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WASHINGTON — Federal health officials continue to voice safety concerns over an experimental diet pill from drugmaker Vivus Inc., which will make its second attempt to convince experts of the drugs' safety next week. The drug Qnexa helped people lose weight but may cause long-term health problems in overweight and obese patients, Food and Drug Administration reviewers said.

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The FDA staff will ask an advisory panel to consider whether the drug's benefits for obese patients will outweigh its risk of birth defects and heart problems.

In documents posted online on Friday, FDA reviewers said patients taking Qnexa during a clinical trial lost more weight, and kept it off for longer, than patients taking a placebo, or sugar pill. These patients also had lower levels of problems associated with obesity, such as issues with blood pressure and blood sugar.

However, patients taking the drug had more safety problems than patients on a placebo, including memory loss and birth defects, and these problems could get worse over time.

Qnexa is a combination of appetite suppressant phentermine and anti-seizure drug topiramate.

A company study in December showed topiramate caused a higher rate of oral clefts in infants of women taking the drug during pregnancy, and the company said it would limit Qnexa to women who are not pregnant.

The FDA already rejected Qnexa in 2010 because of safety concerns -- including elevated heart rate in some users and the potential for birth defects if pregnant women used the drug.

Vivus resubmitted its application in October, proposing to limit the drug to only women who cannot have children. In January, the company broadened the label to just limit pregnant women from taking the drug, in response to an FDA request.

An advisory panel of outside experts will vote Feb. 22 on whether to recommend the drug. The group's recommendation is not binding, and the FDA is expected to make its final decision by April 17.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

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Weight-loss drug works but has safety risks, FDA says

(CBS/AP) An experimental diet pill from drugmaker Vivus Inc. has federal health officials concerned.

Vivus, based in Mountain View, Calif., plans to convince experts of the drug's safety next week. It hopes to bring the weight loss drug to market for the first time in more than a decade.

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In the past two years, the Food and Drug Administration has rejected pills from all of the three small drugmakers with such offers: Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. and Vivus. All three companies are in the process of resubmitting their products.

The FDA rejected Vivus' pill, Qnexa, in October 2010, with concerns about two particular safety issues: potential heart problems and birth defects in women who become pregnant while taking the drug. The agency plans to ask experts to weigh in on those issues, specifically risks of cleft lip defects associated with one of the ingredients in Qnexa. The experts will also discuss increased blood pressure and higher heart rates reported for patients taking the drug.

The panel of doctors will take a final vote on whether the drug appears safe and effective. The group's recommendation is not binding, and the FDA is expected to make its final decision in April.

With U.S. obesity rates close to 35 percent among adults, doctors and public health officials say new weight-loss therapies are desperately needed. And even a modestly effective drug could have blockbuster potential. But none of the three medicines before the FDA represents a breakthrough in research.

Qnexa is a combination of two older drugs. The amphetamine phentermine, which is approved for short-term weight loss, and topiramate, an anticonvulsant drug sold by Johnson & Johnson as Topamax. Phentermine helps suppress appetite, while topiramate is supposed to make patients feel more satiated.

Many analysts had picked Qnexa as the most promising contender of the new potential diet pills because of the high level of weight loss reported in studies - on average, 10 percent of total body mass.

But at Qnexa's first FDA panel in 2010, experts voted 10-6 against the drug. Panelists said the drug was associated with a number of dangerous side effects, including suicidal thoughts, heart palpitations, memory lapses and birth defects.

If Qnexa is approved, Vivus plans to offer a follow-up study to monitor patients for any heart problems. Experts will consider whether the company should be required to conduct that study before FDA gives approval. The company will also offer a plan to make sure women who are likely to become pregnant do not use the drug. One of the two ingredients in Qnexa, topirimate, is known to more than double the risk of birth defects.

Qnexa's other ingredient, phentermine, was one half of the dangerous fen-phen combination, a weight loss treatment pushed by doctors that was never approved by the FDA. The regimen was linked to heart-valve damage and lung problems in the late 1990s, and the FDA forced drugmaker Wyeth to withdraw two versions of its drug fenfluramine.

Currently there is just one prescription drug on the market for long-term weight loss: Roche's Xenical, which is not widely used because of insignificant weight loss results.

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Vivus weight loss drug faces FDA concerns

U.S. health officials say they still have safety concerns about experimental diet pill Qnexa, from drugmaker Vivus Inc., as the company prepares to make a second attempt to convince experts of the drug's safety next week.

