When addictive behaviors are the issue, the surroundings and the people in those surroundings are crucial. This applies to food addiction and obesity as well.

The body’s dopaminergic system is influenced by oxytocin, which is why it has been looked at as a potential door into dependencies, addictions, and compulsions.

In most cases, an addicted person comes back from “getting clean” into the same environment where the addiction took hold. This never bodes well.

Some describe addiction as neither a moral failing nor a disease, but an adaptation, although the methods addicts use might be hard to understand.

Many people are more than ready for oxytocin to be a miracle drug, and so far, it is not. Except, perhaps, as an anti-obesity or anti-addiction drug.

Some research indicates oxytocin could potentially not only treat obesity, but prevent it from happening. These developments are worth keeping an eye on.

It seemed that Childhood Obesity News’ examination of currently available weight-loss drugs had come to an end, but no. Oxytocin might be in the running.

Some food myths debunked: chocolate does not cause acne; most store-bought yogurt is crap; margarine kills; salt does not kill; and coffee is okay.

No matter how earnestly we strive to hear there may be real-world limits on what can be done to help obese kids and prevent childhood obesity.

Following an effective strategy for cholecalciferol supplementation should be an imperative practice, especially for overweight and obese individuals.

We need Vitamin D for bone health, muscle function, and an effective immune system, but the jury is still out when it comes to treating obesity, MS or diabetes.

We are keeping an eye on AD04, because the drug is believed to have the potential to treat not only AUD but opioid use disorder, gambling, and obesity.

The opioid antagonist naxolone is also known to alleviate food cravings, which lends credence to the idea that food and/or eating can be addictive.

Under optimal conditions and with mindful compliance, what can be expected from weight-loss drugs?

This continues the saga of one particular weight-loss medication, the injectable beloranib, and its history of adverse reactions.

For a while, the weight-loss drug beloranib, used for patients with Prader-Willi syndrome, had an impressive safety profile, with not too many side effects.

Some of the discussion about weight-loss drugs might not seem relevant to childhood obesity, but the connection is, obese children tend to become obese adults.

Let’s look at some more recent assessments of diethylpropion, available in either instant-release or delayed-release forms.

Recent studies show that long-term use doesn’t increase blood pressure or the risk of heart attack or stroke, so phentermine is back in the good graces.

When the drug manufacturer’s sales force promotes uses that are not officially approved, a boundary is breached and an ethical gray area is entered.

Over 100,000 Americans die in a year from adverse drug reactions, a statistic that comes with a price tag of $12 billion.

Liraglutide has been approved as an obesity treatment, and has to be injected daily — but how effective is it, and are the medical risks worth it?

Many front-line medical personnel are not comfortable putting the fate of obese children into the hands of anti-obesity drug manufacturers, but here we are.

The highest anti-obesity aspiration should not be to sell the most user-friendly weight-loss potion, but to help people start out fit and stay fit.

Massive fortunes are made not only from the pharmaceuticals themselves, but from providing information about them, including the anti-obesity medications.

This post continues an overview of some investigations into the suspected connection between antibiotics and childhood obesity.

One study shows that administration of antibiotics before children reach two years of age is associated with an increased risk of early childhood obesity.

Exposure to antibiotics in infancy can increase the risk of childhood obesity. Some suggest antibiotics contribute to obesity by slaughtering the gut flora.

A recent study looks at three potential causative (or at least complicating) factors of childhood obesity — infectobesity, the microbiome, and biorhythms.

Is enabling of obesity tantamount to child abuse? How much responsibility do the parents have to keep their children healthy?