childhood obesity

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First Lady Needs More Oomph
 First Lady Needs 
 More Oomph 
opinion
Jan 2, 2010 1:11 PM CST

First Lady Needs More Oomph

She's been more 'dutiful than inspired,' writes Robin Givhan

(Newser) - Michelle Obama has been a busy and effective first lady, writes Robin Givhan, but not exactly inspiring. She has presided over scores of events, but usually in perfunctory manner from behind a lectern—"a metaphorical barrier to her down-to-earth personality and her wry humor." And while she's taken...

Home Daycare Turns Kids Into Couch Potatoes

Child-care centers do far better at restricting boob tube time

(Newser) - Children in home-based daycare watch far more TV than kids in formal child-care centers, with preschoolers averaging as much as 3.4 hours a day. The numbers in a new survey haven't changed much from stats recorded in previous years, which the researchers say they find "disconcerting, given the...

Worst Cereals Are Most Heavily Marketed to Kids
Worst Cereals Are Most Heavily Marketed to Kids
85% more sugar, anyone?
Oct 26, 2009 10:26 AM CDT

Worst Cereals Are Most Heavily Marketed to Kids

Industry's promise to self-regulate an 'abject failure'

(Newser) - Cereals marketed to kids are drastically less nutritious than those pitched to adults, despite industry promises to clean up its act, finds a new study from Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. The study confirms what a quick glance at the cereal aisle would tell you: Cereals...

Michelle Hits 142 at Hula Hoops
 Michelle Hits 142 at Hula Hoops 
Oct 22, 2009 2:00 AM CDT

Michelle Hits 142 at Hula Hoops

But the über-fit first lady just can't do double dutch

(Newser) - The president isn't the only Obama with impressive hoops prowess: Michelle managed 142 swivels of a hula hoop yesterday during a "healthy kids fair" on the White House lawn. Jumping rope double dutch? Not so much. The first lady also gave a pep talk about eating right to about...

'Obese' 4-Month-Old Denied Insurance

Nursing infant outside norms for age; 'absurd,' cry parents

(Newser) - A Colorado couple is baffled that their baby has been denied health insurance coverage because of a preexisting condition: obesity. “I could understand if we could control what he's eating,” says the boy’s father. “But he's 4 months old. He's breast-feeding. We can't put him on...

In US, Gym-Class Injuries Up 150% in Past Decade

Large class sizes, fewer school nurses may be to blame

(Newser) - American kids are suffering 150% more injuries in gym class than a decade ago, the AP reports. Over that period, a study found, there has been a renewed emphasis on physical-education class as a way to inculcate students with healthy habits and prevent obesity. But the increase in injuries may...

Pill May Slash Body Weight By a Quarter

Combination of hormones has a potent effect on mice

(Newser) - A drug that cut the body weight of mice by 25% is raising hopes for humans, the Daily Telegraph reports. The rodents lost 42% of their fat mass after a week, with even more powerful effects seen over a month. The pill combines hormones that have been found to weaken...

Fat Kids Dupe Docs, Rig Pedometers

(Newser) - Researchers couldn't understand why the pedometers they had attached to obese children showed they got plenty of exercise—until they realized they were counting dog steps, reports the BBC. Several of the London 11- and 12-year-olds taking part in the study simply attached the devices to their pets' collars.

Gain Less Pregnancy Weight If Obese: Docs

New guidelines say rising obesity puts mom, baby at risk

(Newser) - Obese women should gain between 11-20 pounds when pregnant, new guidelines urge; the figure is about half what’s recommended for women of normal weight, HealthDay News reports, and reflect concerns about the effect of rising obesity rates on mother and child.

20% of 4-Year-Olds Already Obese: Study

(Newser) - A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and...

Student Obesity Jumps in Schools Near Fast-Food Joints

Rate 5% higher when kids can walk to outlet

(Newser) - Students are more likely to be obese when their schools are located within a tenth of a mile of fast-food restaurants, researchers found. In a study of more than a million California ninth-graders over 8 years, they found that the incidence of obesity at schools near the restaurants was 5....

Obese Kids Have Middle-Aged Arteries

Scientists warn childhood obesity epidemic may lead to much shorter lifespans

(Newser) - Arteries of seriously overweight teenagers are as clogged as those of middle-aged people, according to US News & World Report. Researchers used ultrasound to measure the neck arteries of chubby kids at risk of heart trouble and were alarmed to find that their "vascular age" was an average of...

Fast Food Pounds Mediterranean

Mediterranean diet dumped for fast food and growing girths

(Newser) - The much-vaunted Mediterranean diet is falling out of favor fast around the Mediterranean —and obesity rates are rocketing, the New York Times reports. Greek men are now the fattest people in Europe by far as the traditional diet high in vegetables and fish but low in meat is replaced...

Teen Obesity Can Cause Liver Disease, Cancer

Condition may lead to organ failure; weight loss can help: experts

(Newser) - In a new and disturbing twist on the obesity epidemic, some overweight teens have severe liver damage caused by too much body fat, and a handful have needed liver transplants, the AP reports. The condition, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure or liver cancer, is being seen in...

UK Weighs Taking Fat Kids From Parents

Dangerously chubby children may end up in social service system

(Newser) - Local government leaders in Britain warn that they may need to take drastic action to protect the health of dangerously overweight children—including taking them away from their parents, the Independent reports. They predict that a million British children will be clinically obese within four years, and that the social...

'Obesity Gene' Linked to Runaway Appetite

Children in study had harder time feeling full

(Newser) - Children who carry a version of a gene linked to obesity have a more difficult time telling when they're full, researchers have found. Earlier studies discovered that adults with two copies of the higher obesity risk version of the FTO gene were nearly 7 pounds heavier than a control group....

More Kids Take Grown-up Drugs in Obesity Fight

Critics say it's a poor substitute for good diet and exercise

(Newser) - Doctors are prescribing drugs to more and more children to treat conditions related to obesity, the New York Times reports. Data released by pharmacy plans show that medication for Type 2 diabetes has seen the biggest increase—151% from 2001 to last year. And this month, a pediatricians group recommended...

Kids Dump Exercise by Their Teens

Most get just 30 minutes exercise a day

(Newser) - American children stop getting enough exercise by the time they reach their teens, according to a new study. Researchers tracked more than 1,000 children and discovered that those who averaged three hours of exercise a day at age 9 barely managed 30 minutes of physical activity at 15, reports...

Docs Push Cholesterol Tests for Kids

New rules advise testing as young as 2, treating with statins at 8

(Newser) - With 30% of US children overweight, pediatricians are now recommending cholesterol screenings for kids as young as 2, and the use of cholesterol-fighting drugs in youngsters 8 and up, in order to stave off diabetes and early heart attacks. Some 30%-60% of children with high cholesterol aren’t being treated,...

Childhood Obesity Rate Levels Off

Researchers report first 'glimmer of hope' in decades

(Newser) - The rate of childhood obesity appears to have peaked, providing the first "glimmer of hope" on the problem in decades, federal researchers say. About 15% of kids ages 2 to 19 are obese, a slight decrease from the percentage in 1999, the Washington Post reports. It's the first time...

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