Health Care Information and Resources

Gut Bacteria Might Be Making People Fat

Eating a Westernized diet with lots of sugar and carbohydrates caused almost instantaneous changes in the gut flora of mice — changes that caused the mice to become obese, researchers have found. These shifts in the microbial environment, reported in the Nov. 11 edition of Science Translational Medicine, might mean that experts should look more closely [...]

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Obesity Linked to Heart Failure Risk

TUESDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) — Swedish studies add heart failure to the list of cardiac problems linked to overweight and obesity. “The take-home message is that body-mass index, however we measure it, is associated with the risk of heart failure,” said Emily B. Levitan, a research fellow at the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit of Beth [...]

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Effects of Rimonabant on Metabolic Risk Factors in Overweight Patients with Dyslipidemia

Background Rimonabant (Acomplia, Zimulti), a selective cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1) blocker, has been shown to reduce body weight and improve cardiovascular risk factors in obese patients. The Rimonabant in Obesity–Lipids (RIO-Lipids) study examined the effects of rimonabant on metabolic risk factors, including adiponectin levels, in high-risk patients who are overweight or obese and have dyslipidemia. Methods We randomly assigned [...]

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