Ending Childhood Obesity – Idaho says YEah!
Does anything work to prevent childhood obesity? Once it has taken hold, can anything pull a child loose from its clutches? As many thousands of years as humans have been on earth, you’d think we would have figured this thing out by now. What kind of nurture does a growing human need so that the […]
‘Melting Mama’ Looks At ‘Designated Fat Girl’
Jennifer Joyner is Assignment Editor at WRAL-TV in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and also works in radio, among other pursuits. She also published a book entitled Designated Fat Girl: A Memoir. Starting from morbidly obese at 330 pounds, her book covers 16 years of struggle against food addiction, a condition that is not taken seriously by […]
5-2-1-0 and the Let’s Go! Initiative
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 […]
Oprah and the Weight Loss Surgery Kids
This episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show aired a while back, but it’s a classic. Oprah invited some formerly obese teens, a couple of parents, and a couple of doctors — including Dr. Mehmet Oz, who hangs out in the audience contributing medical illumination when needed. The show also features some very useful animated graphics […]
Weight Loss Surgery, Part 5
In “Weight Loss Surgery, Part 4,” we looked at the experiences of some grownups with bariatric surgery. But what about the kids? Is weight loss surgery (WLS) recommended for obese children and youth? Dr. Laurie Barclay discussed this for Medscape not long ago, summarizing research that had been reported in the medical journal Clinical Obesity. […]
Weight Loss Surgery, Part 4
Why does food have such a powerful effect on people? Overeating and consequent obesity can lead to a juncture in life’s pathway where surgery becomes a very real possibility. The relationship between a person and food can get really twisted. There are people who actually gain weight intentionally, so they can qualify for surgery under […]
Weight Loss Surgery, Part 3
We have been exploring the different kinds of surgery designed to help an obese person lose weight by having part of their stomach either removed or shut off, and the other bits reconnected in different ways. The various weight loss surgery (WLS) procedures each have their advantages and disadvantages. The vertical banded gastroplasty (or stomach […]