obesity epidemic

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Army Wants to Fight Obesity—With Fat Injections

New research award asks companies for a way to generate 'good' brown fat

(Newser) - The Army thinks its troops are getting too fat, and it's hoping to solve that problem with science. In its latest round of small-business research awards, the Army has asked companies to find a way to slim down its soldiers by injecting them with fat. Confused? Well, as Wired...

US Obesity Rates Leveling Off
 US Obesity Rates Leveling Off 

US Obesity Rates Leveling Off

After 30 years on the rise, rates appear to be stabilizing

(Newser) - After rapidly rising for three decades, obesity rates in the US are apparently stabilizing—finally, the Los Angeles Times reports. New data shows just a slight rise in obesity rates since 2005, and many experts say this flattening reflects the success of efforts such as healthier school lunches and nutritional...

Paula Deen Confirms Type 2 Diabetes, Partners With Drugmaker Novartis
Deen Confirms Diabetes, Partners With Drugmaker
UPDATED

Deen Confirms Diabetes, Partners With Drugmaker

Paula wants to show American public 'simple ways' to cope with disease

(Newser) - It's as official as it is unshocking: Butter-slinging celeb chef Paula Deen—she who combined a Krispy Kreme doughnut, hamburger, bacon, and fried egg and called it breakfast —confirms that she has Type 2 diabetes . But she's determined to make something positive out of the diagnosis, like...

British Women Are Europe's Fattest: Study
 UK Women: 
 'Europe's 
 Fattest' 
study says

UK Women: 'Europe's Fattest'

British women fatter than Maltese, Latvians, and Hungarians

(Newser) - The Brits clearly know how to toss a few back —but now it turns out they can wolf down a good meal or three, too. A new study finds that the UK has more overweight women than any country across Europe, the BBC reports. The survey of 19 countries...

15 Things That Will Make You Fat

Holidays, relationships, and quitting smoking among the dangers

(Newser) - With Americans continuing to get bigger and bigger , we need all the help we can get to stay healthy—so the Daily Beast offers a warning on 15 things that might cause you to pack on the pounds:
  • Holiday season: With all the food, stress, and booze associated with Thanksgiving,
...

Frank Bruni: Chris Christie's Weight Has Nothing to Do With His Ability to Be President
 Chris Christie 
 Is Fat—So What? 
OPINION

Chris Christie Is Fat—So What?

'Girth doesn't equal character,' writes Frank Bruni

(Newser) - Sometimes, size does matter, such as in spelunking or squeezing into a middle seat on economy class flights. "But the presidency? That’s ludicrous," writes Frank Bruni in the New York Times , referring to recent sneering coverage of the portly Chris Christie and his presidential amibitions. There are...

Taxpayers Subsidizing Junk Food: Report

To the tune of $16.9B over 15 years

(Newser) - Is America’s obesity epidemic government subsidized? That’s the question CALPIRG and the US PIRG Education Fund set out to answer with a new study, and its answer was affirmative, according to the LA Times . From 1995 to 2010, the government handed $16.9 billion in farm subsidies to...

Study Finds Marijuana Users Less Likely to Be Obese
 Pot Smokers 
 Less Likely 
 to Be Obese 
study says

Pot Smokers Less Likely to Be Obese

Maybe the munchies aren't so bad for you...

(Newser) - Marijuana users are less likely to be obese, according to a new study that would seem to fly in the face of the legendary munchies that are almost synonymous with pot. Researchers were so surprised by the results that they examined a second sample, only to come up with the...

Half of US to Be Obese by 2030
 Half of US to Be Obese by 2030 

Half of US to Be Obese by 2030

Governments need to lead fight against obesity, researchers say

(Newser) - Bulging waistlines around the world are going to cause a public health disaster over the next 20 years unless the spread of obesity is checked, a new study warns. A third of Americans are now classed as obese and researchers predict it will be 50% by 2030, resulting in millions...