Vivus, based in Mountain View, Calif., is one of three small drugmakers racing to bring the first new prescription weight loss drug to market in more than a decade. In the past two years the Food and Drug Administration has rejected pills from all three: Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. and Vivus.

All three companies are in the process of resubmitting their products.

Qnexa is not authorized for sale in Canada, Health Canada says.

The FDA had rejected the diet pill Qnexa in October 2010. Vivus has resubmitted the drug with additional follow-up information, hoping for a more favorable ruling.

But in documents posted online Friday, the FDA reiterated concerns about two safety issues that plagued the pill the time first around: Potential heart problems and birth defects in women who become pregnant while taking the drug.

Final decision on Qnexa in April

On Wednesday the FDA will ask experts at a public meeting to weigh in on those issues, specifically risks of cleft lip defects associated with one of the ingredients in Qnexa. The experts will also discuss increased blood pressure and higher heart rates reported for patients taking the drug.

The panel of doctors will take a final vote on whether the drug appears safe and effective. The group's recommendation is not binding, and the FDA is expected to make its final decision in April.

With U.S. obesity rates nearing 35 percent among adults, doctors and public health officials say new weight-loss therapies are desperately needed. And even a modestly effective drug could have blockbuster potential. But none of the three medicines before the FDA represents a breakthrough in research.

Qnexa is a combination of two older drugs. The amphetamine phentermine, which is approved for short-term weight loss, and topiramate, an anticonvulsant drug sold by Johnson & Johnson as Topamax. Phentermine helps suppress appetite, while topiramate is supposed to make patients feel more satiated.

High weight loss reported in company studies

Many analysts had picked Qnexa as the most promising contender of the new potential diet pills because of the high level of weight loss reported in company studies. On average, patients lost more than 10 per cent of their total body mass.

But at Qnexa's first FDA panel in 2010, experts assembled by the food and drug regulator voted 10-6 to not recommend the drug's approval. Panelists said the drug was associated with a number of dangerous side effects, including suicidal thoughts, heart palpitations, memory lapses and birth defects.

On Wednesday, Vivus will offer to conduct a follow-up study to monitor patients for any heart problems, if Qnexa is approved. Experts will consider whether the company should be required to conduct that study before FDA gives approval. The company will also offer a plan to make sure women who are likely to become pregnant do not use the drug. One of the two ingredients in Qnexa, topirimate, is known to more than double the risk of birth defects.

Qnexa's other ingredient, phentermine, was one half of the dangerous fen-phen combination, a weight loss treatment pushed by doctors that was never approved by the FDA. The regimen was linked to heart-valve damage and lung problems in the late 1990s, and the FDA forced drugmaker Wyeth to withdraw two versions of its drug fenfluramine.

Currently there is just one prescription drug on the market for long-term weight loss: Roche's Xenical, which is not widely used because of modest weight loss results.

Originally posted here:
Diet drug may cause long-term health problems, FDA says

As students make plans to travel to tropical destinations for Spring Break, many seek unrealistic short-term goals of becoming beach-ready, often risking their long-term health.

Briana Bostwick, UF public relations senior and operations supervisor for Southwest Recreation Center, is familiar with this ritual.

"A week or so before Spring Break, the gym is flooded with people trying to lose weight really fast," Bostwick, 21, said. "I have heard many girls complain about not being ‘beach ready' and the male patrons talking about how they need to ‘bulk up.'"

The pressure to reach a goal weight within a limited time can have detrimental results.

"I have had to give sugar packets to a student who had not worked out in a long time," Bostwick said. "She worked out on a cardio machine until she became lightheaded. She had to sit by the front desk until she could stand up."

Excessive exercising could be a symptom of an eating disorder, according to the UF Department of Psychiatry's website.

The department opened its inpatient facility of the Eating Disorder Recovery Center at Shands at UF on Tuesday.

Anna Daggs, a 22-year-old pre-med junior, works closely with the center. A year ago, Daggs started a student-run organization called Be Real that works with UF and the center to help students with eating disorders find the care they need.

"I have witnessed people go too far," she said. "I have seen friends faint from a lack of food due to dieting all day to fit into a dress that night."

She said she's heard students talk about going running instead of eating dinner and going on week-long fruit-juice fasts to lose weight.

There are better ways for students to reach their weight-loss goals, she said.

Daggs recommended getting more exercise and eating breakfast to jump-start metabolism.

