Obesity

Weighing in: 3 years post-op bariatric surgery patients see big benefits, Pitt study says
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health and several other clinical centers throughout the country found that most severely obese patients who underwent gastric bypass or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgical procedures experienced substantial weight loss three years after surgery, with most of the change occurring in the first year. The study findings, published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association, also found variability in both weight change and improvements in obesity-related complications, including diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine

Sexual function dramatically improves in women following bariatric surgery, Penn study finds
The first study to look extensively at sexual function in women who underwent bariatric surgery found that significant improvements in overall sexual function, most reproductive hormones and in psychological status were maintained over two years following surgery. Women reporting the poorest quality of sexual function prior to surgery saw the most dramatic improvements one year after surgery, on par with women who reported the highest quality of sexual function prior to surgery. The new report by researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania appears in the November 4 edition of JAMA Surgery. Eurekalert!

No major complications in most teens undergoing weight-loss bariatric surgery
Most severely obese teenagers who underwent bariatric weight-loss surgery (WLS) experienced no major complications, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication. WLS is being used to treat severely obese adolescents but there are limited data about the surgical safety of these procedures. The volume of adolescent WLS in the United States tripled from the late 1990s to 2003 and shows no decline, according to the study background. Eurekalert!

Kids who sleep more, may eat less, new study finds
That's according to the results of a study conducted by Chantelle Hart, associate professor of public health at Temple's Center for Obesity Research and Education (CORE), published today in Pediatrics. The study, entitled "Changes in Children's Sleep Duration on Food Intake, Weight, and Leptin," is the first known study to examine the impact of sleep on children's eating behaviors by manipulating the amount of sleep that study participants were able to get. Eurekalert!

Earlier onset of puberty in girls linked to obesity
New research in Pediatrics shows obesity is the largest predictor of earlier onset puberty in girls, which is affecting white girls much sooner than previously reported. Published online Nov. 4, the multi-institutional study strengthens a growing body of research documenting the earlier onset of puberty in girls of all races. Eurekalert!