Childhood Obesity News salutes the discovery of a new suspected obesity villain — the confectionary Advent calendar.

Researchers had accepted that when it comes to recognizing what constitutes the developmental pathway to obesity “multi-factorial” is the word of the century.

Genes influence a person’s brain and behavior. They influence obesity too, but after that, almost everything else is a big mystery.

Studies show that the genetic basis of obesity is multi-factorial, unsurprisingly.

Despite widespread official disapproval, millions of people believe that food addiction is a “thing” and treat their eating disorders as an addiction.

In order for doubters to believe in the existence of food addiction, whose testimony would satisfy the requirements?

Why is there a shortage of professionals who are willing to support the idea of employing addiction treatment methods on obesity?

Thin privilege means that overweight people have to put up with things that normal-weight people can’t even imagine.

In the U.K., more than 80 organizations signed a letter asking Coca-Cola to stop giving away sugary beverages via its truck holiday tour.

A little advance planning can smooth out the bumpy parts of traveling with an obese child. So good luck with that, and happy holidays!

Being a Passenger of Size involves various humiliations inflicted by fellow passengers and logistical nightmares.

A discussion of the work of the pseudonymous “Your Fat Friend,” whose mission is to help people become aware of what it’s like to exist as an obese person.

Strangely, many people’s anecdotal accounts of weight loss include a remark to the effect that they would not have made the effort, if not for fat-shaming.

Is food addiction a substance addiction? A behavioral addiction? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck — chances are, it is a duck.

Today we return to the concept of food addiction, which some critics have recently complained has no utility.

In the standup comedy culture obesity is both a weapon and a defense, an asset and a liability. But there is a whole other side to this apparent connection.

Many interesting things happen at the intersection of obesity and comedy, and there have always been famous overweight or obese actors and standup comics.

Does obesity cause MS? Some researchers read the evidence as an absolute yes, but it hasn’t been proven.

The metabolic syndrome, also known as insulin resistance, increases risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and is linked to obesity.

What if one of the main factors in diabetes management is Vitamin D deficiency? And is obesity a symptom of thyroid disease, or a cause?

A growing number of children and teens live with type 2 diabetes. Experts linked this with the dramatic increase, over the same time span, of childhood obesity.

Pro-inflammatory macrophages trigger low-grade inflammation that promotes systemic insulin resistance. Or… does the insulin resistance cause the inflammation?

Studies show that visceral fat is associated with increased inflammation, and also with increased risk of obesity-related co-morbidities.

Because of the complex combination of factors originating in the immune and endocrine systems it is still not clear exactly what goes on in the adipose tissue.

Obesity is connected with low-grade chronic inflammation, but then it gets complicated, because obesity is also associated with insulin resistance.

What’s the relationship, if any, between obesity and inflammation? Does one cause the other, or do they co-exist due to some other cause?

A recent study published by the JAMA Network looks at the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and long-term mortality.

What would exert abnormal force on a medial tibial growth plate? There is pretty good evidence that the answer is, obesity.

Overweight kids sustain more bone and joint injuries in the lower body than the upper body, compounded by excess weight.

A recent BMI study confirmed that kids who become obese tend to stay that way, which is an argument for the necessity of checking BMI early and often.