childhood obesity

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What the Right (and Left) Get Wrong in the Obesity War

Choice is great—but we're making the wrong ones, writes Cathy Young

(Newser) - As Michelle Obama and Congress champion efforts to fight childhood obesity, the right, led by Sarah Palin and Fox News, is angrily firing back. While some of their concerns are fair—that healthy-eating messaging can escalate into “propaganda,” for example—others suggest “a reality check is in...

GOP Blocks Child Nutrition Bill

Michelle Obama-backed bill stalls in House

(Newser) - House Republicans have blocked a bill to give school meals to more needy children and to make those meals healthier. The $4.5 billion child nutrition bill—which Michelle Obama has lobbied for as part of her campaign against childhood obesity—was stalled by a procedural move that Democrats said...

Palin Swings Back at Barbara Bush

And she says to Michelle: Get off fat kids' backs

(Newser) - Sarah Palin managed to slight not one, but two First Ladies in an interview with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham. Asked if Barbara Bush's recent comment that she hopes Palin stays in Alaska shows that the GOP elite wants to "kneecap" her, Palin replied, "I don't think the...

NYC Seeks to Bar Soda for Food Stamp Users

Mayor to city's poor: Drop weight

(Newser) - Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to add sodas to the list of items New York City's 1.7 million food stamp users can't buy with the stamps. The mayor, as part of an aggressive anti-obesity campaign, has asked federal authorities for permission to ban food-stamp purchases of sugared drinks, the New ...

Childhood Obesity Epidemic Linked to Virus

Cold virus found in disproportionate number of obese children

(Newser) - The steep rise in childhood obesity over the last 30 years may have as much to do with a common virus as it does with diet and lifestyle, according to new research which adds weight to "infectobesity" theories. Scientists studied a group of 124 children in California and discovered...

McDonald's Facing Lawsuit Over Happy Meal Toys

Chain "is the stranger in the playground handing out candy, says watchdog

(Newser) - A public health watchdog says it's going to sue McDonald's if it doesn't stop luring children into unhealthy eating habits by handing out toys with Happy Meals. The chain "is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children," a director of the Center for Science in...

First Lady Offers 70-Point Plan on Childhood Obesity

Michelle Obama wants better nutrition labels, other reforms

(Newser) - Michelle Obama today unveiled the findings of her childhood obesity task force, laying out a “road map” to healthier kids. “For the first time, the nation will have goals, benchmarks, and measurable outcomes that will help us tackle the childhood obesity epidemic,” she declared, and if we...

Toddlers Who Watch TV Turn Into Dumber, Fatter Kids
Toddlers Who Watch TV Turn Into Dumber, Fatter Kids

in case you missed it

Toddlers Who Watch TV Turn Into Dumber, Fatter Kids

Watch TV at age 2, suffer for it at age 10

(Newser) - Two-year-olds who watch a lot of TV grow up to become 10-year-olds who are fatter than other kids, are bullied more by peers, and are worse at math. That's what scientists found after tracking more 1,300 Canadian children born in the 1990s. "Our findings make a compelling public...

Chocolate Formula Draws Ire of Moms

Too sweet, or a good way to get toddlers to drink more milk?

(Newser) - A popular formula for toddlers available in chocolate and vanilla flavors is drawing fire from nutritionists and parents, notes the Chicago Breaking Business blog . Critics have slammed Mead Johnson Nutrition's Enfagrow Premium on the blogosphere—starting with Marion Nestle at Food Politics —as another gateway to childhood obesity. "...

Calif. County Moves to Ban Happy Meal Toys

First-of-its-kind ban aimed at tackling child obesity

(Newser) - California's Santa Clara may soon be the first place in America to ban the little toys that come with McDonald's' Happy Meals and other fast-food promotions. County officials say the move—which would outlaw free toys with any meal that has over 485 calories or high levels of salt, sugar,...

Stars Rock Obama Easter Egg Roll

'Ready, Set, Go!' theme includes bunny in sweats, Justin Bieber?

