Reduced-calorie diets helps you lose weight, no matter what proportions of fat, protein or carbohydrate it contains

The study was the work of researchers from the Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies (POUNDS LOST) study, and was based at Harvard University School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, and at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisianna to reflect the diverse range of culinary preferences from the two regions. The study was published online in the 26 February issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

The last few decades have seen an unprecedented surge in different kinds of diet for weight loss, with different emphases on protein, fat and carbohydrate intake, but there are no prolonged studies that compare the relative advantages of such regimens.For this study the researchers randomly assigned 811 overweight adults aged 30 to 70 to one of four diets, each with different calorie targets for fat, protein and carbohydrate, as follows:

- Low-fat, average protein: 20 percent fat, 15 percent protein, 65 percent carbohydrate.
- Low-fat, high protein: 20 percent fat, 25 percent protein, 55 percent carbohydrate.
- High-fat, average protein: 40 percent fat, 15 percent protein, 45 percent carbohydrate.
- High-fat, high-protein: 40 percent fat, 25 percent protein, 35 percent carbohydrate.

Read whole article on Medical News Today

Most commercial weight-loss providers are manipulating vulnerable people with unrealistic and 'fantastical' claims

"Consequently, we regularly see preposterous claims," the journal says, including that vitamin B injections speed up the breakdown of fat — a claim the journal says lacks "published medical evidence" — and "magical" herbal supplements promising to curb appetite, reduce cravings and accelerate metabolism.




Regulations are needed to protect consumers, the Canadian Medical Association Journal says. People have died from medically unsupervised, very low-calorie diets, and over-the-counter supplements containing ephedra.

"Neither public health agencies nor the medical community are doing enough to solve the problem of obesity," the editorial says. "Those suffering with obesity are often desperate for solutions and hence prone to exploitation. It's time we put an end to this nonsense."

Read more on: Canada.com

The OFT warned consumers about the adverts for Slim-Choc

Slim Coc helps you to lose weight? Unfortunately for anyone who spent £37 on a 40-day supply of Slim Choc, the idea is nothing more than fantasy. The product was one of a host of 'miracle cures' marketed to Britons which had no evidence to back up their grandiose claims, according to the Office of Fair Trading. The consumer watchdog said that such schemes affect 200,000 of us a year, at a cost £20million. Some 78 per cent of the victims are female, but a significant number of men are also taken in by 'cures' for impotence and hair loss. OFT Director of Consumer Protection Mike Haley said: 'Miracle health scams target vulnerable people who are desperate to lose weight or find a cure.


'The products are often worthless and can even be dangerous with untested and potentially harmful ingredients.' The OFT yesterday warned consumers about the adverts for Slim-Choc, which were contained in junk mail sent to thousands of homes across Britain.

The manufacturers claimed that eating the 'slimming chocolate' could help users lose 20lb in just 20 days, without exercising or cutting back on food. The hype claimed this was a 'brand new revolutionary cure for the obese and overweight', and it was 'the first and only chocolate that burns off fat and cellulite'. Thousands were conned into paying £37 for a 40-day supply.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Trial for Weight-Loss device BioEnterics® Intragastric Balloon (BIB) system

"The investigational device could provide a much-anticipated opportunity for Americans ineligible for adjustable gastric banding procedures because they do not have a body mass index of 35 or above," Smith said. "It is a tool that could offer an advantage to obese individuals who have been excluded for years because they don't meet that magic number but who have a desire to lose the weight."

Participants in the study are men and women between 18 and 65 years of age with a body mass index of between 30 and 40 and have at least a two-year history of obesity without success in attempting more conservative weight-reduction alternatives.

Read more on: Yahoo

People who eat cereal for two out of their three daily meals could lose more than 4lb in six weeks

To reach the conclusion, the research team asked volunteers to eat only cereal for breakfast and lunch but allowed them to have whatever they wanted for dinner. They found that those who combined different varieties of cereal lost most weight but many of those who stuck to one type also weighed less by the end. The study published by the British Nutrition Foundation found that two thirds of those who ate a single cereal and 78 per cent of those who opted for a combination had lost weight by the end of the period.

While those on a combined diet lost an average of 4.4lb, those who stuck to their favourite brand lost only 1.3lb."The results of this study are very interesting and further evidence of the benefits of breakfast cereal as part of a weight-management programme," the Telegraph quoted Lynne Garton, a nutritionist, as telling the Daily Express."Breakfast cereals are easy to incorporate into the diet and can contain substantial amounts of fibre, iron, folic acid and zinc as well as being low in fat,' the expert added.

Source: NewKerala.com

Overweight women are being prescribed chocolate to improve their health

The women are being given 20g of it a day - about half a small bar - for four weeks. Dark chocolate is rich in polyphenols compounds which are thought to protect the cells against damage and disease. Previous research has shown that chocolate can benefit heart health by promoting healthy blood pressure and blood circulation.

Researchers believe it could also help lower glucose and cholesterol levels. In a new trial, at Queen Margaret University in Scotland, the researchers will look its effects on conditions such as high cholesterol and diabetes.
Researchers are currently recuiting overweight and obese women aged 20 to 60 for the trial.

Source: Mail Online

Studies show that people who avoid eating between meals may end up consuming more calories overall

WH weight-loss advisor Keri Glassman, R.D., author of “The Snack Factor Diet.” “When you're famished, your blood sugar is low and your defenses are down, so you don't necessarily make the best choices." As a nation of snack addicts with no sign of reforming — according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002, women snack more than twice a day, at around 192 calories a pop — it's time to embrace our need to nibble.

