Public release date: 20-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Matthew Solovey msolovey@hmc.psu.edu 717-531-8606 Penn State

A Web-based program featuring successful strategies of others who have lost weight may be an effective strategy for weight loss, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

Researchers created a website called AchieveTogether and evaluated the weight-loss success of users. They compared users with a group of people attempting to lose weight on their own, and then allowed that second group access to the site 12 weeks later.

"Internet-based weight loss programs could help address the obesity epidemic, as they can be widely shared and used with low costs," said Jennifer L. Kraschnewski, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of medicine and public health sciences. "Existing Internet-based weight-loss strategies have largely promoted weight-loss strategies designed by health professionals, including goal-setting and features to promote social interaction. These programs have had modest short-term effects, suggesting that exploring alternative approaches may be beneficial."

The researchers used positive deviance to design their Web-based program. Positive deviance is the idea that solutions to problems exist within a population experiencing that problem. By generalizing what behaviors or approaches work for those who are most successful -- typically the top 10 percent strategies are developed that may help the general population achieve certain goals.

"Positive deviance has been used in diverse health-related interventions, but has not previously been used in weight-loss interventions," Kraschnewski said.

For AchieveTogether, users were educated on 36 weight-loss behaviors identified in a previous study of people who maintained a weight loss of at least 30 pounds. These behaviors were evaluated by a physician for safety.

Participants logged in to the site at least once a week and were asked to record their weight, height and frequency of using the weight loss practices. They were matched to three role models closest to them for gender, age and target body weight and could then view their role model's strategies for weight loss.

Participants developed a weight-loss plan by choosing as many of the strategies as they wanted and were encouraged to choose at least one.

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Online weight loss programs that feature successful dieters may help

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(CNN) - According to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, some people who get weight-loss surgery may end up with a higher tendency to abuse alcohol.

But the risk is only apparent two years after the procedure and only with one type of surgery.

Researchers looked at the drinking habits of more than 2,400 obese adults before and after weight-loss procedures.

They found the number of patients with an alcohol problem jumped more than 50 percent within two years.

The risk was twice as high among patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

In that procedure, doctors create a pouch out of a small portion of stomach.

Then, they connect the pouch to the small intestine, bypassing most of the stomach and some intestine.

The lead author says that allows alcohol to enter the bloodstream more quickly.

So, some patients may have increased sensitivity to alcohol.

Link:
Study: Alcohol abuse may jump after weight loss surgery

By Randy Dotinga HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Seven years after they underwent weight-loss surgery, patients as a whole fared better on several measurements of their risk of cardiac problems, a new study finds, and many returned to normal levels.

The findings don't prove that weight-loss surgery reduces the risk of events such as heart attack and stroke, although other research has suggested it does. And weight-loss surgery, which includes procedures such as gastric bypass, comes with major risks of its own and is only recommended for some severely obese patients.

[U.S. News & World Report Best Weight Loss Diets.]

Still, the findings suggested the procedure provided plenty of cardiac benefit to the patients, said study co-author Dr. John Morton, director of bariatric surgery and surgical quality at Stanford University School of Medicine. "For most of them, they came back to normal," he said. "There were roughly about a dozen measurements altogether, and there were substantial improvements across the board."

Weight-loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, aims to help severely obese people lose weight by shrinking the amount of food that their digestive systems can handle. The cost of the procedures ranges from $20,000 to $25,000, according to the Weight-Control Information Network of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

A Swedish study published in January in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that the procedure reduces the risk of death from heart attack. Obese people who had the procedure were less likely than similar people to die from a cardiovascular problem (such as a heart attack) or suffer a first-time heart attack or stroke.

The new study looked at several measurements that indicate whether a person is at higher risk of cardiac problems, including levels of "bad" LDL and "good" HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and a specific protein.

The researchers tracked 182 patients -- mostly women, average age 44 years -- and managed to keep tabs on 78 of them for seven years. After seven years, the average patient weight fell from 286 pounds to 205 pounds. Their average cholesterol reading dipped from 184 to 174, LDL cholesterol dropped from 113 to 92, and triglycerides fell from 151 to 87.

[Read:Some May Drink More After Weight Loss Surgery.]

Read more here:
Weight-Loss Surgery Cuts Heart Risk 7 Years Later

Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) June 20, 2012

Phentermine is a prescription weight loss medication now used by many doctors for supplementing a weight loss diet, but the risk of side effects and dependency are such that Doctors must be very cautious about its use. hCGTreatments / Diet Doc announces a safe, yet effective alternative for fast weight loss.

Phentermine is a prescription weight loss medication now used by many doctors for supplementing a weight loss diet, but the risk of side effects and dependency are such that Doctors must be very cautious about its use.

The Doctors at hCGTreatments / Diet Doc Weight Loss have developed a solution to this with the new diet plan regime of layering a prescription strength appetite suppressant with a lipotropic. The two layered together give dieters a one-two punch that is comparable to using phentermine, BUT without the dangerous side effects.

The use of Phetermine can increase blood pressure and heart rate along with causing palpitations and restlessness according to WebMD. Generally speaking, Phentermine seems to be better tolerated than it predecessor ehpedrine, but the regularity and magnitude of these side effects can prove just as dangerous. Additionally, Phentermine has the potential to lead to dependency, so Doctors are very careful only to use short term, which is not helpful if you have a long term diet ahead of you and plan on being on some sort of diet plan for longer than a month.

