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 […]
It’s Official: Food Addiction Is Real
Well, better late than never! Dr. Robert A. Pretlow, numerous other medical professionals, and very many obese people (whose experiences were previously dismissed as “anecdotal evidence” and “non-validated data”) have been saying for years that food addiction is as real as any other officially identified addiction. It is a problem most appropriately viewed through the […]
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 […]
Homeostatic and Hedonic Eating
Health columnist Melinda Beck writes for the The Wall Street Journal, and she had also formerly edited that publication’s Marketplace section. Recently, she looked into the technology of fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scanning, and how it might impact childhood obesity research. Among the different ways of taking pictures of the brain in action, this […]