Salon.com > Obesity http://www.salon.com Tue, 02 Jul 2013 18:08:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The Atlantic’s latest silly idea is wrong: No, fast food won’t cure obesity http://www.salon.com/2013/06/30/the_atlantics_latest_silly_idea_is_wrong_no_fast_food_wont_cure_obesity/ http://www.salon.com/2013/06/30/the_atlantics_latest_silly_idea_is_wrong_no_fast_food_wont_cure_obesity/#comments Sun, 30 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13338987 In one particularly telling moment of Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 documentary "Super Size Me," the vice president of the Grocery Manufacturers Association – a lobbying organization that represents companies like Kellogg’s, Nestle, Kraft, General Mills, Campbell’s and Pepsi, to name just a few – made what was then considered to be a shocking admission about Big Food’s role in the country’s obesity problem: “We’re part of the problem, and we also are part of the solution.” Nine years later, that has become the industry’s siren song. And now, The Atlantic is selling the same message.

Here’s how David H. Freedman puts it in his cover story, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity”:

To be sure, many of Big Food’s most popular products are loaded with appalling amounts of fat and sugar and other problem carbs (as well as salt), and the plentitude of these ingredients, exacerbated by large portion sizes, has clearly helped foment the obesity crisis… But will switching to wholesome foods free us from this scourge? It could in theory, but in practice, it’s hard to see how.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/06/30/the_atlantics_latest_silly_idea_is_wrong_no_fast_food_wont_cure_obesity/feed/ 79 Is the “fat acceptance” movement losing? http://www.salon.com/2013/06/25/is_the_fat_acceptance_movement_losing/ http://www.salon.com/2013/06/25/is_the_fat_acceptance_movement_losing/#comments Tue, 25 Jun 2013 17:54:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13336408 There are many things wrong with Paula Deen's admitted use of racial slurs. But her weight isn't one of them.

The celebrity cook, whose butter-laden recipes have come in for much critique over the years (not least when she admitted to Type II diabetes right before promoting a pharmaceutical product), is particularly open to criticism now that she's been fired from the Food Network for her racist comments.

But a New York Times photo of Deen's supporters, private citizens who disagreed with her firing and were visiting her Georgia restaurant, prompted plenty of commentary online about how those supporters looked. One example, from the New York Times's media critic, is below:

[embedtweet id="348815020676755457"]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/06/25/is_the_fat_acceptance_movement_losing/feed/ 196 Is obesity a disease? http://www.salon.com/2013/06/22/being_fat_is_a_disease_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/06/22/being_fat_is_a_disease_partner/#comments Sat, 22 Jun 2013 15:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13333092 Pacific Standard Disease: a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.

“Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health,” according to both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. “A crude population measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI), a person’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (in meters). A person with a BMI of 30 or more is generally considered obese. A person with a BMI equal to or more than 25 is considered overweight.”

So is obesity a disease?

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/06/22/being_fat_is_a_disease_partner/feed/ 26 James Gandolfini was fat and sexy http://www.salon.com/2013/06/20/james_gandolfini_was_my_celebrity_crush_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/06/20/james_gandolfini_was_my_celebrity_crush_partner/#comments Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:34:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13331965 Like fans all over the world, I was very saddened by actor James Gandolfini’s death at age 51. I wasn’t a diehard fan of The Sopranos (though I enjoyed it), nor have I seen Gandolfini’s entire body of work or know every last detail about his personal life. None of this stopped him from occupying a hallowed place in my fantasy life: James Gandolfini was my celebrity crush.

While obituaries are calling him an “unlikely” and “improbable” sex symbol, I felt just the opposite. While I’ve been attracted to, dated, and slept with many types of people, if pressed to say I had a type of man I typically swoon over, it’s fat guys. Or big guys. Whatever you want to call them. In an ode to big bellies at The Black Table in 2004, I wrote, “Nothing gets me hotter than a nice, big belly, perhaps not so surprising since I consider James Gandolfini and Monica Lewinsky both people I’d fuck in a heartbeat.”

