American Obesity Rate Levels Off

December 6, 2007 | by

The Washington Post published a story late last week about obesity in the United States. The story discussed the results of a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Here’s the article’s opening statement:

The obesity epidemic that has been spreading for more than a quarter-century in the United States has leveled off among women and may have hit a plateau for men …

I was surprised that they use the term “spreading”, since the article fails to mention any of the recent research pertaining to the spread of obesity through social networks.

Overweight Kids and TV: An Advertising Epidemic

October 4, 2007 | by

On Saturday afternoon, September 29th, 2007, the cable television channel Nickelodeon showed nothing for three hours to celebrate “Worldwide Day of Play”, encouraging children to get off the couch and be active. The “Worldwide Day of Play” is part of Nickelodeon’s “Let’s Just Play” campaign, in partner with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, to encourage kids to participate in active, healthy and playful lifestyles. The goal of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation is to create a new generation of healthy Americans by addressing one of the nation’s leading public health threats — childhood obesity.

So it should be simple, right? Don’t let kids spend so much time in front of the television … get them to be more active and they won’t be overweight. Or is there more to it? Let’s explore some of the science.