SAN FRANCISCO, May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The use of an armband-based body monitoring system proved to be the most cost-effective of four approaches to weight loss examined by researchers in an analysis that will be presented at the American College of Sports Medicine's 59th Annual Meeting and 3rd World Congress on Exercise is Medicine this week in San Francisco. The study, "An Economic Analysis of Traditional and Technology-Based Approaches to Weight Loss: LEAN Study Cost-Effectiveness," calculated the cost of all four approaches in terms of the ratio of weight loss to staff time and materials. The cost for armband users was $51 per participant per kilogram lost less than half of the $129 associated with group weight loss education.

The principal investigator of the study was Steven N. Blair, Professor, Department of Exercise Science and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Health, at the University of South Carolina. Detailed results will be presented in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The analysis was based on the same team's earlier randomized controlled trial of 197 sedentary, overweight and obese adults comparing the use of standard care, group weight loss education, a multi-sensor armband, and the use of an armband in conjunction with group weight loss education. In that study, known as the Lifestyle Education for Activity and Nutrition (LEAN) study, groups using an armband were equipped with the BodyMedia armband body monitoring system from BodyMedia, Inc.

The LEAN study showed that participants using BodyMedia's wearable body monitoring technology either with a group weight loss program or as part of their own self-directed program lost three times more weight than individuals who attempted to battle the bulge solo. The cost analysis of the same data that will be presented at the ACSM conference revealed that:

The BodyMedia armband, designed to be worn around the clock, utilizes proprietary sensors and algorithms that capture and analyze data on the wearer's calorie burn, physical activity, steps taken and sleep efficiency. Companion software and mobile apps allow users to input their body parameters, set their personal goals, and track their activity and calorie intake.

"This analysis has important implications for medical practitioners and weight loss counselors trying to plan intervention strategies to help their patients and clients bring their weight under control," Dr. Blair said. "It shows that technology-based interventions hold significant promise in both reducing cost and improving weight loss outcomes."

The findings of the new analysis will be presented at the ASCM meeting from 3:15 to 5:15 pm this Friday, June 1. The meeting agenda can be viewed at http://www.acsmannualmeeting.org.

In addition, nine other papers and abstracts to be presented at the ACSM meeting utilized BodyMedia armbands to study topics ranging from energy expenditure on loaded versus unloaded treadmill exercise to measurement validity in children and during pregnancy, racial variations in weight loss, the effects of different physical activity levels on weight loss, and the relationship of physical activity intensity to long-term weight loss maintenance.

The full meeting agenda can be viewed at http://www.acsmannualmeeting.org

About BodyMedia, Inc.When your body talks, BodyMedia listens. BodyMedia has been unlocking and deciphering secrets of the body since 1999. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, BodyMedia is the pioneer in developing and marketing wearable body monitors that equip consumers with information they can use to make sweeping changes to their own health and wellness beginning with weight management and soon to include management of other conditions affected by lifestyle choices. The BodyMedia platform is the only system of its kind that is registered with the FDA as a Class II medical device and that has been clinically proven to enhance users' weight loss by up to three times (vs behavioral support alone, data on file). For more information, visit http://www.bodymedia.com.

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Body Monitors Deliver Better Weight Loss Results at Half the Cost: Study to Be Presented at ACSM Meeting

Overweight women face a multitude of hardships such as discrimination in the workplace that arise from the stigma surrounding obesity. While weight loss may seem like the solution for women hoping to escape anti-fat prejudice, it may not be that simple after all.

New research out of the University of Hawaii at Mnoa, The University of Manchester and Monash University, has revealed that anti-fat prejudice still persisted against former obese women, even after they had lost a significant amount of weight.

Previous research has shown that the harmful nature of obesity stigma crossed many domains, Dr. Janet Latner, the studys lead author at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa, told FoxNews.com. So we designed an experiment to look at whether obesity sting persisted once the weight had been dropped.

Published in the journal Obesity, the study asked young men and women participants to read various stories about a woman who had lost about 70 pounds, or a woman who was currently obese or thin who had remained stable. The participants were then asked to rate the womens attractiveness and then give their opinions on fat people in general.

