Heavy children talk about their obesity in a series of ads that have experts debating whether aggressive public health campaigns are educational or exploitative
Family MattersObesity
childhood obesity
Family MattersObesity
Family MattersParenting
Childhood Obesity: Most U.S. Schools Don’t Require P.E. Class or Recess
Too many kids weigh too much, but too few states and schools require recess or follow recommended guidelines for physical education.
Family MattersParenting
Why Do Kids Gain So Much Weight Between First and Third Grade?
What happens to kids between first and third grades? They discover chapter books. They tackle multidigit subtraction. And they gain more weight than at any other point in elementary or middle school.
Family MattersParenting
Don’t Call My Kid Fat! Parents Want Doctors to Talk About ‘Unhealthy Weight’
One in three American kids is overweight or obese, but don’t tell their parents that. New research in the journal Pediatrics finds that Mom and Dad recoil when doctors describe their children as “fat” or “obese.” They would …
Family MattersParenting
‘Maggie Goes on a Diet’: A Kids’ Book About Dieting? Not Without Controversy
Poor Maggie. She’s an overweight 14-year-old character in a children’s book that’s not even due to be released until October, and already she’s stirring up controversy.
Is Commercially Prepared Food Responsible for Childhood Weight Gain?
More American families are eating out than ever before, but what impact are all of those out-of-home meals having on health, not to mention our waistlines?
Family MattersParenting
Should Parents Lose Custody of Their Extremely Obese Kids?
One way to manage the nation’s childhood obesity crisis might be to take the most severely overweight kids away from their parents, argues Harvard pediatrics professor and obesity expert David Ludwig in a controversial commentary …
City Kids Walk and Bike to School More Often
Kids who live in the city are more likely to walk or bike to school, compared with children in rural areas, a new study finds. That active commute helps youngsters boost their daily physical activity and may help improve their health.
The USDA Ditches the Food Pyramid for a Plate
So long, pyramid. Welcome, MyPlate! First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled on Thursday the government’s new symbol for healthy eating, a colorful plate divided into the basic food groups, which will officially replace the …
Family MattersParenting
The Chocolate Milk Wars: A Mom’s Perspective
As any parent knows, you can prepare healthy food but you can’t make your kids eat it. So there are a few tricks we parents have up our culinary sleeves, particularly when it comes to calcium. Two words: chocolate milk.
Family MattersParenting
Insecure Toddlers are More Likely to Become Obese
By any measure, mother-child bonding is an ideal worth striving for, but new research underscores its importance, finding that toddlers who aren’t securely attached may have a greater risk of being obese before they even start …
Can a Mother’s Pregnancy Diet Influence Her Child’s Future Weight?
Adding to the evidence that your baby’s health may be influenced by the nine months it spends in the womb, a new study finds that a pregnant mother’s diet may be associated with her child’s later risk of obesity.
5 Ways Parents May Be Sabotaging Their Kids’ Health
In a recent survey sponsored by the YMCA, 9 out of 10 parents rated themselves as good or excellent at providing a healthy home environment. But there’s something amiss: while 89% of parents think they are providing the right …
