obesity epidemic news stories on Newser

Culprit for Epidemics of Autism, Obesity: Fungicide?

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 22 May 2012 12:14:08 CDT

Can the recent increase in autism, obesity, and anxiety disorders be traced back to chemical exposure? That's what a new study involving pregnant rats suggests, AFP reports. Pregnant rats who were exposed to the common fungicide vinclozolin had descendants who, three generations later, weighed more, were less sociable, and displayed...

Why Food Must Be Regulated Like Tobacco

Matt Cantor — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:21:05 CDT

The obesity news just keeps getting worse, the latest example being the study warning that 4 in 10 American adults could be obese in less than 20 years. "Americans eat too damn much," writes David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times . And though it may be distasteful to get government...

42% of Americans Will Be Obese by 2030

Rob Quinn — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:01:54 CDT

The once-explosive growth in the proportion of Americans who are obese has slowed, but it's still expected to grow to 42% by 2030, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control study. The study found that if the obesity rate stays at the current level—34%—then some $550 billion...

Black Women: Fat Because We Want to Be

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:20:53 CDT

Most Americans need discipline in order to battle today's obesity epidemic—but in black America, "what we need is a body-culture revolution," writes Alice Randall in the New York Times . Even experts "don’t understand something crucial about black women and fat: many black women are fat because we want to...

Why We're Losing the Obesity Fight

Kevin Spak — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:01:39 CDT

It's time to stop sneering at the morbidly obese as "the undisciplined miscreants of modern American life," writes Frank Bruni in the New York Times ; they're just doing what comes naturally. Bruni, riffing off the upcoming book and HBO documentary The Weight of the Nation , argues that obesity "is less...

America's Fattest City Is ...

Mark Russell — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 10:00:05 CDT

America is the fattest country in the world , and Mississippi the fattest state . But where are the most overweight cities? Surprisingly, none of the top 10 are in Mississippi. Instead, the metro area of McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, close to the border with Mexico, tips the scales at No. 1 with a...

First Diet Drug in 13 Years? FDA to Start Review

John Johnson — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:32:28 CST

If the FDA gives its blessing, a drug named Qnexa could become a very big deal. A preliminary review begins next week on the pill, which could become the first diet drug approved in 13 years, reports the New York Times . It's nowhere near a sure thing: Two years ago,...

Army Wants to Fight Obesity—With Fat Injections

Kevin Spak — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:23:05 CST

The Army thinks its troops are getting too fat, and it's hoping to solve that problem with science. In its latest round of small-business research awards, the Army has asked companies to find a way to slim down its soldiers by injecting them with fat. Confused? Well, as Wired explains,...

US Obesity Rates Leveling Off

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:32:44 CST

After rapidly rising for three decades, obesity rates in the US are apparently stabilizing—finally, the Los Angeles Times reports. New data shows just a slight rise in obesity rates since 2005, and many experts say this flattening reflects the success of efforts such as healthier school lunches and nutritional...