Do all fat people need to lose weight? Maybe not
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(CBS) Can fat people be healthy? A provocative new study shows that obese people who are otherwise healthy live just as long as their slim counterparts.
And that wasn't the only surprising finding. The study also showed otherwise healthy obese people are even less likely than lean people to die of cardiovascular disease.
Continue »Can 'Bite Counter'gadget help folks lose weight?
A woman wears a Bite Counter
/ Clemson UniversityMeet the Bite Counter.
Continue »Olivia Wilde "self-medicated with food"
Olivia Wilde in San Diego on July 23, 2011
/ Getty Images(CBS) Olivia Wilde is far from fat, but the Irish-American star of TV's "House" and the movie "Cowboys & Aliens" says she gained weight after her marriage ended.
"I got a divorce and self-medicated with food," she said in US Magazine. "But I figure that's better than self-medicating with crack cocaine."
Continue »Baby boomers fear cancer, should fear obesity
Baby boomers are becoming more obese, and most don't exercise enough
/ istockphoto(CBS/AP) Baby boomers fear dying from cancer, or losing their memory from Alzheimer's as they age. What they should be worrying about is their growing waist lines, as the generation's obesity problem can cause serious health risks and take a toll on the U.S. healthcare system in the not-so-distant future.
Continue »Doc blasted for pushing foster care for fat kids
Dr. David S. Ludwig
/ National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions(CBS) Are parents to blame for childhood obesity? Are there cases in which morbidly obese kids should be taken from their parents and raised in foster care?
A media firestorm erupted last week when a Harvard prof and his co-author suggested in a widely read article that the answer to both questions was a qualified "yes." But now the man at the center of the controversy, Dr. David S. Ludwig, is responding to angry, frightened parents who read about his views, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Continue »Could big fork be key to small waistline?
Filckr/Tom Rolfe
(CBS) Could big cutlery be the key to controlling your weight? A provocative new study shows that restaurant-goers eat less when they tuck into generous portions using a plus-sized fork.
Continue »Should super obese kids go into foster care?
In a July 11, 2011 photo, Stormy Bradley, left, and her daughter Maya, 14, are seen, in Atlanta. Maya is part of an anti-obesity ad campaign in Georgia. A new commentary argues that parents of extremely obese children should lose custody of their kids. While Maya is not at risk, Bradley sympathizes with parents struggling to control their kids' weight.
/ AP(CBS/AP) Parents should lose custody of super obese children.
That's what a controversial commentary in one of the nation's most distinguished medical journals argues. And its authors are not the first to say the government should intervene in extreme cases of childhood obesity.
Continue »High-sodium, low-potassium risky combo for heart
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That's the finding from the first federal study to research the relationship among salt, potassium, and heart disease deaths.
"If you have too much sodium and too little potassium, it's worse than either one on its own," said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City's health commissioner in a commentary published with the study in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.
Continue »Obesity epidemic on rise in U.S. - which states?
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(CBS/AP) Obesity rates are rapidly rising in the U.S.
Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 15 percent. Now, two-thirds of states report obesity rates over 25 percent.
The state with the lowest obesity rate as of 2010 - Colorado, with 19.8 percent of its adults obese - would have the highest obesity rate in the country if this were 1995.
F as in Fat: Top 15 fattest U.S. states
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Cutting salt might not help heart, study says
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(CBS) Salty snackers may have reason to rejoice. A new study suggests cutting back on dietary salt intake won't cut risk of heart disease, contrary to popular belief.
PICTURES: YUCK! 25 surprisingly salty processed foods
For the review - published in the July 6th Cochrane Review - British researchers analyzed data from seven studies on nearly 6,500 people on reduced salt diets. What did they find?
Does candy keep kids from getting fat?
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(CBS) Indulging a sweet tooth might not be anyone's idea of a good weight-loss strategy. But in jaw-dropping new research, scientists say they've found something even more likely to be associated with unwanted weight gain in children and adolescents than eating candy:
Not eating candy.
Continue »New study is wake-up call for diet soda drinkers
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(CBS) Sorry, soda lovers - even diet drinks can make you fat.
That's the word from authors of two new studies, presented Sunday at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.
Continue »Which foods cause most weight gain?
Weight gain has more to do with diet than how much exercise a person gets, according to a new study
/ istockphoto(CBS/AP) Which foods cause the most weight gain? A new Harvard study holds some big surprises.
PICTURES- Weight gain worry? 12 foods that pack on pounds
Continue »Why did Los Angeles schools ban chocolate milk?
Los Angeles schools banned chocolate and strawberry milk after celebrity chef Jamie Oliver mounted campaign
/ Getty Images(CBS/AP) With childhood obesity a growing problem in the U.S., schools across the country are seeing what they can do to help kids keep the weight off. To do its part, the Los Angeles Unified School District - with about 688,000 students, the nation's second-largest - has implemented a controversial ban of chocolate and strawberry milk.
It joins a growing number of school districts nationwide, including Washington D.C., Boulder Valley, Colo., and Berkeley, Calif., that serve only plain milk at its schools.
Continue »Is Mediterranean diet effective for weight loss?
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(CBS) The Mediterranean diet has long been touted as a healthy one, and a ranking of popular eating plans just released by "U.S. News & World Report" pegs it at #2 in terms of overall health benefits.
But when it comes to triggering weight loss, the Mediterranean diet - which focuses on produce, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, and seafood - doesn't even crack the top 10.
PICTURES: Top 20 diets for weight loss
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