PHARMACEUTICAL company Roche's plans to make its controversial weight loss drug Xenical a household name have been dealt a severe blow.

The National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee has decided to stop it advertising directly to the consumer.

Roche Products said it would not appeal against the decision to revoke its licence to advertise. The regulator found Xenical's marketing generated increased demand among consumers who might not need the drug.

By Dr. John Briffa

Some of you may remember that the Coca-Cola Corporation announced the forthcoming launch of its "weight loss" drink Enviga. Naturally, I felt compelled to blog about this on my own website, and included a calculation which revealed that (if what the Coca-Cola Corporation says is taken at face value) each kilogram of weight lost through the imbibing of the beverage would cost about $650 [1].

Well, finally the Coca-Cola Corporation have got Enviga onto shelves in America, and have done this by teaming up with the food company giant Nestlé. The behemoth formed by the unholy union of these two food companies goes by the name of Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW). No doubt, with its promise of weight loss, BPW see Enviga as a ticket to further its quest for fat profits.

By Sally Squires, Washington Post Staff Writer

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first nonprescription drug for weight loss. Alli (pronounced AL-eye) is slated to hit shelves this year, according to its maker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). That move has been denounced by some who say it should not be made so readily available because of limited efficacy and safety concerns.

Before you even consider this drug, there are some facts you need to know and some questions to ponder:

Gosh, how much weight can I lose with this new drug? First, the drug isn't new. It contains orlistat, a weight-loss medication that has been sold by prescription as Xenical for nine years worldwide and since 1999 in the United States. There have been about 100 studies of the drug involving some 30,000 people. The results suggest that users can shed as much as 50 percent more weight than they would by diet alone.

WASHINGTON - As more Americans struggle with growing waistlines, U.S. health officials Wednesday set out their own tips for drugmakers seeking to develop products for people trying to shed pounds.

The Food and Drug Administration’s draft guidelines — more than 10 years in the making — aim to help companies develop and test new drugs and devices for treating obesity.

About a third of U.S. adults, or more than 60 million people, are obese and another third are overweight, government statistics show. Nearly a fifth of U.S. children weigh too much.

DIETS and exercise may not be the future for weight loss.

A pacemaker-like device, which blocks hunger nerves, has been successfully trialled at Adelaide's Flinders Medical Centre, with stunning results.

The first person to be implanted with the device lost 20 kilograms in a year without changing her dietary habits or exercise regime.

The Adelaide medical centre was one of three in the world to trial the new device, developed by EnteroMedics Inc.

Flinders' Professor of Digestive Surgery James Toouli (Toouli) said the instrument was placed under the abdominal skin and powered by parts worn outside the body.

The drug, called alli (orlistat), is designed to be used only in tandem with a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet by overweight adults 18 and older. According to manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, the drug helps people lose 50 percent more weight than dieting alone, should cost consumers $12 to $25 a week and is expected to be available by this summer.

"This is the only FDA-approved, over-the-counter weight loss drug product," Dr. Charles J. Ganley, the FDA's director of the Division of Over-The-Counter Drug Products, said during a teleconference. "There are some products, primarily dietary supplements, that make weight-loss claims and those are not FDA-approved, although they are permitted to make these claims."

Anna Nicole Smith

Angry Janet Luna claims she used Trimspa X32 and expected the "rapid and substantial weight loss" the product promises - but it didn't work for her.

And yesterday, Luna filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging the advertising is "false or misleading."

Website TMZ.com, which obtained the lawsuit against Smith and Trimspa, points out that the plaintiff is possibly a minor, as the suit was filed by her mother, Myra Luna.

source Starpulse 

A single protein in brain cells may act as a linchpin in the body's weight-regulating system, playing a key role in the flurry of signals that govern fat storage, sugar use, energy balance and weight, University of Michigan Medical School researchers report.

And although it's far too early to say how this protein could be useful in new strategies to fight the world?s epidemic of obesity, the finding gives scientists an important system to target in future research and the development of anti-obesity medications.

In the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, U-M researcher Liangyou Rui, Ph.D. and his team report their findings on a protein called SH2B1, and specifically on its activity in brain cells.

Fat burners have become very popular in today’s society, especially in America. It seems that everyone is looking for a “quick fix” to their problem…and that is why they, therefore, turn to those “awesome” fat burners where you can just pop a pill and “lose 30 pounds in 10 days!”

