There’s lots of chat about slimming down the UK’s civil service – it’s grown by 25% since the Brexit referendum (albeit only back to its pre-austerity size). In the UK, this trimming talk doesn’t usually refer to helping Whitehall mandarins drop a dress size. In contrast, a recent study finds that the Chinese government’s anti-corruption campaign is slimming not only bureaucrat’s wallets, but their waistlines. This got at a longstanding problem: in China more than 40% of public sector officials were overweight, according to a 2009 study. The more senior…
Tag: Obesity
AstraZeneca makes bigger push into weight-loss market with new drug deal
AstraZeneca is making a bigger push into the weight-loss drug market, striking an exclusive licence agreement with a Chinese company for an obesity and type 2 diabetes pill that is in early stage development. Britain’s biggest drugmaker said it had agreed a deal with Eccogene, based in Shanghai, for an experimental drug named ECC5004 that would also treat other cardiometabolic conditions such as heart disease and stroke. It is in phase 1 development but AstraZeneca hopes it will enter phase 2 clinical studies by the end of next year. If…
Scientists Find No Benefit to Time-Restricted Eating
The weight-loss idea is quite appealing: Limit your eating to a period of six to eight hours each day, during which you can have whatever you want. Studies in mice seemed to support so-called time-restricted eating, a form of the popular intermittent fasting diet. Small studies of people with obesity suggested it might help shed pounds. But now, a rigorous one-year study in which people followed a low-calorie diet between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or consumed the same number of calories anytime during the day has…