Food is worse than crack

Weight and dementia

This story describes a new study linking overweight and dementia in old age.

The study reveals that fat people with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 have a 74 % increased risk of developing degenerative brain diseases including Alzheimer's later in life. Among the overweight with a body-mass index over 25 the risk of dementia is increased by 35 %.

Families vs. overweight

This story describes a program in Texas that helps parents and kids lose weight and eat healthier.

Nearly half the elementary schoolkids in Starr County are overweight, putting them at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, cancer and more.

Nearly half the adults in Starr County already have Type 2 diabetes, meaning virtually every child is at risk for developing the disease. By the time many of the children are in middle school, they are already showing signs of diabetes.

New U.S. food pyramid

This article discusses the newly announced U.S. food pyramid.

MyPyramid.com, USDA's new website, gives users the tools to map out a personal diet and exercise plan that incorporates the new guidelines, which promote eating more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and low-fat dairy products. And for the first time, the food guide emphasizes exercise—a figure runs up a flight of stairs alongside the pyramid.

The problem, say some nutrition advocates, is that MyPyramid doesn't indicate what not to eat—high-fat, sugary, high-calorie foods—though this caution is spelled out in the new guidelines.

Carrot surprise

This story says that kids in England didn't seem to recognize carrots when they saw them on a farm.

Sally Jackson, joint owner of Lincolnshire Organics Farm Shop said it was mainly six and seven-year-olds who said they had never tasted a carrot.

She told the Daily Express: "And some asked, 'Can you eat it like that, don't you need to cook it first?'.

Overweight in Sweden

This article discusses the rising rate of overweight in Sweden, as it is almost everywhere else in the world.

The strapping, outdoors-loving Swede is a dying breed. According to a study by Karolinska university hospital, obesity among seven year olds in Stockholm has increased from 8.5% to 21% over the last fifteen years.

"The Swedish children born today will, on average, have a shorter life," said professor Claude Marcus, Sweden's leading child weight expert who is based at Karolinska.

Overweight in Europe

This article discusses the increasing overweight and obesity rates in France and other European countries.

Yet at the main city hospital in Nice, capital of the Côte d’Azur, Kathy Wagner Mahler, a paediatrician, said: “Obesity among the young used to be practically unknown here, but now it has become common. In the Provence area, one child in four is overweight and one in six is truly obese.”

While France remains one of the “thinnest” nations in Europe, obesity leapt by 45 per cent over six years to 2003, reaching 11 per cent of the population in the Provence region.

Nice Matin a Riviera newspaper, said that the spread of fast food and sedentary habits meant that the “Mediterranean recipe for health is being relegated to the status of food from an earlier era”.

Healthy food in schools

This story is about efforts to get healthier foods served in local schools.

More than 10 percent of the valley’s population has diabetes, said Gonzalo Coronado, director of the center.

"We’ve tripled the number of children we’ve seen in the past few years," he said.

The problem can partially be blamed on economics, said Ildi Carlisle-Cummins, project coordinator for California Children’s 5 a Day-Power Play Campaign.

"If you’re feeding your family on $10, it’s a lot easier to pick up fast food," Carlisle-Cummins said. "Low-income communities are disproportionately affected because of decreased access to fresh foods and the lower cost of high-fat and processed foods."

The overweight drug

This article discusses the drug industry's search for an easy way to cure overweight.

Some experts caution that the complex variables of culture, environment, genetics and lifestyle that contribute to obesity may defy a mass-market solution. "One pill fits all doesn't seem like an outcome we'll be seeing on the horizon anytime soon," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, the physician who directs the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But most of the biggest drug makers feel financially compelled to stay in the hunt. As it becomes more and more difficult to identify blockbusters, many companies see few other prospective best sellers in their research pipelines.

Search for the weight loss pill

This story discusses the drug industry's continuing search for an easy cure to overweight.

Some experts caution that the complex variables of culture, environment, genetics and lifestyle that contribute to obesity may defy a mass-market solution. "One pill fits all doesn't seem like an outcome we'll be seeing on the horizon anytime soon," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, the physician who directs the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But most of the biggest drug makers feel financially compelled to stay in the hunt. As it becomes more and more difficult to identify blockbusters, many companies see few other prospective best sellers in their research pipelines.

Virginians getting fat

This story discusses the obesity rates in Virginia and other states.

Despite its standing at the top for percentage growth in obesity, Virginia doesn't have the nation's highest percentage of obese adults. West Virginia is the fattest at 27.5 percent, Mississippi has 26.8 percent and Texas has 25.5 percent.

All the results are based on telephone surveys, with respondents asked for their height and weight, so "if anything, it's probably underestimated," Stancil said.