The Food Subsidy Racket

April 11, 2016
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We pay “food” subsidies for products that are not even food. The government uses public money to guarantee private profit.

Generations of Insanity About Food

April 8, 2016
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Even with all their lobbying power, some food companies seem to have no interest in protecting consumers from obesity.

Fat-shaming in Pop Culture

April 7, 2016
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Fat-shaming denies overweight people their humanity. As our pop culture reflects, every fat-shaming incidence encourages more of the same.

The Ubiquity of Cravings

April 6, 2016
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Kids don’t need more nutrition information. They mainly need training and encouragement in how to control food cravings.

Who Has It Worse?

April 5, 2016
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Kids desperately need to learn how resist cravings. Take a look around: How many adults can do that? Going by the evidence, not many.

Emotional Eating — More Angles

April 4, 2016
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Childhood Obesity News continues to examine the cause, the consequences, and the solutions of comfort eating in children.

The Ultimate Parents’ Checklist

April 1, 2016
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Childhood Obesity News presents the April Fools’ “Ultimate Parents’ Checklist” — on what NOT to do with your kids when it comes to food.

Emotional Eating — Some Angles

March 31, 2016
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The relationship between comfort eating and obesity is not news. Health professionals are trying to figure out how to break the connection.

To Build a Culture of Health

March 29, 2016
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RWJF’s national program supports research likely to promote healthy eating in children and reverse the childhood obesity epidemic.

When It Comes to Advertising, Teens Are Vulnerable Too

March 28, 2016
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A recent study shows that, when it comes to food advertising, adolescents are vulnerable in ways we previously thought were problematic only for the very young.

The Great Fat Acceptance Roundup

March 25, 2016
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Fat rejection is out of the question, but if the alternative is to buy into fat acceptance — is that also unhealthy?

Are Teens Worse Off Than Ever Before?

March 24, 2016
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Stress in adolescents erodes their self-esteem, and evidence shows a link between obesity and low self-esteem.

Must Addiction Always Win Over Motivation?

March 23, 2016
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The lack of alternate motivation is part of the definition of addiction. What motivates someone to deal with addiction?

Motivation: Elusive and Mysterious

March 18, 2016
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The quality of life experienced by obese kids is about the same as that of kids suffering from cancer.

The Daunting Challenge of Motivation

March 15, 2016
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Lack of motivation appears due to fear of withdrawal symptoms and fear of losing a major coping mechanism (eating).

More About Screen Time

March 14, 2016
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Childhood Obesity News takes another look at sedentary lifestyle, including video games and TV viewing.

Sedentary Lifestyle Attacked and Defended

March 11, 2016
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Sedentary lifestyle, including television viewing and video-game playing, is widely criticized as an obesity villain.

The Allergy Dot

March 7, 2016
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The gut microbiome, allergy, addiction, leaky gut syndrome, and autoimmune disease have been shown to be connected.

Duodenal Switch Surgery

March 2, 2016
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Childhood Obesity News discusses the duodenal switch surgery, which is reserved for patients with a BMI of over 50.

How Is That Self-Policing Thing Working Out?

March 1, 2016
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In 1849, the French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote words that became a proverb: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” The saying is just as true in English: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Five years ago, Michael F. …

Self-Regulation – A Case Study (continued)

February 29, 2016
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In discussing the food industry’s promise of self-policing in the realm of child-targeted advertising, we saw how Nestle wiggled out of taking responsibility for cheating when they introduced three varieties of Girl Scout cookie-based candy bars. The c …

Self-Regulation – a Food Industry Case Study

February 26, 2016
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The food industry is fighting efforts to improve nutritional value of foods traditionally marketed directly to children.

Coke and Disadvantaged Indigenous Populations

February 18, 2016
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In Australia, Coca-Cola Amatil sued the government for promoting the 10-cent beverage container recycling idea.

Coke and McDonald’s — Partners in Slime

February 17, 2016
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McDonald’s and Coca-Cola Company continue to want more junk-food addict customers, and at an even younger age.

A Busy Year for Coke

February 16, 2016
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It was a busy year for Coca Cola Company, the world’s largest purveyor of liquified sugar, tooth decay, and childhood obesity.

Activists vs. Big Soda

February 15, 2016
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Activists in the U.S. and overseas campaign for sale bans or at least warning labels for sugar-sweetened beverages.

Coke and the GEBN Debacle

February 12, 2016
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In the final quarter of 2015, the Coca-Cola Company was taking a lot of heat, what with one thing and another. The very well-respected Lancet published an editorial that illustrates the corporation’s talent for shifting blame. The source of the trouble …

Coke Spends Its Money Widely

February 11, 2016
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It would have been nice to go back to ignoring the Coca-Cola Company for a while, but it is such a busy corporation, the notices keep piling up. Regarding 2015, the final quarter alone provided plenty of fodder for criticism as the company appeared to …

Gabriel Iglesias Validates Science

February 10, 2016
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In a very recent post, we quoted Dr. Ruopeng An, whose research team determined that… If people simply substitute diet beverages for sugar-sweetened beverages, it may not have the intended effect because they may just eat those calories rather than d …

Coke in Mexico

February 9, 2016
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As a nation rife with obesity, Mexico ranks even above the U.S. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, senior author of a recent Tufts University study, has this to say: In Mexico, where more than 10 percent of the population has diabetes, approximately 30 percent o …

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Profiles: Kids Struggling with Weight

Profiles: Kids Struggling with Obesity top bottom

The Book

OVERWEIGHT: What Kids Say explores the obesity problem from the often-overlooked perspective of children struggling with being overweight.

About Dr. Robert A. Pretlow

Dr. Robert A. Pretlow is a pediatrician and childhood obesity specialist. He has been researching and spreading awareness on the childhood obesity epidemic in the US for more than a decade.
You can contact Dr. Pretlow at:

Presentations

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the American Society of Animal Science 2020 Conference
What’s Causing Obesity in Companion Animals and What Can We Do About It

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the World Obesity Federation 2019 Conference:
Food/Eating Addiction and the Displacement Mechanism

Dr. Pretlow’s Multi-Center Clinical Trial Kick-off Speech 2018:
Obesity: Tackling the Root Cause

Dr. Pretlow’s 2017 Workshop on
Treatment of Obesity Using the Addiction Model

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation for
TEC and UNC 2016

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the 2015 Obesity Summit in London, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s invited keynote at the 2014 European Childhood Obesity Group Congress in Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2013 European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2011 International Conference on Childhood Obesity in Lisbon, Portugal.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2010 Uniting Against Childhood Obesity Conference in Houston, TX.

Food & Health Resources