Social Networking and Obesity, Part 6
So, we were discussing the positive effects of social networking via electronic devices, and how the Pew Research Center’s findings show, among other things, that social networkers are more likely to be politically active. This is a good thing, because the childhood obesity epidemic seems to be in need of some political intervention, especially at […]
Cars, Clothes, and Obesity
Cars and clothes are two of the things most dear to the hearts of Americans. People actually believe such nonsense as “You are what you drive.” And “Clothes make the man (or woman).” So, imagine how unpleasant it must be to weigh 300 pounds in a society that worships hunks of metal with wheels and […]
Obesity Tales: Walk a Mile in My 46"-Waist Track Pants
Let’s check in with some people who have experienced childhood obesity or observed it from a nearby vantage point. Jane Shure is a psychotherapist specializing in eating disorders and the transformation of shame. She trains healthcare professionals and gives workshops in making peace with food and body image, and she’s a former fat kid. In […]
More on the Early Adopters of the Food Addiction Paradigm
Food addiction is misunderstood but real, says Cheryl Williams, in a piece called “Food Addiction: Similarities and Differences to Drug and Alcohol Addiction.” As so many others have noted, one of the differences is that we need food to live, but not drugs or alcohol. (Dr. Pretlow always points out another difference that is especially […]
The Price of Obesity, Physical and Psychological
Jeanna Bryner, managing editor at LiveScience, interviewed Sarah Gable, a researcher at the University of Missouri, about the emotional consequences of childhood obesity: low self-esteem from being teased or bullied, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. These stressful emotions all interfere with not only academic achievement, but every other aspect of life of a child or a teen. […]
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 […]