We were surprised to find that currently thin women were viewed more differently depending on their weight history, Latner said in a press release. We found that people who had lost weight were viewed more negatively in terms of attractiveness than people who had remained stable regardless of whether or not they had remained thin or obese, Latner told FoxNews.com.

Negative attitudes toward the obese targets also seemed to increase when the participants were falsely told that the persons weight was easily controllable.

Though the researchers cannot explain exactly why the findings were the way they were, Latner and her colleagues theorized that people are perhaps more judgmental towards the obese, because they believe that it is something the person can easily manage.

There are several theories as to why anti-fat stigma persists, Latner said. The leading theory is controllability theory suggesting that stigmatized conditions are despised more when they are perceived as easily controllable, a widespread perception about obesity. Our findings partly supported this theory by demonstrating that reading vignettes describing weight loss led to greater obesity stigma than reading vignettes describing weight stability.

Because of their staggering findings, Latner and her team agree that government intervention is necessary to reduce the prejudice against the overweight and obese.

We really need public policies that combat obesity stigma, said Latner. Findings on effective interventions to reduce weight stigma are limited. Some evidence suggests that social consensus approaches, cognitive dissonance approaches and intensive education approaches can be effective in reducing stigma.

Original post:
Life After Weight Loss? Fat Chance — Stigma Sticks

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire -05/30/12)- At the Live Life Again Center for Bariatric Surgery, Dr. David Kim is participating in the development of a pre-bariatric surgery program designed to educate patients ahead of their weight loss surgery procedure. He says he is in support of nurse or physician patient extenders to facilitate a multi-disciplinary program for his patients' overall health. David Kellenberger, PA is the clinic's registered dietitian who applied for the grant, and his passion for metabolic research and patient education has helped get this program started. By giving healthcare providers the educational and clinical tools to address both lifestyle and nutritional issues that commonly affect obese patients, Dr. Kim says he believes the Bari-Equipped program will help increase the success rate of bariatric procedures and ultimately address a growing epidemic in the U. S.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one third of U. S. adults are obese, and no state has met the "Healthy People 2010" government initiative to lower obesity rates to 15%. While these obesity statistics are alarming, Dr. Kim says the more important issue to focus on is the fact that many with obesity are often malnourished and metabolically dysfunctional. As obese patients struggle with related conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes among others, the Dallas weight loss surgeon stresses that an intervention such as the Bari-Equipped program is essential: "Motivation is not enough. Though patients' desires to change are important, metabolic change brought about by bariatric surgery is the tool that millions may benefit from. Education with regards to this physical bodily change brought on by surgery is at the center of permanently healthy lives."

The application for the Physician Assistant Foundation Prevention Ambassador Award outlines the objectives and goals of the Bari-Equipped program. The target population is men and women age 18 to 65 with stage 2 obesity and co-morbidity issues, or stage 3 obesity with or without co-morbidities. Of the 24 patients currently participating, 24 had the vertical gastric sleeve procedure, and 1 had the RNY gastric bypass. The six objectives highlighted in the application aim to confront not only the social and cultural issues associated with obesity, but the behavioral, nutritional, and biological issues as well. The objectives are broken into two categories: clinical and educational.

Educational Objectives

Clinical Objectives

With the first stage of the study complete, Dr. Kim says the outlook is promising as it shows that the Bari-Equipped program helps address the needs of people diagnosed with obesity and provides a sustainable option for long-term surgical success. While he believes this approach may be adopted to enhance the effectiveness of other programs and patients in need of similar educational and clinical support, he says he looks forward to realizing the full potential of this program as he strives to improve the lives of those affected by obesity.

About David Kim, MD

After receiving his medical degree from the Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine, Dr. David Kim completed his general surgery residency at Case Western Reserve University, and his peripheral vascular surgery fellowship at Ohio State University. He has also completed fellowships in advanced laparoscopic bariatric surgery at the Medical College of Virginia and Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Kim has been named a Surgeon of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, is certified by the American College of Surgeons, and is a member of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

The Live Life Again Center for Bariatric Surgery is located at 35 Veranda Lane Ste. 100, Colleyville, TX 76034, and can be reached at (817) 717-7447 for Ft. Worth patients, or (214) 614-7036 for Dallas patients. Dr. Kim and his team can also be found online at http://www.drdkim.net, or their Dallas Weight Loss Surgery Facebook page.

