Allergies, Addiction, Childhood Obesity, and Halloween: All Scary
“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 above is not the ecard, by the way. The boy in the picture […]
A Psychological Problem, Not a Nutritional Problem
“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 journal Obesity showed that couples that lived together more than two years — […]
Obesity Spurs Growing Need for Bigger Seats
Because of big bottoms, theater owners are taking it on the chin. This issue may seem frivolous, but to struggling businesses and grant-supported institutions, it’s as serious as an obesity-induced heart attack. As budgets get smaller, customers get bigger, and any meaningful renovation of the premises now has to include new seating. Of course, not […]
Peer Groups Work for Many Addicts
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 thoroughly and drinking lots of water, or even amateur aversion therapy. We’ve […]
The Irresistible Junk Food
Let’s take a look at the simple explanations of several landmark studies in the field of childhood obesity, many of which seem to point to the reality of the food addiction paradigm. Freelance journalist Bijal Trivedi specializes in scientific, environmental, and medical matters, and her work has appeared in every magazine you’ve ever heard […]
Television Advertising and Childhood Obesity, Part 3
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 patience and crumble your resolve. TV commercials are slick, persuasive, and dangerous. It […]
Resistance to the Food Addiction Paradigm, Part 2
Back in May, when Oprah Winfrey publicly announced her food addiction, William Anderson took note. He specializes in helping people shed their extra pounds, and his book, The Anderson Method, deals with the use of psychotherapeutic techniques to achieve permanent weight loss. Sustainability is what it’s all about. Anderson himself has lost 140 pounds, and […]
Childhood Obesity and the Common Cold
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 and viral infections, this one seems to be attracting a lot of attention. The study’s […]
Dr. John La Puma on Childhood Obesity
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 mission is to make healthy cooking easy, even for people who never cooked before […]
Recognition of Food Addiction Paradigm Urgently Needed
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 doing it in parts of the world that never […]