Childhood Obesity News and Research

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Supersize me: The social context of the childhood obesity epidemic

Boston Children’s Museum announced today the second Lunch & Learn in a series of lectures which focus on helping parents, educators and child caregivers understand and react to the most prevalent issues facing our children.

18 May 2010

First Edition: May 17, 2010

Today's headlines highlight stories about efforts to advance the implementation of federal health reforms as well as the sweeping measure's political impact in primary races across the country.

17 May 2010

Do Something World Festival wraps up week-long campaign of volunteer service

California Pastor Miles McPherson returned to the Caribbean this week with a large team of volunteers to "do something" for the region. McPherson, a former NFL Player, Senior Pastor of the Rock Church, San Diego and founder of Miles Ahead has produced the Cayman Islands "Do Something World Festival," to take place May 14-15.

15 May 2010

Minnesota lawmakers debate budget, Medicaid expansion

More budget talks were expected Thursday as Minnesota's legislative session hurtled toward a midnight Sunday deadline with no deal on a $3 billion deficit. The Democratic-controlled Legislature defied another veto threat from Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty late Wednesday and sent him a health and welfare package he opposes.

14 May 2010

Parents must step up as role models against childhood obesity, says physical education teacher

Over the past 20 years, physical education teacher Terry Wade has seen a dramatic change in her students. Childhood obesity is rampant, and lack of exercise and overeating is leading to serious health problems in kids. What to do? Step up as role models and lead by example, says Wade, who is also a volunteer coordinator for the youth fitness and nutrition program Marathon Kids.

13 May 2010

Michelle Obama releases plan to 'reverse childhood obesity'

USA Today: "First lady Michelle Obama unveiled a plan today to 'reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity' and called for help from governments, schools and businesses as well as the families themselves. ... Obama and her aides released a task force report titled Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation. The goal, she said, is to 'ensure that our children can have the healthy lives and the bright futures that they deserve'" (Jackson, 5/11)

13 May 2010

First Edition: May 12, 2010

Today's headlines include reports about new congressional budget office projections that increase the 10-year costs of the health overhaul law.

12 May 2010

Children who eat lunch as part of NSLP have increased likelihood of becoming overweight: Research

With obesity becoming an epidemic among school-aged children in this country, a Georgia State University professor has found a link between overweight children and federal school nutrition programs.

12 May 2010

International Dairy Foods Association issues statement on Childhood Obesity Report

The International Dairy Foods Association issued the following statement by Connie Tipton, president and CEO, regarding today's Report to the President by the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity:

12 May 2010

TFAH commends Childhood Obesity Task Force's report

Trust for America's Health commends the Childhood Obesity Task Force's report, Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation, which includes proposed recommendations for reducing the rate of childhood obesity from 17% to 5% by 2030. The report includes a total of 70 recommendations for specific action steps, many of which can be implemented right away and are minimal or no-cost.

12 May 2010

IBM to analyze best way to cut childhood obesity

IBM "will put computer models to work analyzing the reams of available data on the different factors that might affect obesity - things such as consumer behavior, the location of grocery stores, the availability of physical activity facilities and even community transportation options - and see how those factors interact.

7 May 2010

Creator of California Tay-Sachs Disease Prevention Program among the honorees

A mere 40 years ago, parents didn't know they were carriers of the Tay-Sachs disease until after they'd given birth to a child with this fatal genetic disorder.

7 May 2010

Imprinted genes may be the root cause of gender specific diseases, says study

Pregnancy places competing demands on a mother's physiology: Her body wants to produce a strong healthy baby but not at the expense of her own health. Some of the genes that she passes on to her child therefore try to protect her own body from excessive demands from her child.

7 May 2010

IBM embarks on multi-year research effort to better understand actions needed to improve human health

IBM today launched a multi-year research effort to connect and analyze enormous collections of data from a wide variety of sources in order to enable individuals, governments and businesses to better understand which actions to take to improve human health. The project will initially focus on solving the issue of childhood obesity.

6 May 2010

Obesity epidemic may be flattening out - still much to be done

The prevalence of childhood obesity might be stabilising in developed countries, but there is still much to be done to combat this major threat to health, according to a Seminar published on Online First and in an upcoming issue of The Lancet.

6 May 2010

Pay-for-performance may create unintended financial incentives for doctors to discriminate against obese patients

Pay-for-performance reimbursement models may create unintended financial incentives for doctors to discriminate against obese patients, measuring a patient's waist circumference may be more effective in predicting surgical outcomes than the more traditional body mass index measure, and childhood obesity doubles the risk of developing colon cancer, according to data being presented at Digestive Disease Week- 2010.

5 May 2010

Americans and their babies are gaining more body fat: Study

A new study has found for the first time that as Americans are gaining more body fat, so are their babies. The research, which reviewed data from more than 74,000 births, found that a key measure of body fat composition in newborns increased significantly over a 15-year period, mirroring similar increases among pregnant mothers. The findings were presented Sunday by researchers from Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting.

5 May 2010

Prevalence of childhood obesity, overweight appears to vary among states: Report

The prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight appears to vary widely among states, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the July print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 May 2010

Empowering kids to make healthy choices can help combat obesity

Kids and teens often think they know what's best. When it comes to preventing childhood obesity, maybe we should listen to them, says Baker Harrell, executive director of ACTIVE Life, a non-profit organization that seeks to combat obesity with social activism.

4 May 2010

Percentage of obese girls in the U.S. increases: HRSA study

The percentage of obese girls in the United States increased more than twice as much as the percentage of obese boys from 2003 to 2007, according to a study by researchers at the Health Resources and Services Administration.

4 May 2010