obesity

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Psst, Fat Boy: Uncle Sam Wants You

Military tells recruits with high BMI that they can sign up now, lose weight later

(Newser) - To reel in more recruits, the US Army is relaxing weight restrictions on would-be soldiers. A waiver program gives outsize volunteers a year after signing up to get in shape, measured by body-mass index, or be booted, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With the youthful population consuming more and exercising...

Black Women Getting Shorter: Study

They're the only group to lose height over recent generations

(Newser) - While most of the American population is slowly gaining in height after a recent plateau, one group actually seems to be shrinking over the decades. Black women have lost about a half-inch on average compared to the previous generation, the exact opposite of the national trend, the Chicago Tribune reports,...

That Extra 7lbs May Be Deadly
 That Extra 7lbs May Be Deadly  
Dec 23, 2008 7:08 AM CST

That Extra 7lbs May Be Deadly

Study says modest weight gains risky

(Newser) - Even being slightly overweight can seriously increase the risk of heart problems, Reuters reports. A 20-year study of roughly 20,000 male doctors in the US found that every 7 pounds of excess body weight upped the risk of heart failure by 11%. The fatal condition, in which the heart...

Tax Soda: It's the New Tobacco
 Tax Soda: It's the New Tobacco 
OPINION
Dec 18, 2008 10:27 AM CST

Tax Soda: It's the New Tobacco

Less obese, less diabetic America just a couple of laws away

(Newser) - The cigarette tax "was the biggest health care breakthrough in the last 40 years in the United States," and its successor may be the 18% tax on non-diet soda New York Gov. David Patterson is pitching, writes Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. Not only do empty...

Heart Attack Deaths Plummet 30%

Drop hailed as modern medical miracle, but disease still daunting

(Newser) - In what is being hailed as a medical miracle, deaths from heart attack and stroke have dropped nearly a third between 1999 and 2006, according to the latest statistics from the American Heart Association. Yet despite gains from better preventive medicine and more effective hospital treatment, one person still dies...

Obesity Genes Mainly Affect Your Brain

DNA behind appetites, tastes, and how likely we are to feel full: study

(Newser) - Overeating is all in your head, but you can blame that on your DNA, the Times of London reports. Of the seven gene variations connected with obesity, five affect the brain’s wiring, suggesting that an inherited tendency toward slimness has more to do with appetite and impulse control than...

NY Guv Seeks 'Obesity Tax' on Soft Drinks

Tax on 'liquid candy' would raise $404M

(Newser) - New Yorkers with a hankering for the “Real Thing” may be paying 15% extra if lawmakers pass Gov. David Paterson's proposal to add an “obesity tax” on non-diet soda, reports the New York Daily News. The state’s doctors said the move—which could raise $404 million—would...

US Health Ranking Puts Vermont First, Louisiana Last

Southern states plagued by high obesity, smoking rates

(Newser) - Move over, Mississippi: Louisiana is now America’s unhealthiest state, Reuters reports. An annual state-by-state report that measures factors like smoking, obesity, and health insurance coverage also put Vermont at the top for the second year in a row. The five healthiest states are:
  1. Vermont
  2. Hawaii
  3. New Hampshire
  4. Minnesota
  5. Utah
...

Obese? Court Backs Two Seats for One Fare

Those 'functionally disabled by obesity' get fare break in Canada

(Newser) - Obese air travelers in Canada who need two seats must be given the extra seat for free, Reuters reports. The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from Air Canada and two other airlines after they failed to win a lower court appeal on the fare issue....

Healthiest US City Gets Moving
 Healthiest US City Gets Moving 
Nov 17, 2008 2:27 PM CST

Healthiest US City Gets Moving

Burlington, Vt., tops list due to active citizens; Huntington, W.Va., is unhealthiest

(Newser) - Burlington, Vt., is America's healthiest city, with 92% of residents reporting that they're in good or great health. A number of factors account for the gap between Burlington and Huntington, W.Va., which brought up the rear in the CDC's healthy-city rankings, the AP reports. Burlington's residents are younger on...

