In Wisconsin, high school athletes are complaining about not getting enough to eat each day, due to the skimpy new school lunch menu mandated by the United States Department of Agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The story we published earlier this week on that subject is unfortunately not unique. Students across the country are complaining about the new school lunch regulations.

Perhaps the real motive is to starve students into slimming down. Just ask students in Pierre, South Dakota who, too, are in an all-out revolt.

“I know a lot of my friends who are just drinking a jug of milk for their lunch. And they are not getting a proper meal,” middle school student Samantha Gortmaker told Keloland.com.

Despite the fact that the new regulations have increased the cost of a lunch 20 to 25 cents per plate, it’s not pleasing students.

Some are throwing away their vegetables while others are adapting to the rules by becoming industrious. In New Bedford, Massachusetts, students have created a black market – for chocolate syrup. The kiddie capitalists are smuggling in bottles of it and selling it by the squeeze, according to SouthCoastToday.com.

Nancy Carvalho, director of food services for New Bedford Public Schools, was quoted as saying that hummus and black bean salads have been tough sells in elementary cafeterias. That means even smaller children are going through the day fighting hunger pains, which can never be considered a good thing.

One government official tried to put the blame on the students.

“One thing I think we need to keep in mind as kids say they’re still hungry is that many children aren’t used to eating fruits and vegetables at home, much less at school. So it’s a change in what they are eating. If they are still hungry, it’s that they are not eating all the food that’s being offered,” USDA Deputy Undersecretary Janey Thornton was quoted as saying.

Complaints Mount Against Michelle Obama’s New Lunch Menu – Kyle Olson – [page]

The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine early this month opened the country’s first animal obesity clinic at its Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals in North Grafton, Mass.

Featuring three American College of Veterinary Nutrition board-certified nutritionists, the Tufts Obesity Clinic for Animals aims to help pet owners create weight loss plans and balance nutrition for their cats and dogs.

“I think a lot of people are either not aware that their animal is overweight or of the negative health consequences of being overweight,” Lisa Freeman, professor of clinical sciences at the Cummings School, said. “This is a place that they can come to get really comprehensive care in both preventing and treating obesity.”

The clinic has an all-inclusive $250 fee that covers an initial appointment, four to six check-ups and the Foster Hospital’s registration fee. Once a pet owner pays, he or she can contact the on-call nutritionist with questions at any time, Research Assistant Professor at Cummings Deborah Linder said.

“I just really want to get the word out that [pet] obesity is so common and that it’s harmful,” Linder said. “With so many other diseases we do our best to help them, but we can’t always provide a cure or treatment. With obesity we can really attack it from all sides.”

Cummings School opens animal obesity clinic – Tufts Daily – Tufts University

It may be more important than we thought to tackle obesity in childhood. A new study published in Pediatrics finds that overweight teenagers eat fewer calories than their healthy weight peers.

That’s right — they eat less.

How much less? The study found that among 12- to 14-year-olds, obese girls consumed 110 fewer calories daily than healthy-weight girls. And overweight boys between the ages of 15 and 17 consumed about 375 fewer calories a day than healthy-weight boys.

Up to the ages of of 8 or 9, overweight children ate more calories than their slimmer peers. But, “at about age 9 or 10, we start to see, essentially, a flip,” explains Skinner. Basically, heavier older kids start to eat less.

“One reason this makes sense is because we know overweight children are less active than healthy weight kids,” explains lead researcher Asheley Cockrell Skinner of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

And obesity expert Matthew Gillman of the Harvard School of Public Health says the amount of physical activity kids participate in is key. “When you’re less physically active, you actually need fewer calories to maintain your weight,” he explains.

“Once you become overweight, there are changes in your body that make you different from someone who’s not [overweight],” explains Sophia Yen of Stanford School of Medicine. “You have extra fat cells, and you have different insulin levels,” which can make it feel like you’re eating less than you are.

Fat Thanks to Sona S. for the tip!

Heavy Teens Eat Less But Weigh More Than Their Thinner Peers : The Salt : NPR

McDonald’s, that carnivore’s haven of beefy Big Macs and chicken McNuggets, is going vegetarian.

The fast food giant will open its first non-meat restaurant next year in India, in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar. The branch, to be located by the much-visited Golden Temple, will serve herbivore options tailored to the country’s cultural tastes, according to AFP.

Much of the Indian population avoids certain types of meat. Hindus consider cows sacred and don’t eat beef, while Muslims avoid pork. Indian McDonald’s restaurants already feature much less meat than the chain’s locations in other countries.

The company’s bestseller in India is the McAloo Tikki burger, which features a fried potato patty and is responsible for a quarter of sales. The chain has fewer than 300 branches in India – a growing market for fast food that has already attracted competitors such as Subway, KFC and more.

Research in recent years suggest that Indians spend a quarter of their income on food, compared to the 1.5% they shell out for health issues.

McDonald’s goes vegetarian for India – latimes.com.

FLOTUS: Obesity Absolutely Greatest Threat To National Security.