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/06/20/james_gandolfini_was_my_celebrity_crush_partner/feed/ 16 Childhood ADHD linked to obesity in adulthood http://www.salon.com/2013/05/20/childhood_adhd_linked_to_obesity_in_adulthood_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/20/childhood_adhd_linked_to_obesity_in_adulthood_partner/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 16:57:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13303358 Scientific American

Identification and treatment issues surrounding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are challenging enough. Now research is shedding light on long-term outcomes for people with ADHD. A recent study in Pediatrics reports that men who had ADHD in childhood are twice as likely to be obese in middle age, even if they no longer exhibit symptoms of ADHD.

ADHD is a mental disorder characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattention and inability to focus. It affects approximately 6.8 percent of U.S. children ages 3 to 17 in any given year, according to a recent report by the CDC. Medications used to treat ADHD, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) or Adderall (dextroamphetamine and amphetamine), are stimulants that can suppress appetite, however, a couple recent retrospective studies have pointed to a possible increased risk for obesity among adults diagnosed with ADHD as children.

The new 33-year prospective study started with 207 healthy middle-class white boys from New York City between 6 and 12 years old, who had been diagnosed with ADHD. When the cohort reached an average age of 18, another 178 healthy boys without ADHD were recruited for comparison. At the most recent follow-up when the participants were an average age of 41, a total of 222 men remained in the study.

A troubling pattern emerged: A comparison of the men’s self-reported height and weight revealed that twice as many men with childhood ADHD were obese than those without childhood ADHD. The average body mass index (BMI) of the men with childhood ADHD was 30.1 and 41.4 percent were obese, whereas those without the condition as kids reported an average BMI of 27.6 and an obesity rate of 21.6 percent. The association held even after the researchers controlled for socioeconomic status, depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.

The results have implications for parents currently raising kids with ADHD. “Many parents are concerned that their children may not be gaining as much weight as they should because [ADHD] medications can decrease appetite in the short run, but these results would lead me to be much less worried about that now,” says corresponding author F. Xavier Castellanos of the Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute of Pediatric Neuroscience at NYU Langone Medical Center. “It helps us to realize that over the long run, the potential risks of obesity, of overeating and of dysregulation, are a more prominent long-term concern.”

The study is case-controlled, which means researchers identified participants (cases) with the condition and then matched them to a control population to compare outcomes and look for risk factor differences. Therefore, it cannot prove causation because it’s observational. Only a randomized, controlled trial could show that obesity is caused by ADHD, but it’s impossible to randomize participants to have ADHD, both because it’s unethical and because researchers do not know precisely what causes ADHD. Possible causes could include genetics, nutrition, environmental factors or brain injuries.

These findings, however, are similar to results in other studies that have found links between ADHD and obesity. The previous studies, however, were retrospective (relying on participants’ recall), did not focus exclusively on ADHD (included other conduct disorders) or compared only men with adult ADHD to men with remitted childhood ADHD, rather than to controls without ADHD. This prospective study is the most long-term and the first to focus exclusively on adult obesity rates in men with childhood ADHD compared to men without childhood ADHD. Its findings therefore contribute to the growing evidence base for an association between obesity and childhood ADHD.

An unclear mechanism

A link between obesity and childhood ADHD could be explained by either a neurobiological or a psychological mechanism, the authors proposed. With the former, it is possible that something similar genetically underlies both ADHD and obesity; Castellanos and his colleagues note that dysfunction in the dopamine pathways of the brain have been found among both people who are obese and people with ADHD. As for the psychological mechanism, the impulsive behaviors and diminished inhibitions associated with ADHD “may foster poor planning and difficulty in monitoring eating behaviors, leading to abnormal eating patterns and consequent obesity,” the team wrote.

“One of the aspects of ADHD is this tendency to focus on ‘I want it now’ and not waiting for something, not delaying gratification, so we think that may lead people to eat more than they physiologically might need,” Castellanos says. Eating just an extra 100 calories a day than the total burned can easily lead one to accumulate extra pounds. Appetite regulation is complex but usually balances out in healthy individuals — unless they eat when they’re not actually hungry.

