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 …

There are 28 million school-age children in the U.S., Sally Sampson says, and she wants every single one of them to have a copy of her magazine, ChopChop, whose mission is to reverse and prevent childhood obesity. It’s a quarterly, and the first issue …

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 …

An Associated Press news article from Sao Paulo, Brazil, recently reported that a McDonald’s manager successfully sued the company for making him obese. He worked there for 12 years, and packed on 65 pounds while diligently sampling each day’s fare to …

“In the interest of fighting the childhood obesity epidemic, I’ve decided to eat all the Halloween candy I bought.” Just kidding. The line is from Someecards, a company that devises — you guessed it — greeting cards in electronic format. The picture …

“Will Marriage Make You Fat?” is the question asked by Cynthia Ramnarace in an article that follows the histories of three different couples. She got interested in the emotional basis of obesity because of something she read: A 2008 study in the journa …

Researchers at Iowa State University, after studying the lives and health of over 1,000 teenagers, have concluded that adolescent obesity is very much connected to the increasing levels of stress. For starters, 47% of the adolescents they studied were …

You’re not gonna believe this, but we are still marveling over the vast number of intelligent, coherent, and useful responses that came in regarding last Friday’s post, “When There Is Nothing to Do but Eat.” For instance, somebody known as JumpGym Vanc …

We have mentioned Oprah Winfrey’s chagrin when she had been told by her doctor that she would need to “embrace hunger.” Many of us would be better off learning to feel pleasant anticipation of a good meal rather than a craving for junk food. We could e …

Don’t you love it when somebody brings up an angle that isn’t discussed much, but maybe ought to be? That’s what Deborah Schoeberlein did, in a piece for the Huffington Post, called “Overweight Kids? Feed Them Compassion and Mindfulness.” She’s talking …

Glenn Cook is an editorial writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and when he gets interested in a subject, that subject goes under the microscope for thorough examination. Recently, Cook got to thinking about the reasons for the childhood obesity ep …

So many different fields have something to contribute to solving the childhood obesity problem, and there are a lot of things that can be done, both large and small. We’ve talked about change that can be undertaken right at home, like chewing more thor …

We’ve talked before about various possible solutions to the childhood obesity riddle, including the simple ones. Not that a “solution” means that someone will only need to do that one thing, and immediately lose 100 pounds. But simple solutions are goo …

There are two really good reasons to limit screen time for kids (and grownups too). Reason Number One: If you’re facing a monitor, you’re probably sitting still. Reason Number Two: If you aspire to sane eating habits, network television will try your p …

Every now and then, something comes from out of left field. A connection between childhood obesity and the common cold? Who would have thought of it? Somebody did, and while there have been other studies tracking possible associations between obesity a …

Fat Boy Thin Man is Michael Prager’s memoir of “a fat and troubled childhood that lasted almost 35 years.” He spent more than 10 years over the 300-pound mark. When Prager hit 365, he opted for standard addiction treatment, just like any substance abus …

In collaboration with Dr. Michael Roizen, Dr. John La Puma taught the first cooking and nutrition course in the United States that was designed specifically for medical students. Then with Rebecca Marx, Dr. La Puma went on to found ChefMD, whose missio …

LaDonna Redmond is an empowered mother — the kind of mom we need more of — to stem the tide of the childhood obesity epidemic. She’s been called a pioneer, a visionary, a green-collar hero, and a woman who is shaping the world. Last month, in her cap …

Oprah Winfrey is a mentor and role model for millions, so naturally it makes sense to check out who she gets her advice from: trainer Bob Greene. The Best Life is his website, and we’re here to find out what he’s been telling Oprah. Greene’s program ha …

Usually we have no sympathy to spare for the fast food industry, but it seems like even when it tries to do better, things don’t work out somehow. Thanks, Yunji de Nies and Claudia Acosta of ABC News, for reporting on this. When Yum Brands introduced g …

Robin Shreves, a stay-at-home mom who writes about eco-friendly food options, recently interviewed Mrs. Q, a teacher in the American Midwest with a mission to improve school lunches. She frankly admits to not having all the answers. To learn more, she …

Health columnist Melinda Beck writes for the The Wall Street Journal, and she had also formerly edited that publication’s Marketplace section. Recently, she looked into the technology of fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scanning, and how it …

Camille Noe Pagan specializes in writing about health and nutrition, and also likes to bake, so it’s no surprise that she took an interest in a study conducted by McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School on the topic of eating disorders. Pagan talked …

It’s a lens, a filter, a point of view, a set of new eyes, a new set of mind. It’s the psychological food-dependence-addiction lens. Whatever you like to call it, it is very much needed. So many children and teenagers are drowning in fat, and they’re d …

In “What is MI?,” Stephen Rollnick, Ph.D., and William R. Miller, Ph.D., talk about the spirit of motivational interviewing, which tends to downplay formal technique. The authors summarize it in seven key points, which are also briefly summed up here, …

Obesity can be bad enough, but obesity in front of millions of people, whose eyes are glued to every ounce you gain, that’s a real recipe for distress. The struggle against food addiction is difficult for anyone. For a woman who is not only a celebrity …

You’ve had your day — and you’re no longer welcome here! Three cheers for Corporate Accountability International (CAI) whose “Retire Ronald” campaign is going after this character just like they went after Joe Camel, and, in that instance, had won. CA …

We previously wrote about how much we regret the tendency of corporations to use such attractive aesthetic trimmings as riotous colors, animated cartoons, and music to entice children into demanding junk food. Of course, that will never change. As long …

In “Behind the Shady World of Marketing Junk Food to Children,” Jill Richardson reveals that one out of every three visits to fast food eateries is the direct result of parents being nagged beyond endurance. Apparently, that’s all part of the master pl …