weight loss news
September 2008
09/25/2008
New Hope for Patients With Advanced Liver Disease
While there are many causes of advanced liver disease, fatty liver, or NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), has become the second leading cause of liver transplant in the United States. Obesity, along with elevated cholesterol and diabetes, has long been known to cause increased fat stores, which may be injurious to the liver.
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July 2008
07/01/2008
NESTLÉ HEALTHCARE NUTRITION, INC., AND BODYMEDIA FORM STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO HELP WEIGHT LOSS PATIENTS IMPACT LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT
Nestlé HealthCare Nutrition, Inc., and BodyMedia, Inc., have formed a strategic partnership to promote SenseWear® WMS to clinics using OPTIFAST®, Nestlé’s medically monitored weight loss program.
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January 2008
01/08/2008
Sticking to That New Year’s Resolution Is Easier Than You Think
At age 25, Kelly’s weight had already reached 320 pounds, creating multiple health risks including high blood pressure and severe arthritis. She had been heavy since childhood, but it wasn’t until she had to undergo back surgery, because of her weight, that she knew it was time to make a drastic change in her life.
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01/03/2008
OPTIFAST Program Featured in People Magazine
The January 14th issue of People Magazine hit newsstands on New
Year's Day with their annual weight loss success stories edition. This year, one
of the featured programs was the OPTIFAST program...
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August 2007
08/20/2007
Your Waistline Guidelines
Measurement of the waist circumference has become recognized as being useful
in predicting type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and mortalities
(all-cause and cardiac). A group of experts has analyzed our present knowledge
on this topic, which is reviewed here.
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08/20/2007
Is Obesity Contagious?
Contagious, of course, is the wrong word; it means transmitted by touch, and
here we are considering only social and family proximity. A report in the New
England Journal of Medicine describes 32-year data from the Framingham Heart
Study that contained information on relatives and close friends of participants
that could be used to track the member.
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July 2007
07/02/2007
Nestlé completes acquisition of Novartis Medical Nutrition
We are pleased to inform you that Nestlé has received the regulatory
approvals required to complete the acquisition of the Novartis Medical Nutrition
business. We will now start the process of integrating the Novartis Medical
Nutrition business into the HealthCare Nutrition business unit of Nestlé
Nutrition.
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April 2007
04/01/2007
The Balancing Act
OPTIFAST featured on The Balancing Act on Lifetime television.
Click here to view segment
September 2005
26/09/2005
Weight Loss Follows a "Teachable Moment"
The OPTIFAST program commends Oprah Winfrey and others who have lost weight
and kept it off by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Recently, Oprah recalled the
dissatisfaction she felt when she regained weight after participating in an
OPTIFAST® Program. NNC shares her disappointment, but is delighted
she eventually achieved her weight management goal by making the types of
lifestyle changes emphasized in the OPTIFAST® Program.
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January 2005
05/01/2005
Commercial Weight Loss Programs: The Bigger Picture
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a snapshot of one corner of the
Grand Canyon does not capture the scope of this amazing landscape feature.
Similarly, a tightly focused research study may reveal interesting facts but
miss the big picture. The recent review of commercial weight loss programs
authored by Drs. Tsia and Wadden published in the January 2005 issue of
Annals of Internal Medicine1 is a case in
point.
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September 2004
09/01/2004
Dieting Does Not Lead to Binge Eating and Depression
For many years healthcare professionals have been concerned that dieting can
trigger depression and binge eating disorders. A study conducted by researchers
in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine, and published in the September issue of the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition demonstrates sensible dieting, including the use of OPTIFAST®
meal replacement formulas, does not lead to binge eating, depression, or other
negative behaviors in obese women undergoing weight reduction. A copy of the
University of Pennsylvania press release regarding this study follows.
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January 2004
01/23/2004
Obesity Is Taxing Health and Wallets
Obesity cost taxpayers $39 billion in 2003 according to groundbreaking
research sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
published in the January 23, 2004, issue of Obesity Research. The study
was authored by leading health care economists and is the first of its kind to
document obesity-related health care expenditures on a state-by-state basis,
including those from Medicare and Medicaid. These estimates will help
policy-makers determine the best way to allocate scarce public health resources
and provide information about obesity's economic impact on individual states.
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December 2003
12/15/2003
Introducing OPTISOURCE nutritional products for post bariatric
surgery patients.
OPTISOURCE is a new line of weight management products designed to meet the
unique nutritional needs of people who have had bariatric surgery.
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September 2003
09/18/2003
Dr. Phil Borrows a Page from the OPTIFAST Philosophy
Dr. Phil's new book, The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution. The 7 Keys to Weight
Loss Freedom is the latest entry in the crowded field of self-help diet
publications. To his credit, Dr. Phil side steps diet gimmicks and focuses on
proven weight management skills although if you are looking for something new,
you may be disappointed. The weight control keys Dr. Phil emphasizes include
proven techniques like creating a healthy environment free of troublesome foods,
making exercise a regularly scheduled activity, finding food-free approaches to
dealing with hurt feelings, replacing negative self-talk with positive
action-oriented dialog, and developing a support network. Reliable weight loss
programs, like OPTIFAST®, have promoted these same skills for over 25
years.
