Compulsive Eating: A Large Topic

Henry VIII

As we mentioned before, the definitions of compulsive eating, compulsive overeating, and binge eating are a bit slippery, depending on whom you ask. One clue to the problem is the nature of the food in which people tend to overindulge. Zoe Harcombe, who characterizes herself as “a real food lover and a processed food hater,” […]

The Childhood Obesity Perfect Storm, Part 8

New Year's Resolution for 2013 Better diet

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. […]

Using the Psychological Food Dependence-Addiction Lens

food addiction lens

A recent comment to “The Childhood Obesity Perfect Storm, Part 6″ post on the Childhood Obesity News blog describes the “Go, Slow, Whoa!” widget tool created by the We Can! Program of NHLBI, NIH. The widget’s purpose is to impact childhood obesity. It differentiates foods according to their nutritional value, in order to help kids […]

The Ultimate Junk Food

Ultimate Junk Food

This is heartening. In the succinctly-titled “Final Version of Junk Food Essay,” a 19-year-old Malaysian woman, who goes by the pseudonym “ngfeiwen,” speaks of her belief that junk-food sales in school canteens should be banned. Childhood obesity and other health problems aside, junk-food packaging creates a lot of ugly and cost-incurring litter. If young people […]