The fate of a popular weight loss drug in New Zealand should be known in the next few days after regulatory authorities in Australia stopped its marketing and distribution. Pharmaceutical company Abbott on Friday announced it would immediately stop distribution in Australia of the drug sibutramine, which is sold under the brand name Reductil. The [...]

American doctors spend a lot of time discussing diet and weight with their patients, but it has little effect unless doctors have the right communication style, a new study finds. Patients were much more likely to lose weight if their doctor talked about diet and weight loss in a motivational way, rather than in a [...]

You’d think that people choosing to live near to outdoor recreation amenities would have a lower body mass index or BMI thanks to an increase in all that healthy outdoor activity right on one’s doorstep. Yet a new University of Alberta study looking at the relationship between reasons for choosing a neighbourhood to live in, [...]

Peers can influence our behavior in positive and negative ways. A new study finds that female college freshmen who room with heavier women may gain less weight. The study focused on 144 female college students who were randomly assigned roommates at the start of freshman year. They were asked their height and weight as well [...]