W.Va. Town Is Nation's Tubbiest

Economic troubles, lifestyle traditions distract from rampant obesity

(Newser) - Dietary tradition helps make Huntington, W.Va., the nation's most obese and unhealthy city, the AP reports. The five-county area, where poverty rates are high, boasts many pizza and hot dog joints—but Huntington's mayor will not follow the lead of New York City and ban trans fats in restaurants....

Obese Kids Have Middle-Aged Arteries

Scientists warn childhood obesity epidemic may lead to much shorter lifespans

(Newser) - Arteries of seriously overweight teenagers are as clogged as those of middle-aged people, according to US News & World Report. Researchers used ultrasound to measure the neck arteries of chubby kids at risk of heart trouble and were alarmed to find that their "vascular age" was an average of...

Beefy Brits to Get Paid for Walking

England allots $47M to tackle obesity 'epidemic'

(Newser) - Fat people in Manchester, England will soon be paid to go outside and walk around, the Daily Mail reports. Part of a $47 million national plan to tackle obesity, the scheme will reward walkers and joggers with free gym time and healthy food. But critics say people are bound to...

Naked Chef on Obesity: No One Knows How to Cook

Jamie Oliver, grilled on epidemic, rips lack of cooking skills

(Newser) - Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, widely known as the "Naked Chef" after his hit TV series, blames the obesity crisis on schools for failing to teach students how to cook. Oliver told a British government panel exploring the growing crisis that the inability to cook has driven families to turn...

Diabetes in US Nearly Doubles in 10 Years

South is hardest hit, as obesity and lack of exercise fuel surge

(Newser) - The nation's diabetes epidemic shows no signs of slowing, Reuters reports. Almost twice as many people were diagnosed with the disease between 2005 and 2007 as between 1995 and 1997. Nearly all of the new cases are Type 2, which is linked to obesity and lack of exercise. Nine of...

Calorie Counting Makes a Comeback

Get ready for sticker shock, as nutrition info hits menus

(Newser) - Thanks to new laws, calorie counting is back in vogue and bigger than ever, writes the New York Times. After decades of diets that focused on the balance of fat, protein, and carbs, “More and more, people are looking at calories in, and calories out,” a doc tells...

Eating Too Fast Makes You Fat
Eating Too Fast Makes You Fat
Oct 22, 2008 12:52 PM CDT

Eating Too Fast Makes You Fat

Men who scarf their meals are 84% more likely to be obese; women even more so

(Newser) - When your mom said to slow down and chew your food, she may have been more right than she knew: Speedy eating can double your risk of being overweight, according to a new study. Japanese scientists compared hundreds of food-savoring people to their sprinter counterparts, and found a striking correlation...

Brain Offers a Clue on Why Obese People Eat More

(Newser) - New research takes an accepted truth about obese people and flips it upside down: They may, in fact, get less pleasure out of eating than people of normal weight, the LA Times reports. Researchers found that people who have weaker reward circuitry in the brain tend to overeat. Thus, while...

Weight Can Increase Risk of Breast Cancer

But side effects of treatment can make it harder to shed pounds

(Newser) - There may be a direct connection between weight and breast cancer in women, MSNBC reports. Overweight women “have more exposure to estrogen,” one doctor said, "which we think increases their risk of several different cancers.” Breast cancer patients across the country are now coupling their therapy...

Half-Ton Mexican Man Dies After Pleading For Help

Man had gone on TV to ask nation for assistance in solving his weight problem

(Newser) - A bedridden 990-pound man who had appealed on Mexican television for help tackling his weight problem has died of heart failure, AP reports. Emergency officials had to knock down Jose Luis Garza's bedroom wall and hoist him onto the back of a friend's pickup truck to take him to the...

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