However, Here we will investigate some of the claims that they make such as:

- increased thermogenesis
- decreased appetite
- weight loss without exercising
- increased energy

The settlements involve Bayer's One-A-Day WeightSmart multi-vitamin, as well as the diet pills CortiSlim, TrimSpa and Xenadrine EFX, which are made and sold by other companies.

"You're not going to find weight loss in a bottle of pills," FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras told reporters. "These ads are encouraging consumers to postpone the tougher choices that have to be made when one wants to lose weight."

NEW YORK, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Reality Council, a group of experts on obesity, nutrition, diabetes and healthcare policy, today comments on the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) settlement with four leading weight loss pill manufacturers. The settlement requires the companies to change their advertising claims and pay a total of $25 million for civil penalties and consumer redress.

The settlement comes less than three months after the Reality Council issued a White Paper, "Help Not Hype: Getting Real About Weight Loss," that called on regulators to enforce existing laws and regulations that prohibit companies from making unsubstantiated weight loss claims.

The Reality Council applauds the efforts of the FTC, shining a national spotlight on the obesity epidemic and one of its underlying causes -- the false hope that lasting weight loss can be achieved rapidly or by taking a "magic" pill. Obesity -- America's largest and potentially most expensive epidemic -- hits home hard, impacting America's health and economy.

Jan. 4, 2007 -- The marketers of four weight-control pills will pay $25 million in false advertising claims alleged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC today announced that marketers of the four products -- Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, TrimSpa, and One-A-Day WeightSmart -- settled their cases and agreed to limit their future advertising claims.

"The common theme in these cases is the marketers made claims that their products contain new, breakthrough ingredients which are proven to cause weight loss or control weight. But the claims aren't supported by sound science," FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras told reporters in a teleconference.

"Paying for fad science and miracle ingredients is a good way to lose nothing but your cash," Majoras says.

By Kirsten Hawkins

If you’re on a diet, or considering going on one, you’re in luck. We’ve put together ten of the most frequently asked questions about diets and weight loss and compiled them here. Enjoy!

1. How much should I weigh?

Your doctor can answer that question most accurately. More important than how much you weigh is your body/mass index, which measures your height against your weight.

2. What's the best diet for losing weight?

Any diet that provides all the nutrition that you need for health, and in addition, provides fewer calories than your body burns regularly.

This article was excerpted from The Entrepreneur Diet. Buy it today from EntrepreneurPress.com.

Living the life of an entrepreneur, it's easy to get lost in the cerebral side of your existence. By throwing yourself into the business, you may have lost touch with the simple joy in movement. We've come up with reality checks for the most popular excuses people have for not staying in shape.

Myth #1: I'm not athletic, so even if I wanted to become more active, I can't do it.

Reality Check: There are many ways to incorporate more physical activity into your day.

Q: What’s the best way to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome?

A: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of female infertility, affecting up to 10 percent of all premenopausal women. Besides a failure to ovulate, there’s an overproduction of androgens (male sex hormones) and estrogen.

These hormonal changes cause acne, insulin resistance/diabetes, excess facial and body hair and obesity. After over 70 years of study, we’re still not sure what causes it to occur.

But genetics and obesity are two big risk factors for PCOS.

The Australian Taxation Office has stung dieters who prefer a cool drink to a hot soup as part of their weight-loss program.

But, in a twist to the ruling, diet soups have been exempted because they're eaten hot and therefore classified as food.

The case has angered one of Australia's most successful marketers of diet formula, Tony Ferguson, who is challenging the tax office's ruling.

Are you tired of getting the same old advice when it comes to dieting? Are you looking for some quick tips to help motivate yourself during a diet? Why not follow along below to learn about some quick healthy weight loss tips?

Tip # 1: Take off five pounds quickly before a big event!

If you're generally in good shape, but you want to pare off a few pounds to look your best before a big event like a class reunion, one of the best ways to do it is to cleanse your system. For the week before, skip the breads and pastas, eat lots of raw vegetables and salads, and drink at least eight ounce glasses of water a day. You'll not only end up slimmer, you'll feel 100% more energetic and healthy.

Britain's growing battle with obesity was underlined as new data showed that the number of prescriptions written for anti-obesity drugs has risen by nearly 600 percent in six years.

