New Jersey governor Chris Christie pulled a donut out of his back pocket and started eating it during a CBS Late Show appearance, and told David Letterman, “I’m basically the healthiest fat guy you’ve ever seen in your life.” As he tossed back roughly 260 calories and 12 grams of fat, he made jokes about a doctor who recently called him out for his weight.

Connie Mariano, a retired Navy rear admiral and former White House doctor, expressed herself as a Christie fan and is all for him running for a higher office but thinks he’s in desperate need of losing weight. “I’m a physician more than I’m a Democrat or Republican. And I’m worried about this man dying in office,” she said during an interview with CNN.
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With this week’s inauguration wrapped up, Michelle Obama is set to be the nation’s first lady for another four years. She made a huge impact on the nation’s fight against childhood obesity in her first term and will no doubt continue to focus on that platform through 2016.

The first lady has tirelessly worked to tackle childhood obesity, most notably through her Let’s Move campaign that launched in 2010. The effort brings teachers, leaders, doctors, parents, and students together in a nationwide effort to educate about and reverse the challenges of childhood obesity. It can be a touchy subject, but there are times when Mrs. Obama approaches the subject with fun and excitement. We’ve compiled our favorite fittest moment of Michelle Obama’s first term and look forward to seeing what’s up her very toned sleeves in the years ahead.
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Monday’s inauguration of President Barack Obama will be filled with pomp, circumstance, and a jam-packed schedule of invite-only events where the president and Mrs. Obama are the guests of honor. And it all starts with the Inaugural Luncheon.

This year’s luncheon is a bit on the indulgent side, admittedly. We first checked out the menu with excitement, but as we read through the three courses our smiles quickly turned to frowns, not at the extravagance of the dishes but their sky-high calorie counts.

One full serving is more than 3,000 calories! Lobster in clam chowder sauce, grilled bison and a finish of rich apple pie with homemade ice cream take no time to zip past a single day’s calorie reserve. CalorieCount.com‘s Rachel Berman, RD, CSR, CDN – who compiled this year’s Inaugural Luncheon nutritional statistics – was a little shocked by the numbers, too, and felt that although it’s fine and even healthy to treat ourselves once in a while, the figures were a bit too to justify.
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Talk of the fiscal cliff and ObamaCare makes me worry about my overweight friends. I fear it’s only a matter of time before they are blamed for dragging down the economy. Obesity is a huge expense, and unlike other costly health problems, obesity is in plain view.

Today, just over one third of Americans has a Body Mass Index of 30 or more, the obesity range. Per-capita medical spending for those individuals is 150 percent higher than for those who are not obese. The Institute of Medicine and other experts estimate the United States spends between $150 and $190 billion a year on obesity-related problems. Spending is driven by prescription drugs and medical procedures for heart disease, cancers, diabetes, and the other chronic diseases of obesity and by days missed from work and the long-term disability that commonly occurs. When public funds from Medicare and Medicaid pay the bill, everyone is impacted, but even when public funds are not involved, everyone pays higher insurance premiums to cover the cost.

Few of us realize that the U.S. health care reform law of 2010 (ObamaCare) allows employers to charge obese workers 30 to 50 percent more for health insurance if they decline to participate in a qualified wellness program. A growing number of companies have begun to make obese workers enroll in weight loss programs or pay higher insurance premiums. For instance, state workers in Alabama are subjected to at-work weigh-ins and body fat tests. Anyone with a BMI of 35 or more must attempt to lose weight or have $25 automatically deducted from their paychecks. To opt out of the weigh-ins, one can accept the $25 deduction.
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What a night! Democracy in action kept most of us up very late on a work night as we watched the results come in for president and the various state issues. Many of us woke this morning with a mix of emotions as some of our policies passed and some did not. One issue in particular that kept us on our toes and saddened us this morning was the vote on proposition 37 in the state of California. As it looks this morning, food will not have to be labeled indicating its inclusion of GMOs, genetically modified organisms that require labeling in more than 50 other countries.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on this issue, stating that 94 percent of precincts had reported and by a narrow margin voters said no to GMO labeling. This was a hard blow this morning for those in the yes movement, but those who have fought so diligently on the campaign are remaining optimistic.

“This is only the beginning of consumer enlightenment and transparency in the food supply. We will prevail now,” commented Leah Segedie, a volunteer with California Right to Know and founder of Mamavation.

As it can be with all political issues, it probably came down to money. Those who were opposing the labeling ballot did so by saying that it would cost the consumers more money if foods were forced to label. This side also had big financial backers. The biotech giants who produce GMOs helped contribute to the $42 million the no campaign raised. Companies such as Monsanto, DOW, and even major food companies like Pepsi Co. all chipped in from their deep pockets to make sure the people do not have the right to know what’s in the food they purchase. Some surprising companies have donated to the “no” side as well. Companies we all deem as healthy and natural such as Horizon Organic, Cascadian Farms, and Kashi all have supported the no labeling vote. This really make you wonder about our “health food” companies.
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