Tag Archives: childhood obesity

HealthBuzz November 30: Obesity Prediction Calculator, AIDS Blueprint, and 3 New Chicken Dinner Recipes

We are hours away from the weekend! This means it is time for your dose of healthy news. DIR’s headliners for this week include a new obesity prediction calculator, the diet gimmicks Dr. Oz tried selling this year, and how much Sensa’s paying for false advertising. In addition to our headliners we have health news from Forbes, CNN Health, and Best Life Diet. Plus, exciting new chicken dinner recipes with one from Pinch of Yum.

Obesity Prediction Calculator Reinforces Parents’ Role in Child’s Weight

Are you scared your child might fall into the statistics of the obesity epidemic? Instead of waiting for time to answer that question you could simply use the Obesity Prediction Calculator, developed by researchers at Imperial College London and it can accurately predict childhood obesity up to 85% of the time. Parents should use the results from the Obesity Prediction Calculator to make it their responsibility to ensure that their child will learn to lead a healthful, balanced life.

The 6 Miracle Diets Dr. Oz Tried to Sell Us in 2024

We are almost a month away from the New Year. This means “weight loss” season will be in full effect. And, if you watch Dr. Oz, you know he will be advocating a new miracle weight loss program or diet soon after the ball drops. DIR has highlighted six weight-loss diets Dr.Oz has tried selling to the masses in 2024, deeming each as a miracle cure.

Sensa’s False Advertising Costs Them $800,000

Another diet company has to pay for their false advertising claims. Sensa, also as known as “the sprinkle diet,” has to pay $800,000 in penalties for their false weight loss claims. Sensa seemed too good to be true – sprinkle little crystals on your food and that will guarantee weight loss -because it was. We’re not buying it and neither are consumers in California. (more…)

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Samantha

Obesity Prediction Calculator Reinforces Parents’ Role in Child’s Weight

I have what I like to call an irrational fear of my daughter being overweight. It’s irrational because our lifestyle in no way engenders a possibility that she will be one of the millions of overweight or obese children in our country. She’s also 2.5 years old and never strays far from the third percentile for weight.

Blame it on my profession and the amount of information I’m inundated with daily, but I’ve got a tall soapbox when it comes to children’s health, especially my daughter’s. So when I see news of an obesity prediction calculator, believe I clicked through and ran those numbers.

The predicted probability that my daughter will be obese is 24.14 percent. That’s not an unreasonable number. I certainly wish it were lower. At the end of the day, I put the bulk of that responsibility on my very shoulders. In my opinion, every parent should be the sole barer of that responsibility.

The Obesity Prediction Calculator was developed by researchers at Imperial College London who believe that a particular equation can accurately predict your child’s propensity for being obese. The calculator asks for the mother’s BMI, father’s BMI, mother’s professional category (i.e. unskilled, skilled, professional), mother’s gestational smoking history, and the child’s birth weight. Six factors that, these researchers say, influence a child’s weight. (more…)

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Natalie K

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback Issues Statewide Weight Loss Challenge, Dismisses School Lunch Guidelines

Americans are undeniably getting fatter by the decade with the latest reports showing that more than half of U.S. adults in most states are now obese. In the face of such staggering statistics, one state governor is taking an unconventional stand. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has issued a weight loss challenge this week in an attempt to get Kansans more aware of their health.

According to Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Robert Moser, M.D., the obesity rate in Kansas is near the national average. The state has seen a sizable increase in obesity as rates among adults have increased from 15 percent in 1995 to 30.1 percent in 2024. In addition, nearly one-third of all children are overweight or obese.

For this reason, and by his own initiative, Brownback is declaring an official weight loss challenge for stat employees that will take place between January 15 and May 15, 2024.

“My hope is that the Governor’s Weight Loss Challenge will encourage everyone to work together to make our state healthier,” said the governor in an official press release. “I am challenging teams of five people to compete against my team of five to lose the most percentage weight, with the ultimate goal of taking on and maintaining a healthier lifestyle for years to come.” (more…)

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Dana

Biggest Loser 14 Official Trailer Reveals New Contestants, New Logo, and New Theme

They’re back and not necessarily bigger than ever, but definitely younger! NBC’s Biggest Loser will return to prime time on January 6 for the much-anticipated season premier of the show’s 14th season. A season off has allowed the producers to refocus and (we hope) select a cast as inspiring and motivated as some of the show’s most popular contestants ever. In this official trailer released by NBC, we have a feeling we got just what we asked for!

