At a meeting of the American Urological Association, the team said that men who were bald had prostates that were 34% larger than men who still had full heads of head. Furthermore, the men who were going bald experienced a urine flow that was 32% lower than those men with hair. Low urine flow is an early indicator of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

The news will not come as a huge surprise to scientists, who have long suspected a link between BPH and male-pattern baldness. The most common cause of hair loss in men, male pattern baldness is called by overly high levels of a hormone known as 5-alpha-reductase. The enzyme converts the hormone testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, which in some men causes the hair follicle to shrink. 5-alpha-reductase is also associated with BPH, as DHT is known to play a key role in prostate growth.

Both male pattern baldness and BPH can be treated with the same drug, finasteride. Marketed as Propecia for baldness and Proscar for BPH, the drug inhibits the enzyme that encourages the conversation to DHT.

Propecia is one of the few treatments that has been proven to make a difference to male-pattern baldness and stop hair loss. A prescription medication, men have reported that long-term use has prevented further hair loss and even in some cases encouraged re-growth of hair.

It has also been associated with preventing prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Prevention Study examined a group of men aged over 55 to see whether finasteride reduced incidences of prostate cancer. In 2003, the trial was stopped early when it appeared that Propecia reduced prostate cancer rates by 25%.

The study was begun based on knowledge that prostate cancer is strongly affected by male hormones. Studies had previously shown that men with low levels of alpja-5-reductase due to an inherited deficiency do not develop prostate cancer, as they cannot convert testosterone to DHT.

This new study builds on the existent body of knowledge linking the prostate and male-pattern baldness. Hopefully, as we understand the two better, better treatments and earlier diagnosis will follow.

In a statement, Dr. Kevin McVary, spokesman for the Urology Association, said “BPH is a very treatable condition that can significantly impact quality of life if left unchecked. The study suggests that patients with [baldness] should talk with their doctors about any urinary symptoms they may be experiencing so that we can minimize this impact by taking preventative measures.”

Though she did qualify this by adding, “You try to remember, but it never works” she has been lambasted for quoting a saying frequently used on pro-anorexia websites. The sites contain weight loss tips and encourage users to embrace their eating disorder, rather than fight against it.

Anorexia charity Beat described the interview as “dangerous” and “very unhelpful.” They warned that ‘ana’ sites would seize on her comments, believed to originally be one of the weight loss tips that members of the weight loss program Weight Watchers used to share with each other to encourage fast weight loss.

The model Katie Green, who with MP Lembit Opik set up the Say No To Size Zero campaign, said, “”I think Kate Moss should really have thought before she spoke like most of us do before giving interviews… Millions of girls aspire to be like Kate Moss. These comments are shocking and irresponsible.”

Moss’ comments came as a study in Exeter showed that most teenage girls feel they need to follow some sort of weight loss plan, though few were actually overweight. 40% of 10 – 11 year olds said they felt overweight.

Many were sharing weight loss tips that they hoped would lead to rapid weight loss and therefore putting their health at risk.

The study showed that girls were likely to devise a weight loss plan that meant the regularly missed two meals.   26%  of 14-15 year olds usually skipped breakfast, while 22% missed lunch. 10%  of the girls said they regularly missed dinner.

Critics have said that as a role model for young girls, Moss should have known better than to promote the idea that thinner is better.

TV presenter Denise Van Outen, who recently announced she was pregnant, said Moss was talking out of her ‘size zero backside’. Speaking to the Sun, she commented, “Having been in the industry for so long, she knows the impact her comment will have on vulnerable young women.”

She then explained that she only believed in healthy dieting, vowing to lose the baby weight by following a sensible weight loss plan of healthy eating and exercise, rather than chasing rapid weight loss through extreme diets.

Scientists followed almost 3,000 overweight people who agreed to take part in a three-year program to prevent diabetes. Initially, the volunteers were split into three groups, one which followed the weight loss plan and exercised, one which was given the diabetes drug metformin and one which was given a placebo. All were offering ongoing lifestyle coaching when the trial ended.

On average those on the weight loss program lost 15 pounds, those taking the metformin lost5 pounds and those taking the placebo lost less than two. However those on the weight loss plan eventually regained 10 pounds.

It was discovered that those who followed the weight loss program, aimed at helping them lose 7% of their body fat, reduced their chances of developing diabetes by 58% compared to the group who were given the placebo. The results were achieved after the weight loss plan was combined with half an hour’s exercise 5 days a week.

While those taking the metformin were a third less likely to develop diabetes, the weight loss program had the most dramatic impact on the rates of the disease.

In the seven years after the volunteers began the program the number of people who went on develop diabetes suggests that a weight loss plan can delay the onset of diabetes by 4 years and still be having positive effects 10 years later.

Between 5- 6% of the weight loss group developed diabetes each year, while this rose to 8% in the metformin group and 11% in the group on the placebo.

The study was reported in the journal the Lancet and the lead author, Dr. M Nathan of the Massachusetts General Hospital, said, “The benefits of intensive lifestyle changes were especially pronounced in the elderly. People age 60 and older lowered their rate of developing diabetes in the next 10 years by about half.”

In the editorial that accompanied the study, Dr. Anoop Misra pointed out that there was no quick fix for the problem of diabetes. With many overweight people are desperate for a quick fix to their problems, hoping for a pill that will promote rapid weight loss, doctors are eager to emphasise that rapid weight loss doesn’t equal health – sustained lifestyle changes do.

