If kids were not getting enough activity in ordinary times, the need for isolating and social distancing really puts the whipped cream on that hot-fudge sundae.

Adults and children have numerous reasons to be stressed right now, and stress is a major cause of disadvantageous eating habits at any age.

When it is impossible to follow the recommended daily habits that stave off childhood obesity, then what?

We are chronicling the history of Brian Wansink, who was entrusted to psychologically manipulate the behavior of children and teenagers in school cafeterias.

There is more to say about Brian Wansink, Ph.D., the inventor of Smarter Lunchrooms, which took over in about 30,000 American public schools.

Why have people been objecting to the content, methodology, and what they deem the low publication standards of work by Dr. Brian Wansink?

The critics of the program point out that universal acceptance of Smarter Lunchrooms might not be the optimal path toward reducing obesity in children.

Consider psychological manipulation in the context of the school cafeteria, especially when the issue is the presentation of illusory choices.

What’s the psychology behind the multi-faceted tool known as the EAST formula (Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely), and how can it be used to fight obesity?

The discussion of application of choice architecture and other principles used by the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement to fight childhood obesity in schools.

With kids’ health at stake, any strategy is worth trying in curbing childhood obesity. Rewards must also be timely as delayed gratification is often shunned.

A Theory of Constraints is a strategy to prevent children in a lunchroom from choosing higher-calorie food and to steer them toward lower-calorie alternatives.

By adding a contrived complication to a school lunch line the managers can prevent the consuming student from choosing the more fattening beverage.

In looking back over the past decade, and how schools need to both feed kids and prevent them from becoming obese, it’s clear that reform needs popular support.

New federal nutrition standards were applied to school meals in 2011, and local districts scrambled to meet the requirements for more health-promoting menus.

How are the schools across America rethinking the new school lunch requirements while adding anti-obesity measures?

This post and the next few will look at interventions that have been implemented through public schools in an effort to curb childhood obesity.

Have feeding programs administered by the federal government actually had an impact on America’s health?

The childhood obesity rate fuels the argument for refusing to spend tax money and other government resources to assure that all kids are properly fed.

Today, 11% of the population are food insecure. So, who gets to eat what, in public schools, and how those practices are connected to childhood obesity?

Studies show that teens who experience weight bullying are more likely to abuse substances and engage in other risky behaviors.

Every bullying victim has a perpetrator. In our haste to help the victim, we sometimes forget that somebody out there is doing the bullying.

The realization that “It’s not me, it’s them” can go a long way toward relieving the stress of being bullying.

Some experts believe that taking pictures of food, to display via social media, is either a symptom or a cause of mental illness, and might be fueling obesity.

Our most recent decade has seen some audacious writing about body size, and not just in discussion threads and forums buried in obscure corners of the Internet.

Obesity Care Week wants to get people excited about widespread access to respectful, comprehensive, and appropriate care.

The artificial sweetener industry’s infatuation with exercise enables it to lay all the blame for obesity, and any other damage, firmly on the consumer.

There is a lot of evidence for accepting that obesity is multifactorial, and that a strict energy balance equation often fails to yield the results it should.

How do we get our kids to move more? People from all walks of life take it upon themselves to create fun, safe spaces for exercise for children.

Studies show that inactive children tend to remain inactive later in life, and that childhood inactivity can lead to the consequences of obesity seen in adults.