Yes, Parents Can Make a Difference (Part 2)

pear&grape

A complete list of things that parents can do to avoid childhood obesity would probably contain 7,000,000 items, but fortunately it’s not necessary to know all of them. One thing a parent can do is to be aware of a child’s priorities. A little kid is pretty much hard-wired to value your attention above anything […]

What About Endocrine Disruptors?

Moo

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 […]

Taxation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Part 1

Wall of Soda

Every time the idea of a tax on soda pop is mentioned, the debate grows lively and centers around some basic issues: Why pick on soda? Will people stand for it? Will food corporations put up with it? Has a soda tax actually been shown to reduce childhood obesity? The soda tax movement received a […]

What Kids Say About “Overweight: What Kids Say” – and Grownups Too

Happy Children Playing Kids

The Weigh2Rock website has invited kids aged 18 and under to download the PDF version of Dr. Robert A. Pretlow’s book, Overweight: What Kids Say, for free. Since then, kids residing in countries like Great Britain, Canada, and Australia, as well as the U.S., have taken advantage of the opportunity. They are also welcome to […]

5-2-1-0 and the Let’s Go! Initiative

How Portland Maine

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 […]

Does Dr. Evil Work for the Food Industry?

Dr. Janet Hull holds a Doctorate in Nutrition and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science, and is a Licensed Certified Nutritionist. She is one of the leading opponents of the artificial sweetener aspartame, and is also against the presence of caffeine in processed foods and soft drinks. And what’s wrong with that? Dr. Hull says, […]

Hyperpalatable Foods: Science or Science Fiction? Part 2

Persuade Me

A lot of creativity goes into persuasion, as in advertising and marketing fast foods, and a lot of originality goes into efforts to deal with the obesity epidemic. A great deal of creative energy is found in the projects of Public Matters, an organization described thusly: Public Matters is an interdisciplinary California-based social enterprise comprised […]

Hyperpalatable Foods: Science or Science Fiction? Part 1

first times

What do we know about the chemical commonly known as salt? According to David Kessler, the former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, over-eating might be due to… the combination of fats, sugars and salt used by food manufactures to trigger a ‘bliss’ point in the human brain. Sarah Hughes said that, in […]

The Nature of Food Addiction

Large Flash

Relatively speaking, one of the disadvantages of food addiction is that obesity often follows. Plenty of alcoholics are able to hide their condition. People who are hooked on street drugs or prescription meds are often able to function in society without being recognized as addicts. But food addiction shows. Picture a 400-pound guy on a […]

Famous Food Addict Carnie Wilson

Christmas in Harmony

Carnie Wilson’s dysfunctional relationship with her world-renowned musician father was, she feels, the root cause of her lifelong struggle with eating disorders. Then in 1993, her own singing group broke up. A couple of years later, Wilson admitted that she was a 300-pound food addict, and began to explore bariatric surgery as an option. She […]