Social Networking and Obesity, Part 8
This has been an overview of what happens at the intersection of electronic media and the struggles of individuals to deal with their weight issues, body image issues, food issues, addiction issues, food addiction issues, and the obesity epidemic in general. One of the unsurprising revelations is that Alcoholics Anonymous is right again. Service to […]
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 […]
Comfort Eating, Food Addiction, and the DSM-V Manual
Not long ago we mentioned Jennifer LaRue Huget, the Washington Post reporter who began to take seriously the notion of food addiction after meeting Michael Prager. This is encouraging, because childhood obesity won’t be stopped until food addiction is understood to be as real as addiction to hard drugs, alcohol, and even the range of […]
The Childhood Obesity Perfect Storm, Part 7
We have talked about the Childhood Obesity Perfect Storm before, and its various components such as the existence of cleverly engineered highly pleasurable foods, the ubiquitous availability of those foods to kids, and the way the products are marketed. We have discussed how stress and obesity go together like a horse and carriage, or, in […]
Fiction and Nonfiction for Tween Girls
One of the obvious drawbacks of childhood obesity is that it hangs around and becomes adolescent obesity and, eventually, adult obesity. Sure, many people have overcome their propensity to be overweight, and they are heroes. Ruby Gettinger and others have documented their own histories, including the recognition that food addiction was controlling their lives, and […]