He wrote, “Prevention of diabetes is a long and winding road. There seems to be no shortcut, and a persistent and prolonged lifestyle intervention seems to be the most effective mode to travel on it.”

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They said that following two randomized Stage III trials they were confident that their medication met the benchmarks demanded by the FDA for approval and that they would be seeking permission to sell the drug next year. They plan now to find a pharmaceutical company to help market the product.

The first trial involved some 1,267 morbidly obese patients and the second 2,487 who were overweight or obese and also had other health problems, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Vivus said that after a year of taking the medication, the patients in the one group taking the highest dose of Qnexa lost on average 10.4% of their total body weight, while those in the other trial lost an average 11%, compared to the placebo group who lost between 1.6 to 1.8%.

Overall this means that the diet pills caused an average weight loss of 9% on average, after the placebo effect was taken into account. This more than meets the FDA’s requirements for any new slimming pill, which demands that patients lose at least 5% of their body weight.

The data also showed that on one trial, 67% of patients taking the drug lost at least 5% of their body weight, compared to 17% taking the placebo. On the other trial  the percentage was even higher, with 70% of patients taking the weightloss pills losing the required amount compared to 20% of those in the placebo group.

The race is now on between three companies to see who first gets their weight loss pills on the market. Orixigen Therapeutics are developing Contrave and also recently published promising late trial results. Arena Pharmaceuticals are also hoping to get their slimming pills, lorcaserin, onto the market soon.

The potential for gain for whichever company manages it first is huge. At the moment there are only two diet pills that are licensed for prescription by the FDA and European regulators, Reductil and Xenical. Reductil is an appetite suppressant while Xenical limits the amount of dietary fat absorbed by the body.

If Vivus or one of their competitors manages to get another weight loss solution approved then they stand to grab a large chunk of sales, which in total are worth an estimated $10 billion a year. A market analyst told Bloomberg earlier in October that Qnexa could generate sales of up to $3 billion a year if the slimming pill received approval.

The 17-year old girl bought the slimming pills on the internet to encourage rapid weight loss but after she started taking them she began to experience paranoia, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts. In a statement, the Department of Health said she was admitted to the United Christian Hospital after she began harming herself.

Officials seized the diet pills and conducted tests, which showed that they contained a banned ingredient called phenolphthalein. Previously this medication was used to treat constipation but was banned, as it is believed to cause cancer.

The pills also contained the drug sibutramine, which is a medication used to treat obesity. It is only available legally with a doctor’s prescription for those on a serious weight loss program, as when misused or mis-prescribed it can cause dangerous side effects, including high blood pressure and convulsions. Sibutramine is the ingredient in the legal slimming pills Reductil, which reduces appetite.

Neither of the ingredients were declared on the packaging of the pills.

The girl is believed to have bought the illegal diet pills over the internet, highlighting the growing problem of illegal sales of medication on the web. Criminal gangs have been selling diet pills like Reductil and Xenical without a doctor’s prescription, putting the health of consumers at risk. Often they claim that the pills will encourage rapid weight loss, when in fact they are meant for dieters on a long-term weight loss program.

The illegal medication is usually counterfeit, manufactured in factories in South-East Asia and then smuggled into different countries.

The heath authorities have announced that the mental state of the girl being treated remains unstable. They have called for any patients using the slimming pills to stop immediately and contact their doctors if they feel unwell.

If the suppliers of the medication are discovered, they could face a maximum fine of $100,00 and two years imprisonment under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance.

A spokesperson said, “Weight control should be achieved through good diet and appropriate exercise. They should consult health care professionals before using any medication for weight control.”

The medication is called liraglutide and originally was developed to treat diabetics. Sold under the brand name Victoza, it was approved by both the FDA and the European regulators to be used a treatment for type II diabetes.

Now clinical trials have shown that it also can dramatically help users experience relatively quick weight loss, as well as reduce their risk factors for diabetes. However concern has been expressed over the cost, £500 for a course lasting 6 months, and the mode of delivery, a daily injection.

Researchers from Denmark recruited 564 volunteers who were monitored at 19 different hospitals. They were split into three groups. The first were prescribed the popular diet pills Xenical, or orlistat. The second received a daily dose of liraglutide while the third were given a placebo. All patients had their daily calorie intake reduced by 500 calories and were told to exercise.

After 20 weeks, the liraglutide proved the most effective weight loss solution. Patients taking it lost 15 pounds in total, compared to the 9 pounds lost by those taking the diet pills Xenical and the 6 pounds lost by those on the placebo.

There has been much excitement in the media over a variety of new slimming products being developed at the moment. Various pharmaceutical firms, from Vivus to Orexigen Therapeutics, are tantalisingly close to finishing trials on diet pills that promise to be extremely effective at promoting weight loss. At the moment, there are only two diet pills on the market that have been proved in clinical trials to work, Xenical and Orlistat. Neither are a quick fix for the obese and don’t promise amazing, rapid weight loss, but they are helpful over the long term.

Still, they don’t work for everyone and with the obesity epidemic becoming a global crisis everyone is desperate for solutions. There is agreement however in the medical world that however good a drug is no drug can offer rapid weight loss – anyone is obese must expect the process of getting healthy to be long and difficult.

The UK charity Weight Concern therefore greeted the new trial results, published in the journal The Lancet, with cautious optimism. “It’s important that we continue to develop good weight loss drugs” their spokesperson Dr. Ian Campbell said.