According to data released by the government-run National Health Service, nearly 871,000 prescriptions for anti-obesity drugs were written in 2005, compared to around 127,000 in 1999 -- a 586 percent increase.

The proportion of English men rated as obese -- defined as having a body mass index of greater than 30 -- rose to 22.1 percent last year, compared to 13.2 percent in 1993, while 21.9 percent of English women were classed as obese in 2005, against 16.4 percent in 1993.

Wow, what a research. How useful and encouraging. Your fat belly is caused by bacterias. Not by your bad eating habits, your lazy lifestyle and  barrels of coke that you drink every year. Blame someone else, not yourself.

WASHINGTON - The size of your gut may be partly shaped by which microbes call it home, according to new research linking obesity to types of digestive bacteria.

Both obese mice — and people — had more of one type of bacteria and less of another kind, according to two studies published Thursday in the journal Nature.

A “microbial component” appears to contribute to obesity, said study lead author Jeffrey Gordon, director of Washington University’s Center for Genome Sciences.

Dieters may find some welcome assistance from a new nasal spray that could help resist the appetizing aromas of cinnamon bun stands, pizza parlors or tempting bakeries.

Compellis Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Massachusetts said it will begin human trials next year of a nasal spray designed to fight obesity by blocking the senses of smell and taste. It won a patent for the product this month.

"The pleasurable effect of eating is all stimulated by smell and taste," Christopher Adams, the company's founder and chief executive, told Reuters on Tuesday.

"The premise is that olfactory activity that controls both smell and taste is a trigger and a feedback mechanism to eat. If you have some kind of reduced sense of smell or taste, you tend to eat less," he said.

Unhappy with her weight, Charmaine Tong decided two years ago to try a slimming tea, which supposedly contained only traditional Chinese herbs.

She was overjoyed when she lost her appetite and the bathroom scales began dipping, but her happiness vanished when she began suffering a racing heart beat a month later.

"I chose Chinese medicine as I thought it wouldn't have chemicals and would have fewer side effects, but my heart went out of control," said Tong, a marketing executive in Hong Kong.

She stopped drinking the tea at once, and has since regained the seven pounds she lost, and more.

`If your New Year's resolution is to lose weight, drinking water may be an easy and healthy way to start,` said Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientist Jodi Stookey in a statement released Thursday.

While studying the impact of water consumption on weight loss, researchers in Oakland discovered drinking at least four glasses of water each day in place of sugary beverages can help dieters lose additional weight, the institute reported.

According to the study, 70 percent of the 240 over-weight women studied frequently drank at least one sugary beverage each day before following popular diet plans. At the end of the yearlong study, researchers found that women who drank water instead of sugary drinks lost three additional pounds on average.

Controversial guidelines that could see children offered weight loss surgery have been published by the Government's health watchdog.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) report is the first of its kind from the body aimed at tackling the obesity crisis in England and Wales.

The guidance focuses on the prevention and treatment of obesity in adults and children and will be sent to NHS professionals, schools, local authorities, employers and town planners. Nice said there was a need "for urgent action" to stem the rising tide of obesity.

That finding comes from a study by Dennis T. Villareal, MD, and colleagues at Washington University in St. Louis.

The researchers studied 46 men and women with an average age of 57. All were overweight; none got regular exercise.

In other words, they were typical Americans.

1. Drink more water! Start by drinking a large glass of water with lemon each morning and drink a glass before each meal to feel slightly full. Gradually replace sugary or carbonated beverages with water throughout the day.
2. Choose healthy snacks between meals to keep yourself from getting too hungry before a meal, such as fruit, a handful of nuts or a low-fat yogurt.
3. Eat whole fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Whole fruit has fewer calories from sugar and more fiber.
4. Take three fewer bites at each meal so you leave a little food on your plate.
5. Try a high fiber cereal with fruit and skim milk in the morning instead of bagels or muffins.
6. If you eat out a lot, start with a broth based soup or mixed green salad, both of which will contribute to fullness, and follow with an appetizer rather than a full-size entree.
7. Toss your salad with your favorite low-fat, low-calorie dressing.
8. Be sure to get your calcium in foods like yogurt or milk but from lower calorie sources by switching from high calorie, full-fat products to low-fat and non-fat products.
9. Munch on fresh vegetables with low calorie condiments to make them taste great and satisfy the need to crunch.
10. Incorporate some exercise daily even if it is just walking to work or taking the stairs.

source - www.unileverusa.com

Now that cool weather is here, it’s time to reacquaint yourself with the outdoors. And what better way to do it than hopping back on a bicycle?

