European Obesity Day received the backing of EU Health Commissioner John Dalli at its launch in Strasbourg on May 19.

The number of children in the United Kingdom taking prescription weight loss drugs increased by 15 times between 1999 and 2006, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University College London and published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology..

 If you are obese, you weigh much more than is healthy for you. This is because your diet contains more calories than your body uses up. The extra calories are stored as fat.

To lose weight you need to take in fewer calories each day than you use. You can do this by following a weight loss programme that includes a diet and exercise. You may also have behaviour therapy to help you change the way you eat and exercise. Your weight loss programme may also include drugs.

 Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have shown that they can engineer mouse and human cells to produce brown fat, a natural energy-burning type of fat that counteracts obesity. If such a strategy can be developed for use in people, the scientists say, it could open a novel approach to treating obesity and diabetes.