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Weight Loss Surgery Education Empowers Patients Before Procedure

Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) May 30, 2012

With the countless number of natural weight loss supplements on the market today, consumers are finding it difficult to determine which product or combination of products will work best for them. There are a number of personal factors that can effect weight loss results, including but not limited to how active they may be at home and work, their body type, and weight loss goals.

Now, with the development of PleaseHelpMeLoseWeight.info, consumers can easily complete a comprehensive 10 question survey, which assigns a point value to the consumer's answers. The total score will determine which product, or combination of products, will help them achieve their desired goals quickly, safely, and effectively.

Justin Zehrung, Vice President of Essential Source stated, "Dr. Oz has recommended many natural ingredients like Raspberry Ketone and African Mango Extract, to lose weight. We've made it easy for the consumer to determine which will work best for them. We've taken all of the guess work out of choosing the right supplement for the consumer, as well as the retailers who sell weight loss supplements to consumers. Regardless of a consumer's age, weight, eating habits, or stress level, the survey will provide an effective weight loss solution."

Essential Source is dedicated to developing more convenient ways for consumers to take their vitamins, while increasing the overall effectiveness of their nutritional supplements as a whole.

Originally posted here:
Essential Source Launches Free On-Line Weight Loss Consultation for Consumers

NEW YORK Cristina Iaboni had the dubious distinction of being not quite obese enough. For all the pounds on her 5'5" frame, she did not meet the criteria for bariatric surgery to help control her type-2 diabetes.

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Becky Meltons friend request to Jerry Wilde, a complete stranger in dire need of a new kidney, came with a photo and a gift. The texted photo: a picture of Melton, 28, holding a hand-drawn sign showing two kidneys and a message -- Were a match!

Yet six years of medications and attempts at healthy living had failed to rein in her blood glucose, leaving Iaboni terrified that she was on course to have her kidneys fail "and my feet cut off" -- common consequences of uncontrolled diabetes.

Then the 45-year-old Connecticut wife, mother of two and head of human resources for a Fortune 500 company, lucked out. In 2009 she met with Dr Francisco Rubino of Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. He had just received approval to study experimental surgery on diabetics with a relatively lean weight-to-height ratio, or body-mass index (BMI). Iaboni was among his first subjects.

Three years on, she has dropped 50 pounds to reach a healthy 145 and has normal blood pressure without medication. That isn't too surprising: Weight loss is the purpose of bariatric surgery and often reduces blood pressure. More remarkable, Iaboni no longer has diabetes.

She is not the first patient with diabetes, which can be triggered by obesity, to be cured by weight-loss surgery. But she is a rarity for having it with a BMI well below 35 and over. That's the level at which the American Diabetes Association says surgery "may be considered" and that Medicare and some private insurers cover. And Iaboni's diabetes disappeared months before she shed much weight.

Her experience has raised an intriguing possibility: that some forms of bariatric surgery treat diabetes not by making patients shed pounds. Instead, by rerouting part of the digestive system, they change what signals the gut sends to the brain and the brain sends to the liver, altering the underlying causes of diabetes.

If proven, bariatric surgery may help people with type-2 diabetes who are less obese, overweight or even of healthy weight. And it might be effective against the currently incurable type-1, or "juvenile," diabetes, too.

Video: Putting your favorite foods back in your diet"

Excerpt from:
Beating diabetes via surgery, without weight loss

Didier Drogba Weight Loss 2012 Didier Drogba 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.

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.

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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Didier Drogba Weight Loss 2012 Didier Drogba Diet Programs

Eden Hazard Weight Loss 2012 Eden Hazard 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.

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.

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.

More:
Eden Hazard Weight Loss 2012 Eden Hazard Diet Programs