A study reported in the New York Times caught my eye, regarding MSG being linked to obesity!

You can read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/health...

It caught my eye, because my niece was coming over for lunch one day, and I wanted to make her some mac-n-cheese. At the grocery store, I looked at the ingredient list of some of the popular mac-n-cheese (even the one in the blue box that is most popular and ads are geared toward kids!), and I noticed that monosodium glutamate (MSG) was added!!!

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Fat cells in obese people are "sick" compared to those in lean people, a new study shows.

Published in the September issue of Diabetes, a group of researchers from the Temple University School of Medicine analyzed fat samples from the upper thighs of six lean and six obese people.

They found significant differences in the fat cells of the obese participants compared with the lean participants.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDay News) -- A chemical produced in the brain may play a role in regulating appetite and the likelihood of becoming obese, according to a new study.

For the study, researchers looked at a group of 33 people who had WAGR syndrome, a genetic condition that occurs in one in 500,000 to a million people. WAGR is an acronym for the symptoms that accompany the condition: Wilms' tumor (tumor of the kidneys), aniridia (absence of the iris), genital and urinary tract abnormalties, and mental retardation.

Watch EmpowHer's video blogger Roni's Weigh answer questions about losing weight.

FRIDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Gastric banding, a surgical procedure designed to combat obesity, appears to boost the risk for developing or exacerbating symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD).

The finding stems from a review of research on the link between obesity and reflux. The experts concluded that gastric bypass may help reduce GERD, but gastric banding does not -- a finding patients may want to consider when choosing one form of weight-loss surgery over another.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- A protein that induces bone growth also helps promote development of "good" brown fat that helps burn calories and plays a role in fighting obesity, says researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

They said their finding about the protein, called BMP-7, may help lead to new ways to prevent and treat obesity.

The two main types of fat cells in the body are white and brown, explained study author Yu-Hua Tseng, an assistant investigator in Joslin's Section on Obesity and Hormone Action.

TUESDAY, Aug. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The obesity epidemic in America has gotten worse -- not better -- in the last year, despite public service campaigns warning about the health risks posed by carrying too much weight, a new report found.

Adult obesity rates increased in 37 states, while there were no decreases in any states, according to the annual report released Tuesday by the nonprofit Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- A lack of physical control and coordination in childhood may be tied to an increased risk of obesity in later life, a new study says.

The research, published online at BMJ.com Wednesday, adds to previous studies that found poorer cognitive function in childhood may be linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes in adults.

CHICAGO - You can look great in a swimsuit and still be a heart attack waiting to happen. And you can also be overweight and otherwise healthy. A new study suggests that a surprising number of overweight people — about half — have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while an equally startling number of trim people suffer from some of the ills associated with obesity.

The first national estimate of its kind bolsters the argument that you can be hefty but still healthy, or at least healthier than has been believed.

OS ANGELES - In the impoverished neighborhood of South Los Angeles, fast food is the easiest cuisine to find — and that's a problem for elected officials who see it as an unhealthy source of calories and cholesterol.

The City Council was poised to vote Tuesday on a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a swath of the city where a proliferation of such eateries goes hand-in-hand with obesity.

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