London, Dec 31 : One should only eat meat on feast days to help tackle obesity, a government food advisor has advised.

According to Tim Lang, a professor of food policy at City University, London, people should re-adopt the tradition of regarding meat as a treat and only eating it on feast days, such as Christmas.

He also said that dramatically reducing one’s intake of meat would also help prevent climate change.

London, Dec 16 : Britons seem to be fighting a losing battle against the bulge with over one-fourth of men and women classified as clinically obese for the first time, as per latest report of the National Health Service (NHS) in Britain.

As per the NHS Information Centre, twenty six percent of men and women were obese in 2010, a figure that increased from 13 percent of men and 16 percent of women found as obese in 1993, the Daily Mail reported.

London, Nov 21 : The National Health Service (NHS) has introduced a talking plate in the UK, which warns fat families about their eating habits and tells people not to wolf their food.

The Mandometer, which is available for 1,500 pounds, monitors the amount of food leaving the plate and tells users who gobble to “please eat more slowly.”

The Swedish device is to be used in an NHS initiative to help hundreds of obese families lose weight.

London, Nov 20 : Obese mothers develop a weight-regulating hormone defect that causes their children also to become overweight, a new study has claimed.

According to researchers at Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospital in London, the hormone leptin, which controls the desire to eat, is overproduced in obese women and excess levels of the hormone can damage the weight-control gland in foetuses.

London, Sep 24 - With obesity decreasing life expectancy by nearly 10 years and contributing to increasing risks of developing type 2 diabetes and hypertension, scientists in Britain are trying to understand the factors which turn people obese.

Beijing, Sep 4 - Nearly 33 percent of Chinese adults between 20 and 59 years of age are overweight, while 40 percent of those between the ages of 60 and 69 are obese, a study has found.

The figures were up three percent and 4.2 percent respectively since 2005, China Daily reported, quoting a study by State General Administration of Sport.

London, Aug 27 - Nearly half of the British men face the risk of turning obese within next 20 years, with women closely following them facing a similar risk of turning overweight by 2030, says an international study.

The study states four in ten British women may turn overweight.

Overall, an extra 11 million Britons would be clinically obese - so fat that it risks their health - taking the total to 26 million, Daily Mail reported.

Washington, August 18: High levels of saturated fatty acids commonly found in the ovaries of obese women and those with Type II diabetes can upset embryonic development and lead to failed pregnancies, according to a new research.

The study could help to explain why women suffering from metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes struggle to conceive.

Washington, August 17 : For the first time, it has been found that obesity directly causes electrical abnormalities of the heart.

According to cardiologist and PhD candidate Dr Hany Abed, there is growing evidence that obesity changes the structure and size of the heart muscle and the way it works and contracts, as well as its electrical function.

Washington, August 10: An Indian-origin researcher has identified a protein that could come of great help to diabetics and the obese by helping them keep their appetite and blood sugar in check.

Suraj Unniappan, associate professor in York''s Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering at York University, is delving into the metabolic effects of a protein called nesfatin-1, abundantly present in the brain.

Sydney, Aug 8 : Mothers who let babies lie on their tummies after breastfeeding can help prevent obesity among them in adult years.

This helps strengthen the baby's neck and back muscle motor movement -- vital for more complicated movements such as sitting, rolling over and crawling.

Washington, July 3 : Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have found how obesity drives insulin resistance, the condition that may lead to type 2 diabetes.

They uncovered that excess weight wreaks its havoc by altering the production of proteins that affect how other proteins are spliced together.

The finding may point toward novel targets for diabetes drugs.

Washington, July 14: That the hormone leptin works in the brain to prevent obesity has been known for quite some time.

But how it does so has always remained a mystery.

Now, a new research has revealed the neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie the antiobesity effects of leptin.

London, June 30: Focusing on reducing how much and how often people eat could help tackle obesity, experts have said.

A recent study revealed that increases in the number of eating occasions and portion size are responsible for tipping the scale for many Americans.

Washington, June 22: A study involving an Indian-origin researcher has shed light on the link between low birth weights and obesity later in life.

Washington, June 7: A new study has suggested that it is better to attempt to lose weight despite repeated failures at keeping the weight off, like in "yo-yo dieting", than to not diet and remain obese.

The study compared lifelong obesity with the weight fluctuations of "yo-yo dieting", which is believed to be harmful.

Melbourne, June 6 : Researchers at Melbourne''s Garvan Institute of Medical Research have found that a common asthma drug has the potential for addressing obesity epidemic.

They found that the drug formoterol, used to treat asthma and lung diseases, increases metabolism and fat burning in adults who are at rest.

Washington, June 1 : University of Illinois scientists have revealed that many factors including genetic predisposition, family, community, country, culture, how much TV a child watches and others contribute to childhood obesity.

Washington, May 27: A new study has suggested that young children who sleep less may face increased risk of becoming overweight, even after taking account of lifestyle factors.

A team of researchers in New Zealand has investigated whether lack of sleep is associated with differences in body composition and the risk of becoming overweight in young children.

Washington, May 25 : A study has found that online news websites add to the social stigma of obesity.

A new research on obesity from Yale University has suggested that online news outlets stigmatise obese people by excessive use of their negative images in ill-fitting clothes or eating fast food, just to consolidate their stories about obesity.

Washington, May 19: Gaining weight during pregnancy is necessary for the health of the mother-to-be and her unborn child, but a new study has warned that it could put them at increased risk of becoming obese and developing related health problems later in life.

Washington, May 16 : Researchers at Duke University Medical Centre have found that obese men are exposed to an elevated risk of their prostate cancer worsening than slim men.

This is even after they were treated with hormone therapy to suppress tumour growth.

Washington, May 12: A University of Illinois researcher has linked the spike in automobile usage with increased levels of obesity.

Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of computer science and the director of the simulation and optimization laboratory at Illinois, said that the surge in passenger vehicle usage in the U. S. between the 1950s and today may be associated with surging levels of obesity.

London, April 07: Researchers have found that an elevated body mass index (BMI) at age 17, even one within what is considered normal, may be predictive of coronary heart disease in adulthood.

Washington, March 24: A new study has found that overweight and obese mothers and their children think they weigh less than their actual weight.

In the study of women and children in an urban, predominantly Hispanic population, most normal weight women and children in the study correctly estimated their body weight, but most obese women and children underestimated theirs.