(Newser) - The White House hosts its annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn today, staying admirably on-message with an anti-obesity/exercise-themed event. “Ready, Set Go!” is the slogan, helped along by sports activities, but much of the kids' attention will likely go to performances by Sara Bareilles, Justin Bieber,...

Group Pounds Ronald McDonald Over Big Mac Fat Kids

Child obesity's not funny

(Newser) - Ronald McDonald is a conniving kid lure who has become the Joe Camel of the child obesity epidemic, claims a group demanding that McDonald's not-so-funny clown be retired. "For 50 years, no one has been better at hooking kids on unhealthy food," said a spokeswoman for Corporate Accountability...

Pepsi Will Pull Sugary Drinks From World's Schools

Company targets 2012, will offer low-cal alternatives

(Newser) - Pepsi said today it will pull its sugary drinks from schools worldwide by 2012, a move the company says was prompted in part by concerns over youth health. Pepsi will add low-calorie alternatives, a move one marketing analyst tells the Los Angeles Times is shrewd: “If they can keep...

How to Stop Obesity, Starting Before Birth

Researchers find links to problems later from prenatal to 3 years old

(Newser) - A kid's path to fat camp may begin even before conception, and, as one doctor tells the Los Angeles Times , “during pregnancy and the first two years of life, mothers and their infants are seen by physicians more often than any other time. It's kind of a golden opportunity”...

Skipping That Cookie Won't Make You Lose Weight



 Skipping That Cookie 
 Won't Make You Lose Weight 
sorry, michelle

Skipping That Cookie Won't Make You Lose Weight

In fighting obesity, little things don't count for much

(Newser) - Obesity experts would beg to disagree with the first lady, who said last month that it's the "small changes that add up" in fighting childhood obesity. Contrary to what Michelle Obama and many dieters believe, the body is actually wired to adapt to minor lifestyle changes—one less cookie...

Heart Risk Linked to Obesity—in Preschoolers

Definitive connection can't be made due to lack of relevant study

(Newser) - Levels of a marker tied to adult heart disease were twice as high in the blood of obese children as in the blood of average-weight kids in a recent study. The twist is that the research subjects were 3 to 5 years old, sparking concerns about the cumulative health effects...

Half of 6-Year-Old Brit Girls Wish They Were Skinnier

In study, 50% would like to be 3 sizes skinnier for popularity

(Newser) - Half of the 6-year-old girls in Britain would like to be a lot skinnier than they are. That’s the conclusion of a Cambridge study that asked the pint-size participants to choose an ideal body from digitally altered photographs of themselves. Fifty percent went with the skinniest image, which was...

5 Problems With First Lady's Obesity Campaign

Michelle Obama's project exaggerates the issue, for starters

(Newser) - Kate Harding loves 90% of Michelle Obama's childhood obesity initiative—but she has a real problem with the 10% that is "whipping up fear and disgust of the very fat children you're supposedly trying to help." Her objections, in Salon :
  • Exaggeration: Childhood obesity is painted in the most
...

First Lady: Let's Eliminate Childhood Obesity

 First Lady: 
 Let's Eliminate 
 Childhood Obesity 
initiative launches today

First Lady: Let's Eliminate Childhood Obesity

Michelle Obama talks to GMA in advance of launching initiative

(Newser) - Michelle Obama wants to eliminate childhood obesity in just one generation, and she will launch her ambitious "Let's Move" campaign today at noon. "We want our kids to face a different and more optimistic future in terms of their lifespan," the first lady tells Good Morning America...

Michelle Obama Reflects on Year 1
 Michelle Obama 
 Reflects on Year 1 
'i'm not that interesting'

Michelle Obama Reflects on Year 1

She teases Barack about his gray hair, but gets serious about obesity

(Newser) - She may be one of Forbes' most powerful women, People's most beautiful people, Time's most influential people, and even Maxim's hottest women, but Michelle Obama insists she's not that interesting. "I still see myself as Michelle Obama, the girl who grew up in the south side of Chicago,"...

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