Some signs that might signal an eating disorder include a withdrawn attitude, exercise and food obsessions, not eating in front of people, being upset or moody all the time, counting calories and fad dieting.

Students interested in learning more about Be Real can check out the organization on Facebook or visit the blog at berealuf.wordpress.com.

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Rapid weight loss for Spring Break poses health risks

Now researchers have found that weight training appears to pay off more than a system called Fitness Counts, recommended by the National Parkinson Foundation in the US.

While the effects of the latter appeared to wear off over time, volunteers assigned to do weight training instead were better able to control their physical symptoms right until the end of the two-year project.

Experts in how the brain controls muscles took 48 participants, all with Parkinson's, and randomly assigning them to one of two groups.

The first group took part in progressive resistance training - better known as weight training - gradually building up the weights they lifted.

The second took part in 'fitness counts', which includes flexibility, balance and strengthening exercises. Each group exercised for an hour, twice a week, for two years.

Their physical symptoms were measured after six, 12, 18 and 24 months.

Participants in both groups saw improvements in what the investigators described as their "motor symptoms" - those regarding muscular control - after six months.

However, those who did weights saw that improvement last the whole two years, while those on the other programme reverted to the same scores they had at the start of the study.

Professor Daniel Corcos, of the University of Illinois in Chicago, said: "Our results suggest that long-term weight training could be considered by patients and doctors as an important component in managing Parkinson's disease."

Explaining why weight training worked better, he said: "The neuromuscular system responds to overload. The progressive resistance program continues to challenge the neuromuscular system. Fitness Counts does not."

He added: " I also think, but can not prove, that there is a motivational component. Many people lose interest in repeating the same exercise over and over again but respond to that challenge of getting stronger."

Results of the study are to be presented to the American Academy of Neurology annual conference in New Orleans next week.

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research at Parkinson’s UK, said: "Exercise is important for everyone, but studies like this show that it may have extra benefits for people with Parkinson's.

"More research is needed to help us understand what kinds of activities are most effective for tackling different aspects of Parkinson's, and to find safe and enjoyable ways for people with Parkinson's to get the most out of keeping fit.

"Parkinson’s UK is currently funding research investigating whether using movement-based computer games, such as the Nintendo Wii, can help to do this."

Read this article:
Weight training benefits Parkinson's sufferers

Andrew Scheiner/Daily Journal Yesterday, more than 200 residents and supporters of Burlingame Long Term Care came before San Mateo County supervisors (including Carole Groom and Don Horsley, top center) to beg them to not close the facility. Connie Lauer, a six-year resident, (bottom center, sitting next to Sandra Herrick) began crying while explaining how other options like a board and care home are too expensive. Left, a resident, and right, John C. Beiers, county counsel, listen to the supervisors unanimous decision to not renew the lease.

San Mateo County supervisors unanimously agreed not to renew its lease with Burlingame Long Term Care, a decision capping hours of emotional testimony by residents who begged them not to break up their home and others who challenged the image of the facility as physically unsafe and financially draining.

“Please let us stay together because we are a family. I don’t know what I would do if I lose my home and my family,” said center resident Eileen Nolan who has been disabled for 50 years and said she cannot care for herself.

The board’s decision means Burlingame Long Term Care on Trousdale Drive will close in July 2013, its 230 residents relocated and approximately 200 workers laid off. The supervisors called the decision tough but said they need to take a long-range approach to long-term care and financial solvency.

“The needs in our community outstrip our ability to pay for them,” said Supervisor Dave Pine.

Regardless, the board’s final vote was met with loud booing and tears. Several of the residents are Medi-Cal recipients and they worried that the closure means few local options and possibly being forced to relocate far from known surroundings and loved ones.

Prior to yesterday’s decision at the board meeting filled with more than 200 people, Connie Lauer, a six-year resident, began crying while explaining how other options like a board and care home are too expensive.

“I just don’t want to move,” she said.

County officials said they wouldn’t move them if they could help it but they are faced with a $9 million annual loss caused by cuts to reimbursement rates, expensive upkeep and a facility that, while not unsafe, is not modern.

“I know this transition will cause enormous stress and disruption … and I’m extremely sorry,” said Health System Director Jean Fraser, her voice cracking.

A large part of the problem is that Medi-Cal covers hospitalization and nursing care but not at-home care services. Fraser said the county has little choice when it comes to Medi-Cal beds because the program covers hospitalization and nursing care but not at-home services. The county is part of a pilot program for long-term care integration and Fraser is hopeful this will eventually offer all counties flexibility to use those funds in the best and most financially prudent way possible.

