While government programs do try to reduce obesity, they rarely specifically address the racial and ethnic disparities that factor into childhood obesity.

Weight-loss surgery in the U.S. is twice as likely to be performed on a white teen. Various experts suggest reasons for this disparity.

In the U.S., economic deprivation and social inequality are prone to coincide with obesity, and obesity is much more widespread among people of color.

The researchers found evidence that, in adulthood, long-term weight loss is hard to sustain because the body constantly strives to return to its largest size.

Is food addiction a substance addiction, a behavioral addiction, or a combination of both? And why is there resistance to accepting the idea of food addiction?

Poverty is very much linked to race in America. It’s also reflected in the prevalence of obesity among the historically disenfranchised groups.

Research shows there is a strong likelihood that racially and ethnically targeted marketing contributes to health disparities, including obesity rates.

Why do people seek out comfort food? Because of psychological tension and uncertainty.

Childhood Obesity News has been tracing the recent history of research into the relationship between obesity and ethnicity in America.

In economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, fast food outlets were named as a major contributory factor to the obesogenic environment.

There doesn’t seem to be a link between early onset puberty and obesity in boys, but it’s there in girls. Psychosocial stress also contributes to obesity.

Research suggests that different factors during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood might explain racial and ethnic differences in obesity rates.

Most medical professionals see stress eating and comfort eating as the same phenomenon, and both are included under emotional eating.

“Does Comfort Eating Work?” is a question that is asked seriously by bona fide residents of Academia.

For many professionals in the field, comfort/stress eating lives under the larger umbrella of “emotional eating.”

Opinions vary wildly on whether eliminating wheat from your diet is necessary and would curb obesity.

Given all we know about gluten’s effect on those affected by the celiac disease, how likely is it that gluten is harmless to everybody else?

Ivana Trump wants to “make America svelte again” while the government plans plans budget cuts for nutrition programs for children.

In Dr. Pretlow’s W8Loss2Go program, withdrawal from a problem food is meant to culminate in abstinence. Otherwise, it isn’t really withdrawal, is it?

Because many diseases have revealed themselves to be multi-factorial, it is never a good idea to vilify one particular food group.

We continue the discussion on the whole-grain enthusiast Sue Becker’s dissatisfaction with Dr. William Davis’ book “Wheat Belly” and the reasons behind it.

Sue Becker of The Bread Beckers Inc. reviews Dr. William Davis’ book “Wheat Belly,” but much of her criticism seems to stem from anecdotal evidence.

Wheat is viewed as a problem food, a cause of unhealthy weight gain, and possibly even addictive by some. Bright Line Eating is not against wheat but all flour.

We’re trying to solve a puzzle that arose from looking into a program called Bright Line Eating, created by Susan Peirce Thompson. But first, her story.

How much empathy do normal-weight travelers have for the obese? “Flying while fat” can be uncomfortable, upsetting and expensive.

Childhood Obesity News is looking at the ideas of medical professionals working with patients who find it nearly impossible to quit wheat and/or gluten.

People need to feel that they are valued and loved, even if they are not particularly healthy; indeed, even if they are morbidly obese.

It’s as if thin people have blanket permission to make overweight and obese people, even the ones trying hard, the butt of their jokes.

Where do overweight people go to talk about the discrimination that blankets their lives with misery, to vent about the cultural norms?

It makes sense for medical professionals to have a rudimentary grasp of nutrition and related areas of knowledge, so why is nutrition education not taught more?