The FDA has received dozens of reports complaining of serious health problems associated with Hydroxycut, including permanent liver damage. There has been at least one death from renal failure (liver damage) associated with Hydroxycut, according to FDA reports.

Consumers who have been taking Hydroxycut products for extended periods of time (months or years) should schedule an appointment with their doctor to discuss the risk of liver damage and other health issues associated with these products.

If you’ve ever had a friend who positively swore that she couldn’t gain weight, had to eat hamburgers 10 times a day just to maintain, and had never been able to “pinch and inch,” you may have felt more than a bit frustrated. But Janine Geredes says this is a true condition: just as some individuals are predisposed to being overweight, there are those who suffer from being underweight their entire lives as well.

Though the gene was recently discovered over 50 years ago at Yale University, the connection wasn’t made between the gene and weight until recently. After some initial experimentation, the scientists genetically engineered mice with efficient versions of the gene and found that they had one-third the body fat of wild mice.

Scientists are working on how to engineer the gene into an obesity treatment that would effectively combat a person’s predisposition to being overweight. Though outlook is good, don’t binge just yet: a future pill to combat obesity is still far into the future.

A University of California – San Diego study shows that mutual friends almost triple each other’s obesity risk: if one friend becomes obese, the other friend’s chances for also doing so increase by 171%. Though there is no definitive evidence as to why this is, researchers postulate that when one friend gains weight, s/he changes the norm of what is an appropriate weight. A sort of subliminal psychology, an obese friend allows you to think that larger sizes are normal.

The upside to these findings are that you have a greater chance of losing weight if your friends are losing weight. As you work as a team to lose weight, you encourage your friends both cheering them on and by leading through example. Likewise, if your friends are dropping sizes, you’ll feel motivated and eager to follow suit.

When you choose to diet and exercise with a friend, plan it out in advance. What food plans will work best for you, what are your exercise styles, and how do your schedules look? It make take a little extra effort to coordinate, but now you have proof that it’s worth it.

Offering subscribers a weekly 25-minute yoga routine, YOGAmazing will help “bring balance to your body, mind and soul.” In addition to new routines every week, YOGAmazing answers listener questions and spreads the latest yoga news. In short, this amazing podcast promises to bring knowledge as well as peace to its listeners, all from the comfort of your iPod, computer, or favorite mp3 device.

Currently clocking in at 92 episodes, YOGAmazing has weekly subjects such as Yoga for the Libido, Yoga for Flexibility, Yoga for Gardening, and Yoga for Dancers. Though the topics seem specific, these yoga routines are adaptable to anyone’s needs and guarantee to stretch you out, relax your chi, or achieve whatever goal you set with regard to your yoga poses.

And if one 25-minute yoga session per week isn’t enough for you, don’t despair: the YOGAmazing website has several sections to explore, including their YOGAmazing blog, store, and the incredibly-helpful Yoga Asana List, where you can discover new positions and perfect old ones. Go forth and explore.

The 2007 US Open Tennis Championship takes place at the UTSA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows (Queens), New York from August 27 through September 9.

In the men’s field, #1 ranked Roger Federer will attempt to win his fourth straight US Open Men’s Singles Championship. On the women’s side, last year’s champion Maria Sharapova (#2) will try to take down top ranked Justine Henin.

The men’s and women’s singles champions will each earn $1.4 million, plus be eligible to earn an additional million in bonus money based on their play throughout the tournament.

CBS Sports will be broadcasting the events for the 40th consecutive year. They will cover 37 hours of tennis, including the prime-time Women’s Singles Final on Saturday, September 8 (8:00pm to 10:00pm) and the Men’s Singles Final the following day on Sunday, September 9 (4:00pm to 7:00pm).

The Mixed Doubles Final takes place on Thursday, September 6 from 11:00am to 5:00pm and will be televised on the USA Network. The Women’s Doubles Final takes place that evening and will also be shown on USA from 7:00pm to 11:00pm.

The Men’s Doubles Final is the following day on Friday, September 7 and will be broadcast on CBS from 12:30pm to 6:00pm.

If you are in the New York area and interested in attending any of the U.S. Open events, tickets are still available. You can purchase tickets at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-866-OPEN-TIX. You can also buy tickets in person at any Ticketmaster outlet or at the tennis center box office.

For more information about the US Open, visit the official website at USOpen.org or call (718) 760-6200.

Recommended weight gains in pregnancy – Yahoo! News

For a “low” body-mass index of less than 19.8, a gain of 28 to 40 pounds. For a “normal” BMI of 19.8 to 26, a gain of 25 pounds to 35 pounds. For a “high” BMI of 26 to 29, a gain of 15 pounds to 25 pounds. For a BMI greater than 29, a gain of at least 15 pounds.

About 50% of people fail to take medication as directed

USA Today on Thursday examined how multiple studies have shown that only about half of people with chronic conditions in the U.S. and other developed countries continue to take medication as directed. For example, a study published in the January issue of Drugs & Aging found that 20% to 30% of patients taking daily or weekly osteoporosis medication quit six to 12 months after they began. A similar study published in the January issue of Cancer found that 22% of breast cancer patients taking the drug tamoxifen to reduce the risk of recurrence stopped taking the medication by the end of one year. The study also found that more than one-third of patients had stopped taking tamoxifen after three-and-a-half years.

The study was clearly inconclusive and needs follow up. Was it an opposition to western medicine or are HMO/insurance plans to blame.

Tags: health, medicine

For example a recent article showed how these diet obsessed teens were doing more harm to themselves trying to learn how to lose weight.

Reading diet articles could be unhealthy – Yahoo! News

Teenage girls who frequently read magazine articles about dieting were more likely five years later to practice extreme weight-loss measures such as vomiting than girls who never read such articles, the University of Minnesota study found. It didn’t seem to matter whether the girls were overweight when they started reading about weight loss, nor whether they considered their weight important. After taking those factors into account, researchers still found reading articles about dieting predicted later unhealthy weight loss behavior. Girls in middle school who read dieting articles were twice as likely five years later to try to lose weight by fasting or smoking cigarettes, compared to girls who never read such articles. They were three times more likely to use measures such as vomiting or taking laxatives, the study found.

Tags: diet, weight loss, health, nutrition