The Campbell Soup Co. is planning to spend $10 million to fight obesity and hunger among children in Camden, N.J., where the company has its headquarters.
The city is among the nations poorest. One study found that nearly 40 percent of its children are obese — well above the national rate of 32 percent.
The company says it will work with several other groups to try to reduce those problems.
Campbell Soup Co. plans to fight hunger, obesity – BusinessWeek
Americans grew fatter at a faster pace than residents of any other wealthy nation since 1980, during a period when obesity worldwide nearly doubled, researchers found.
American Waistlines Expand at Fastest Pace Among Rich Nations, Study Finds – Bloomberg
More than one in 10 of the worlds population is obese – more than half a billion adults – and rates have doubled since 1980. The biggest increases are in the richer nations but almost every country has seen rates rise.
Fastest growing: US
Slimming down: Italy
Fattening up: UK
South America’s biggest: Chile
World’s thinnest: Bangladesh
Fattest on earth: Nauru
How tiny Nauru became worlds fattest nation – Health News, Health & Families – The Independent
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans were just released. Here are the take-home messages:
Balancing Calories
• Enjoy your food, but eat less.
• Avoid oversized portions.
Foods to Increase
• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1 percent) milk.
Foods to Reduce
• Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals—and choose the foods with lower numbers.
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
2010 Dietary Guidelines Finally Get Tough on Obesity – Marion Nestle – Food – The Atlantic
Dancing with the Stars pro Cheryl Burke has one of TV’s most famously toned bodies – but that didn’t stop her confidence from being shaken in July 2008 when a tabloid published photos of her looking heavier.
“One night I was supposed to go out with my friends but I couldn’t do it. Every time someone looked at me I was like, ‘That person thinks I’m fat,’ ” recalls Burke, who estimates she had gained 5 to 10 lbs. while on hiatus from the show.
Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it will cut about 25 percent of its U.S. jobs, or about 66 employees, to conserve cash and focus its resources on getting regulatory approval for its obesity drug.
UPDATE 1-Arena to cut 25 pct jobs to focus on obesity pill | Reuters
Children who do not get adequate sleep may be at an increased risk of becoming obese, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.
According to lead researcher Dr. David Gozal of the University of Chicago in Illinois, children who sleep the least could be four times more likely to develop an unhealthy body weight.
Lack Of Sleep Linked To Childhood Obesity
Our bodies must work to stay warm when it’s cold, which means we expend more energy or calories. “Our love of warmth may be reducing our expenditure and contributing to the obesity ‘epidemic,'” she tells WebMD in an email. “The less time spent in the cold means less time when the body is burning energy to stay warm.”
But there is more to it. “It is also likely that a lack of exposure to cold reduces our capacity to generate heat, by diminishing brown fat stores,” she says.
Does Raising the Thermostat Increase Obesity?
Obesity is a national health crisis—that much we know. If current trends continue, it will soon surpass smoking in the U.S. as the biggest single factor in early death, reduced quality of life and added health care costs. A third of adults in the U.S. are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and another third are overweight, with Americans getting fatter every year. Obesity is responsible for more than 160,000 “excess” deaths a year, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Fat Thanks to Rob K. for the tip!
How to Fix the Obesity Crisis: Scientific American
An obesity pandemic has put pressure on health care systems throughout the world. The United Kingdom, for instance, spent more than £4 billion on obesity-related medical costs in 2007, and that could rise to £9.7 billion by 2050. The United States currently spends about $160 billion—twice what it did a decade ago—and that amount could double again by 2018.
Yet these huge numbers represent only a fraction of the pandemic’s total economic burden on societies. Obesity indirectly costs the United States at least $450 billion annually—almost three times the direct medical cost.
Chart Focus: The real cost of obesity
Fat Thanks to Laurent J. for the tip!
