Imagine you were watching a news segment on the obesity epidemic in America and instead of a video of an overweight woman eating pizza you saw the image pictured above? How would it change your perception about obesity? How do you think it might affect how other people think about the behaviors of overweight people? A new study finds that the images we see every day of overweight people do have an impact on our perceptions. And they are often not positive images at all. Continue reading →
A lack of sleep can make a person eat more junk food, according to a new Swedish study. Continue reading →
American kids eat too much fast food, the Centers for Disease Control said in a recent report. While adults are cutting back on trips to Burger King and other fast food restaurants, kids still get too many of their calories from these fatty foods. Fast food is often high in fat, salt and calories, all things that contribute to obesity.
Take a trip down the aisles of your local grocery store and you’re apt to find an endless supply of pre-packaged food designed to keep you eating. Investigative reporter Michael Moss’s new book Salt, Sugar, Fat takes a hard look at the junk food industry and makes some startling revelations that has been getting serious attention in the press. Continue reading →
You can lead a child to an apple at the school lunch line, but you can’t make him eat it…. unless you put it in a pretty bowl. A new study found that making very simple changes to a school cafeteria can have a huge impact on what kids eat.
The New York Times magazine has an incredible article in this week’s issue about the addictive powers of junk food. It draws a frightening comparison between junk food and cigarettes. Like cigarettes, these foods are designed to be irresistible. The article also examines the junk food industry’s role in the obesity epidemic, and the lengths it will go to sell its product: Continue reading →
The lunch options at your school cafeteria might look very different next year.
The federal government is proposing new guidelines for snack bars and vending machines at schools across the country. If their proposals are passed, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would disappear from the lunch line and the vending machines. Instead, kids would be able to choose foods like baked chips, trail mix, diet soda, lower-calorie sports drinks and low-fat hamburger. Continue reading →
For the first time in 30 years, rates of childhood obesity are dropping in cities across America. Researchers aren’t sure why, but in cities from New York to Los Angeles to Anchorage, Alaska, rates of obesity are falling.
In a little more than a month from now, New Yorkers won’t be able to buy large sugary drinks and sodas anymore. The city’s Dept of Health banned the sale of these drinks and the new rules will take effect in March, as the Wall Street Journal reported.What does that mean for you?