Black Women Can Have Bigger Waists, Still Be Healthy

(NEWSER) - Americans eat more than twice as much added sugar as doctors recommend, and they should cut back to battle obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, researchers say. Added calories from processed sugar should total no more than 150 for men and 100 for women, the American Heart Association said today. Soft drinks are the top factor in added dietary sugar, and the recommendations are sure to rile their producers, Reuters reports. More»

Periodontitis patients should cut out risk factors, scientists say

(NEWSER) - Scientists have identified a link between gum disease and heart disease, the BBC reports, finding the same genetic variation in a group of patients with heart disease and a group with severe periodontitis. “Now we know for sure that there is a strong genetic link, patients with periodontitis should try to reduce their risk factors … at an early stage,” said the head researcher. More»

In H1N1 patients, fat had same effects as diabetes, heart disease

(NEWSER) - Scientists at the CDC have noticed a new trend in cases of swine flu: "We were surprised by the frequency of obesity among the severe cases that we've been tracking," says an epidemiologist, adding that it might be cause to make obese people a priority for a vaccine, if it becomes available. Other pre-existing conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, are known to raise the risk of flu complications, but this one has doctors a bit surprised. More»

Study says modest weight gains risky

(NEWSER) - Even being slightly overweight can seriously increase the risk of heart problems, Reuters reports. A 20-year study of roughly 20,000 male doctors in the US found that every 7 pounds of excess body weight upped the risk of heart failure by 11%. The fatal condition, in which the heart can’t pump enough blood throughout the body, plays a part in 300,000 US deaths each year. More»

Economic troubles, lifestyle traditions distract from rampant obesity

(NEWSER) - Dietary tradition helps make Huntington, W.Va., the nation's most obese and unhealthy city, the AP reports. The five-county area, where poverty rates are high, boasts many pizza and hot dog joints—but Huntington's mayor will not follow the lead of New York City and ban trans fats in restaurants. "We want as much business as we can have here," said Mayor David Felinton, who underwent stomach surgery last year to lose weight. More»