Healthiest US City Gets Moving

Economic troubles, lifestyle traditions distract from rampant obesity

(NEWSER) - Dietary tradition helps make Huntington, W.Va., the nation's most obese and unhealthy city, the AP reports. The five-county area, where poverty rates are high, boasts many pizza and hot dog joints—but Huntington's mayor will not follow the lead of New York City and ban trans fats in restaurants. "We want as much business as we can have here," said Mayor David Felinton, who underwent stomach surgery last year to lose weight. More»

US must get a handle on public health crisis

(NEWSER) - A widespread vice has a negative effect on Americans' health, and it's up to the government to do something about it. That approach worked for tobacco, David Lazarus writes for the LA Times , and it can work for obesity, too. "The answer seems obvious," he argues. "If we want to protect ourselves from a deadly epidemic of heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, just as we've taken steps to protect ourselves from an epidemic of lung cancer, we need to act." More»

Low-income work schedules make healthy eating difficult

(NEWSER) - The nature of low-income employment promotes unhealthy eating, Time reports. Over half of working parents in low-to-moderate income communities relied on dietary “coping” measures when their schedules couldn’t accommodate a full meal, according to a new Cornell University study. Those strategies included skipping breakfast or family meals, and ordering takeout or heating up packaged meals. More»

(NEWSER) - Americans eat more than twice as much added sugar as doctors recommend, and they should cut back to battle obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, researchers say. Added calories from processed sugar should total no more than 150 for men and 100 for women, the American Heart Association said today. Soft drinks are the top factor in added dietary sugar, and the recommendations are sure to rile their producers, Reuters reports. More»

City Council bans junk food in area where 30% of adults are obese

(NEWSER) - Los Angeles city officials have voted to ban fast food restaurants from opening in an impoverished section of the city where 30% of adults are obese, AP reports. The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that places a year-long moratorium on fast food restaurants in South Los Angeles, where the eateries already account for 73% of all dining options. City officials hope it will encourage healthier eateries to open in the area. More»