Fat Boy Thin Man: Michael Prager
Fat Boy Thin Man is Michael Prager’s memoir of “a fat and troubled childhood that lasted almost 35 years.” He spent more than 10 years over the 300-pound mark. When Prager hit 365, he opted for standard addiction treatment, just like any substance abuser might, upon realizing that he’s in the grip of a lower […]
Stress Eating Is Hereditary
This really should come as no surprise to anyone, but now it’s official: Stressed out teens are more likely to be overweight or obese, especially if they live with a mom who also feels frazzled… Fathers figure in this psychological dynamic, too, in a bit more complicated way. The point is, this has been known […]
Television Advertising and Childhood Obesity, Part 2
Childhood obesity is a worldwide problem. Not long ago, Stephanie Nebehay reported for Reuters on the latest World Health Organization guidelines. A WHO spokesperson, Timothy Armstrong, is quoted as saying, The rate of increase in the developing world is greatest because of a rapid change in diet and physical activity patterns. Nebehay passes along the information […]
Medical Science and Food Addiction
(Part One of a Two-Part Post)(View Part Two) by Robert A. Pretlow, M.D. Why Does The Obesity Community Reject Addiction? In September 2009, I conducted a plenary session presentation at the European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG) scientific meeting in Dublin, Ireland, in which I proposed that comfort eating and resulting addiction to highly pleasurable foods […]
Using the Psychological Food Dependence-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 […]
Parents Kid Themselves More Than Kids Do
At the University of Sydney, Australia, researchers looked at parental attitudes about overweight and obesity in children and teens, and Michael Booth wrote up the results. Other team members were L.A. King, D.L. Pagnini, R. L. Wilkenfeld, and S. L. Booth, and what they had discovered was that there may be a bit of cognitive […]
Morbid Obesity in Children and Teens
The root word of “morbid” means “death” in Latin, and morbid obesity interferes with the basic functions of life, like breathing or walking. Morbid obesity is generally defined as being 100 lbs. over the ideal weight, or twice as much as ideal weight, or having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 35 or […]
Obese Kids Don't Need Taunts or Nagging
This profile on CNN Health turns a sociological eye upon the life of an overweight child named Claudia Garza. Actually, Garza is a grownup now; a citizen journalist who recounted her story for iReport, the section of CNN generated by the public. Then her story was incorporated into a piece by writer and producer Madison […]
Professionals Must Recognize Emotional Component
When the body is considered as nothing more than a physical entity, all the answers are so easy, and everyone knows them. To lose weight, burn more energy and stoke the machine with higher-quality fuel, and less of it. Ta-dah! Or not. Except in the case of very small children and the incapacitated, the inescapable […]
For the Whole Family: Dance Dance Revolution
Marilla Mulwane says, I do not believe in starving yourself to lose weight, or in having to spend hours at the gym every day, or in not being able to enjoy your favorite foods. Did that catch your attention? It did mine. Yes, Marilla, tell me more about how to become svelte, or at least […]