Some researchers are dubious about both the neurobiological and the psychological explanations. Lawrence Diller, a behavioral developmental pediatrician at the University of California, San Francisco, and author of Remembering Ritalin and Running on Ritalin, says he finds the idea of dysregulation in adulthood unlikely for adults who no longer have symptoms of ADHD. “The finding is real -- no question about it -- but the explanations are poor,” says Diller. “If the ADHD is remitted, then why should the impulsivity and poor judgment still be there?”

Of the 111 men with childhood ADHD in this study, 87 no longer had ADHD symptoms (remitted) and 24 still had ADHD (persistent). Those with remitted ADHD had relatively higher obesity rates than the persistent-ADHD men, though the small number of men with persistent ADHD makes it difficult to draw any substantial conclusions about this difference.

Diller suggested that the long-term impact of ADHD medication may play a part. “We know that stimulants very much affect the satiety thermostat in people who take them,” he says. “There is the question of whether or not the long-term suppression of appetite somehow affects the brain so that when you’re no longer taking the drugs, it takes more [food] to make you feel full.” Diller pointed to research showing that long-term use of ADHD stimulants can lead to an inch or two of lower-than-predicted height in adults, although the adults in this new study showed no significant differences in height. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the medicine, but in weighing the pros and cons, it’s one more thing for parents to think about in treatment,” Diller says. “The idea that impulsivity and poor judgment may play a role is possible, but I think my idea of adjusting the satiety thermostat long-term is just as plausible as theirs.”

A different possible mechanism, proposed by Juan Salinas, a lecturer specializing in the neuropharmacology of learning and memory at the University of Texas at Austin, resembles the neurobiological hypothesis, given that ADHD involves a dysfunctional release of dopamine in the brain. “From more basic research into the neurobiology of reward, it’s suggestive that maybe somehow these people who do not have ADHD anymore may have an alteration in the dopamine pathways, and maybe some of the eating may be a way to self-medicate to increase dopamine release,” Salinas says. “It’s not so much impulse control, but it’s a self-medicating idea.” The implications of the study, then, Salinas says, are that parents need to train their children with ADHD early to eat healthily, exercise and practice a healthy lifestyle.

Another line of thought, proposed by Stephen Hinshaw, a psychology professor specializing in ADHD at the University of California at Berkeley and at San Francisco, extends the poor impulse control hypothesis. “It’s plausible that there are biological underpinnings of both ADHD and obesity,” he says, “but the more parsimonious explanation from other research is that ADHD portends problems in self-regulation over time.” In other words, adults who once had ADHD might later be able to sit in a chair and refrain from fidgeting, but emotional and physical regulation issues could linger in the form of less-than-ideal eating habits.

"Devastating" long-term consequences

Hinshaw’s own work with ADHD in girls and other research into long-term outcomes support this idea that the challenges of self-regulation may not fade when the outwardly clinical symptoms of hyperactivity do. His 10-year study of 140 girls with ADHD found much higher rates of self-cutting, self-burning and suicide attempts in this group than were found in a control group.

Additionally, he says, recent research has found high levels of unemployment and underemployment and poorer work productivity among adults who had childhood ADHD than among those who did not. The men with childhood ADHD in the new study also had significantly lower socioeconomic status than those in the control group, even though the groups had been matched initially for parental socioeconomic status and geography. “ADHD still gets ridiculed in the press -- saying it’s a made-up disease or that we just don’t tolerate fidgety kids -- but it has really devastating long-term consequences, and we have to take it seriously,” Hinshaw says.

Rising rates of ADHD diagnoses could be related to both improved health care access for more children and possible misdiagnoses due to the inadequate time spent on assessments in pediatricians’ offices. “We need to insist upon a much higher level of diagnosis and evaluation so that we’re really sure that it’s ADHD and not maltreatment or family conflict or normal-range behavior,” Hinshaw says. For those who really suffer from ADHD, this study provides more evidence of the challenges those children will face in adulthood. “ADHD has staying power,” he says, “regardless of whether the symptoms on the surface improve or not.”

