As our waistlines have grown, so have the conventional wisdoms attached to obesity.

If we just exercised every day for 20 minutes, we would lose weight. Weight loss is just a matter of willpower. Going back to eating like the olden days will make us lose weight.

But scientists don't often agree with these views, according to a Frontline report by the New York Times .

In fact, scientists say many of the so-called facts about obesity amount to speculation or oversimplification of the medical evidence. For example, diet and exercise do matter, but these environmental influences alone do not determine an individual’s weight. Body composition also is dictated by DNA and monitored by the brain.

And we never ate as well as we thought, even back in the old days.

Check out the full article and see what myths you've fallen prey to.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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Pramlintide, which is approved for lowering blood sugar in people with diabetes, leads to progressive weight loss in obese subjects, according to a new study.

Pramlintide, sold in the United States under the trade name Symlin, is a synthetic version of a natural hormone called amylin that slows down gastric emptying, thereby increasing the sensation of satiety and reducing food intake.

Dr. Christian Weyer, the senior investigator on the current study, told Reuters Health that the results "are the most robust clinical proof-of-concept reported to date for the anti-obesity potential of a satiogenic peptide hormone."

About 31 percent of the pramlintide treatment group achieved a weight loss of 5 percent or more, compared to only 2 percent of placebo patients. The study was published in the August 2007 edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com

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