Anew computerised device that tracks portion size and how fast people eat is more successful in helping obese children and adolescents lose weight than standard treatments, according to research led by the University of Bristol and published on bmj.com today.

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Doctors should pay more attention to the link between common mental illness and obesity in patients because the two health problems are closely linked, according to researchers at the University of Adelaide.

In an editorial published today in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the Adelaide researchers add support to claims of a two-way risk between obesity and common mental disorders. [continue reading…]

Researchers from the Institute of Prevention Research at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) found in a recent study that overweight youth were twice as likely to have overweight friends.

“Although this link between obesity and social networks was expected, it was surprising how strong the peer effect is and how early in life it starts,” says lead author Thomas Valente, Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine.

The study appears in the August issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, available online July 20 [continue reading…]