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/20/childhood_adhd_linked_to_obesity_in_adulthood_partner/feed/ 5 Chris Christie’s weighty secret http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/chris_christies_weighty_secret/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/chris_christies_weighty_secret/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 13:22:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13291595 I thought there was something remarkable about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s furious outburst at former White House doctor Connie Mariano last February, after she suggested to CNN that his evident obesity was “a time bomb,” and that she hoped he would slim down for the sake of his health.

“I’m a Republican. I like Chris Christie. I want him to run. I just want him to lose weight,” Mariano said. “I’m a physician more than I’m a Democrat or Republican. And I’m worried about this man dying in office.” The White House doctor under George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Mariano revealed that she helped Clinton lose 30 pounds, and suggested Christie could be helped, too.

“If he can overcome this disease, he deserves the White House,” the doctor later told the Newark Star-Ledger. “He’s a tough SOB. And all of us really like him because he’s refreshingly honest. He’s no BS-er. … I want him to lose weight so he can win the office.”

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/chris_christies_weighty_secret/feed/ 66 Pictures of people who mock me http://www.salon.com/2013/04/23/pictures_of_people_who_mock_me/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/23/pictures_of_people_who_mock_me/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:30:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13279696 I was traveling with students in Barcelona in the summer of 2011, walking through La Rambla, when I noticed two guys making fun of me. I could see them in the reflection of a mirrored building, making gestures with their hands to suggest how much bigger I was than the thin girl standing next to me, her small waist accentuated by her crop top and cut-off shorts. They painted her figure in the air like an hourglass. Then they painted my shape like the convex curves of a ball. The guys were saying something, too, but there was only one word I could make out: Gorda. Fat woman.

I’ve been hearing comments like this for much all my life. Maybe someone else would have yelled at them, or shrunk inside. But I don’t get upset when this happens.

I pulled out my camera, and set up a shoot.

For about a year, I’d been taking pictures of strangers’ reactions to me in public for a series I called “Wait Watchers.” I was interested in capturing something I already knew firsthand: If the large women in historical art pieces were walking around today, they would be scorned and ridiculed.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/23/pictures_of_people_who_mock_me/feed/ 372 Research: Childhood obesity is a product of environment http://www.salon.com/2013/04/09/research_childhood_obesity_is_a_product_of_environment_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/09/research_childhood_obesity_is_a_product_of_environment_partner/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:38:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13266008 Scientific American New evidence is confirming that the environment kids live in has a greater impact than factors such as genetics, insufficient physical activity or other elements in efforts to control child obesity. Three new studies, published in the April 8 Pediatrics, land on the import of the 'nurture' side of the equation and focus on specific circumstances in children's or teen's lives that potentially contribute to unhealthy bulk.

In three decades child and adolescent obesity has tripled in the U.S., and estimates from 2010 classify more than a third of children and teens as overweight or obese. Obesity puts these kids at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, and bone or joint problems. The variables responsible are thought to range from too little exercise to too many soft drinks. Now it seems that blaming Pepsi or too little PE might neglect the bigger picture.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/09/research_childhood_obesity_is_a_product_of_environment_partner/feed/ 9 A salon on Mayor Bloomberg’s big drink ban http://www.salon.com/2013/03/15/a_salon_on_mayor_bloombergs_big_drink_ban/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/15/a_salon_on_mayor_bloombergs_big_drink_ban/#comments Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:34:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13229960 Earlier this week a judge nixed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. Bloomberg is arguably the most influential advocate for public health in the country. His 2003 ban on smoking in bars has been widely copied. More recently, his staunch advocacy for gun control and his bottomless pockets suggest he could take on the NRA. His soda ban, however, has even some supporters scratching their heads. Will it help to fight obesity? Why 16 ounces? Is it just too intrusive?

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/15/a_salon_on_mayor_bloombergs_big_drink_ban/feed/ 4 Sorry, Bloomberg, NYC continues to supersize http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/new_york_can_continue_to_guzzle_its_big_gulps/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/new_york_can_continue_to_guzzle_its_big_gulps/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:44:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13226579 Keep drinking, New York. On Monday, just one day before Mayor Bloomberg's controversial ban on supersize sugary drinks was to go into effect, a state Supreme Court judge struck it down.