“I truly believe every crisis is an opportunity,” Fraser said.

However, as long as the county stays wedded to large institutions its creativity and innovation is stymied, she said.

The current proposal calls for reopening Unit 1B of the San Mateo Medical Center with an extra 32 beds for a total of 64 set aside from short-term patients while long-term residents are placed elsewhere. Dr. Susan Ehrlich, hospital CEO, said the county should use the unutilized space because it pays $1 million a year in debt service.

 Several board members yesterday indicated a preference to add another 96 in the unit for a total of 128 and let Burlingame Long Term Care residents use those. Fraser estimated adding the others would take about nine months and cost approximately $2 million.

That decision will be made at a later date; yesterday, the board only voted on the lease renewal and heard more than three hours of public comment punctuated with poetry and songs.

Esther Nord wondered if her comments would fall on deaf ears because the supervisors had already made up their minds but asked the board to look at the residents as individuals and not just a crowd or a number of beds.

“Today is Valentine’s Day. This place is one big heart. Give us our miracle on Valentine’s Day,” she said.

Over and over, the speakers told the board the nursing home is an asset rather than a liability for the county. Many said the county would be better off revisiting the billing and at least one questioned prior staffing cuts that make it impossible to keep the center from being fully occupied and thereby raise more revenue.

“Was this budget cut a deliberate attempt to right red ink?” asked Barbara Meacham who, with her husband, spoke on behalf of a cousin who resides in the facility.

Others suggested pulling the health care districts in to help and the cost of BLTC was often contrasted with the price tag of a new county jail.

The crowd repeatedly told the board a “tsunami” of aging Baby Boomers is poised to worsen the problem of too-few beds and at least one told the supervisors to consider their own future.

“You people will be in our position someday and there won’t be any place for you,” said Anna Tupou, a resident of four years.

The emotional hearing echoed similar meetings nearly a decade ago when San Mateo County took over the 281-bed nursing facility in 2003 at the request of the Department of Health Services. The state had put the facility into receivership because the operator faced bankruptcy and the county stepped in rather than risk patients being shipped as far away as Oregon.

The home never turned into a moneymaker for the county and in July 2011 the civil grand jury recommended the county cut ties. The county responded by hiring consultant Lawrence Funk whose December 2011 report recommending not renewing the lease for financial and safety reasons came under fire yesterday.

Mario Muzzi, who owns the building with this brother Vincent, reiterated to the board many of the points made in a 12-page letter he delivered last week to address the consultant’s report. Muzzi, who said he prefers to inform rather than advocate, said Funk is just wrong in his conclusion that the center is not physically fit.

“If the building was unsafe, they would have shut us down,” Muzzi said, referencing the state licensing process.

Muzzi also offered the board a financial carrot for a change of heart.

“If the county is considering staying, we will reduce our lease,” Muzzi said.

The offer was met with loud cheering and standing.

Vincent Muzzi also made the offer and expressed frustration at Funk’s report, in particular the figures stated about the number of Medi-Cal beds available in the county. Instead of 1,500, Muzzi said the number is actually 887.

“They are wrong and I resent that the county has not corrected it,” Muzzi said.

Members of the San Mateo County Ombudsman Office also urged the board to keep the facility open and warned of a 20 percent death rate due to moving. Even those who don’t die often lose weight, are emotionally distressed and frequently fall, said Judith Guilfoyle.

“The transfer trauma has already started,” she said.

BLTC also acts as safety net for the homeless, younger adults and the mentally ill — three populations not well served by other providers, said Executive Director Tippy Irwin.

The county has lost eight homes in the last decade and the county has half the beds per capita as the rest of the state, Irwin said.

Even opening the full 96 beds at the hospital will not be enough, leaving approximately 100 residents needing placement, she said.

Although several speakers argued the facility would benefit from full occupancy, Fraser said the opposite is actually true because, even not counting rent and utilities, it runs at a deficit in part by not pushing residents to leave when their time is up or force payments from those who do not make them. As a result, Fraser, said the county is spending $2 million in rent and another $1 million on upkeep without getting more beds or modern conditions.

“Frankly, more patients means a greater loss,” Fraser said.

Part of the financial challenge, too, is that the state charges hospital-run nursing homes more because they believe residents are receiving an increased level of care even if — as is the local case — that doesn’t happen, Ehrlich said.