Work Is Less of a Workout These Days

We burn fewer calories on the job than people in the 1960s

(Newser) - You'll want to sit down for this—wait, you probably already are. Fewer jobs requiring even moderate physical activity contributes to workers burning 120 to 140 fewer calories on the job than they did in the '60s, reports USA Today . During an average workday, men burn an average...

McDonald's: We're Not Ditching Ronald

CEO defends marketing, says clown is 'ambassador for good'

(Newser) - McDonald’s isn’t going to stop marketing to kids anytime soon if CEO Jim Skinner has anything to say about it. At the company’s annual meeting today, Skinner defended the practice and said parents should be able to decide for themselves whether McDonald’s is healthy enough. “...

Regulators Want to Put Ronald Out to Pasture

FTC trying to end marketing of junk food to kids

(Newser) - The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a new set of food advertising guidelines that could leave Ronald McDonald hanging out with Joe Camel in the unemployment line. The new guidelines aim to stop companies from marketing products that are high in sugar, fat, or salt to children, forbidding everything from...

Virginia Gov. Vetoes School PE Bill

'Unfunded mandate' would have required 150 minutes of PE a week

(Newser) - Virginia’s governor has vetoed a bill that would have required 150 minutes of physical activity per week at elementary and middle schools, handing a victory to school officials who complained that the measure would cost millions to staff, lengthen the school day, and take away from arts education. “...

40% of Gastric Band Patients Have Complications
40% of Gastric Band Patients Have Complications
study says

40% of Gastric Band Patients Have Complications

But supporters say technique, product has improved in last decade

(Newser) - More negative news on gastric banding weight-loss surgery: A Belgian study suggests the bands are prone to nasty complications years after surgery. Almost 40% of patients had a major complication 12 years or more down the road, LiveScience reports. Infections and disintegration of the band were the main issues; 60%...

Fat Americans Need More Space on Buses: Feds

...and feds think bus-testing regulations need to change to reflect this

(Newser) - As Americans get heftier, bus bosses are scrambling to support the extra weight. The Federal Transit Administration wants to tweak its bus-testing regulations so that they better reflect the people that will likely be riding those buses. It has proposed raising the average bus-passenger weight from 150 to 175 pounds,...

Bachmann: First Lady Wants a 'Nanny State'

Minnesota rep slams breastfeeding campaign

(Newser) - Just a few days after Andrew Breitbart ran a cartoon basically calling her fat , Michelle Obama and her anti-obesity campaign came under attack again, this time from Michele Bachmann. The Minnesota congresswoman and Tea Party favorite ripped Obama's push to advocate breastfeeding as part of the fight against childhood obesity,...

More Than 10% of Planet's Adults Obese

Study also find US has highest BMI among high-income countries

(Newser) - Almost half a billion adults—10% of the adult population worldwide—were obese as of 2008, a new study finds. That’s nearly twice the 1980 rate, reports Scientific American . On average, each decade has seen a body mass index inch up 0.4 to an average of 23.8...

Dear America, Eat Less. Sincerely, Feds

New federal guidelines urge limits on salt, saturated fat

(Newser) - Not only are the feds picking on how many Twinkies vs. how many carrots you eat, but the New York Times reports that now they're picking on how much you eat, period. The newest federal nutrition guidelines, revised every five years, predictably admonish Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables...

Jamie Oliver Can't Save Us; Maybe Undercover Boss Can

Essay: Chubby Americans need to re-learn what it means to work

(Newser) - Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is fighting the good fight against the obesity epidemic with his Food Revolution reality show, trying to get Americans to choose "seasonal parsnips over a burger with fries," writes Stephen Marche. Sadly, he's doomed to fail. Americans love to chow down, and the problem...

What the Right (and Left) Get Wrong in the Obesity War

Choice is great—but we're making the wrong ones, writes Cathy Young

(Newser) - As Michelle Obama and Congress champion efforts to fight childhood obesity, the right, led by Sarah Palin and Fox News, is angrily firing back. While some of their concerns are fair—that healthy-eating messaging can escalate into “propaganda,” for example—others suggest “a reality check is in...

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