From Dr. Pretlow’s presentation concerning W8Loss2Go, “A Smartphone App Platform for Treatment of Obesity Using the Addiction Model” Kurbo, a weight-loss app created for young people from age 8 to 18, claims to be different from many others in its mark …

It is very hard to convince children of anything connected with the future. Reason doesn’t work, because the thoughts of a child or teenager just don’t project into the future. Predicting that a child’s life will be ruined by a facial tattoo, a drug ha …

Scientists often view anecdotal evidence with suspicion. What happens in laboratories is given more weight than reports from everyday people about things that happen in real life (referred to as “self-reported” evidence, and often taken with a large gr …

Plus-Size Model Nikki P   America, where tolerance is a national virtue, truly is the land of opportunity. Acceptance is viewed as a positive value, even when intuition tells us it may be doing harm. But in the realm of personal behavior, spiritua …

If a clinician expects to use the label of substance-use disorder, and if the substance being used is a drug, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual offers a list of symptoms to consider. The purpose of the list is to diagnose not only the presence, but …

We hear so much about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, we tend to forget that it is not the only “bible” or set of guidelines in use. The other major guide, the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Probl …

Since the long-awaited publication of the 5th version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, the dust has settled and many authorities have had a chance to weigh in and speak their minds. British psychology professor Gr …

Childhood Obesity News has already discussed some aspects of the 24th Congress of the European Childhood Obesity Group, or ECOG 2014, at which Dr. Pretlow presented the address “Treatment of Child/Adolescent Obesity Using the Addiction Model.” Everyone …

It would be difficult to estimate how many people have been harmfully influenced by the idea that obesity is not such a big deal after all. It seems as if a lot of the “health at every size” rhetoric aims to convince people to give up – and that “fat a …

Claire Goodwin, a contestant in the Great British Bake-off, had never been a target of fat-shaming  before she was on television. From that experience, she came away with the belief that negatively addressing a person’s weight can trigger behaviors tha …

Big is Beautiful “Health at Every Size” proclaims itself a new peace movement, and that the “war” on obesity is already lost. But like an army preparing for war, HAES wants people to enlist and sign a pledge. The homepage says: Fighting fat hasn’t made …

Recently Ted Kyle, chair of the Obesity Action Coalition and a writer on health issues, sorted out the schools of thought on obesity and divided commentators into three types. To quote him: Healthies…People with obesity are to be treated with “inform …

Childhood Obesity News has been exploring fatlogic, the peculiar and counterproductive mindset that affects people the world over. Examples of fatlogic can be found in many places, but Reddit is a goldmine. Here we learn that some people suffer from a …

Alex Brecher, who has successfully maintained a loss of more than 100 pounds for over a decade, vouches for the efficacy of lap-band surgery. Having come across them so often himself, Brecher is uniquely qualified to expose examples of fatlogic. He doe …

The Reddit website has a section called Fat People Stories, which features a special vocabulary. An obese person is a “hambeast” or “hamplanet,” and the obesity itself is referred to as a “condishun.” A state of mind known as the “hamentality” can incl …

(For the groundwork of this discussion, please see yesterday’s “Boy Scouts of America Say No to Flab”) Shown on this page is the Summit Bechtel Reserve, site of the 2013 Boy Scout Jamboree. Robert S. Wieder of CalorieLab reported that the Boy Scouts of …

Mother and child in Mongolia Earlier this year, the United Kingdom’s Overseas Development Institute determined that “The number of overweight and obese adults in the developing world has almost quadrupled to around one billion since 1980.” According to …

Drive carefully and eat sanely. Forget the soda, drink lots of water. Have fun being healthy! Image by First Baptist Nashville, used under its Creative Commons license.

Happy Memorial Day! #1 Picnic Tip — Never mind the SSBs (sugar-sweetened beverages). Take along plain water. Not to throw a shadow on the holiday, but take a moment to reflect: Many of the loved and honored people we commemorate today could have lived …

New Year’s Resolution #1: Remember New Year’s Resolutions all year! Have a great 2011! Image by Kevitivity (Kevin Stanchfield), used under its Creative Commons license.

Best Wishes for the Holiday of Your Choice from Childhood Obesity News Remember, this season is tough for a lot of reasons. Be good to yourself and others. Image by Luna Flamenca*..OFF for some days, used under its Creative Commons license.

Image by paul(dex), used under its Creative Commons license.

Holidays are tough for the nutrition-conscious. Bear in mind these random acts of kindness: For others: If somebody doesn’t want to eat a particular thing, or and more of it, don’t make a fuss. It’s no disrespect to your cooking or your hospitality. Pl …

Let’s celebrate our freedom to take control of our own destiny, and resist holiday binge eating! Let’s celebrate the abundance of our country that puts good, fresh, healthful food within the reach of so many of us! P.S. Let’s have fun! Image by ginnerr …