Social Networking and Obesity, Part 7
What kinds of suggestions do recovering food addicts pass along to each other through the numerous communication channels that make up the world of social networking? “Fashion Meets Food,” suggests a book called 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food by Dr. Susan Albers, and, especially, a little exercise called “the 5-4-3-2-1 method of counting […]
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 […]
How It Might Be
In Chapter 5 of Overweight: What Kids Say, Dr. Pretlow discusses some conclusions drawn from what is said by obese kids when they talk anonymously amongst themselves. This happens, for instance, on the message boards of the Weigh2Rock website. It seems that young daughters and sons are unable to talk to their parents. (Usually, the […]
Parents as Enablers and Saboteurs, Part 2
The illustration on this page could be read in a couple of ways: one person might see a delicious Mother’s Day treat made specially for Mom. Which is probably what the photographer intended. Someone with a darker imagination — and you can picture this taking place in a psychiatrist’s office — might look at it […]
More Useful Things That Parents Can Do
In his book Possible Side Effects, Augusten Burroughs shares childhood memories of avoiding all of his mother’s efforts to feed him a healthy diet. Children can be cunning little people, as he proves in the essay called “The Wonder Boy.” Burroughs writes, She’d slip a carton of fresh beans or a head of broccoli into […]
Childhood Obesity and the Dark Matter Analogy
It has become obvious that diet and exercise are not the only factors contributing to obesity. There are some physiological states that can make a dangerous difference. Dr. Pretlow says, Such conditions as Cushing’s syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and hypothyroidism do exist. But pituitary, thyroid or adrenal gland metabolism disorders are significant in probably only a […]
What About Endocrine Disruptors?
Hormones control metabolism, growth, development, the function of tissues, and a person’s mood. We have specialized organs for the production of hormones, and, just to keep things interesting, other organs can also secrete hormones as their second job. Often they gang up and work together, in which case you get something as elaborate as, for […]
Things Parents Can Do at Home
There are plenty of things parents can stop doing. Obesity is bad enough; a kid doesn’t need nagging too. But today, we’re talking about things that parents can actively do. Aracelly Clouse is a personal fitness trainer in California, who also writes about such specialized topics as places for cheap family outings in her area, […]
Food, Foodlike Substances, and Labeling
When people are concerned about health, and especially about obesity, and they talk about food labeling, there are a couple of different things they might mean. Fast food restaurants with more than 20 branches now have to give the calorie count on their menus, and items sold in vending machines need to print the information […]
Childhood Obesity Funding and Independence
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 […]