New Guidelines Target Child Obesity

Parents should wean children, feed them meat, eggs, study says

(NEWSER) - Overweight toddlers are more than twice as likely to have iron deficiencies as their skinnier counterparts, with Hispanics facing the highest risk, concludes a study in September’s Pediatrics, the first to link obesity with low iron levels. Researchers stressed the importance of weaning kids 1 to 3 years old off bottles of milk and juice, introducing meats, eggs, and other iron-rich foods. More»

Cereal giant plans voluntary nutrition, marketing changes

(NEWSER) - Averting a threatened lawsuit, Kellogg will reformulate its cereals and snack foods to make them more nutritious—or keep them as is and stop targeting advertising at children under 12. The plan affects about half of the company's offerings, meaning that fans of Pop-Tarts and Rice Krispies may be getting a little healthier whether they want to or not. More»

(AP) - 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 black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites. More»

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 three decades higher than their real age. More»

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 service system may have to take charge of caring for children in the worst cases. More»