To snack without adding bulk to your backside, fill your cupboard with foods that have built-in willpower.

Read more on: Today Health

Two eggs a day as part of a balanced diet can even help you lose weight

Yes, eggs are healthy! The British Heart Foundation used to recommend that people should limit their egg consumption to no more than 3 a week because they contain cholesterol, known to raise the risk of heart attack. Now, in a paper written for the British Nutrition Foundation, experts set out the definitive evidence showing there is no link between egg consumption and an increased risk of heart disease.

A study supports previous research, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, which showed that people who ate eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied and ate fewer calories at the following meal.

Significant Weight Loss Related to Egg Breakfast

Compared to the subjects who ate a bagel breakfast, men and women who consumed two eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet:

- lost 65 percent more weight

- exhibited a 61 percent greater reduction in BMI

- reported higher energy levels than their dieting counterparts who consumed a bagel breakfast

Source: Mail Online

Morbidly obese teenagers should be given gastric banding, doctors say

But those in low socio-economic areas who are most at risk can not access the surgery because it is not available in public hospitals.

Operating on adolescents may seem extreme, the doctors say, but is the best option for some and should be offered with counselling about diet and exercise.

An associate professor from the obesity research unit at Melbourne's Monash University, John Dixon, said that prevention was important but so was treating children who were already obese and suffering.

Read more on: The Sydney Morning Herald

Arginine-rich foods could fight obesity

Dr. Guoyao Wu, an AgriLife Research animal nutritionist in College Station and Senior Faculty Fellow in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University and fellow researchers found that dietary arginine supplementation shifts nutrient partitioning to promote skeletal-muscle gain. Arginine-rich foods include seafood, watermelon juice, nuts, seeds, algae, meats, rice protein concentrate and soy protein isolate. In laboratory experiments, rats were fed both low-and high-fat diets.

They found that arginine supplementation for a 12-week period decreased the body fat gains of low-fat and high-fat fed rats by 65 percent and 63 percent, respectively. The long-term arginine treatment did not have any adverse effects on either group. "This finding could be directly translated into fighting human obesity.At this time, arginine has not been incorporated into our food (but could in the future)," Wu said. The study suggests that arginine may increase lean tissue growth. In pigs, it was found that dietary arginine supplementation reduced fat accretion (growth) but increased muscle gain in growing/finishing pigs without affecting body weight. According to the research, another important observation was that dietary arginine reduced serum concentrations of branched-chain amino acids.

This metabolic change is likely beneficial because elevated concentrations of branched-chain amino acids may lead to insulin resistance in obesity. Additionally, arginine can stimulate muscle protein synthesis, a biochemical process that requires large amounts of energy. Thus, dietary energy would be utilized for lean tissue rather than fat gain," Wu said.

The findings were published recently in the Journal of Nutrition.

Source: newKerala

Wu-Yi tea makes you lose weight?

Wu-Yi tea is well known for it's ability to help people lose weight. While it is commonly misconceived that it radically makes you lose weight simply by drinking it - like a magic pill - it still does help you lose weight successfully. Hundreds and thousands of people have used Wu-Yi tea and have successfully lost weight when doing so. But does it actually burn fat? Celebrities and even people in politics have used and promoted Wu-Yi oolong tea and the Wu-Yi diet. Many have testified for what it can do, losing ten, twenty, thirty or even more pounds of fat in a few weeks.

In some studies on Wu-Yi's weight loss abilities, Wu-Yi tea caused the participates to lose anywhere from ten to thirty pounds in a few months. While there isn't yet the data to back it up, those who participated in this study have claimed to have kept the fat of as well.
Therefore, I would have to personally concluded that yes, Wu-Yi tea does indeed help you burn fat. It doesn't do it on its own though, it should be used as a dietary supplement. That being said, it has been proven to help you lose weight by boosting your metabolism.

In conclusion, there are several studies that have been done that do indeed concluded that Wu-Yi tea and the Wu-Yi diet system do help you burn fat. However, there hasn't been any certified or official medical word on its fat burning abilities. You'll have to decide for yourself.

Source: Dan Quail

UltraShape, removes fat by the use of ultrasound

Working at a different frequency than conventional ultrasound, the technology targets fat cells and sets them vibrating to a point where they explode. The burst cell materials are then absorbed by the liver, an event doctors believe produces no side effects.
In Victoria, dermatologist Dr. Mark Lupin is studying the effects of Ultrashape treatment. He said he's treated more than 100 patients and he says most have lost between five and eight centimeters off their waistlines. He's even tried the technology on himself, losing eight centimeters off his own body.


Plastic surgeon Dr. Arie Benchetrit also offers UltraShape treatment at his clinic in Montreal.
He says the technology offers many appealing features for patients.
"There's no cutting, there's no anesthesia, there's no down time, there's no recovery," Benchetrit told CTV News. Maureen Wilson, 48, of Vancouver, said she is generally happy with her body, but she is tired of trying to lose some stubborn fat around her abdomen.
"No matter how much I work out, how many sit-ups I do, I just can't quite get rid of those little rolls that are there," she told CTV News.

She didn't want to have liposuction surgery because of the risks. Instead, she chose to have UltraShape treatment. Wilson said in her first treatment alone, she lost four centimeters off her body. "My pants were looser, when I bent over I didn't feel that little roll anymore," she said. "I was absolutely thrilled."

At present, UltraShape is not available in the U.S., but the company is seeking FDA approval. At least two similar technologies, LipoSonix and Cryolipolosis, have yet to be approved in Canada.

Source: CTV.ca