obesity 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...

Nearly 25% of Teens Have Diabetes

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:31:39 CDT

Turns out the kids aren't alright: Some 23% of American teenagers have diabetes or prediabetes; 10 years ago, that number was 9%, a new study says. Researchers stumbled on the find while analyzing data on nearly 3,400 adolescents, trying to explain their susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Teen rates of...

Key to Weight Loss: Stop Eating at Night

Kevin Spak — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:36:36 CDT

Want to lose weight, but can't bear to give up french fries? Well, there might be a "diet" of sorts that lets you indulge—provided you do it early. A new study has found that eating early, and then fasting at night, could be a powerful weight-loss strategy, the LA...

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...

Unnatural Sleep Schedules Can Make You Fat

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:40:05 CDT

Your alarm clock could be making you flabby, suggests new research. People who force themselves to maintain schedules that are different from their natural sleep routines are more likely to put on the pounds, reports LiveScience . Researchers collected data from more than 65,000 Europeans and found that for every...

Docs to Obama: Enough With the Burgers, Dogs

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 08 May 2012 08:12:31 CDT

Part of being president is being photographed chowing down on burgers and hot dogs, but a group of DC doctors thinks President Obama needs to put a stop to the practice. “The White House would never set up a photo op of a president with a cigarette, so why show...

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...

Super-Sized Kitty Dies

Rob Quinn — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:33:00 CDT

A colossal cat handed in to an animal shelter in New Mexico has died just weeks after eating up national attention. Meow, a 2-year-old tabby who topped the scales at 39 pounds, died of pulmonary failure related to his huge size, reports the New York Daily News . He had been...

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...