Sorry, moms of the world, but once again it all comes down to you. Or perhaps that should be, it all comes down on you — the blame or, as professionals call it, the responsibility. Last time, Childhood Obesity News looked at a study showing how detrim …

Dr. Brian Saelens of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute is also a University of Washington pediatrics professor, and according to the study made by him and a large number of co-authors, geography is destiny. They studied kids in Seattle and San …

Pediatrician Sue Hubbard, a.k.a. “The Kid’s Doctor,” hosts a TV show and believes in the importance of family routines. Along with many others in the health care field, she expressed her opinions about an Ohio State University study whose results seeme …

Just pick three random headlines: Parents influence kids on eating, fitness Parents misjudge risks of childhood obesity, survey finds Parents in survey take responsibility for childhood obesity The first one pertains to Duke University which, like so m …

It used to be fat was thought of as pretty much inert. Then scientific research brought about an “Everything you know is wrong” moment, and fat was declared to be a metabolically active organ. As Deepak Chopra puts it: Fat tissue produces literally doz …

Last time, Childhood Obesity News mentioned Dr. Andrew Bremer and his concern that “McDonald’s and chains of its ilk are contributing to obesity.” That means fast-food joints in general. Some of them are actually changing their ways, often because of l …

Last time, Childhood Obesity News looked at how Tim Carman constructed an article around the gimmick of imagining the far-out funny stuff that could happen if the McDonald’s corporation were allowed to do anything it wanted at the most recent Olympics. …

Every now and then, it’s necessary to check the fast-food front and see what the big boys have been up to. For instance, McDonald’s got some publicity when a man made news by restricting his diet to McDonald’s fare during his monthlong training period …

In desperation, people have come up with all kinds of ideas to end childhood obesity. One alarming headline went like this: Use law enforcement to get people to change eating habits, says UCLA panel… Yikes! That point of view is far from mainstream, …

Last time, we talked about a group discussion arranged by the authors of Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It was conducted with the goal of rejecting no suggestion, however weird, because the unimpeded flow of ideas turns out to be …

Disclaimer: Yesterday’s weird ideas sometimes turn out to be today’s brilliant breakthroughs. Today’s unlikely conjectures may be tomorrow’s world-saving innovations. Or not. Sometimes it is hard to tell. But in such a desperate situation as a worldwid …

Currently, according to federal law as embodied in the Social Security Act (which covers Medicare), various kinds of professionals can provide Medical Nutrition Therapy (dietary counseling) for patients with diabetes and obesity. Though they must meet …

Talk about your problems with your parents, friends, doctor, minister, or a counselor. While excessive weight gain can occur at any age, many parents don’t address the issue until the child is older and it has become a much bigger problem. When you wai …

Childhood Obesity News has been looking at some of the mistakes doctors make, but what could they be doing differently, and correctly? Dr. Pretlow believes in the usefulness of asking obese kids about their lives and feelings, especially the feelings t …

Childhood Obesity News has been looking at some of the possible interactions between doctors, patients, and the attitudes they both bring to their meetings, especially when the common ground is obesity. For The Wall Street Journal, Melinda Beck made a …

Obesity-hating may be the last socially acceptable form of bigotry, under which people seem to think it’s okay to champion inequality and practice discrimination. When control is in the hands of an airline, or a retail clothing store that refuses to ca …

Childhood Obesity News has been looking at various aspects of the relationship between doctors and obesity. Sadly, a lot of physicians are themselves obese, and others are intolerant of obesity in their patients. For National Public Radio, Joe Palca re …

Guess which health care professionals are most qualified to educate patients about obesity? The answer: Nutritionists and dieticians. Who says so? If you guessed “Doctors,” you are correct, according to this study conducted under the auspices of the Bl …

Lately, Childhood Obesity News has had doctors on its mind. Many medical professionals seem to feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. To prevent or recover from obesity, patients need more help, and doctors know this. Yet they feel inadequately pr …

Last time, Childhood Obesity News touched upon how the doctors in this country sometimes feel underqualified or reluctant to treat overweight patients. Now that the AMA has voted to recognize obesity as a disease, it seems like there’s a long road ahea …

Last month, the American Medical Association (AMA) declared obesity a disease. According to Melissa Healy and Anna Gorman, LA Times, this is “a move that effectively defines 78 million American adults and 12 million children as having a medical conditi …

An Ohio State University study, conducted several years ago but only recently published, found that a solid household routine can be helpful in preventing childhood obesity. Furthermore, other studies have found that regular family mealtimes can improv …

Even the most conscientious and well-meaning parent can feel like the fictional Alice going down the rabbit hole, when confronted with the plethora of advice intended to help kids avoid obesity. For instance, we all know that vegetables are good, but w …

Remember Haley Morris-Cafiero, whose ongoing art project involves capturing images of strangers who look disapprovingly at her overweight body? Her article, “How I Got Back at the Strangers Who Mock Me for Being Fat,” appeared on the AlterNet.org websi …

Last time Childhood Obesity News looked at some criticisms of the teen version of “The Biggest Loser.” As it turns out, medical professionals paid attention to the show also. In fact, doctors from various parts of the world got together on Monday eveni …

Last December, television found yet another way to hit a new low, at least in the opinion of critics of the teen version of “The Biggest Loser.” Not only that, but different people complained for different reasons. The contestants were a 16-year-old gi …

Last time, Childhood Obesity News discussed how Laura Beck of Jezebel took a raging dislike to the California anti-obesity ad that turned a regular little girl into a puffy-cheeked caricature. Among other angry things, she wrote: I’ll tell you what it’ …

Last week the American Medical Association (AMA) voted to call obesity a disease, which is basically a medical condition requiring treatment. In the most simple terms, they’re saying that 12 million American kids need to go to the doctor. According to …

What a lot of excitement! Everyone has something to say about the digital manipulation of a little girl’s picture. Last time, Childhood Obesity News talked about celebrity fat-shaming. This time, it’s more of the same old everyday fat-shaming of  child …

As Childhood Obesity News noted last time, film critic Rex Reed wrote extremely rude things about obese actor Melissa McCarthy and sparked a heated exchange of comments, some even more insulting toward McCarthy than the article which inspired them. But …