Rescheduling her flight took nine days, which delayed the necessary medical treatment she needed. They found a flight that could take her to New York from Vienna, but she passed away in the bathroom while her husband finalized that arrangements.

“I think theres something wrong,” attorney Peter Ronai said to CBS station WCBS in New York. “They took on the responsibility to get her to Hungary, its their responsibility to get her back. I dont understand how she makes it there but she cant come back. Its completely illogical to me.”

Janos is suing the airlines for $6 million.

Delta, which has a joint venture with Air France-KLM, said in a statement they did all they could to assist the couple to get home.

“Delta and KLM did everything possible to assist the family,” the company said in a statement to WCBS. “When KLM was unable to safely board Mrs. Soltesz in Budapest, it was determined she might be able to fly on the larger Delta aircraft out of Prague, but unfortunately that was not the case. Our records indicate Delta staff in Prague made repeated attempts for nearly an hour to board the customer, but they were unable to get her onboard the aircraft.”

Delta, KLM sued for death of obese woman denied flight – CBS News

A sickly, obese Bronx woman was left stranded in Hungary then died from kidney failure after airline officials booted her from three New York-bound flights because she was too fat, her husband says.

“All we wanted was to come back home to get her treatment,” said a grieving Janos Soltesz, a Staten Island Ferry security guard whose 56-year-old wife, Vilma, died in Hungary nine days after she was kicked off the first of three jets.

Vilma, who weighed about 425 pounds, had only one leg and used a wheelchair. She traveled with her husband of 33 years to Hungary on Delta and KLM airlines on Sept. 17.

They spent several relaxing weeks at a vacation home they owned in the Hungarian countryside. It was a trip they took almost every year.

Before the journey, their travel agent informed Delta of Vilma’s condition and bought two tickets for her and one for Janos.

They planned to come home Oct. 15 so Vilma could resume treatment with the doctors she had been seeing for years.

But the couple, both natives of Hungary, were told Vilma couldn’t be accommodated by KLM after they boarded the jet home, Janos said.

“They tried to fit her into the back of the plane, but they didn’t have an extension to secure her,” Janos, 56, said.

Her illness, a combination of kidney disease and diabetes, caused her to gain water weight, and the airline said it didn’t have a seat-belt extender for her, Janos said.

He was also told the seat back couldn’t handle his wife’s weight.

“It appeared on the passenger’s return that it was not physically possible for her to board the aircraft, despite every effort made by KLM to this end. A seat or belt extender did not offer a solution, either,” said KLM spokeswoman Ellen van Ginkel.

Janos said his wife was already seated when they were asked to leave.

Airline staffers told them they would make calls and try to get her on a different flight. The couple sat at the airport for five hours.

Then they were told to drive five hours to Prague for a Delta plane that could accommodate her as a disabled person, said attorney Holly Ostrov Ronai, who is mulling a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the airlines accusing them of violating laws protecting the disabled.

“This absolutely contributed to the cause of her death,” Ronai said.

“They managed to get her over there and were obligated to get her home.”

In Prague, Delta staff told the couple the airline’s plastic wheelchair couldn’t hold her weight, Janos said.

The staff also couldn’t put her on the sky-lift elevator, the airline said.

“After the operating carrier in Budapest was physically unable to board Mrs. Soltesz on its flight, and despite a determined good-faith effort by Delta in Prague, we were also physically unable to board her on our aircraft,” said Delta spokesman Russel Cason.

So the couple drove back to their vacation home and called their New York travel agent to make other arrangements.

Finally, the agent said they could get on an Oct. 22 Lufthansa flight to New York via Frankfurt, which would be able to accommodate her size.

Then trouble struck again.

On the plane, the crew, with help from the local fire department, was unable to move her from her wheelchair to the three seats assigned to her.

The captain ordered them off after 30 minutes of no success.

“We had 140 passengers on board, and they had connections and needed to travel,” said Lufthansa spokesman Nils Haupt. “The question was never the seat belt. The question was the mobility of the passenger.”

So they again went back to the vacation home to make other arrangements as Vilma became sicker and sicker.

Neither trusted the doctors in Hungary, especially because they wouldn’t be familiar with her lengthy medical history, Janos said.

“She was very ill and did not trust that the hospitals in former communist Hungary could attend to her needs,” Ronai said.

EXCLUSIVE: Ailing, obese Bronx woman dies after three airlines refuse to fly her back home from Hungary – NYPOST.com

New genetic research has found that the genes thought to be contributing factors to obesity could have one benefit for the people carrying them – by acting as an inhibitor to genes that may cause depression.

CBC News is reporting that researchers at McMaster University in Ontario discovered this potential effect of obesity genes while examining the general relationship between them and depression.

The relationship also brought to light the existence of genetics that were reportedly thought to not exist, according to David Meyre, who was involved with the study.

“We found the first gene predisposing to depression with consistent results,” Meyre, who is both an associate professor in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at McMaster University as well as a Canada Research Chair in genetic epidemiology, was quoted as saying by the news service.

Before now, most doctors and scientists thought the only relationship between obesity and depression involved the former inducing the latter. Symptoms of obesity, including self-esteem issues, poor diet and a lack of regular physical activity, are generally thought to be contributors to depression.

Study: Genetic Obesity May Prevent Depression « CBS Atlanta

Time finally ran out for Hostess Brands on Wednesday, as a bankruptcy judge gave preliminary approval for the company to shut down after 82 years in business.

A last-ditch attempt to mediate a pay-and-benefits dispute between the company and its Bakery Workers union failed.

The decision by Judge Robert Drain sets the stage for the company to start selling its assets — including its bakeries, brands and recipes.

“Sadly, the parties were not able to come to an agreement,” said Drain. “It’s a free country. People are free not to agree.”

