Augusta University
Excessive weight around our middle gives our brain’s resident immune cells heavy exposure to a signal that turns them against us, setting in motion a crescendo of inflammation that damages cognition, scientists say.
Eight months of daily physical activity in previously inactive 8- to 11-year-olds who were obese or overweight improved cholesterol levels, aerobic fitness and percent body fat, but didn’t improve arterial stiffness, an early indicator of...
High glucose in obesity appears to gum up the works of the circadian clocks inside our cells that help regulate the timing of many body functions across the 24-hour day and drive the risk of cardiovascular disease, scientists say.
In the face of obesity, the sex hormone progesterone that helps females get and stay pregnant appears to also put them at increased, early risk for cardiovascular disease, investigators report.
Focusing on strengthening our muscles rather than losing fat may be a better way to protect ourselves from weight-related hazards like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, investigators say.
While regular exercise is clearly beneficial to children — and adults — the psychosocial health of children may benefit as much from other kinds of adult-led after-school programs, Medical College of Georgia researchers report in the journal...
MCG scientists are exploring how improving the function of our older fat may just help our brains and lower Alzheimer’s risk.
MCG scientists have discovered the chronic activation of the Adora2a receptor is one way obesity and insulin resistance break down one of the the brain's protections against memory loss and confusion.
Obese, premenopausal women can lose the innate protection from cardiovascular disease that their youth and estrogen are believed to afford, and scientists want to know how. Before menopause, the hormone estrogen helps blood vessels stay healthy and...
A $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will help determine whether a pear- or apple-shape physique is best for our brains.
In just months, high-doses of vitamin D has been found to reduce arterial stiffness in young, overweight or obese African-Americans.
We know that too much body fat is generally bad for our cardiovascular system, and now scientists are learning more about how too little fat yields some of the same damage. Their goals include determining whether leptin replacement therapy for...
A study of otherwise healthy adolescents showed that those who consumed the least vitamin K1– found in spinach, cabbage, iceberg lettuce and olive oil – were at 3.3 times greater risk for an unhealthy enlargement of the major pumping chamber of...
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, and it is never too early for parents to start thinking about nutrition essentials for kids. Involving children in the meal prepping as well as creating an environment in the home where...
These hot summer days may tempt some of us to reach for a cold sugary drink, but scientists are finding increasing evidence that if we reach too often, we are setting ourselves up for rapid weight gain. In fact, even more so than sugar-laden foods...
Age and obesity conspire to damage the tiny blood vessels that feed the heart, causing heart failure
Age and obesity appear to create a perfect storm that can reduce blood flow through the tiny blood vessels that directly feed our heart muscle and put us at risk for heart failure, scientists report. They call it “aged fat” and scientists now have...
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Too much of a protein already associated with prostate cancer appears to also diminish the energy burning power of brown fat, scientists report. Their studies of the protein Id1 also show high levels reduce conversion of unhealthy...
Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia have found a new way to help people lose weight through whole-body vibrations. Dr. Meghan E. McGee-Lawrence, biomedical engineer in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, is one of the...
Researchers are beginning to find puzzling new links between obesity, memory loss and dementia, according to a new article in The Guardian that included research by Dr. Alexis M. Stranahan, neuroscientist in the Department of Neuroscience and...
Exposure to second-hand smoke is associated with a larger waist and poorer cognition in children, Augusta University researchers say. “The take-home message is that for these children, smoke exposure was connected to two major adverse health...
