Childhood Obesity and Minority Groups

The Ribs

Full disclosure: John Foreyt, Ph.D., wrote the Foreword to Overweight: What Kids Say, and he’s a friend. In fact, so good a friend that in the Acknowledgements section of the book, Dr. Pretlow says, This book wouldn’t have happened were it not for the inspiration and encouragement of Dr. John Foreyt and his conviction that […]

Childhood Obesity Funding and Independence

magazine in lens

Dr. Pretlow’s December 20 post, “Childhood Obesity Science Conflicts of Interest,” set off an interesting chain of reactions. It expressed concern about the objectivity and impartiality of the new magazine, Childhood Obesity, which is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. (The link is to where an issue of the magazine can be sampled for free.) How objective […]

“Jelly and the Donuts” Vs. Childhood Obesity

Jelly and the Donuts

Childhood obesity is such a complicated problem that we need to come at it from every possible direction, and chip away at it from any angle that looks promising. Dr. Pretlow has been calling attention to the fact that food addiction is real, and needs to be treated like any other addiction. Many young people […]

Stress-Eating and Recession Obesity

large lady

You know a writer is onto something when a piece she wrote almost two years ago is even more true than on the day it was first published. Georgia Lund, a contributor to the Yahoo! Network, made a few observations about the relationship between the murky fiscal environment we have been immersed in and the […]

Childhood Obesity Is Equal-Opportunity

Eating Navelle Nuts

About three months ago, President Barack Obama made a speech to announce the National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. He has mentioned the National School Lunch Program that currently helps keep 30 million American kids somewhat properly nourished so they can pay attention in school. This is a good thing. Some people feel that it could […]

Young Activists, the Anti-Obesity Krew

fruit & vegetable basket

The more you follow the news about childhood obesity, the more unusual facts you learn. For instance, think of all the fruit and vegetables eaten by the Americans. An awful lot of that farm produce is grown in the “nation’s salad bowl.” Yet the San Joaquin Valley is California’s worst locale in terms of “food […]

Government’s Role in Childhood Obesity

Food Basics

Government on every level can do a lot of things, no question about it. The hot discussion should be over what the government should do. Whatever the government is already doing, is it having any effect? Should more of it be done, or less? What unintended consequences have resulted from government’s efforts so far? When […]

Feed Us Not Into Temptation

pict 3482

We’ve seen it on bumper stickers and t-shirts, a saying that is short and to the point: I can resist anything except temptation. Ain’t it the truth! Especially when it’s an obese person wearing the t-shirt. And that goes double when the person in the shirt is a walking statistic in the childhood obesity epidemic. […]

Childhood Obesity Conflicts of Interest

Childhood Obesity Science Conflicts of Interest If a tobacco company were to fund an anti-smoking scientific journal, most people would point out the glaring conflict of interest. Yet, a new peer-reviewed, scientific journal, Childhood Obesity (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.), was launched in September 2010 with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Kellogg Foundation’s […]

Dr. Fitness & the Fat Guy

Dr_Fitness_and_the_Fat_Guy

Earlier this month, Dr. Pretlow was a guest on a radio show, where he talked about childhood obesity and his book, Overweight: What Kids Say. So you may be thinking, “Now, the Childhood Obesity News blog returns the favor by promoting Dr. Fitness & the Fat Guy.” Well, cut it out. The only reason you’re […]