Jillian Michaels returns to Biggest Loser this season, joining forces in the gym with Dolvett and Bob, as they “Challenge America,” the new theme for this year. We’ve seen the biggest contestants before, but this time they’re introducing us to their youngest contestants – three teens under the age of 18. The show has been a force in impacting the obesity epidemic in our country, but now they’re going to show how we can all impact childhood obesity, too. (more…)

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Natalie K

Who Will be a Fitter First Lady: Michelle Obama or Ann Romney?

First ladies have a tough job – they are dragged into exhausting campaigns whether they like it or not, must learn to live in the spotlight along with their family, and are required to pull it off with seemingly easy style, grace, and charm. They are called to be supportive of their husbands no matter what, an exemplary mother, great at small talk, have a flair for hostessing, and a penchant for making skirt suits look attractive. Some women can do it, and do it well, while others wilt in the fierce glare of media attention. With their husbands’ names about to be on the top of America’s voting ballots come November, we want to know: do Ann Romney and Michelle Obama have what it takes to stomach (another) four years in the White House?

With four years behind her, Mrs. Obama already has a track record to show for how she balances family, work, and social obligations. Her main platform as FLOTUS has been to reduce childhood obesity through her Let’s Move! initiative.

Mrs. Obama’s family are the first ones to benefit from her activism as she keeps them healthy and fit. She stresses nutritious eating to her daughters, not so that they will be thin but so that they will have energy for sports activities. Her favorite unhealthy food is french fries and she says she tries to curb her husband’s unwholesome snacking as much as she can. Mrs. Obama has said that she doesn’t count calories but simply focuses on how she feels, and how she feels about herself. She has also planted a garden on the White House lawn so that the family can eat homegrown, organic fruits and vegetables. (more…)

Posted on October 8, 2023 by SarahS

Kids Across the Country Participate in Today’s 4th Annual Exercise US Day

As part of a great program called Exercise US, children from coast to coast will be creating a continuous wave of exercise for ten consecutive hours today.

Today marks the fourth annual Exercise US Day. At 8 AM (EST) schools in New Jersey kicked off the event by having the children exercise from 8:00-8:15. Once their time slot was over, schools in New York picked up the next fifteen minute slot. This pattern will be going on for ten hours today until the kids on the pacific coast finish up at 3:00 PM (PST).

This impressive wave of youth exercise was started by Len Saunders. Saunders is a physical education teacher in New Jersey and has had a long-time passion for seeing kids get healthy and fit. He is also the author of Keeping Kids Fit.

Saunders has been impacted deeply by the increasing epidemic of childhood obesity. He said,”this could be the first generation of children whose life expectancy may be shorter than their parents. With the rise is type 2 diabetes and other health-related diseases associated with obesity, children need motivational techniques that get them to exercise.”

Today’s event is just one of the ways Saunders attempts to motivate youth to get moving. “The Exercise US program is designed to motivate children to stay fit, and make exercise fun.” (more…)

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Lacy

HealthBuzz September 28: Lady Gaga Reacts to Fat Comments, Fitness App Buyer Beware, and Pumpkin Inspired Recipes

You tune in to HealthBuzz every Friday to READ about the latest health news, but we think it’s time we all got together to CHAT about the latest health news, too.

Starting today, we’ll have a live one-hour #HealthBuzz chat on Twitter @DietsinReview every Friday. We’ll explore the six stories we highlight here in Health Buzz each week, opening up to constructive sharing, insights, opinions, and reactions.

#HealthBuzz kicks off at 12:00 p.m. CST – we look forward to seeing you there to discuss the following stories.

Now, dig in to the top stories for this week…

Lady Gaga Poses Nearly Nude to Fight Against Media Fat Comments

Fame, fortune, and being a pop-culture icon is awesome, right? Lady Gaga must have it all. But, she has been scrutinized by the media for her recent weight gain. Usually, celebrities do no like to comment about their weight gains or losses. However, Lady Gaga took pictures of herself nearly naked to show the world that she has a perfectly normal body.