The rate of Medi-Cal reimbursement was a strong theme in yesterday’s hearing, with debate remaining on just how much — or how little — the county stands to receive. A federal lawsuit currently has cuts on hold but Ehrlich said the county is still seeing the cuts enforced.

“So this is the reality we are dealing with today,” Ehrlich said.

Once the state approves the county’s transition plan, a team will go to work figuring out the necessary moves.

The assessment process will include individual evaluations by doctors, social workers and other caregivers, said Lisa Mancini, director of aging and adult services for San Mateo County.

Mancini pointed to the long lead time as a plus because nursing home beds open up sporadically and having recommendations in place ahead of time makes it more likely a resident will end up somewhere they wish to be.

“Rest assured, we will not exit Burlingame until we have an appropriate home for everybody,” Mancini said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by email: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.

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Emotional end: County closing nursing home in favor of more beds at hospital

(CBS) Drinking soda makes you fat. That's what researchers and the health police have been hammering into our heads for years, but a new study has actually proven that ditching sugary drinks for diet versions or water will lead to weight loss.

PICTURES: Sugary drink shockers: What new report says

For the six month study, published online in the Feb. 13 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers put 318 overweight or obese people into three groups: one in which participants switched from sugary beverages to diet drinks, a group in which participants switched to water, and in the last group, folks were educated by researchers about how making healthier choices could lead to weight loss.

What did the researchers find?

All three groups experienced small reductions in their weight - about 5 pounds on average - and waistlines. But participants who switched to calorie-free drinks and water were twice as likely to lose 5 percent or more of their body weight than people who were just educated on healthier choices.

What's more, people who switched to water had lower fasting glucose levels than their counterparts. The  weight loss percentage and change in glucose levels are important, according to the researchers, because those markers are associated with obesity-related chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

"If this were done on a large scale, it could significantly reduce the increasing public health problem of obesity," study author Dr. Deborah Tate, associate professor of nutrition and health behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said in a university written statement.

The study was funded by Nestle Waters.

Teens keep chugging soda despite health risks, says study
Obesity caused by sugary drinks? What new report says

Tate said switching to both water and diet sodas had benefits, but told Reuters, "For other health reasons, water might be better." She did say that people who really like the sweet flavor or caffeine from sodas may be more likely to stick to the change long-term by switching to diet drinks.

Other studies however have reported health risks from drinking diet soda. A study in June 2011 found drinking diet soda could actually trigger appetite and cause people to take in more calories elsewhere and gain weight, HealthPop reported.

A study last February found people who drank diet soda every day had a 60 percent higher risk of having a vascular even like a stroke or heart attack.

Continued here:
Swapping sugary drinks for diet soda, water leads to weight loss: Study

A new weight-loss study focusing on teenage girls finds that they may be more likely to eat healthy and exercise if they're given the freedom to do it on their own.

Gary S Chapman / Getty Images

It’s hard to convince teens to do anything they don’t want to, but new research shows that when it comes to losing weight, a program that leaves parents out of the picture may help.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, involved 208 overweight or obese teen girls aged 12 to 17, who were living in Oregon and Washington in 2005-09. The girls were assigned either to receive usual weight-loss advice or to participate in a moderately intensive behavioral program that stressed healthy eating and exercise habits. The twist? The teens’ parents were given separate sessions about how to support their daughters in their weight-loss efforts. In contrast, most previous youth weight loss studies have offered treatment to families all together.

After six months, all of the girls were evaluated for weight and height to calculate their body mass index, or BMI; six months later, they were measured again. By the end of the yearlong interval, the teens in the behavioral program showed only slightly lower BMIs than the control group on average, but they reported having significantly better body image and had adopted healthier eating habits. Specifically, the teens in the behavior-modification program ate more meals together with their families, which previous studies have shown promotes healthier eating, ate less fast-food and consumed more fruits and vegetables.

“We purposefully set up the study not expecting people to have very dramatic and quick weight losses, but emphasizing different tools in terms of dietary changes and physical activity that we thought would be easy to include in every life, and which could be sustained over time,” says Lynn DeBar, senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and the study’s lead author. “We suspected these would have more staying power than a more calorically focused weight management regimen.”

