Gastric Banding Is Effective Treatment For Mild To Moderate Obesity
Eighty moderately obese patients were randomly assigned to laparoscopic gastric banding or to a nonsurgical program involving very low-calorie diets, weight loss drugs, and counseling (Article, p. 625). At six months, both groups lost 13.8 percent of initial weight; at 24 months, patients who had gastric banding lost an average of 21.6 percent of initial body weight compared to 5.5 percent in the nonsurgical group. [click link for full article]

Breast Cancer Risk Increased With Weight Gain In Postmenopausal Women
Weight gain, particularly after menopause, is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in women, according to an article in the July 12 issue of JAMA.Background information in the article indicates that weight loss after menopause lowers circulating estrogen hormones in women, and because estrogen is directly related to breast cancer, weight loss is thought to decrease risk of the disease. [click link for full article]

Five-Year Study Of Morbidly Obese Finds Significant Benefits Of The LAP-BAND(R) Procedure Over Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass
LAP-BAND(R) System is lessinvasive, less risky than laparoscopic gastric bypass, according to afive-year study comparing the two most common weight-loss surgeryprocedures for the seriously overweight presented at this year's AmericanSociety for Bariatric Surgery meeting by Emma Patterson, M.D., the seniorinvestigator of the study and Director of Oregon Weight Loss Surgery, LLC(Portland, OR). [click link for full article]

Diet.com Summer Fun Weight Loss Challenge Expects Over 3,000 Participants
Diet.com's 12-week Summer Fun WeightLoss Challenge starts on July 17th with an expected 3,000+ participantsnationwide. It is an event designed to keep dieters motivated and bringinspiration to their weight loss experience. What separates this Diet.com weight loss challenge apart from otherprograms is its popularity among dieters and its renowned dedication inhelping dieters focus on a healthy sustainable outcome. [click link for full article]

More Adults This Year See Childhood Obesity As Major Problem In The U.S.
More Adults This Year See Childhood Obesity as Major Problem in the U.S. A new Wall Street JournalOnline/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll finds that a growing number ofU.S. adults see childhood obesity as a problem in the U.S., with 84 percentcalling it a "major problem," up from 77 percent from 2005. However, amongthose who are a parent or guardian of a child aged 12 and under, only 74percent say it is a major problem (compared to 70% in 2005). [click link for full article]