Factors associated with attrition in weight loss programs.
Abstract Attrition in weight loss programs is a complex process, influenced by patients' pretreatment characteristics and treatment variables, but available data are contradictory. Only a few variables have been confirmed by more than one study as relevant risk factors, but recently new data of clinical utility emerged...

The great diet deception.
WHILE WEIGHT LOSS potions and gizmos have been in existence since the 1800s, the modern day weight loss business has ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar industry. It is impacting individuals' health negatively, promoting social stigma and discrimination against fat people, and generating unconscionable conflicts of interest among public health policymakers. For...

Recent findings of green tea extract AR25 (Exolise) and its activity for the treatment of obesity.
Summary The green tea extract AR25 is an 80% ethanolic dry extract standardized at 25% catechins expressed as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). In vitro, green tea extract AR25 exerts a direct inhibition of gastric and pancreatic lipases and a stimulation of thermogenesis. In an open study, the effects...

Behavioral interventions key to battling obesity. (It Works in Trials, but What About in Life?).
SAN FRANCISCO -- Comprehensive, family-based behavioral lifestyle interventions are the cornerstone of obesity treatment for children, Marsha Marcus, Ph.D., said at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association. But the evidence that documents the efficacy of behavioral strategies for childhood weight management comes from university-based,...

Stay smart: lost weight: childhood obesity and health education.
Abstract Prevention is the key strategy for controlling the current epidemic levels of childhood obesity. Current statistics show that obesity has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. It...

L.P. Svetkey, et al.
Weight Loss Maintenance Collaborative Research Group. Comparison of strategies for sustaining weight loss: The weight loss maintenance randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2008;299:1139-48. * Design: In this two-phase study done at four U.S. clinical centers, phase 1 was a 6-month nonrandomized initial weight-loss intervention for all participants, and...

Behavioral strategies help children lose weight. (Relevance to Clinical Settings Unknown).
SAN FRANCISCO -- Comprehensive, family-based behavioral lifestyle interventions are the cornerstone of obesity treatment for children, Marsha Marcus, Ph.D., said at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association. But the evidence that documents the efficacy of behavioral strategies for childhood weight management comes from university-based...

Texas Mutual Wins National Employee Wellness Award.
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Mutual Insurance Company is one of 10 employers across the country that have won UnitedHealthcare's Well Deserved Award. The award recognizes employers who demonstrate a commitment to improving their employees' health. UnitedHealthcare provides health benefit plans and services to more...

Weight Watchers Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Earnings Conference Call.
NEW YORK, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Weight Watchers International, Inc. will release its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2008 after the NYSE close on Wednesday, March 4, 2009. The Company has also scheduled a conference call on March 4th at 5:00 p.m. ET. During...

NutriSystem Expands Voluntary United States Recall of Peanut Butter Granola Breakfast Bar to Include Canada Due to Possible Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) Contamination and Potential Health Risk.
No Cases of Illness Reported; No Other Products Within the NutriSystem Food Portfolio Are Affected By The Recall HORSHAM, Pa., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- NutriSystem Inc., a leading provider of weight management products and services, today announced an expanded voluntary recall of its NutriSystem-branded Peanut Butter Granola...