Due to the gastrointestinal tract’s role in body weight regulation, gastroenterologists should work closely with other medical disciplines to oversee and coordinate the care of obese individuals, according to an American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute Obesity Task Force Report. The Report was published in a special 13th issue of Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA Institute, that focuses on the growing problems related to obesity and nutrition. [click link for full article]

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) on Tuesday at a conference of the [click link for full article]

The Internet can be an effective tool in helping inactive adults to get moving, a new study suggests. Researchers at The Miriam Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University found that web-based intervention programs aimed at changing the behavior of sedentary adults were just as effective as traditional, print-based programs.The research is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. [click link for full article]

House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) at a hearing on Tuesday “expressed concern” that proposed Medicare regulations “could impair his ability to legislate cuts,” which might make “it harder for him to fund” Democratic health care proposals, including SCHIP, [click link for full article]

A research team from five institutions, with funding from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, have identified 216 chemicals that induced breast cancer tumors in animal tests and have compiled the information into a new database, the Los Angeles Times reports. The researchers — assembled from [click link for full article]

Since 2000 mammography rates have declined significantly in the United States, according to a new study. Published in the June 15, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study by Dr. Nancy Breen from the National Cancer Institute and co-authors confirms that screening mammography rates to detect breast cancer fell by as much as four percent nationwide between 2000 and 2005. [click link for full article]

While one in four cancer survivors participates in a support group after diagnosis, use of support groups varies considerably by cancer type, and few survivors receive referrals to such programs from their physicians, according to a new study. [click link for full article]

Women with heart disease and diabetes are less likely to receive several types of routine outpatient medical care than men who have similar health problems, according to a RAND Corporation study.While previous research has shown that women less frequently receive expensive medical care such as angioplasty for heart disease, few studies have evaluated gender disparities in managed care settings. [click link for full article]

The Senate Special Committee on Aging on Wednesday plans to hold a hearing to address unethical or illegal practices that some sales agents reportedly have used to enroll Medicare beneficiaries in private Medicare Advantage plans, the [click link for full article]

Luteinising-hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists, have proven effective when used alone or combined with existing treatments used in the fight against hormone receptor positive breast cancer, conclude authors of an Article published in this week’s edition of The Lancet. Luteinising hormone is produced in the pituitary gland and stimulates ovulation and the production of oestrogen. [click link for full article]