http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/obesity/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-sugarcoat-it-if-your-child-is-obese-its-your-fault/ A storm of controversy has been brewing in the US. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say the storm has been dipped in oil and deep fried.  Twice. At the centre of the controversy is a series of ads aimed at tackling the growing obesity crisis in American children. In one of the ads (above) a young girl stares forlornly into the camera and says: “I don’t like going to school because all the other kids pick on me. It hurts my feelings.” Another opens with the statistic that 75 per cent of parents of overweight children ignore the problem growing before their very eyes. It’s followed by a scene in which an obese boy sits facing his equally obese mother and asks, “Mum, why am I fat?”. The silence that follows his question is deafening. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-sugarcoat-it-if-your-child-is-obese-its-your-fault/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-sugarcoat-it-if-your-child-is-obese-its-your-fault/#item7492 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/think-you-cant-keep-that-2012-resolution-think-again/ I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/think-you-cant-keep-that-2012-resolution-think-again/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/think-you-cant-keep-that-2012-resolution-think-again/#item7451 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/mmm-mmm.-the-nanny-state-cant-have-my-smarties/ Here’s something to ponder – how many Smarties would you have to eat to become morbidly obese? 1000? Maybe half a million? Or is the consumption of Smarties merely a deadly entrée to a grotesque world of other fattening treats, where we start nibbling away at a small handful of the tiny chocolate sweets and pretty soon are subsisting on a diet of Chiko rolls, McHappy Meals and deep-fried Mars bars? In the grand scheme of culinary evil I always thought the innocuous Smartie was the least of our concerns. Apparently not, according to the no-fun folks at the Obesity Policy Coalition, who have launched an action against the Smartie-peddlers at Nestle – cue angry boos from the crowd – over an apparently sinister online colouring-in competition which gives kiddies aged three to 10 a chance to win one of 500 Smiggles stationery packs. The Obesity Policy Coalition complained to the Advertising Standards Board arguing that the Nestle Smarties website breaches the Responsible Children’s Marketing Initiative, introduced in March of this year, to protect the tiny tots from wicked corporate ploys to stuff them full of junk food. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/mmm-mmm.-the-nanny-state-cant-have-my-smarties/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/mmm-mmm.-the-nanny-state-cant-have-my-smarties/#item7205 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Fizzy-evil-sugar-bombs-from-diabetes-hell/ You have to hand it to the big multinationals. They know how to get us to eat more fatty food and drink more sugar, even when they claim to be committed to our health and well-being and no one has done it better recently than Coca Cola. Their latest campaign, which encourages people to seek out a can of regular, full strength, eight teaspoons of sugar per 375ml of soft drink that has their name written on the label, is nothing short of brilliant. And then, once you have your own can, you can also seek out cans that feature your best mate’s name, or your kids can find one with their name… the list goes on. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Fizzy-evil-sugar-bombs-from-diabetes-hell/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Fizzy-evil-sugar-bombs-from-diabetes-hell/#item7119 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/economic-growth-making-you-really-really-fat/ According to Andy Warhol, everyone has their “15 minutes of fame”. Looking back at four decades of work as a health scientist mine will probably be the development of ‘GutBusters’, the world’s first men’s “waist loss” program in 1991. GutBusters lasted for over a decade before it was taken over by Weight Watchers and closed down for being unprofitable (men won’t admit to having anything wrong with their health and hence won’t pay for it). This is despite the fact that it achieved (and still has) world-wide acknowledgement as an ethically-based and economic scientific weight loss program. Those are rare, by the way. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/economic-growth-making-you-really-really-fat/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/economic-growth-making-you-really-really-fat/#item6846 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-getting-too-fat-for-our-coffins/ A recent survey by an international health insurer, which involved 13,000 people from 12 countries, found Australians are world leaders in self denial when it comes to being fat.   Despite 76 per cent of the Australians surveyed believing it is the individual’s responsibility to adopt preventive health measures, the results demonstrated that 60 per cent of those Australians surveyed were overweight or obese. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-getting-too-fat-for-our-coffins/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/were-getting-too-fat-for-our-coffins/#item6730 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-judge-this-book-by-its-cover/ When you’re fourteen years old, chubbier than the rest of your friends and desperately unhappy about it, there’s nothing more precious than good self-esteem. It gives you confidence, improves how you relate to others and boosts your overall sense of happiness. It makes you a better human. Diets do not help build healthy self-esteem. Ergo, books about diets do not help engender healthy self-esteem. That’s probably why American author Paul Kramer has copped so much flak for his new but yet to be published book, Maggie Goes on A Diet. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-judge-this-book-by-its-cover/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-judge-this-book-by-its-cover/#item6592 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-02-08-2011/ Goodbye foie gras, pork belly and the seven stages of degustation. Our “future food”  will be home-grown, seasonal and natural; served informally and with a lot of respect for where it was grown. That’s according to some of the world’s top chefs in the foodie and travel section of The Australian. Sounds healthy, huh? A meal of organic roast beetroot is a long way from the Jetsons-style microwavable micro foods of our childhood imagination - but will it be worth going out for? If growing something yourself and cooking it simply is all there is to it, we’d be better off staying home and practising our MasterChef skills, right? It’s Tuesday. What’s on your mind? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-02-08-2011/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-02-08-2011/#item6406 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/first-world-problem-death-by-fat/ Children as young as 10 are at risk of heart disease. Doctors are faced with obese toddlers, and teenagers that weigh up to 200kg. Kids are fat, and getting fatter, and it’s no surprise if they’re guzzling soft drinks and gobbling fast food. Dr Matt Sabin, from the Royal Children’s Hospital weight management clinic, says: “We’re not talking about a little bit of extra weight, we’re talking about severely obese children”. The United States and Australia are experiencing a lethal ‘fat crisis’ that is growing steadily worse. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/first-world-problem-death-by-fat/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/first-world-problem-death-by-fat/#item6314 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-do-you-know-if-youre-abusing-your-child/ There are a couple of flippant faux-diagnostic accusations that get thrown about with abandon: “Clearly got Asperger’s” and “That’s child abuse”. The first gets directed at anyone with a vague difficulty coping in social situations; the second to parents escorting children with issues ranging from mullet hairstyles to a clear case of childhood obesity. Well, US doctors just upped the ante and suggested that in certain circumstances obese children should be removed from their parents’ calorie-laden care and into a foster family. Dr David Ludwig, from the Children’s Hospital in Boston, and his colleague Lindsey Murtagh from the Harvard School of Public Health, wrote a provocative letter to the American Medical Association journal. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-do-you-know-if-youre-abusing-your-child/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-do-you-know-if-youre-abusing-your-child/#item6295 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 I caught up with a group of old workmates just before Christmas and couldn’t believe my eyes. In the 12 months since our last festive fizz, they’d all shrunk – and by a sizeable amount. “I’ve lost 16 kilos,” cried one gleefully. “Ten!” said another. “More than 20,” said a third.