You can imagine El Bloombito's disappointment. Mike Bloomberg has had stunning previous successes with his health-focused initiatives — a 2008 ban on trans fats in restaurants paved the way for significant changes in food preparation across the country, and led to a large reduction in the amount of a heart-disease-promoting ingredient in our foods. Two years ago, he restricted smoking in the city's parks, beaches and public spaces – and other cities have either followed suit or are now considering similar measures.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/new_york_can_continue_to_guzzle_its_big_gulps/feed/ 9 Hooters’ not-so-”awesome” ad campaign feeds on fat-phobia http://www.salon.com/2013/02/28/hooters_not_so_awesome_ad_campaign_feeds_on_fat_phobia/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/28/hooters_not_so_awesome_ad_campaign_feeds_on_fat_phobia/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:44:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13213966 Hooters has decided to get a lot more in your face. And that's not nearly as enjoyable as it sounds.

In its new Guy Fieri-speak "step into awesome" campaign, the mammarily themed chain, not universally prized for its subtlety, takes aim at the competition – the sad, pathetic, probably full of fatties competition – and ushers you into a paradise of boobs, wings and joy.

The campaign, created by Skiver, features three new ads, two of which are already posted on YouTube. Hooters CMO Dave Henninger describes the new theme as showing the world what a "liberating experience" their "restaurants" are. In one, a tragic victim of a Chipotle-like burrito bar contemplates the pale, sad, droopy column of meat in his hand — I couldn't make this up if I tried. But in his mind, he goes to his happy place, flanked by his friends – a lady and a black man! – a land where girls smile at him and give him cardiac-inducing-size plates of onion rings and burgers, and salads that look like they might actually give your grandchildren high cholesterol. And where Wednesday is wings day! Hooters would like you to know that they're "boneless" — well, the chicken wings, anyway. Probably the only boneless offering you'll ever get from Hooters. AM I RIGHT?

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/28/hooters_not_so_awesome_ad_campaign_feeds_on_fat_phobia/feed/ 39 Heart Attack Grill delivers on its promise http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/heart_attack_grill_delivers_on_its_promise/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/heart_attack_grill_delivers_on_its_promise/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:08:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13199917 There can be little doubt that John Alleman died in the manner he'd been preparing for all his life. The 52-year-old unofficial patron saint of the Las Vegas restaurant called Heart Attack Grill was taken off life support Monday after suffering a heart attack a few days earlier.

Alleman was a devoted patron of the restaurant, whose motto is "Taste Worth Dying For!" Restaurant owner Jon Basso, who opened the restaurant in October 2011, told the Las Vegas Sun this week that Alleman "never missed a day, even on Christmas … He lived, ate and breathed the Heart Attack Grill." And, as he spoke fondly of the 180-pound Alleman, he noted, "Heart attacks aren't a laughing matter. You don't have to be tremendously old or fat. You can be in your 30s and 40s and die of a heart attack." Yet Basso's entire establishment is built around the laughing matter notion that artery-clogging fare is just what the doctor ordered.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/heart_attack_grill_delivers_on_its_promise/feed/ 38 Our family’s week on a food stamp budget http://www.salon.com/2013/02/01/our_familys_week_on_a_food_stamp_budget/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/01/our_familys_week_on_a_food_stamp_budget/#comments Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:06:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13188360 I love to eat. You won't catch me on any diets or purifying cleanses or experiments in going gluten- or lactose-free. I plan meals in my dreams, and put baking ingredients on my Amazon wish list. My idea of going voluntarily hungry is waiting until the previews are over to open the candy. And I'm lucky as hell, because unlike one in every six Americans who don't have a choice in the matter, I don't have to go hungry.