Cows Being Fed Gummy Worms: The Health Consequences

We’ve all heard of the horrible things large cattle operations do to fatten cows up, like feeding cows corn knowing they can’t digest it. Now, dairy farms on a budget are feeding cows candy. Candy is bad enough for human bodies, what does it do to a cow’s body? Find out the health consequences of eating a candy-fed cow. (more…)

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Samantha

JAM’s One Minute Fitness Break Could Set a World Record Tomorrow! Will You Pledge?

Obesity rates in America has soared in the last decade. Our country’s health is so alarming that New York City has passed a soda ban and President Obama requires restaurant chains to display their nutrition information on menus. First lady Michelle Obama has even focused her platform on creating “Let’s Move”, a program to help control childhood obesity.

On September 27 at 10:00 local time, we can all work together to promote a more physically active society. JAM wants everyone across the nation to take a Minute for Fitness break. It is a fun way to break away from a familiar routines and get some physical activity. JAM needs 2 million people across the country to not only get up and move, but join together to break a world record as well!

JAM is a program that recognizes that Americans need more physical activity. JAM delivers that activity and health education to schools and offices while teaching adults and children how to live a healthy lifestyle. Kids and adults participate in a one-minute fitness routine which includes five simple exercises. The first exercise is to Raise the Roof, where participants simply motion their arms above them ten times. The second exercise is called Knees, Waist, Toss Arms and for ten reps participants touch their knees, waist, then toss their arms in the air. Then they Mimic a Sport, which is acting out a sport, like pretending to hit a baseball. In the fourth exercise participants act as if they are hula hooping with an invisible hula hoop. For the last exercise they use their fingers to make a heart and sway from side to side. (more…)

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Samantha

Rural Americans More Likely To Be Obese Than Urban Dwellers

Does your environment have an impact on your lifestyle?  According to a new study published in the journal Rural Health, the answer is ‘yes’ as those living in the country are more likely to be obese than Americans living in cities.

As reported by ABCNews, approximately 70 million of Americans call rural areas home and face many challenges concerning their health as a result.

Christie Befort, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center, comments on the result of the study: “The rates of obesity were much higher than previously reported based on self-report, with 39 percent of rural Americans being obese compared to 33 percent of urban Americans.”

To collect data for the study, researchers manually measured participants height and weight, doing so in person as people tend to exaggerate how tall they are and how much they weigh.

In addition to finding rural Americans to be more obese on average than urban Americans, researchers found that younger generations between the ages of 20 and 39  living in rural America are more likely to be obese than their urban counterparts. Because of changes in technology, manual labor in rural areas has decreased and young adults have less physical work to do. (more…)

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Samantha

Michelle Obama Reveals an All New Let’s Move! on Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz’s September 12 episode gets viewers’ attention with a visit from first lady Michelle Obama. It’s the first time Mrs. Obama has been on Dr. Oz, and they sit down for a candid talk about obesity in America, her initiative to combat childhood obesity, and some hands-on activities to get everyone off the couch and eating right.

First, Dr. Oz discusses with Mrs. Obama how he thinks the greatest threat to national security is obesity. The first lady tells the doctor how the right approach to food isn’t about deprivation, it’s about balance. (more…)

Posted on September 11, 2023 by SarahS

Overweight Teens Eat Fewer Calories Than Their Healthy Weight Peers, Study Suggests

If you think overweight teens are in their state of health because of their out-of-control calorie intake, think again. A new study from the University of North Carolina of Medicine suggests that older children who are overweight may be consuming fewer calories than their peers at healthier weights.

To conduct the study, researchers analyzed the diet reports of more than 19,000 children ages 1 to 17. They categorized the children based on weight, and children under the age of 2 were categorized based on weight-for-length percentile.

Researchers then looked at the correlation between age and weight category on calorie intake. What they found was that younger, overweight children consume more calories than their healthier peers. However, in the case of older children, those who are overweight actually consume fewer calories than their healthier peers.

These findings led researchers to believe that children who become overweight at a young age tend to remain overweight, regardless of calorie intake fluctuation.  (more…)

Posted on September 10, 2023 by Dana