Government on every level can do a lot of things, no question about it. The hot discussion should be over what the government should do. Whatever the government is already doing, is it having any effect? Should more of it be done, or less? What uninten …

We’ve seen it on bumper stickers and t-shirts, a saying that is short and to the point: I can resist anything except temptation. Ain’t it the truth! Especially when it’s an obese person wearing the t-shirt. And that goes double when the person in the s …

Childhood Obesity Science Conflicts of Interest If a tobacco company were to fund an anti-smoking scientific journal, most people would point out the glaring conflict of interest. Yet, a new peer-reviewed, scientific journal, Childhood Obesity (Mary An …

Earlier this month, Dr. Pretlow was a guest on a radio show, where he talked about childhood obesity and his book, Overweight: What Kids Say. So you may be thinking, “Now, the Childhood Obesity News blog returns the favor by promoting Dr. Fitness & …

Connie Bennett quit sugar more than 10 years ago, and wrote about it in her book, Sugar Shock! This all-pervasive substance can be a problem not only for the obese, but for just about anybody. Bennett says, The theory of sugar addiction or dependency – …

Let’s see what Dr. Mark Hyman, founder of The UltraWellness Center, has to say. We have quoted him before, by the way, on the subject of food addiction. He and Dr. Pretlow share an interesting characteristic. Neither of them are prejudiced against what …

Would you be surprised to learn that we have talked about TV before? Not with a title like this one! And you probably wonder what there could possibly be more to say about the immense amount of money spent by food corporations that relentlessly fill ou …

The Council on Size & Weight Discrimination (CSWD) has issued a statement of its position on obesity, discrimination, prejudice, equality, business best practices, false advertising, economic exploitation, negative publicity, and other aspects of t …

Every now and then, the subject of wide seats will float to the top of public consciousness. It came up again earlier this year, when a group called Theatre Projects Consultants speculated about whether, at an average of 22″, the seats in performing ar …

Every social problem sooner or later manifests a person who embodies it, what the media calls “giving it a human face.” Among the confessions and pleas for help that have been posted in the Comfort Eating discussion at Weigh2Rock, the communications fr …

Sarah Palin has been accused of being an addictive substance, in such headlines as (the following links in headlines are ours): “Why is Sarah Palin the crack cocaine addiction of the liberal party?” and “America’s addiction: Sarah Palin,” in which writ …

One of the features of the Weigh2Rock website is the Comfort Eating Board, which is typical of the several different discussion groups that are available so kids can talk about and seek help for their obesity problems. It even has a search function. Ju …

The childhood obesity perfect storm continues — the combination of circumstances that have accumulated to bury children in layers of fat, and not only our own home-grown American children, but children all over the world. Something very ominous is hap …

We have talked before about the “perfect storm” that Dr. Pretlow identifies as the cause of the childhood obesity epidemic. It’s a witch’s brew of at least five elements: the high-tech production of hedonic foods; their availability to kids; the increa …

Dr. Mark Hyman does not speak in polite euphemisms, but titles an essay in the bluntest terms, “Food Addiction: Could It Explain Why 70 Percent of Americans Are Fat?” Yes, it could! This is what Dr. Pretlow has been saying all along. There really is su …

One of the obvious drawbacks of childhood obesity is that it hangs around and becomes adolescent obesity and, eventually, adult obesity. Sure, many people have overcome their propensity to be overweight, and they are heroes. Ruby Gettinger and others h …

The childhood obesity epidemic can be reversed, but nobody ever said it would be easy. Here is the question posed by journalist Mike Lillis on The Hill: Why, when faced with a childhood obesity epidemic, would the federal government continue to subsidi …

The Onion is known as one of the hottest works of satirical art on the planet throughout history. Bearing that in mind, have you ever had the experience of seeing a news story that you figured has to be from The Onion? And then you found out that it’s …

We have talked about the Perfect Storm concept before. This is what happens when a whole lot of conditions converge to cause a large problem. Probably no single one of them alone would have done it. But when they gang up and come at us all at once, we’ …

Sarah Palin just can’t seem to stay out of the news. Now she has everybody riled up over cookies. But what’s a tea party without cookies? The state of Pennsylvania has some new guidelines in the pipeline aimed at reducing the childhood obesity rate. We …

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 …

When a big load of research comes to fruition and becomes a published study, there is nothing finer than an articulate professional who can break it down for you. Dr. Ayala Laufer-Cahana is splendid at doing just that. The controversial new report is f …

Several interesting books have been published lately in which the author traces his or her lifelong relationship with food, and some of those confessions have been reviewed by Darya Pino, Ph.D., who believes in sticking to local, seasonal foods and shu …

How many excuses can a bully find for picking on another kid? Well let’s see, there’s color, religion, sex, economic status, and, of course, size. And childhood obesity isn’t even the issue here, obesity being defined as a Body Mass Index at or above t …

Nothing can make you feel as smart as a page full of numerical trivia. That’s why Harper’s Index has so many fans among the magazine’s readers. This information comes from an old clipping. Way back in 1983, the average child in America had been tempted …

Childhood obesity is just adult obesity getting an early start, and we had better get this thing figured out before 100% of us are overweight or obese. To encourage us, Justin Stoneman recently published an essay in The Huffington Post titled “America: …

We’re taking a closer look at the elements of the childhood obesity perfect storm, as Dr. Pretlow terms the combination of circumstances that all came together in just the wrong way. The first element is the use of high technology to develop and manufa …

“Perfect storm” is a term that has been around since at least the 1930s. A perfect storm is what happens when a number of powerful factors concur in such a way that a disastrous or critical situation is created. No single one of them alone would have h …

Rule #1: Geography is destiny, so do not live near fast food outlets. From the University of Leeds, in Northern England, comes scientific confirmation that childhood obesity is more likely to be found in kids who live near fast food restaurants, or att …

It’s bad enough that we are surrounded by the brightly colored packages of products that barely qualify as edible, no matter how many cartoon characters may decorate them. What a great recipe for childhood obesity, adult obesity, and the endless compli …