Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. have suspended an obesity trial to investigate laboratory concerns stemming from a previous study.

The U.S.-based Amylin and Japan-based Takeda are mid-stage in a clinical trial studying the effects of pramlintide acetate, a supplement for the treatment of diabetes, and metreleptin, a recombinant form of human leptin, which is a hormone secreted by fat cells.

The companies stopped the study, which was in its second of three phases necessary for U.S. regulatory approval, after findings from two patients who had taken metreleptin in another obesity trial showed it loses effectiveness.

Amylin, Takeda Put The Brakes On Obesity Trial | ThirdAge

Calorie counts on chain restaurant menus were devised to help the health-conscious consumer — you know, the type who already cares about eating right —make more informed choices when eating out.

The information was not meant, or realistically expected, to rescue America from the jaws of an overgrown obesity epidemic.

So recent studies showing the nutritional labels are having minimal impact on certain populations should be greeted with a gaping yawn. The demographics studied — namely low-income kids and adults — historically indulge in eating habits that have proven particularly resistant to change.

In fact, the only surprising thing about such studies is that anyone would find their results surprising.

Nicole Brochu: Calorie counts on menus were not meant to solve Americas obesity crisis – latimes.com

Colorado, Hawaii, and Utah had the lowest obesity levels in the United States in 2010, although at least 2 in 10 adults were obese in each of these states. West Virginia, Mississippi, and Kentucky had the highest obesity rates, with more than 3 in 10 obese residents living in these states. The prevalence of obesity is nearly eight percentage points higher, on average, in the 11 states with the highest obesity levels compared with the 10 states with the lowest obesity levels — 30.5% vs. 22.6%, respectively.

Obesity Lowest in Colorado, Highest in West Virginia

A study of Irish obese patients has found that those with the most severe degree of obesity were those who became overweight before the age of 10.

According to the Obesity Research Group, which is made up of researchers from St Vincent’s and St Columcille’s Hospitals in Dublin, one in four Irish adults is obese and the number of people with ‘extreme’ obesity is increasing at an alarming rate.

Extreme obesity refers to people with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 50. A healthy BMI is between 20 and 25.

‘Extreme’ obesity on the increase

Does obesity cause horrific spelling? At the very least, pay close attention to this shopping list found at Walmart so you can learn what foods to avoid if don’t want to become a moron.

Fat Thanks to Sona G. for the tip!

Horrible Spelling Walmart Grocery List | someecards.com

A 400-pound woman was allegedly caught shoplifting and was subsequently tasered after her motorised cart got stuck when she was trying to escape.

Jerrie Perkins, 30, allegedly tried to steal $600 worth of electronic goods from a Meijer store in Pontiac, Michigan.

Her attempt was foiled, however, when her motorised cart got stuck in the exit door.

Fat Thanks to Anant P. for the tip!

400-pound woman is ‘caught shoplifting’ when her motorised cart gets stuck in exit doors | Mail Online

Scientists have developed a new way to measure whether a person is too fat without having people step on the scale.

The new measure, called the Body Adiposity Index, or BAI, relies on height and hip measurements, and it is meant to offer a more flexible alternative to body mass index, or BMI, a ratio of height and weight, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

BMI has been used to measure body fat for the past 200 years, but it is not without flaws, Richard Bergerman of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues wrote in the journal Obesity.

While there are other, more complex ways to measure body fat beyond simply stepping on a scale, BMI is widely used both by researchers and doctors.

It is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared. A person who is 5 feet 5 inches tall is classified as overweight at 150 pounds (68 kg) and obese at 180 pounds (82 kg).

But there is a lot of wiggle room in that calculation.

For example, women and men with the same BMI might have very different levels of extra flab. BMI numbers cannot be generalized across different ethnic groups or used with athletes, who have extra lean body mass.

Better than a BMI? New obesity scale proposed

Who are you calling fat? Canadians may be losing the battle of the bulge, but were still slimmer on average than our supersized cousins to the south.

A new Statistics Canada survey found that between 2007 and 2009, 24.1 per cent of adults in Canada were obese. In that U.S., that number was 34.4 per cent.

The gap was widest for women: 23.9 per cent of Canadian women qualified as obese, compared to 36.2 per cent of American women. Of Canadian men, 24.3 per cent were obese, while 32.6 per cent of American men tipped the scales.

But Canadians have no reason to feel smug about their comparative lack of bulk, said one obesity doctor.

Dr. Arya Sharma, professor of medicine and chair for cardiovascular obesity research and management at the University of Alberta, said Canada is eating its way into a public health crisis.

“We’re not where the Americans are yet, but the numbers are still very alarming,” he said. “When you consider the medical costs of obesity, of treating related cases of diabetes, heart disease, hip and knee replacements, its clear that we have a serious problem.”

Girth of a nation: Canada trails U.S. in obesity rates