They said U.S. obesity rates rose 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, driving an 89 percent increase in spending on treatments for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and other conditions.

The researchers enrolled 44 morbidly obese patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery during 2006 to 2007. Patients were randomly assigned to a probiotic group or placebo group; the probiotic group was administered 2.4 billion colonies of Lactobacillus daily postoperatively. Both groups received nutritional counseling, were offered support groups and were allowed to consume yogurt. All patients were assigned preoperative 2 g cefazolin and were instructed to take daily multivitamins, B12, 20 mg rabeprazole and ursodeoxycholic acid. Patients were followed-up at two weeks, six weeks, three months and six months.

Unless you’re eating an organic, vegetarian, whole-foods diet, odds are good you’re getting a lot of additives in your diet. Some of them you’re probably aware of, like food coloring, while others, like butylated hydrozyttoluene, are harder to spot.

The Maine Legislature passed several health care bills this session that were intended to help Mainers live a healthier lifestyle. Two bills in particular dealt with childhood obesity in the state and how we could combat this growing dilemma.

The rate of overweight and obese children and teens in the U.S. has doubled, and tripled in some cases, in the last 25 years. Children, and even parents, have put more of an emphasis on staying indoors, watching television, playing on the computer and playing video games than getting outdoors.

  Living in a rural state, we tend to drive more and walk less, as schools, stores and most entertainment are further away from where we live. And our busy lifestyles have made quick, easy, drive-through meals a part of the norm.