Severe Child Obesity On the Rise

A recent study has shown there has been a massive jump in the numbers of children who are-shall we say-grown massive? The study recorded BMI of some children whom are considered severely or morbidly obese, and compared it to a study taken 25 years ago. The results? Not good.

Study: Childhood Obesity Rates Have Tripled
Devetta Blount
7/27/2009 3:25:27 PM

Winston-Salem, NC-- Rates of severe childhood obesity have tripled in the last 25 years, according to a recent study by an obesity expert at Brenner Children's Hospital.

"In addition to seeing the overall numbers of childhood obesity rise dramatically, we saw a significant jump in the number of severely obese children," said Joseph Skelton, M.D., an obesity expert at Brenner Children's Hospital and Director of the Brenner FIT (Families in Training) Program. "We saw that children who are classified as severely obese are also much sicker and are at higher risk of developing chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes. This reinforces the fact that medically-based programs to treat obesity are needed throughout the United States and insurance companies should be encouraged to cover these types of programs." More...

A Healthier China

China has been a little late jumping on the healthy food and diet bandwagon. But at least they're jumping. The Chinese are learning of the effects and causes of obesity and sales of health foods and products are rising.

Obesity worries lift health food prospects in Asia
Tue Jul 7, 2009 8:21pm EDT

By Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI (Reuters) - It's the growing number of customers such as Bill Chung, who is on a diet after packing on 30 kilograms, that food companies hope to attract as they expand health food lines in Asia.

Affluence and sedentary lifestyles have brought health problems such as obesity and diabetes to Asia, prompting locals such as Chung to fill up their shopping carts with products such as oats, yogurt and vitamins.

"I went to a bookstore and read about it," said Chung, 33, a self-employed Taipei resident who lost six kilograms (13 pounds) over the past two months. "I'm spending a little less and it's all healthy, so I'm on track." More...

Dieting on a Budget

In today's economy, everyone is trying to save money. However, people are sacrificing their diets in order to save those extra bucks. But good news! There's other ways to go on a diet without spending too much money. Check out this New York Times article.

For a Frugal Dieter, Weight Loss on a Sliding Scale

By LESLEY ALDERMAN

Published: July 3, 2009

IF you’re one of the millions of people who are dieting right this minute, or even thinking about it, here’s some good news: you don’t have to throw a lot of money at the problem to see results. In fact, you may not have to spend much at all. More...

More Than the "Freshman Fifteen"

Some people are gaining more than the typical "freshman fifteen". How do we deal with them without hurting their feelings? Is it a major concern and a necessity to tell them? Dr. Scott Jakubowski, Ph.D., LMFT, owner/operator of Horizons Therapeutic Services answers a worried parent's concerns about their daughter and obesity.

Obesity is an addiction, should be addressed
BY SCOTT JAKUBOWSKI
June 29, 2009

Question:Hello, Dr. Scott. We are really concerned about our daughter who recently came back from college up north for the summer. She has gained a lot of weight and we're not sure how to talk to her about it. She has always been a big girl.
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Before she left for college, she was about 200 pounds. She is tall, but we believe she is still overweight even for her height. She's about 5-feet-11-inches. More...