The two-wheeled, leg-powered mode of transportation appeals to people of all ages for a variety of reasons.

Want to lose weight?

Biking can help you and, at the same time, it’s gentler on the joints than other exercise. According to sources cited by the League of American Bicyclists, a 150-pound cyclist going 12 mph can burn 410 calories in one hour. For a 200-pound biker, it’s 546 calories.

by Kirsten Hawkins

Have you heard about the new weight loss patch? You wear it behind your ear, and it speeds up your metabolism and helps you control your appetite. It sounds pretty reasonable, doesn't it? After all, if someone had told you five years ago that you could quit smoking by sticking a circle of fabric on your skin would you have believed them?

Unfortunately, this one isn't true. According to Dr. Michael Myers, who maintains the popular web site weight.com, it's just another of the hoaxes that clever promoters are using to bilk you out of your money. Weight loss is a gold mine, and unscrupulous operators will use any gimmick to convince you that their product is the magic cure that will melt away your pounds without any effort on your part.

Here are a few of the current weight loss gimmicks and the truth about them.

DALLAS-(Business Wire)-December 8, 2006 - We know a lot about the effects of being overweight on our long-term health, but what about our long-term wealth?

According to U.S. Department of Human Health and Services, the total cost of conditions resulting from being overweight was estimated to be $117 billion in 2004. For a sense of scale, that was 1% of our U.S. Gross National Product. Of this amount, an estimated $61 billion was due to direct medical costs and $56 billion to lost productivity. In another study, National Coalition of Health Care reports that the cost of health care is rising overall at a rate of almost 8% per year.

That's national. Let's talk about personal financial burdens. Let's say you've been carrying extra weight for a few years. Your chances of damaging the cartilage in your knee is about three times more likely than if you had never gained extra weight. Your personal part of the expense will depend on your health insurance, but let's assume that when you add up the bills from physicians, the MRI, surgeons and physical therapy, the total comes to somewhere between $8,000 to $10,000. Your part of the bills would be about $1,000 if you were lucky enough to have a low deductible policy. Also, how much is the downtime that you spend recovering worth to you?

As you are aware from reading my column, I am strongly opposed to crash weight-loss schemes.

The primary reason is that, although weight can be lost quickly, the weight that is lost is mostly muscle and water. I have explained the reasons for this in the past, and it can get pretty complicated.

What's important to understand is, the faster the weight comes off, the more muscle and water you lose and the less fat you lose.

Amid the laughter, chatter and perspiration, a group of 30 children are hard at work on stationary bicyles, rowing machines and jogging pads at a kids-only gym in this Washington suburb.

"My mom, my grandmother and my aunt tell me I'm too fat. That's why I come here and wear long T-shirts," says Toriano Parrish, a plump 12-year-old who has become a regular at Youth Visions, located the city of Upper Marlboro, in predominantly black Prince George's County in Maryland.

Parrish, who was pedaling furiously on a stationary bike, said he had lost several pounds (kilos) since joining the gym open to children ages five to 16 and has made it a ritual to exercise every day after school.

As you may already know, Americans tend to put on an extra 15 to 20 pounds during the holidays. Scary huh, but us western civilized folk love heaping scoops of back fat stuffing and plates of artery clogging ham, gravy and turkey. So the real question is this, how can you keep off the twenty-pound fat jiggle, and instead, lose five to 10 pounds from your thighs, stomach and arms?

Simple, you will follow these five tips for effective fat loss and boosting your metabolism while still enjoying the holiday pre and post feasts!

TORONTO (CP) - Jokes about cops and doughnuts might be the reflex reaction to a new survey that shows nearly two-thirds of Toronto Police Service workers are overweight, but the general public isn't doing much better when it comes to battling the bulge, experts say.

A health survey of 2,110 police officers and civilian employees conducted by Connex Health found almost 90 per cent admitted to poor nutrition habits, while 65 per cent said they were overweight.

A further 44 per cent reported an unhealthy fitness level, while around 20 per cent said they had been diagnosed as obese.