Comfort Eating and Kelly Osbourne
Here is Kelly Osbourne, looking much different than she used to, on the cover of the February issue of British edition of Cosmopolitan, with an article inside, titled “I was an emotional eater.” Reporter Kara Gause says, [… S]he’s at once Madonna circa ‘Material Girl’ and her own mum, Sharon Osbourne, who has a penchant for […]
The Childhood Obesity Perfect Storm, Part 8
Yes, it’s the Childhood Obesity Perfect Storm… again. What — did you think it was over just because we have reported on it so relentlessly? If only! No, the sad fact is, we’re still in the midst of the tempest. The “perfect storm” is an appropriate figure of speech for what happens when circumstances converge. […]
Snacks and Labels, Junk and Nature
In December, Bruce Horovitz reported on a rather interesting event, the announcement by Frito-Lay that the corporation will start making half of its snacks from all-natural ingredients. (Frito-Lay, incidentally, is part of PepsiCo, so you know what kind of natural, healthy credentials we’re talking about.) According to Ann Mukherjee, the chief marketing officer, there will […]
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 […]
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 […]
Government’s Role in Childhood Obesity
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 […]
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 […]
The Childhood Obesity Perfect Storm, Part 4
We have talked before about the “perfect storm” that Dr. Pretlow identifies as the cause of the childhood obesity epidemic. It’s a witch’s brew of at least five elements: the high-tech production of hedonic foods; their availability to kids; the increased stress kids are dealing with; the ubiquitous marketing of comfort foods; and the decreased […]
Home Cooking Can Be Frontline Defense Against Obesity
The Nurturing Nutritionist is a pediatric dietician who treats children and families. At her website, we find a guest post by Beryl Henzy. It’s called “Part 1: Kitchen Essentials for Easy Cooking.” Have you ever been to a wedding and thought, “What are these kids going to do with a crystal vase? What they need […]
Embrace Your Hunger
We have mentioned Oprah Winfrey‘s chagrin when she had been told by her doctor that she would need to “embrace hunger.” Many of us would be better off learning to feel pleasant anticipation of a good meal rather than a craving for junk food. We could experience for ourselves the truth in the old saying, […]