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July 2003
07/01/2003
KRAFT Foods Vows to Help Consumers Fight Obesity
2003 Kraft Foods Inc., the largest U.S. food company, announced today it will
limit portion sizes in single-serve packages, eliminate all in-school marketing
and provide nutrition labeling in all markets worldwide, including markets where
it is not required.
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June 2003
06/30/2003
Not So Slim Salads Weigh Down Fast Food Menus
Offering a salad entrée is the latest attempt at health conscious marketing
by fast-food and quick-serve chains, but according to a new analysis by the
nutrition experts at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM),
many fast-food salads are no more healthful than a greasy burger. For example,
McDonald's Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad with dressing has a hefty 51 grams
of fat and 660 calories while a Big Mac has 34 grams of fat and 590 calories.
This salad entrée also has just as much cholesterol, 85 milligrams, as the Big
Mac.
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06/11/2003
How Much Weight Do People Really Lose On An Atkins Diet?
How much weight do people really lose on an Atkins diet? The Thursday May 22
issue of the New England Journal of Medicine contained two studies demonstrating
weight loss on an Atkins-like, very low-carbohydrate, high protein diet. In the
first study, 132 men and women started out weighing an average of 286 pounds
(this corresponds to a BMI of 43). After six months, those on the Atkins-like
diet had lost an average of 12.8 pounds, those on the low-fat, high-carbohydrate
diet lost an average of 4.2 pounds.
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May 2003
05/21/2003
New Blood Pressure Guidelines - Is your weight putting you at
risk?
Millions of people who thought their blood pressure was at a healthy level
got an unpleasant surprise this week. According to new government guidelines
released today by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, blood pressure
readings once considered normal or borderline actually signal "prehypertension."
People whose blood pressure falls in this category must take swift action to
prevent developing true high blood pressure, and the heart disease risks
associated with it.
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05/20/2003
Lose Weight, Gain Years!
According to a study published in the January, 2003 issue of the Annals of
Internal Medicine, being overweight in middle age cuts years off your lifespan.
People who are overweight at 40 are likely to die at least three years sooner
than those who are slim. This means, in terms of life expectancy, being
overweight during middle age is just as bad as smoking, researchers say. The
heavier you are the more years you shave off your life expectancy. Add smoking
to excess weight and you double your loss.
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05/14/2003
Walking Helps Obese People Prevent Blood Clots
Investigators recently discovered inactive obese people are less able than
healthy weight individuals to produce and release a clot-busting substance known
as tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), the body's primary defense
against the formation of blood clots.
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05/02/2003
A Healthy Weight Can Boost Your Career!
It's not just models and actors whose weight can affect their career.
According to two studies published with in the past year, excess pounds weigh
heavily on employees and employers alike.
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September 2002
09/23/2002
Many Ads for Weight Loss Products are Misleading
Nearly 40% of weight-loss advertisements studied by the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) made at least one claim that was almost certainly false, and
about 55% of the ads included at least one claim that was very likely false or
lacked adequate evidence of its authenticity according to a report released on
Tuesday September 17th.
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June 2002
06/05/2002
Dairy Products Improve Blood Sugar Control and Decrease Cardiac
Risk
Consuming dairy products has health benefits beyond building strong bones.
Over the past several years a number of studies have shown that among other
advantages, eating sufficient dairy products can reduce blood pressure, make it
easier for people to manage their weight, and most recently prevent Insulin
Resistance Syndrome (IRS) in overweight individuals. IRS, also known as
Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X, is a group of symptoms including obesity,
insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure and increased fat
in the blood.
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October 2001
10/24/2001
OPTIFAST® "Moving Forward" program
The OPTIFAST Program announced today the introduction of the OPTIFAST "Moving
Forward" program. "Moving Forward" was designed to help people lose excess
weight and manage their eating habits during these difficult times. Reliable
media sources report that many people are using food to cope with their feelings
of anxiety and uncertainty that developed in the wake of the events of September
11th. It is more important than ever that Americans strive to achieve good
health. Caring for yourself allows you to care for others, and improves your
ability to cope in stressful situations. Medical weight management programs have
the tools and skills to help people contend with uncomfortable feelings, and
emotional eating.
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February 2001
02/2001
Increased Effectiveness of Abbott Laboratories Weight Loss
Medication, Meridia®, When Used with OPTIFAST®
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (Archives of
Internal Medicine, Jan. 22, 2001) found that obese women treated for 16 weeks
with a combination of a 1000 kcal/day diet (OPTIFAST® meal replacement formula
and regular foods), Abbott Laboratories weight loss medication, Meridia®,
and a comprehensive lifestyle modification program lost significantly more
weight, than did women in the other treatment groups who did not consume
OPTIFAST®.
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