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April 24, 2012 Federal data show that only 13.4 percent of adults in the U.S. have high cholesterol, compared with 18.3 percent a decade earlier. Drugs rather than better lifestyle appear to account for the improvement.

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April 13, 2012 What diet soda drinkers eat may matter more than what they sip when it comes to long-term health effects, according to new research. This may help explain why some people gain weight when drinking lots of diet soda.

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April 9, 2012 Half of the mothers in the study had a child with an autism spectrum disorder, while the rest had a child with a developmental delay unrelated to autism, or no developmental problem. But an author of the study says it's not clear whether there's any connection between rising obesity rates and the increasing number of children diagnosed with autism.

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March 26, 2012 Two studies that compared outcomes for patients on diabetes drugs versus those who underwent bariatric surgery found the latter group was much more likely to see blood sugar go down. Many of these post-operative patients were able to stop taking any diabetes drugs altogether.

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March 12, 2012 Researchers are finding that the friends and family of obese and overweight individuals who lose weight lose weight themselves, and sometimes a lot of it.

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February 22, 2012 In a reversal, a panel of experts is advising the Food and Drug Administration to approve Qnexa, a weight-loss pill, that was rejected in 2010. The potential benefits for overweight people exceed the risks, such as birth defects and increased heart rates, the panel determined.

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February 17, 2012 The Food and Drug Administration will take a second look at a weight-loss drug it rejected in 2010. The decision to review Qnexa comes as the agency is rethinking how it judges weight-loss drugs. Though obesity is at epidemic levels, the FDA hasn't approved any new weight-loss medicines since 1999.

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February 8, 2012 Asking for less food isn't something most people think about when ordering from a menu. A new study suggests that asking people if they want less food and, in turn, fewer calories, before they order is key.

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February 7, 2012 A tax proposal on the table in Massachusetts could discourage sugar consumption a bit by making sugary foods more expensive. But outside Massachusetts, surveys show that a majority of taxpayers oppose the idea of a "sin tax" on soda and candy.

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February 2, 2012 A sensational new billboard in Albany, N.Y., wants to scare people away from cheese. Its creator, a physician turned health activist, says Americans should abandon cheese altogether to prevent obesity.

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January 27, 2012 KHNPhysicians who pack on the pounds discuss weight loss less frequently with obese patients than doctors who have normal weights, a study finds. Overweight and obese physicians expressed greater confidence in prescribing weight-loss drugs than other doctors.

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January 25, 2012 A portrait of the Chez Panisse chef was recently unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery. If Waters could have her way, she says kids would grow their own food and cook it for breakfast, lunch and snacks all year round.

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January 17, 2012 The obesity epidemic appears to have reached a plateau, according to the latest federal statistics.

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