News by Subject Medicine & Health

A recent study UTSA public policy professors Alexander Testa and Dylan Jackson assesses the link between food-related hardships and obesity. Using a national sample of adults across the United States, the researchers learned that individuals who are food insecure are at an increased risk of obesity. Study results also showed that the individuals who live in food deserts are at an elevated risk for obesity.

In a multi-center collaboration, scientists at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and University of Cambridge discover a set of genes that help to establish brain connections governing body weight.

Scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have identified an epigenetic marker and two genes that caused heart failure in the children and grandchildren of fruit flies with high-fat-diet-induced heart dysfunction. Reversing the epigenetic modification or over-expressing the two genes protected subsequent generations from the negative heart effects of their parents' diet. The study was published in Nature Communications.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute have identified a hormone produced by the liver that tells the body to downshift its metabolism when it's expending a lot of energy.

Researchers have identified cells in the brains of male rats that appear to control future food intake by preserving memories of past meals. The study, published in eNeuro, lends support to the idea of boosting meal memories as a strategy for managing overeating.

Of the 4.3 million cardiovascular deaths in Europe in 2016, 2.1 million were the result of poor nutrition. The 28 EU member states account for around 900,000, Russia for 600,000 and the Ukraine for 250,000 of these deaths. Every second to third premature cardiovascular death could be prevented by better nutrition.

Pop quiz: Given a choice between indulgent and healthy foods, what will most people pick? The answer may depend on what foods sit nearby on the grocery shelf, suggests new Duke University research. Paradoxically, the nearby presence of an indulgent treat such as Snickers or Oreos can cause more people to opt for a healthy food, such as salmon or grapefruit, said study co-author Scott Huettel. Context, in other words, affects food choices.