Weight loss drugs appear to help people with modest weight loss. Rimonabant is still in clinical trial, but users experienced benefits with it. Similar results occurred with over-the-counter orlistat.

Obese Medicaid patients who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery may be more likely to return to work than obese patients who do not undergo the surgery, according to a recent medical study.

Patients who lose weight before gastric bypass surgery appear to have shorter hospital stays and more rapid weight loss after the surgery, reports a new study.

Bariatric surgery is an effective long-term treatment for morbidly obese patients with other medical problems, according to background information in the article. People are increasingly choosing the surgery.  "Older and higher-risk patients with multiple uncontrolled medical problems (such as diabetes mellitus, obstructive sleep apnea, steatohepatitis [liver inflammation], degenerate joint disease, venous stasis disease [loss of vein function in the legs], and cardiopulmonary vascular disease) are opting for bariatric surgery,” the authors write.

By Amy Birkner

Exercise is vital after weight loss surgery. You will be losing weight rapidly, especially through the first six months. When your brain realizes how rapidly your body weight is decreasing it shifts into starvation mode and tries to hold onto your fat as a preventive measure. Your body will burn muscle mass and keep the stored fat, unless you exercise.

Though many people tout hoodia as the latest herbal weight loss aid, one national agency has stated: "There is no reliable scientific evidence to support hoodia's use."