Andrew Kahn was only a social drinker before his weight-loss surgery. He never imagined he would develop problems with alcohol because he had bariatric surgery. But he did.

The 61-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who had his gastric bypass surgery in 2003, eventually developed alcoholism and was treated at a rehabilitation facility for his addiction.

"I never had any guidance or education about that," said Kahn. "If I was given the choice between being obese and becoming an alcoholic, I would have thought about [my decision] more."

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric surgery estimates that approximately 72 million people are obese in the United States and 200,000 people have bariatric surgery each year.

Kahn's alcohol addiction may not be a unique result of gastric bypass surgery. New research suggests that having Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, where the size of the stomach is reduced and the intestine is shortened, thus limiting how much a person can eat, can increase the risk of alcohol-use disorders.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, adds to mounting evidence of a link between have the popular gastric bypass surgery and the symptoms of alcohol-use disorders.

Before the surgery, the nearly 2000 study participants completed a survey developed by the World Health Organization that is used to identify symptoms of alcohol abuse.

The patients then completed the survey one and two years after their weight-loss surgery. The study found 7 percent of patients who had gastric bypass reported symptoms of alcohol use disorders prior to surgery. The second year after surgery, 10.7 percent of patients were reporting symptoms.

The findings were published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"There have been previous studies that show there is a change in alcohol sensitivity in gastric bypass," Wendy King, a research assistant professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the study's lead author.

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Weight-Loss Surgery Ups Alcoholism

Nearly 40 years after entering the music business, Chaka Khan is still Every Woman as she continues to illuminate the lives of others through her music and philanthropic efforts.

With hopes of releasing her newest music project on her next birthday (March 23), the 10-time Grammy Award-winning singer is steadily busy as she prepares to embark on a international tour with super-producer David Foster later this year, in addition to appearing at the upcoming Essence Music Festival where she will be on hand to honor local New Orleans women, through her Chaka Khan Foundation, for their life changing achievements post-Hurricane Katrina.

The Huffington Post recently caught up with the funk/R&B powerhouse as she discussed her latest initiative, her recent weight loss, recording new music and her reaction to being a sex symbol.

In less than a month you will be in New Orleans during the Essence Music Festival where your Chaka Khan Foundation will honor 33 local women for their efforts with the SuperLife Transformation Program. What inspired you to get involved with the initiative?

A lot of these women, when I met them a year ago, some of them lived in their cars. The majority of the other women had seen if not one or more members of their family wiped out, gone. So these women were stressed out. I just couldnt fathom going down to New Orleans to do the Essence Music Festival and not leaving some kind of door opening or something. But what were going to do is have testimonials, performances, and a graduation. And once people graduate they will become mentors themselves and pay it forward to the next group of women.

Will this be an ongoing effort for your foundation to continue at future Essence Music Festivals?

Absolutely. Ive incorporated these women into my life. Im taking the responsibility [for] standing up for them and being there for them, providing a lot of love and support.

In addition to your philanthropic efforts, youve also been working steadily with your music career. Are you currently recording a new album?

Yes, Ive been working steadily, non-stop. Im in the studio right now, trying to get a couple of tracks out there for people to hear over the summer. The album wont be out until next year.

The albums release next year also marks your 40th anniversary in the music industry.

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Chaka Khan Opens Up On Weight Loss, New Music, Being A Sex Symbol

Meryl Streep Weight Loss 2012 Meryl Streep Diet Program - 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.

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

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.

"Click Here to Download The Meryl Streep Diet Programs - Get a Great Body Like Meryl Streep in Days!"

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Meryl Streep Weight Loss 2012 Meryl Streep Diet Programs

Tom Cruise Weight Loss 2012 Tom Cruise 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.

"Click Here to Watch Weird VIDEO About The 7 Foods that KILL Abdominal Fat!"

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 7 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.

"Click Here to Download The Tom Cruise Diet Programs - Get a Great Body Like Tom Cruise in Days!"

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Tom Cruise Weight Loss 2012 Tom Cruise Easy Diet

It can be sobering to realize that beach and pool season is right around the corner. Maybe that diet you hoped to go on got stuck in neutral. What can you do now?

The prospect of days spent in the sun without the security of a bulky sweater or baggy pants to cover up bellies and bulges often inspires people to reassess their fitness goals in an effort to lose weight. There are some right and wrong ways to shed a few pounds, and here are some guidelines to get you started.

Crash diets

Nutritionists have long noted that crash diets can be unhealthy and ineffective with regards to long-term weight loss. But new research disputes those claims. A recent study from Tufts University found that a slow-and-steady diet is only successful for the very few who are not sidetracked by rich foods or other common food challenges in daily life. In fact, they confirm that, if done correctly with a healthy, calorie-cutting, foodbased diet, fad diets can produce quick and lasting success.

Clinical experience shows that somebody with a serious commitment to weight loss can lose up to 20 pounds - and two to three dress sizes - in two months.

This is not to say you should sustain yourself on grapefruits or cabbage soup. Weight loss that results from such diets is more water weight than fat. Reducing portion sizes and caloric intake could provide a metabolism boost.

Exercise

Being active is usually conducive to losing weight. But the right exercises are also key. Heavy manual labor may not be the best route to take, as building muscle could also increase overall weight and add bulk to the body. Cardiovascular and light toning exercises can help many people achieve their weight-loss goals more quickly than dieting alone.

Many people find the warm weather naturally inspires them to be more active. Make the most of the beautiful weather by getting off the couch and going outside for a walk or a jog.

Indulge in good foods

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Slimming down for summer

Studies suggest that liposuction causes a rebound in fat gain, but not necessarily back to the areas where you lost it.

Peter Dazeley / Getty Images

You cant get something for nothing especially when it comes to weight loss.

A new study by Brazilian researchers shows that when patients lose fat through liposuction a popular cosmetic surgery that sucks away fat cells from under the skin it tends to come back. Worse, it gets redistributed deep within patients abdomen, where it can cause more damage to health than did the subcutaneous fat it replaced.

The good news is that theres a way to maintain lipos slimming effect: good old-fashioned exercise.

In the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers at the University of So Paulo recruited 36 healthy but inactive women aged 20 to 35. The women were not obese, but all volunteered to have 2.5 to 3 lbs. of abdominal fat removed through liposuction.

By six months after surgery, half of the women had regained fat largely as visceral fat, the type that accumulates around organs deep within the abdomen and is known to cause metabolic changes that increase risks for heart disease and diabetes. These women gained 10% more visceral fat than theyd had before surgery.

The other half of the participants didnt gain back the fat. Why? Because they had been randomly assigned to start exercising after surgery. Compared with their counterparts who remained sedentary after liposuction, these women started a four-month workout regimen, involving both cardio and weight-lifting three times a week. Not only didnt they gain back the fat, but they ended up with less fat in their bodies overall. They also got physically fitter and showed improved insulin sensitivity.

(MORE:Study: A 20% Fat Tax Would Improve Public Health)

Why liposuction may trigger visceral fat gain isnt fully understood. The authors speculate that people may expend less energy after the surgery, which leads to fat gain. Because the body is finely tuned to defend its fat stores, it will try to compensate for the abrupt loss of fat. But exercise may mitigate that drive and recalibrate how much the body thinks it should weigh.

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After Liposuction, Exercise Makes Fat Loss Last