After I wrote about Cory Booker's decision last month to take the SNAP Challenge – to take "a view of what life can be like for millions of low-income Americans" – I couldn't get the idea of it out of my head. The challenge is simple in concept but demanding in its execution: see what it's like to live for one week on a food budget equivalent to your state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's (SNAP) benefits. Participants can use their existing spices and condiments, but no other foodstuffs, nor they can accept food "from friends, family, or at work." Because I live in New York, I'd have a slightly more generous allowance than New Jersey's Booker got – a total of $36.86 for a week of eating. And because my two daughters are awesome, they said they wanted to do it too as I soon as I mentioned it to them. So for the past week, we've been eating on a little over five bucks a person per day.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/01/our_familys_week_on_a_food_stamp_budget/feed/ 125 Do smokers and the obese deserve insurance? http://www.salon.com/2013/01/28/do_smokers_and_the_obese_deserve_insurance/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/28/do_smokers_and_the_obese_deserve_insurance/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2013 20:39:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13184065 What's a health incentive – and what's a penalty? In the past few days, the perennial debate has reared its head again; as the start of Obama's second term has brought us closer to changes in the healthcare system, a stream of dire news stories on what that might mean for some Americans have inevitably cropped up.

Last week, the Associated Press warned ominously that starting next January, "Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health-care law." For insurance companies that opt to enforce the full amount, the change could mean as much as a $5,000 premium spike per year for older smokers. That change would have a serious impact on low-income individuals, who "would depend [more] on the new federal health-care law" — and who account for a far higher proportion of the one in five Americans who smoke. Nearly 450,000 Americans die of smoking-related diseases every year.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/28/do_smokers_and_the_obese_deserve_insurance/feed/ 107 Study: Car crashes are more deadly for obese drivers http://www.salon.com/2013/01/23/study_car_crashes_are_more_deadly_for_obese_drivers/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/23/study_car_crashes_are_more_deadly_for_obese_drivers/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:46:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13179598 Scientific American In the study, obese drivers — those with a body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 35 — were 20 percent more likely to die during a car crash compared to normal-weight individuals.

Morbidly obese individuals — those with a BMI of 40 and above — were 80 percent more likely to die in a car crash. BMI is a ratio of weight to height and is considered an indicator of body fatness.

The results held even after the researchers accounted for factors that could influence the risk of death in a car crash, such as age, alcohol use, seat belt use, and whether or not the air bag deployed.

The findings agree with those of previous studies, including a study published in 2010 that found an increased risk of death during car crashes for people with a BMI over 35.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/23/study_car_crashes_are_more_deadly_for_obese_drivers/feed/ 1 Can tweeting help you lose weight? http://www.salon.com/2013/01/22/can_tweeting_help_you_lose_weight/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/22/can_tweeting_help_you_lose_weight/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:26:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13178514 A new study on dieting (there is always a new study on dieting!) found that the support and instant accountability provided by Twitter made a slight difference in how much weight people lost.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina asked two groups of people to listen to podcasts about nutrition and fitness and record their physical activity each week. One group tracked their weight loss in a book while the other used a smartphone app and Twitter to interact with others. When Brie Turner-McGrievy and her colleagues at USC’s Arnold School of Public Health reviewed their results, they found those actively tweeting and retweeting their progress lost more weight.

Other studies have analyzed how online message boards and other forms of virtual support help motivate people to stick to their diet and exercise routines, but this is the first study to look specifically at Twitter.

“The more they were posting to Twitter, the better off they did,” Turner-McGrievy told Wired. Her team found that every 10 tweets corresponded with about 0.5 percent weight loss.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/22/can_tweeting_help_you_lose_weight/feed/ 1 All the weight I didn’t lose http://www.salon.com/2013/01/22/all_the_weight_i_didnt_lose/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/22/all_the_weight_i_didnt_lose/#comments Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13173239 Everyone knows this trick: You hold the camera above your face, stretch your neck and shoot. I take my own picture this way. You see my heart-shaped face, my cutely assertive chin, and my dark brown eyes. Sometimes I peer insouciantly over the rims of my glasses. You don't see the double chin or the pudgy roundness of my face. You don't see my body, apart from the cleavage I occasionally throw in. Pictures make me thinner than I am, or will ever likely be. That angle slices away more pounds than my surgeons, and that's saying a lot.

