The Thing About Compulsive Overeating
The thing about compulsive overeating is, there are a lot of things about it. It’s a very hefty subject with many fascinating areas of inquiry. For women, the hormones involved in the monthly cycle are implicated as compulsive-eating triggers. But males can be compulsive eaters, too — what’s up with that? What does it mean […]
Roots of Childhood Obesity Found (or Not)
One amazing feature of the childhood obesity epidemic is that so many things correlate with it. When that happens, it’s always very tempting to assume a cause-and-effect relationship. Sometimes the relationship exists, other times not. Of course, poor nutrition (in the form of overfeeding and unhealthful choices) is the most glaringly obvious culprit. As a […]
5-2-1-0 and the Let’s Go! Initiative
Everybody wants to know: Is there anything that works to prevent childhood obesity? And if so, what is it? The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation wonders, too, and not only in a general, curious way. The Foundation has a specific goal, to reverse the growing obesity trend by 2015. Getting everybody slimmed down by then would […]
State + Nanny = Contentiousness
There are a lot of different opinions about how much responsibility the government should take for controlling obesity. When there is agreement that the government should do something, the easiest place to make an impact on large numbers of young and presumably malleable citizens is in the public schools. Canada Free Press offers an interesting […]
The Unhealthy Weight Epidemic
Not long ago, in England, a local government made international news by considering whether to ban the word “obesity” from use in the literature and media presentations of its pro-health campaigns. It’s not clear whether anything ever officially happened, but the big question is, why did the Liverpool City Council ever put this on the […]
Denial = Bad, Awareness = Good
Childhood obesity is a tough problem, and when parents look for answers, the answers might depend on the attitudinal states of various family members. Maybe you realize that your child has a problem, but he or she refuses to acknowledge this. Or maybe your child is asking for help, and you are the one […]
Why Parents Don’t Want to Hear About Food Addiction, Part 7
Many parents have heard about food addiction, just like they have heard of other theories and discoveries in the childhood obesity field. And, for some, there is a compelling reason not to think about the food addiction paradigm as it applies to the lives of their own children. It’s the same reason why we find […]
Do Bad Genes Cause Big Jeans?
In the area of childhood obesity, does genetic research lead to a light at the end of the tunnel, or a dead end? Is the whole genetic thing just a cop-out for people who are in denial about their food addiction? A couple of years ago, Maggie Fox of Reuters reported on the activities of […]
The Childhood Obesity Perfect Storm, Part 5
The childhood obesity perfect storm continues — the combination of circumstances that have accumulated to bury children in layers of fat, and not only our own home-grown American children, but children all over the world. Something very ominous is happening, and it’s almost like a corny old science fiction story from a pulp magazine. What […]
Obesity Tales: Walk a Mile in My 46"-Waist Track Pants
Let’s check in with some people who have experienced childhood obesity or observed it from a nearby vantage point. Jane Shure is a psychotherapist specializing in eating disorders and the transformation of shame. She trains healthcare professionals and gives workshops in making peace with food and body image, and she’s a former fat kid. In […]