childhood obesity

Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, (left), graduate student Catherine Shelton, and their colleagues discovered that beneficial bacteria in the small intestines produce a compound that protects against obesity. (photo by Erin O. Smith)

Gut microbiota metabolite protects against obesity: study

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that beneficial bacteria in the small intestines produce a compound that protects against obesity.

Obese children, young adults at higher risk for thyroid cancer

Children and young adults who are obese are at greater risk for malignant thyroid nodules, according to new study from Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

New treatment for a rare obesity

Diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as exenatide (Byetta), are a promising and safe treatment for a rare form of obesity.

In utero antibiotics and obesity risk

Maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy was not associated with childhood obesity at age 5, according a national study led by a Vanderbilt pediatrician.

Study uses IT to prevent early childhood obesity

A research team led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Russell Rothman, MD, MPP, has been approved for a $7 million research funding award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to conduct a randomized, multi-center trial comparing clinic and consumer information technology approaches to promote healthy behaviors and prevent early childhood obesity.

By Paul Govern

August 9, 2018

Study finds behavioral changes insufficient at preventing early childhood obesity

Young children and their families in poor communities were able to make some achievable and sustainable behavioral changes during the longest and largest obesity prevention intervention ever conducted. But, in the end, the results were insufficient to prevent early childhood obesity.