LiveScience.com - We've heard obesity can be "spread" between friends when we copy each other's eating habits, but a new study in mice suggests obesity could actually be infectious.

ContributorNetwork - "A coming epidemic" is how pediatric cardiologists are describing the impending problems from high rates of juvenile obesity, reports The Missourian. Here are details for parents about overweight kids, heart disease and other concomitant health issues.

Reuters - An FDA advisory committee will meet in the second quarter to discuss Arena Pharmaceutical Inc's experimental obesity drug following the company's recent resubmission of an application seeking its approval, Arena said on Wednesday.

ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY | According to HLN, the newest and most vocal critics of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's anti-obesity ad campaign are a group known as "mommy bloggers." These angry mothers feel the controversial ads, which depict obese children as unhappy and suffering from medical maladies, do more harm than good by shaming children instead of encouraging them. Critics argue that shaming tactics only lead to greater tendencies to overeat and can lead to higher numbers of eating disorders.

HealthDay - TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Women who are both overweight and smoke during pregnancy could damage their baby's developing heart, a new study warns.

Reuters - Overweight women with diabetes may be able to cut their risk of urine leakage if they shed some pounds, a new study suggests.

Reuters - Alison Sweeney, host of the NBC network's weight loss TV series "The Biggest Loser," has worked with the show's contestants since 2007, supporting them as they drop pounds and learn to lead a healthier way of life.

Reuters - People trying to lose weight may swear by specific diet plans calling for strict proportions of fat, carbs and protein, but where the calories come from may not matter as much as simply cutting back on them, according to a study.

HealthDay - WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Nurses who work long hours and have less physically demanding jobs are much more likely to be obese than other nurses, according to a new study.

Reuters - Device manufacturers are pushing the government and health insurers to cover weight-loss surgery, an effort that could give millions more obese Americans access to the treatments.

ContributorNetwork - The key to combating juvenile obesity lies with parents, the American Heart Association says. The AHA released a scientific statement in its most recent issue of "Circulation" journal. Here are tips for parents to curb weight problems in kids, based on that report.

HealthDay - MONDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Weight loss and malnutrition are among the medical conditions that increase treatment costs and the length of hospital stays for older adults with hip fractures, a new study finds.

HealthDay - MONDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Parents and caregivers should be involved in treatment programs for obese children and should lead by example, praise children's progress and use setbacks as learning opportunities, experts say.

Reuters - Overweight girls in their late teens were twice as likely as their normal-weight peers to report having a lot of acne in a large new survey of Norwegian teenagers that did not find the same link in boys.

AP - Mexico enacted tough new rules Thursday to ban advertising of "miracle cures" for weight loss, sagging body parts and more serious illnesses like prostate ailments, chronic fatigue and even cancer.

ContributorNetwork - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Tuesday that obesity rates in the U.S. appear to have reached a plateau, at least for now. The CDC's reports indicated that both adult and child overall obesity rates have not significantly increased since 2003, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Reuters - Among weight-loss surgery options, gastric bypass comes with more complications shortly after surgery than gastric banding, but makes up for it with fewer long-term side effects and repeat operations, new research suggests.

LiveScience.com - The steady increase in U.S. obesity rates over the past 20 years seems to be leveling off, according to a new study from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY | A recent study of childhood obesity, as reported by The Lookout, proves something I often suspected. There is no single blame for the epidemic of childhood obesity in America.