By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Young teens who binge eat and those who are fearful of weight gain may be more likely to become overweight later in adolescence, according to a new study from the United Kingdom. Researchers looked for early symptoms of eating disorders among more than 7,000 13-year-olds and found certain symptoms predicted which children would have weight problems at age 15. Both boys and girls who severely restricted their eating at 13 had lower BMIs when they were two years older. “The most important message is that even at this young age, a high percentage of boys and girls have worrying eating disorders symptoms,” Dr. Nadia Micali told Reuters Health in an email.

Social cues affect choices we make on a daily basis, from how we dress to what kind of car we drive. But now, research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that what other people eat influences our own food choices.

Nearly 1,500 donors have pledged more than $62,000 to help pay for surgery for a 12-year-old Texas girl diagnosed as morbidly obese due to a brain disease that is causing her to gain about two pounds a week. Alexis Shapiro suffered damage to her pituitary gland, which helps regulate weight, as a result of the brain disease. Her extreme excess of body fat is clinically defined as morbid obesity. She cannot do the things she used to love,” Jennifer Shapiro, her mother, said on the fundraising site GoFundMe.

Using 2008 global cancer rates from the World Health Organization, a new international study has found that certain lifestyle factors – specifically smoking and eating diets high in animal products – have the strongest association with cancer rates.Publishing their findings in the journal Nutrients, the researchers say the results could impact international food policies.

The dietary supplement inosine, which the body converts to urate, safely raises blood urate levels in people with early stage Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to a new study. The result paves the way for testing inosine as a potential treatment for slowing PD progression. The research appears in the December 23 issue of JAMA Neurology.

Cheat on your diet like a pro this holiday season.        

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to immediately stop using a product called Mass Destruction, marketed as a dietary supplement for muscle growth. The product is labeled to contain at least one synthetic anabolic steroid and has been linked to at least one reported serious illness.