I am the “after” side of surgery, having lost more than 250 pounds. No one gets this, at least not without an explanation, because I still weigh over 200 pounds, and the weight loss fable is supposed to end when you're thin, not when you're merely “an average fat American.” I still wonder if I should get more surgery. I have so many pieces of clothing that fit, but that I reject because they cling in one place wrong. That particular place is my right thigh and calf, which are obviously larger than the left. (I call it my freak leg.) Doctors have no real explanation, but the general theory is that a fall I suffered when I weighed 600 pounds actually broke off a chunk of fat in my calf. That place just above my knee seems swollen, and is the reason I can't wear skirts anywhere close to above the knee. If jeans stick to the freak leg, I toss them into the back of the closet and try another pair.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/22/all_the_weight_i_didnt_lose/feed/ 18 Coke goes on the defensive http://www.salon.com/2013/01/16/coke_goes_on_the_defensive/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/16/coke_goes_on_the_defensive/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:55:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13173260 Of all the iconic, untouchable brands out there, Coke would surely be leader. It's like baseball and Snoopy and your grandma rolled into one. Sure, it deluges you every day with a steady stream of magazine and television ads and those promos before the movies, but it's the cola that always somehow acts like it doesn't have to. It's Coke, for God's sake, our great munificent giver of sugary elixir!

But the company, once unassailable, has come under attack. Mayor Mike Bloomberg's ban on beverage portions that are bigger than an average toddler — a late-night punch line just a few months ago – survived the heavy-handed folksy, WHADDAYAKIDDINGME? lobbying of the beverage industry and is about to take effect. Soda sales are sliding, and more and more schools are pushing to phase sugary drinks out of the cafeterias. The home carbonation biz, meanwhile, has been booming, helped along by consumer infatuation and the promise of less wasteful packaging. So you can see why Coke might be feeling a tad defensive. And to that end, the company that has generations been luring the thirsty with the promise of carefree refreshment is doing something unique: It's actually addressing obesity.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/16/coke_goes_on_the_defensive/feed/ 2 Coca-Cola to address obesity for first time in ads http://www.salon.com/2013/01/14/coca_cola_to_address_obesity_for_first_time_in_ads_2/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/14/coca_cola_to_address_obesity_for_first_time_in_ads_2/#comments Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:56:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13170575 NEW YORK (AP) — Coca-Cola became one of the world's most powerful brands by equating its soft drinks with happiness. Now it's taking to the airwaves for the first time to address a growing cloud over the industry: obesity.

The Atlanta-based company on Monday will begin airing a two-minute spot during the highest-rated shows on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC in hopes of becoming a more influential voice in the intensifying debate over sodas and their impact on public health. The ad lays out Coca-Cola's record of providing drinks with fewer calories over the years and notes that weight gain is the result of consuming too many calories of any kind — not just soda.

Coca-Cola says the campaign will kick off a variety of moves that address obesity in the year ahead, such as providing more diet options at soda fountains. The company declined to say how much it was spending on the spots, which it started putting together last summer.

For Coca-Cola, the world's No. 1 beverage company, the ads reflect the mounting pressures on the broader industry. Later this year, New York City is set to put into effect a first-in-the-nation cap on the size of soft drinks sold at restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas and other venues. The mayor of Cambridge, Mass., has already proposed a similar measure, saying she was inspired by New York's move.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/14/coca_cola_to_address_obesity_for_first_time_in_ads_2/feed/ 2 Is sitting worse than smoking? http://www.salon.com/2013/01/10/stand_up_2/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/10/stand_up_2/#comments Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:40:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13167379 I have some news for you. Are you sitting down for it? Psych! Because the news is: Don't sit down. Your chair. It's going to smite you.

This is likely not the first time you've heard the warning. On "Rock Center" Thursday, NBC News' Natalie Morales offers the latest take on the story, blowing the lid off America's deadly epidemic of sitting down. "Sitting all day long is literally killing us," says obesity expert Dr. James Levine, who describes exactly what you're probably doing right this moment as "dangerous behavior." And in case you're thinking none of this applies to you because you Zumba, Morales adds, "A trip to the gym, while beneficial, can't undo the damage done all day."

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