LIST: Fitness Tech: 10 Cool Ways to Get in Shape

Indeed, while the girls on the program didn’t lose a remarkable amount of weight, especially compared with other weight-loss regimens, DeBar says the results are still significant because they are the first to show that a teen-centered approach to weight loss can be effective. What’s more, because it did not focus on calorie-counting, the adolescent girls may have been more likely to embrace the behavior changes.

The behavioral program involved 90-min. group sessions that occurred 16 times over the study’s five-month period, during which teens met with specially trained counselors to discuss how to change their eating patterns and become more physically active by using exergames and incorporating 15 minutes of yoga daily. The girls also spoke with counselors about body image and eating disorders.

To change their eating habits, the counselors emphasized decreasing portion sizes and advised the teens on eating fewer high-calorie foods and more lower-calorie options such as fruits and vegetables. They also talked to the adolescents about substituting water for sugared sodas, and the importance of eating regular meals, especially breakfast.

To encourage the teens to exercise more, the program provided yoga equipment as well as exergames such as Dance Dance Revolution, which the girls could use on their own or with friends and which researchers figured they would enjoy more than regimented sessions at a gym. The researchers advised the teens to incorporate 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity a day, five days a week.

At the start of the study and again six months later, the teens also visited their pediatricians to discuss concerns about weight. The pediatricians were trained to be more attentive to weight issues and to work collaboratively with the girls to find the best way to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

MORE: Want Your Kids to Exercise? Let Them Play Video Games!

The control group was given a packet of information on weight-loss strategies, books and online materials, as well as contacts to local resources for weight management. They also met with primary care physicians at the beginning of the study to discuss healthy lifestyle changes, but these doctors were not provided with the specialized training to address teens’ weight issues.

Overall, the behavioral program seemed to be effective in giving teens the right tools with which to maintain healthy weight over the long term. After six months, the girls in the program had reduced their sedentary TV and computer time by 5 hours and consumed 240 fewer calories per day on average, compared with the control group.

Part of the program’s success may be due to the fact that unlike specialized or clinic-based weight management programs, which are more structured and conducted over limited periods of time, this program involved the teens’ pediatricians, with whom the girls have ongoing relationships. “The idea was to see if we could have a weight loss program that involved primary care providers, since formal weight management programs are time limited, meaning people do well during the program but then lose their improvements over time,” says DeBar. “We thought that since the girls have an ongoing relationship with their pediatrician, that would allow what they are doing to be reinforced and sustained over a longer period of time.”

It did, and giving the adolescent girls more autonomy over their weight loss options, without directly involving Mom and Dad, also helped. Still, there is a limit to how much control teens should be allowed to have over their diets, since studies also show that when parents are more involved in helping children decide what to eat — particularly by adopting the same diet and exercise changes that their children do — youngsters are more likely to learn and maintain healthier eating habits.

Alice Park is a writer at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @aliceparkny. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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Do Teen Weight Loss Programs Work Better Without Mom or Dad?

A low-key, long term approach to teen weight loss produced modest benefits in a clinical trial, Australian researchers report, though a version of the program that added texts and emails didn't help kids slim down any further.

The study, by Binh Nguyen at the University of Sydney and colleagues, included 151 teenagers in a 24-month program called Loozit, based on group behavior-modification sessions for teens and their parents.

At the 12-month mark, 40 percent of the teens had reduced their body mass by at least five percent and a quarter had reduced by at least 10 percent, though most remained overweight.

Despite the small effect on weight, Elissa Jelalian of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said the results are promising because the program was less intensive than other weight loss efforts, and yet had nearly the same impact.

"I think it's certainly worthy of further investigation," Jelalian, who was not involved in the new work, told Reuters Health.

During the first two months of Loozit, the kids, who were between 13 and 16 years old, participated in seven weekly group sessions that focused on healthy eating habits, increasing physical activity, decreasing time spent in front of a screen and improving self esteem.

They also spent some time exercising and preparing and tasting foods during the sessions.

Parents, too, attended weekly group sessions where lifestyle-modification was discussed.

For the next 22 months, teens and parents went to booster sessions every three months.

The study's results, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent, only include outcomes from the first 12 months of the program, which 124 kids completed.

Jelalian said other weight loss programs for kids have relied on group interventions, "which I think can be helpful. They try to mobilize other kids their age who are dealing with similar challenges and to create a peer group."

The differences between Loozit and other programs is that the kids only go through 14 sessions over two years, compared to about 20 in other cases, and the discussions are held in community locations rather than in academic or hospital settings.

