Archive for the ‘Obesity’ Category

Despite evidence demonstrating that the environment around us can drive the obesity trend – our schools, workplaces, communities, the food and beverage industry and even the media – most Americans believe that the solution to the obesity epidemic continues to rest with obese individuals themselves.

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A new analysis of government health data predicts that in Minnesota, the current 26 percent obesity rate could more than double by 2030, reaching 55 percent. The analysis, released this week by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, projected the obesity rates for all 50 states by 2030. Simone French, Ph.D., [...]

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Schools across the country are swapping out soda for sports drinks in vending machines, thinking they’re making a more nutritional choice for students. But most sports drinks sold in the United States contain higher amounts of sugar than other beverages, adding calories to diets and contributing to the national obesity epidemic. In addition, research shows many [...]

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A University of Minnesota School of Public Health analysis has found that, overall, the frequency of family meals has remained fairly constant over the past 10 years.  Yet research has also found families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are spending less time at the table as a family. According to researchers, the shift is problematic, given [...]

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As parents, we try to prepare decent meals, limit how much junk food our kids eat, and ensure they have a reasonably balanced diet,” said First Lady Michelle Obama in January. “And when we’re putting in all that effort, the last thing we want is for our hard work to be undone each day in [...]

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The simple fact is that everyone eats. The more complicated reality is that what we is eat is shaped by political, technical, environmental, economic, and cultural forces we can’t control or sometimes even understand. A new USDA-funded initiative at the University of Minnesota is one of five centers nationwide that will contribute novel perspectives on [...]

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University of Minnesota researchers have examined the eating habits of residents in Singapore and found that a Western diet heavy in fast food increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

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Physical activity is one antidote to childhood obesity and youth sports is a recommended way for children to get exercise, but it’s not enough by itself to keep unhealthy weight gain at bay.

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Water pollution, the obesity epidemic, tobacco use, and HIV transmission are members of an exclusive and infamous club—the “wicked” problems of the world. In 1973, two professors of design and urban planning at the University of California at Berkeley coined the term “wicked” to describe the messy and multilayered challenges that defy traditional problem-solving approaches. [...]

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An increasing number of public health experts are calling for a soda pop tax as a way to combat obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, while reducing health care costs. Roger Feldman, a professor and health policy expert at the University of Minnesota, is a strong advocate for a pop tax.

He said that 34 percent of Americans are overweight and another 34 percent are obese.

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