Federal parliament's push for taxpayer-funded stomach reduction surgery for morbidly obese people has been shot down by researchers and health groups.

On Monday, a parliamentary inquiry into obesity urged the federal government to work with the states and territories to ensure obese people are able to access bariatric surgery in the public system if they cannot afford to fund their own treatment in a private hospital.

Some people are very overweight despite trying a healthy diet and exercise. For them, bariatric surgery might be the best option to get back to a normal weight.

The National Institutes of Health says bariatric surgery is usually recommended for men who are at least 100 pounds overweight and women who are at least 80 pounds overweight, although patients who have diabetes, heart disease or sleep apnea and don't meet those weight requirements may also be candidates.

Rheumatoid arthritis affects more than 1.3 million Americans.

It is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks connective tissues and joints.

In the course of RA, there tend to be episodes of worsening pain, stiffness and swelling called flares of the disease. If they're not treated, they can eventually lead to lack of mobility and debilitating pain.

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing certain disorders, which either disappear or are better controlled with conventional treatments following weight loss. This article summarizes the scientifically proven benefits of losing weight through bariatric surgery.

People with private health insurance lose more weight after having weight-loss surgery than those covered by the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

Medicare patients tend to weigh more before having gastric bypass surgery, they said, and are more likely to be depressed, have high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol and sleep apnea.

Weight is often measured in terms of body mass index (BMI). A healthy weight is a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. People with a BMI of 25 or higher are considered overweight. The overweight category is further broken down by the severity of weight problems. A person with a BMI of 30 to 39.9 is classified as obese, 40 or more as morbidly obese and 50 or more as super obese.

 According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), 134 million adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Roughly 15 million of them are morbidly obese and 50,000 are super obese.

THE junk food industry should face tough laws if self-regulation fails to reduce the number of ads aimed at children, an inquiry has recommended.

The industry has long argued that self-regulation rather than legal restrictions is the best way to protect children from the advertising of unhealthy food and drink, but an inquiry by a House of Representatives health committee has given the model one last chance before it pushes for enforceable rules.

Survival of the fittest or survival of the fattest? Last week a team of health professionals came to Businessday’s corporate head office in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos. Their mission? To carry out medical checkup on staff and management. An interesting discovery was made. Most of the journalists were found to be obese, that is, they have weight not in congruence with their height.