Excess Weight May Speed Breast Cancer Relapse

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Heavier women may be at higher risk of recurrence of the most common type of breast cancer after treatment, and less likely to survive the disease, researchers found.

Based on an analysis of three adjuvant trials, obesity predicted 24% poorer disease-free survival (DFS) chances and 37% lower odds for overall survival in hormone receptor-positive disease treated with standard chemohormonal therapy, Joseph A. Sparano, MD, of Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues reported online in Cancer. Read more

Studies: Bariatric Surgery Best for Obese Diabetics

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Bariatric surgery improves glycemic control better than optimal medical therapy alone for obese patients with type 2 diabetes, two randomized trials determined. Read more

Bariatric Treatment Seems to Stymie Type 2 Diabetes

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Obese patients who underwent bariatric surgery had an 83% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes compared with a control group that did not have weight-loss surgery, data from a large Swedish study showed. Read more

NJ Bariatric Surgeon voted NJ TOP DOCS in Bariatric Surgery by New Jersey Monthly Magazine

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Dr. Alexander Abkin was voted NJ TOP DOCS in Bariatric Surgery by New Jersey Monthly Magazine for a 6th Consecutive Year! (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Aug 19, 2012 – Comprehensive care in a bariatric-friendly setting is the foundation of Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeons of Morris. Read more

NJ Bariatric Surgeon Dr. Abkin Announces Relocation of JFK for Life's Edison Bariatric Office

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Dr. Alexander Abkin is proud to announce the relocation of JFK for Life’s office in Edison.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE = Aug 19, 2012 – After 2 successful years at 95 James Street, Dr. Abkin & JFK for LIFE decided it was time to relocate to a larger and more patient friendly bariatric office. The new office is located at:

98 James Street, Suite 212,
Edison, NJ 08820 Read more

Why the Campaign to Stop America's Obesity Crisis Keeps Failing

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The nation’s most powerful anti-obesity groups are teaming up for a new HBO documentary—but it pushes the same tired advice. Gary Taubes on the research they’re ignoring.

Most of my favorite factoids about obesity are historical ones, and they don’t make it into the new, four-part HBO documentary on the subject, The Weight of the Nation. Absent, for instance, is the fact that the very first childhood-obesity clinic in the United States was founded in the late 1930s at Columbia University by a young German physician, Hilde Bruch. As Bruch later told it, her inspiration was simple: she arrived in New York in 1934 and was “startled” by the number of fat kids she saw—“really fat ones, not only in clinics, but on the streets and subways, and in schools.”

Click here to view the Weight of the Nation website

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Study ties rise in some cancers to obesity, inactivity

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Cancer deaths in the United States continue to fall, thanks to better screening, treatment advances and efforts to prevent some cancers by reducing smoking and other unhealthy behaviors. but a major, new government report highlights a worrisome rise in cases linked to obesity and inactivity. Read more

Greater Role for Bariatric Surgery in Treating Type 2 Diabetes

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Two Randomized Clinical Studies in The New England Journal of Medicine Support Far Greater Role for Bariatric Surgery in Treating Type 2 Diabetes

  • First head-to-head studies comparing bariatric surgery to medical therapy published in NEJM
  • Bariatric surgery superior to medical treatment producing remission, even before weight loss
  • More patients need access to this important option sooner Read more

Drug lobby wants clearer FDA rules for diet pills

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The pharmaceutical industry may stop investing in medicines to treat diseases like diabetes or obesity without more explicit guidelines from U.S. regulators, the chairman of the drug trade group said on Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration must approve any medical products sold in the United States, but drug companies say they cannot always predict how the agency weighs risks and benefits for medicines that could be widely used. Read more

Bipolar Drug May Spur Weight Gain, Thyroid Problems: Review

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THURSDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) — A new medical review finds that lithium, a common treatment for bipolar disorder, can lead to weight gain and causes high rates of abnormalities in the thyroid and parathyroid glands. Read more