educators, politicians and businesses to combat childhood obesity, is announcing its first ever conference in honor of Childhood Obesity Month. The conference, "Weaving The Threads of Hope for Change" is being held on Tuesday, September 7 from 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Hilton Columbus at Easton...

As the U.S. launches its first-ever National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month today, scientists say the problem may be even more widespread than was thought. Researchers have found that parents tend to underreport their children's weight. Estimates of obesity and body mass index (BMI) based on parent-supplied data may miss one in five obese children...

Sibutramine, brand name Meridia is an appetite suppressant, a weight loss pill. Editors at the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) write it is difficult for them to discern a "credible rationale for keeping this medication on the market", even though it is restricted for people without heart disease...

A majority of adults in California are obese or overweight, and more than 2 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research...