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

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.