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As obesity is rapidly increasing in the United States, so does the number of weight loss surgeries performed each year. The most popular surgical procedure for weigth loss today in the United States is gastric bypass.  Second common is gastric banding. Duodenal switch and gastric sleeve are less routinely performed. A recent study, conducted in Weill Cornell College of Medicine (New York), compared the effect of the four mostly performed weight loss surgery procedures on weight loss and body fat.

Obesity is associated with increased risks for many serious illnesses, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and some kinds of cancer. It is often also found in association with asthma. As rates of both asthma and obesity have skyrocketed in recent years, scientists wondered whether the link was more than coincidence.

The NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute estimates that 12 million adult Americans are experiencing sleep apnea, many of them without even being aware that they suffer from this life-threatening illness.

If you are diabetic, it's harder to lose weight, but it's also more important to keep your weight at a healthy level, and there's the catch-22. You will need to follow not only the rules of the diet plan you select, but also check with the ADA's diabetic food pyramid to make sure you are eating healthy foods that will lower your risk of diabetic complications.

The obesity rate among women of childbearing age is increasing right along with the overall obesity rate. It’s estimated that in the United States, 23.6 percent of women between the age of 18 and 44 are obese. One out of every five women who give birth is obese.

Obesity Dangerous for Mother and Child

A new research study has raised serious concern about the special risks obese children face when they undergo surgery for obstructive sleep apnea.

In obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the upper part of a person’s airway becomes partly or completed blocked for 10 to 30 seconds intermittently and repeatedly while they are asleep. When OSA occurs in children, it can usually be traced to blockage caused by the adenoids and tonsils.

A number of types of surgical treatment are available to facilitate weight loss in obese people and reduce their incidence of associated health problems, especially diabetes. For those who are willing to undergo surgery, gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y) has long been the most common option. Bypass surgery does tend to yield the best results in terms of overall weight loss, but it still has some drawbacks. Like any major surgery, the procedure entails some risks.

Endoluminal Sleeve

Recently, however, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Weight Center and Gastrointestinal Unit have developed and tested a new way of treating obesity through “incisionless bariatric surgery.” A new medical device—called an endoluminal (i.e., intra-intestinal) sleeve (ELS)—which can be inserted endoscopically, mimics the effects of gastric bypass by sealing off the upper portion of the small intestine with an impermeable lining that prevents the intestine from sensing and absorbing the nutrients in food so that it passes through to the lower intestinal tract relatively undigested.

A new research study supports the longstanding view that social support can play a big role in successful weight loss—but only under the right conditions.

(The following is a guest post by Enrico Forte, President of the "National Board for the Preservation of the Italian Healthy Eating Traditions".)

For many who have tried the Mediterranean diet had found great success in both weight and health. This particular diet involves eating foods that are typically eaten around the Mediterranean Sea.

Researchers have for some time suspected that a tendency to overeating and obesity may actually be “programmed” into children even before birth. It has been consistently observed that children whose mothers were obese and diabetic have a higher risk of being heavier themselves from an early age, and adult obesity can be linked to eating a high-fat diet in childhood.