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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: childhood obesity

childhood obesity stories: 45 news summaries

1 - 20 of 45 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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85% more sugar, anyone?

Worst Cereals Are Most Heavily Marketed to Kids

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

Oct 26, 09 10:26 AM CDT
(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... More »

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nutrition • childhood obesity • cereal • breakfast cereal

 Michelle Hits 142 at Hula Hoops 

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

Oct 22, 09 2:00 AM CDT
(AP) - 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... More »

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childhood obesity • Michelle Obama • White House • exercise • healthy eating • french fries • hula hoop • first lady • women's issues • Michelle Obama hula hoop

 'Obese' 4-Month-Old 
 Denied Insurance 

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

Oct 12, 09 2:04 PM CDT
(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... More »

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obesity • childhood obesity • obesity epidemic • baby • infant • breast feeding • health care reform • health insurance industry • policy • underwriting • Alex Lange

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

Large class sizes, fewer school nurses may be to blame

Aug 3, 09 4:52 PM CDT
(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... More »

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sports • childhood obesity • school • injury • elementary school • school budget • budget deficit • gym • physical education

Pill May Slash Body Weight
By a Quarter

Combination of hormones has a potent effect on mice

Jul 14, 09 2:15 PM CDT
(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... More »

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childhood obesity • hormones • anti obesity drugs • health research • Indiana University • lab mice

(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. More »

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obesity • childhood obesity • fat • obese • pedometer

 Gain Less Pregnancy 
 Weight If Obese: Docs 

New guidelines say rising obesity puts mom, baby at risk

May 28, 09 2:44 PM CDT
(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. More »

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obesity • pregnancy • childhood obesity • weight gain • guidelines

(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
obesity • childhood obesity • obesity epidemic • children • obese

Student Obesity Jumps in Schools Near Fast-Food Joints

Rate 5% higher when kids can walk to outlet

Mar 23, 09 12:20 PM CDT
(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.... More »

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obesity • high school • childhood obesity • fast food • fast food industry • school lunches

 Obese Kids Have 
 Middle-Aged Arteries 

Scientists warn childhood obesity epidemic may lead to much shorter lifespans

Nov 12, 08 4:19 AM CST
(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... More »

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obesity • childhood obesity • children • American Heart Association • pediatrics • arteries • heart health

 Fast Food Pounds 
 Mediterranean 

Mediterranean diet dumped for fast food and growing girths

Sep 24, 08 5:52 AM CDT
(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... More »

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obesity • childhood obesity • diet • Greece • Mediterranean diet

Teen Obesity Can Cause Liver Disease, Cancer

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

Sep 8, 08 4:16 PM CDT
(AP) - 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... More »

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health • childhood obesity • fat • liver cancer • children • obese

UK Weighs Taking Fat Kids From Parents

Dangerously chubby children may end up in social service system

Aug 16, 08 5:47 AM CDT
(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... More »

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obesity • parenting • childhood obesity • United Kingdom • obesity epidemic • children • child neglect • Britain

'Obesity Gene' Linked
to Runaway Appetite

Children in study had harder time feeling full

Jul 28, 08 9:46 AM CDT
(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 »

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obesity • childhood obesity • obesity epidemic • genes

More Kids Take Grown-up Drugs in Obesity Fight

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

Jul 26, 08 12:33 PM CDT
(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... More »

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health • childhood obesity • blood pressure • statins • data • prescription • cholesterol lowering drug • type 2 diabetes • medication • high blood pressure

 Kids Dump
 Exercise by
 Their Teens 

 Most get just 30 minutes exercise a day

Jul 16, 08 9:59 AM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
childhood obesity • exercise • American Medical Association • University of California at San Diego • teenager • Dr. Philip Nader • Weight Management and Wellness Center • Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh • Dr. Goutham Rao

Docs Push Cholesterol Tests for Kids

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

Jul 7, 08 6:49 AM CDT
(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,... More »

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obesity • childhood obesity • children • cholesterol • statins • pediatrics • overweight • cholesterol lowering drug • American Academy of Pediatrics

 Childhood
 Obesity Rate
 Levels Off 

Researchers report
first 'glimmer of hope'
in decades

May 27, 08 6:09 PM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
childhood obesity • obesity epidemic • children's health care

Indiana Jones
& Raiders of
the Fat Fridge

Pediatrician slams
Indy film's
junk food tie-ins

May 21, 08 5:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Indiana Jones has a new enemy. Pediatrician Rahul Parikh is irritated about Indy's marketing tie-ins to high-calorie foods like Burger King's "Indy Double Whopper" and Snicker's "Adventure Bar." Parikh has been enjoying the films of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for decades, but he's also watching kids... More »

MORE ABOUT:
obesity • Indiana Jones • Steven Spielberg • childhood obesity • marketing • George Lucas • junk food

OPINION

This Is 'Playing.' This Is 'Outside.'

Backlash against oversheltering kids gains some traction

May 16, 08 5:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Using the flap over a New York 9-year-old allowed to find his own way home from Bloomingdale's as an example of a sea change, Rosa Brooks, writing in the Los Angeles Times, reminds us that allowing children to be outside on their own used to be the norm. "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
parenting • childhood obesity • independence • children • playground games

1 - 20 of 45 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>


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