China took a bite out of junk food in the third quarter.

Last week, Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) said that sales in China grew an anemic 2% compared to 11% a year ago. Shares of the world’s largest beverage company lost more than 2% for the week.

China’s love affair with fried chicken also took a hit. KFC parent Yum Brands (YUM, Fortune 500), which also owns the Taco Bell and Pizza Hut brands, saw same-store sales growth in China decline to 6% from 19% last year.

It was more sour news for the world’s biggest fast food chain McDonald’s (MCD, Fortune 500). The company posted its worst quarterly restaurant sales growth in 9 years, sending shares more than 4% lower.

The company didn’t break out China sales, but said sales at restaurant open for at least one year in the Asia/Pacific region increased a meager 1.4%.

The outlook doesn’t look any better for the fourth quarter, according McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson. said

“Global economies remain challenging and our comparable sales for October are currently trending negative,” he said on a conference call.

The disappointing numbers are likely a result of the slowdown that’s been slamming the Chinese economy. Last week, the National Bureau of Statistics said that China’s economy slowed last quarter to its lowest level since early 2009.

China: Slowing sales for fast food – Oct. 21, 2012

House Republicans say new U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA guidelines aimed at forcing students to eat fruits and vegetables are a failure because students across the country are simply tossing the healthy fare into the trash.

“[T]here remains great concern with the amount of food waste generated at school cafeterias, much of it brought on by requiring students to take fruits and vegetables rather than simply offer them,” Reps. John Kline R-Minn., Kristi Noem R-S.D. and Phil Roe R-Tenn. told USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in a letter sent Thursday.

“This is a waste of federal, state and local funds and is contrary to the laws goal of feeding as many low-income and hungry children as possible,” they said. “Once again, we are aware USDA has attempted to address this situation by allowing greater choice in reimbursable meals, but students should not have to take additional food if they have no intention of eating it.”

Republicans have been criticizing USDA school lunch guidelines for the last few months, in particular USDA rules that set maximum-calorie guidelines for all meals subsidized by taxpayers. Last month, Rep. Steve King R-Iowa introduced the No Hungry Kids Act, which would repeal these calorie restrictions.

GOP sees food fight as kids trash USDA fruit, vegetable guidelines – The Hills Floor Action

Ernest Gagnon — a man from Billerica, Mass. — decided to shed pounds by getting into the often intense, high-adrenaline sport of cyclocross: racing road bikes on obstacle courses.

Two years ago, Gagnon tipped the scales at 570 pounds. He was depressed and embarrassed to leave the house.

“Being as big as I was, I really felt like I didnt belong anywhere,” Gagnon says. “I was stuck in my house for almost 10 years, just going to my work and back.”

Back then, Gagnons diabetes was getting more serious. He was losing the circulation to his legs, and his doctors were talking about gastric bypass surgery.

Then, some sort of a switch flipped in his head and Gagnon decided he was going to race bikes, something hed wanted to do since he was a kid.

Gagnon contacted Cosmo Catalano, a cyclist from Hartford, Conn., on Facebook, and asked if he wanted to go for a bike ride.

“He’s like … by the way, I ride kind of slow … Im 500 whatever pounds, ” Catalano says. “I [said] … OK, I can deal with that. ”

These days, at age 33, Gagnon is 240 pounds slimmer. He is still very big by any standard, but a lot less so. Seeing him, surrounded by svelte, Lycra-clad athletes, squeezed into some spandex of his own, is a little bit jarring at first.

As you watch him, however, you start to get used to the big guy in bike shorts, especially when you realize that Gagnon himself is way past being self-conscious.

Fat Thanks to Sona S. for the tip!

Instead Of Surgery, Man Pedals Off The Pounds : NPR

Soft-drink makers, restaurateurs and other businesses are suing to block the citys move to end the sale of super-sized, sugary drinks in many eateries.

The American Beverage Association and others sued the city Friday. City officials had no immediate response.

The city Board of Health approved the unprecedented regulation last month. It would stop restaurants, cafeterias and concession stands from selling soda and other high-calorie drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces.

The rule is set to take effect in March.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls it a reasonable, promising way to curb obesity.

The lawsuit says the unelected health board shouldnt be telling people how much soda to drink. The suit also says the rule “burdens consumers and unfairly harms small businesses.”

Industry Sues Over Sugary-Drinks Crackdown | NBC New York

A Santa Ana man on Friday faced false imprisonment and other charges for allegedly trying to kidnap a 10-year-old boy.

KNX 1070′s Mike Landa reports police responded to a call shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Thursday from Delhi Park at 505 E. Central stating that a soccer coach was unsuccessfully attempting to detain 55-year-old suspect Victor Joseph Espinoza.

When officers arrived, the 425-pound Espinoza had escaped. He was located by helicopter shortly afterward hiding in a backyard on the 500 block of E. Central.

Espinoza – who police said is a documented gang member – was taken into custody without incident, but he had minor injuries from his contact with the soccer coach.

Investigators said the 10-year-old – who did not know the suspect – was going to soccer practice with his 19-year-old female cousin when Espinoza lured the victim close enough to grab him.

“He was grabbed by the suspect by both of his arms and he pulls him into his body area,” Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. “We believe that he was going to take the kid away.”

Police: OC Gang Member Tried To Grab Boy Going To Soccer Practice « CBS Los Angeles

Childhood obesity isn’t just a health issue, according to a group of retired military leaders. It’s also a national security issue.

One in four young adults are too overweight to join the U.S. military, a new report from the advocacy group Mission: Readiness says. And the U.S. Department of Defense spends an estimated $1 billion each year on medical care related to obesity issues for active duty members, their dependents and veterans.

“No other major country’s military forces face the challenges of weight gain confronting America’s armed forces,” according to the report.

Fat Thanks to Sunita K. for the tip!

Military leaders: We’re still too fat to fight – The Chart – CNN.com Blogs

By 7 a.m. Monday, senior Nick Blohm already had burned about 250 calories in the Mukwonago High School weight room.

He grabbed a bagel and a Gatorade afterward; if he eats before lifting, he gets sick.

That was followed by eight periods in the classroom, and then three hours of football practice. By the time he headed home, he had burned upward of 3,000 calories – his coach thinks the number is even higher.

But the calorie cap for his school lunch? 850 calories.

“A lot of us are starting to get hungry even before the practice begins,” Blohm said. “Our metabolisms are all sped up.”

Following new federal guidelines, school districts nationwide have retooled their menus to meet new requirements to serve more whole grains, only low-fat or nonfat milk, daily helpings of both fruits and vegetables, and fewer sugary and salty items. And for the first time, federal funds for school lunches mandate age-aligned calorie maximums. The adjustments are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 touted by Michelle Obama and use the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Students strike against new federal school lunch rules