Hostess, maker of such beloved products as Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Drake’s snacks, announced Tuesday night the mediation efforts had failed to produce a deal.

About 15,000 of the company’s current 18,500 employees will likely be terminated in the coming days. The company said in court it needs about 3,200 employees to stay on for various periods of time to wind down the company.

The company’s operations have been closed since last Friday. Hostess’ CEO and attorneys previously said that reaching a deal to restart the company’s network of 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers would be difficult due to the financial damage done by the strike that started Nov. 9.

But Hostess’ investment bankers testified that there have been dozens of inquiries about a possible purchase of various brands and even some facilities. Joshua Scherer, of Perella Weinberg, told the court that some of the interested parties had inquired about hiring back some workers.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for [Hostess’] competitors,” he testified.

Hostess closing gets OK from judge – Nov. 21, 2012

The fat lady — the one who apparently ate too many 150-calorie, nutrition-free Twinkies — has sung.

But hey, we pretty much warned you in July to start hoarding Twinkies.  That’s what it seemed like, as Hostess Brands — the owner of such lunchbox snacks as Ding Dongs and Ho Hos, as well as Wonder Bread and the iconic “Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling” — struggled to emerge from its second bankruptcy in a decade.  Now it has happened:  Hostess announced early this morning that it would “promptly” liquidate the company immediately and lay off its nearly 19,000 workers.

The trigger was a strike this month by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.  “We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision,” Hostess said in a statement, “but we don’t have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike.”  Instead, CEO Greg Rayburn said the company — which has about $2 billion in annual revenue and nearly $1 billion in debt — would move forward in bankruptcy court to start “selling its assets to the highest bidders.”  Rayburn acknowledged “there’s no way to soften the fact that this will hurt every Hostess Brands employee,” but “unfortunately, because we are in bankruptcy, there are severe limits on the assistance the company can offer you.”

The end of Hostess – Fortune Management

The nation’s diabetes problem is getting worse, and the biggest jump over 15 years was in Oklahoma, according to a new federal report issued Thursday.

The diabetes rate in Oklahoma more than tripled, and Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama also saw dramatic increases since 1995, the study showed.

The South’s growing weight problem is the main explanation, said Linda Geiss, lead author of the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.

“The rise in diabetes has really gone hand in hand with the rise in obesity,” she said.

Bolstering the numbers is the fact that more people with diabetes are living longer because better treatments are available.

The disease exploded in the United States in the last 50 years, with the vast majority from obesity-related Type 2 diabetes. In 1958, fewer than 1 in 100 Americans had been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2010, it was about 1 in 14.

Most of the increase has happened since 1990.

Diabetes Rates Rocket in Oklahoma, South

Time for Chicago’s vending machines to chip up or chip out.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he’s cracking down on the caloric content of vending machines in city buildings and plans to replace them all with healthy vending by next year.

A proposed ordinance, to be introduced this week, will lay out plans for the new machines and detail guidelines on fat, sugar and calorie content starting in January 2013.

“These new vending machines will make it easier than ever before for city employees and the public to make healthy lifestyle decisions,” Emanuel said. “When city employees take their wellness into their own hands, we can reduce health care costs and also serve as a model for the residents of Chicago when it comes to making healthy choices.”

Emanuel’s guidelines dictate that only 25 percent of the new machines’ cold beverages can be “high calorie,” or contain 25 calories or more per eight ounces. All hot drinks must not be high-calorie, and all vended drinks must be limited to 12 ounces.

According to the plan, at least 75 percent of food offerings should contain 250 calories or less and at least five items should contain 250mg or less of sodium per serving. A gluten- and nut-free option also must be provided.

Oh, and healthier foods can’t be pricier than their higher-calorie counterparts.

Rahm Cracks Down on Chicago Vending Machines | NBC Chicago

What if you could eat a plate of French fries, loaded with calories, and not absorb the fat because of what you’re drinking.

“Yes, I want it,” exclaimed one woman in Market Square.

Well, that’s exactly what PepsiCo is selling in Japan; and, so far, only in Japan.

“I definitely need it as I get older,” one man told KDKA money editor Jon Delano.

“I think it’s a great idea, but I’m a little concerned about what they’re going to put in it.”

What’s in it is obviously important.

Unlike the Pepsi bought in the USA, the Japanese will be able to buy something called Pepsi Special.

It contains an additive called Dextrin, a fat-blocking fiber that is supposed to keep the body from absorbing fat and lower cholesterol levels. That’s a claim that the Food & Drug Administration has not yet bought.

But if it does, as a marketing tool, a Pepsi drink that blocks fat could be a winner.

“If you read some of the product claims, there’s one thing I saw that says you’ll be able to eat a piece of chocolate cake and it won’t be absorbed,” says Point Park University business professor Elaine Luther.

Pepsi Special Sold In Japan Claims To Block Fat « CBS Pittsburgh

For one day each week, the Los Angeles City Council wants residents to go vegetarian.

In a unanimous 12-0 vote, the council approved a resolution Friday endorsing the “meatless Monday” campaign and asking residents to make a personal pledge to ditch meat for one day a week.

The resolution makes L.A. the largest city to sign on to the international “Meatless Mondays” campaign, which aims to reduce meat consumption for health and environmental reasons.

It also comes two years after L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told The Times that he had cut meat from his Monday diet as part of his health regimen.

According to the nonprofit campaign, which was started in 2003 in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health, cutting meat from your diet can reduce the risk on cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

The resolution, introduced by Councilwoman Jan Perry and Councilman Ed Reyes, cites statistics showing health disparities facing Los Angeles residents, specifically those living in low-income areas with lack of access to health foods.

It also notes that, according to the department of Health Services, more than half of Los Angeles County residents are obese or overweight.

City Council asks L.A. residents to go meatless on Mondays – latimes.com