Most studies of teen weight-loss approaches have centered on more intensive and heavily monitored interventions, sometimes in in-patient settings, the researchers note.

The other thing Nguyen's group did differently is that half of the kids also received text messages, emails and phone calls to follow up and coach them through the program.

"That's the direction a lot of people are going. And it makes sense, teens are plugged in," said Jelalian, who was not involved in this study. "Unfortunately, it didn't look like that added anything to their findings."

After the 12 months there were no differences in weight loss, cholesterol levels, mental health and behavioral measures between the two groups.

"It is possible that the (additional contact) provided was too mild and that participants could have benefited from more frequent, intensive contact," Nguyen wrote in an email to Reuters Health.

She added that the results don't prove that coaching through texts or emails is ineffective, and future research should look at whether more frequent contact could help make a difference.

There were positive differences between where the teens started out and where they ended up, the researchers point out.

The kids had lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels at the end of the year as well as higher scores on measures of self worth, academic and athletic abilities, and social acceptance.

On average, the kids actually gained weight -- which isn't necessarily surprising, given that they grew more than an inch during the study period.

To account for this, the researchers looked at changes in the kids' body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight relative to height.

After adjusting for a child's age and sex, the researchers found a slight drop in BMI after 12 months, indicating that the kids were shifting toward a more normal body size, although they were still overweight.

Jelalian said it's important to try new approaches to getting overweight and obese kids to lose weight, because research has typically focused on adults or younger children.

"There are some developmental considerations for adolescents that are unique," she said, such as the onset of puberty and a growing independence from parents.

"There are few other programs for this age group and that are sustainable in community-based settings," Nguyen said. "We know of no others in Australia that have been tested in research studies."

She said she would definitely recommend Loozit for overweight teens. And that her team is following up with a study on the results of the full 24 months of the trial.

So far, "These findings highlight the potential benefits of a low intensity weight management program targeted at adolescents that is sustainable in community settings," Nguyen and her colleagues write in their report.

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Teen weight loss program shows some benefit

'Dieting' doesn't work, but a healthy weight loss plan will help you reach your goal.

By Joanne Barker
WebMD Feature

It may seem like many of the kids at school talk about the latest popular diet and weight loss plans. These fad diets usually restrict your food choices and might require special foods, pills, or supplements, too. In return, the promise of a quick and easy way to lose weight probably sounds good. But, a fad diet will always go out of style.

"A lot of teens try every diet out there and feel like failures when they don't work," says Linda Schander, LRD, CDE, outpatient dietitian with Sanford Health Eating Disorders Institute, Fargo, N.D. That’s because fad diets are too good to be true.

Like other teens, you may jump from one fad diet to another, and another, hoping you'll find the right weight loss diet plan. But, you may not even need to lose weight.

For many overweight teens, the first step is to simply hold your current weight. If you're still growing, as you get taller your weight will spread out and that will lower your BMI (body mass index), which is a measure of your body fat. Increasing your activity, choosing healthy foods, and limiting your portion sizes will help you stop gaining more weight. And that alone could be enough.

In fact, newer science shows the whole concept of "dieting" doesn't really work for anyone to lose weight or even stay at a healthy weight. Fad diets, at best, offer a temporary fix. Almost everyone who goes on a fad diet gains back every pound they lose -- and sometimes more.

The problem is that many people think of a "diet" as short-term. But it really isn't. What works best to lose weight, scientists find now, is an overall healthy lifestyle plan. It's not just about what to eat today and tomorrow and while you're "on a diet." It's about learning how to eat well all the time. It's about how to make healthy choices that help you for the rest of your life.

Plus, fad diets fail to meet kids' nutritional needs, Schander says. The poor nutrition you get from a fad diet can cause many health problems. While you're on a fad diet, you run the risk of becoming dehydrated, having diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and headaches, or feeling tired all the time. In the long run, a fad diet could lead to weak bones, anemia, or keep you from growing as tall as you should.

A good, healthy diet, which should be part of your larger healthy living plan, is one that you -- and your body -- can live with over the long haul, not just a few weeks. It includes balanced nutrition from a variety of foods, which will give your body and brain energy to move and think. The right healthy living plan will also help you learn skills, like how to be physically active, to help you get to a healthy BMI and stay there.

How can you tell if your weight loss plan is a healthy or harmful one? Try This: Is It a Fad Diet?

Go here to read the rest:
The Weight Loss Myth of Fad Diets

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