Currently, most available weight-loss medications approved by the FDA are for short-term use, meaning a few weeks reports WEBMD, due to the addictive nature of this drug.

This new alternative to phentermine will change the face of dieting for our clients, reports Julie Wright, CEO of hCGTreatments / Diet Doc Weight Loss.

The Doctors at hCG Treatments / Diet Doc Weight Loss have found that by prescribing this combination, their clients experience no hunger even on the limited caloric intake of their medically supervised diet. The active ingredients such as carnitine, b12 and caffeine are not dangerous to use over long periods of time. Their clients are able to continue taking this new combination throughout the duration of their weight loss diet, without any concerns to their health.

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hCG Treatments / Diet Doc Announces Alternative to Taking Prescription Drug Phentermine for Weight Loss

By Ron Winslow

Some people who undergo weight-loss surgery end up trading their struggle with food for one with alcohol but perhaps not for the reason you think.

The largest prospective study to examine the connection found that 10.7% of patients who underwent a bariatric operation called roux-en-Y gastric bypass got in trouble with drinking by the second year after the surgery. That compared with about 7% of patients who drank too much before they had the same operation, reflecting a 50% increase in relative risk.

The results, presented Monday at a meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & BariatricSurgery in San Diego, are based on 1,945 patients, 70% of whom had the roux-en-Y operation. They are consistent with smaller studies and anecdotal reports suggesting a link between weight-loss surgery and alcohol abuse.

The earlier reports led some experts to speculate that patients were swapping one addiction for another a phenomenon psychiatrists call addiction transfer.

But the [new] study doesnt support that, Wendy King, lead author and an epidemiologist at University of Pittsburghs Graduate School of Public Health, tells the Health Blog.

For one thing, King says, most of the patients who didnt have the roux-en-Y operation had a less-invasive lap band procedure, which wasnt associated with an increase in alcohol problems after the operation. Indeed, having the roux-en-Y doubled a patients risk of alcohol dependence or abuse after the operation.

If it was shifting addictions, it seems like you would expect to find it in both procedures, King says.

For another, 16% of the patients were classified as binge eaters, an indicator of food addiction, and they werent any more likely than other bariatric-surgery patients to develop new alcohol problems after the procedure.

So what might account for the increased risk associated with roux-en-Y? By shrinking the stomach and bypassing the upper portion of the small intestine, the operation changes the way people digest alcohol, King suggests.

Read more from the original source:
An Unintended Consequence of Weight-Loss Surgery: Alcohol Abuse

Vanessa Paradis Weight Loss 2012 Vanessa Paradis Diet Programs - Isn't amazing how all of the celebrities you see have a celebrity diet plan for weight loss to maintain their weight. Some of them are shapely and healthy looking, and look good on camera. Others look like they haven't eaten in weeks, like they just got back from the famine in Ethiopia for a few weeks. Like they had been starving themselves to lose weight, and that is probably what they have been doing. You see it in all the tabloids, this person lost 100 pounds again, this one gained 100 pounds, and then lost 150 pounds. Some are not as dramatic; this one lost 40 pounds and is a television spokesperson, because the previous celebrity diet spokesperson gained the weight back. The fact is they may be starving themselves to lose weight, fasting like they are going through a famine.

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Celebrities make dieting look so easy, don't they? One month they're on the cover of US Weekly for gaining too much weight and the next they're headlining the "sexiest beach bods" story. It is true that seriously overweight people can lose large amounts of fat in a quick amount of time, because of the large fat content in their cells. But those that are only a few pounds overweight, losing 40 pounds in a month, is not only starvation, it is malnutrition and can have serious side effects. Our body weight can fluctuate day to day and the best diets take the weight off gradually, the way it came on. If you lose a lot of weight in a short time, staying the same size will be impossible unless you follow a maintenance program for life. Good, sensible dieting means skill and will power combined. A lot of these celebrity diets or Hollywood diets are very bad for the body and the celebrities are thinking of the camera rather than their long term health. Researches indicate that individuals who indulge in a weight loss program by taking prepared meals end up losing an additional 31% weight as against those who cook their own meals. With help, losing weight is made easier and at times much faster as against doing it on your own.Diet delivery is gaining popularity in a big way as it is fairly affordable by even the common man, roughly around $20 a day with an increasing variety to choose from. A few of which include: Zone-compliant meal, low carbs plan, veggie meals, and gourmet too.

"Click Here to Watch Weird VIDEO About The 5 Foods that KILL Abdominal Fat!"

With the rapidly increasing epidemic of obesity and increasing BMI levels, there is an array of products and diet plan to aid in combating obesity. Celebrity slim diet, the basic idea is to educate people and not to depict food as an enemy. Like a lot of famous diets in Hollywood, if your body thinks you are starving, it is going to hold on to every calorie you take in to keep you from starving to death instead of burning them for energy. When you follow a properly balanced weight loss diet, your metabolism will hardly notice the decrease in calories and continue to burn fat it doesn't need to store. This is a more long-term weight loss strategy.

Celebrities do not have secrets about dieting. They are normal people like the rest of us but, unlike most of us, they have people working for them such as diet advisors and personal trainers. Celebrity diets involve a level of commitment and dedication which we struggle with. The best celebrity diets involve eating sensibly and limiting our calorie intake. Having these factors in mind will allow you to have safe and easy weight loss that will provide you with short term and long term consistent results.

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Vanessa Paradis Weight Loss 2012 Vanessa Paradis Diet Progra