Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness News From Medical News Today Latest Health News and Medical News posted throughout the day, every day.  Smoking During Pregnancy Raises Daughter's Risk Of Gestational Diabetes And Obesity Women who smoke while pregnant are at a higher risk of having daughters who become obese and/or develop gestational diabetes, according to a new study published in Diabetologia. The fact that smoking is harmful during pregnancy has long been known, however, studies that examined possible adverse effects that last until adulthood are scarce and outcomes have been inconsistent...  ADHD In Childhood May Lead To Obesity In Adulthood Boys who are diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are twice as likely to become obese in adulthood than those who did not have the condition when they were young, a new long-term study has shown...  Proximity Of Fast Food Restaurants Has Impact On Body Mass Index Of Low Income African-Americans African-American adults living closer to a fast food restaurant had a higher body mass index (BMI) than those who lived further away from fast food, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and this association was particularly strong among those with a lower income...  Using Active Videogaming ('Exergaming') To Improve Children's Health Levels of physical inactivity and obesity are very high in children, with fewer than 50% of primary school-aged boys and fewer than 28% of girls meeting the minimum levels of physical activity required to maintain health. Exergaming, using active console video games that track player movement to control the game (e.g...  Risks, Interventions Identified For Children's GI Health An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW). In one study targeting obesity, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital found that obese children have a unique pattern of exhaled breath compared to their lean counterparts...  A Vicious Cycle That Helps Obesity Perpetuate Itself With obesity reaching epidemic levels in some parts of the world, scientists have only begun to understand why it is such a persistent condition. A study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry adds substantially to the story by reporting the discovery of a molecular chain of events in the brains of obese rats that undermined their ability to suppress appetite and to increase calorie burning...  Statins May Reduce Exercise Benefits For Obese Adults Statins, the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, are often suggested to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in individuals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of medical disorders including excess body fat and/or high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and/or cholesterol...  UK Food Advertising Regulations Have Done Little To Address Exposure Of Children To Unhealthy Food Marketing Regulations brought in by the UK to reduce the volume of television advertising of unhealthy foods to children appear to have little impact on the advertising around programmes children actually watch, according to research presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK. The research is by Dr Emma Boyland and Professor Jason Halford, University of Liverpool, UK, and colleagues...  The Story Of Fat Alfie: Very Young Children Appear To Reject Story Characters Who Are Obese New research presented as the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Liverpool, UK, shows that very young children appear to reject story book characters who are overweight, but not those who are disabled. The research is by Professor Andrew Hill, Dr Sarah Harrison, and Dr Maddie Rowlinson, University of Leeds, UK...  Ten-Year Study Shows 2 Different Genetic Polymorphisms Predict Weight Gain In Men And Women New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Liverpool, UK, shows that while the FTO genetic variation predicts weight gain over 10 years in men, a different variation on the MMP2 gene predicts weight gain in women...