FitSugar

Is TLC's New Reality Project on Obese Moms-to-Be Offensive or Educational?

LilSugar — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:12:12 PDT

Does the idea of watching a reality show called Obese & Expecting intrigue or upset you? According to Entertainment Weekly, TLC's hour-long pilot, set to air May 17, will document the experience of four morbidly obese moms-to-be, honing in on their health issues, relationship issues, and struggles with pregnancy weight gain. An announcement issued by the network stated, "These women are challenging the perception - and the odds - of obese pregnancies, as they become moms, no matter their size or complications."

While Obese & Expecting will launch as a one-hour special, TLC frequently uses this method to gauge audience interest in deciding whether or not to order a full series. What do you think? Is it wrong to turn women's health issues into reality television, or can the struggles of those featured be used to educate viewers? Will you tune in?

Source: TLC.com

Obesity Rate Stops Increasing - What's the Number?

Leta Shy — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:16:17 PST

New government stats just came out this week, and there's slightly good news: the rates of obesity in the US haven't increased from previous years. The stall isn't the first time it's happened in the past decade, but researchers say it points to a possible slowing down of the so-called "obesity epidemic." Can you guess how many Americans are currently obese?

Take the Quiz

Paula Deen Becomes a Hot Topic on the View

YumSugar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:08:38 PST

In January 2011, Food Network host Paula Deen appeared on The View to promote her new children's cookbook. Those who caught it know that it wasn't pretty to watch. Put the sassy Paula Deen and the straight-laced Barbara Walters together, and you get an uncomfortable dynamic.

As the ladies of The View sit behind a stupendous spread of fried chicken and other Southern comforts, Paula licks strawberry cake off her fingers and pictures of macaroni and cheese grace the background. Walters then forces the queen of Southern cuisine to answer a rather serious question:

This is a cookbook for kids. Obesity is the number one problem for kids today. Everything you have here is enormously fattening. You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast . . . Does it bother you that you are adding to it? No? Not at all?

Stunned, Deen bumbles something about moderation - "you know, we don't eat this every day" - to an unconvinced Walters.

UPDATE: With the news that Paula Deen has type 2 diabetes, the women of The View furthered the debate on "hot topics" this week. Watch the video, and weigh in on your thoughts after the jump

Is Being Overweight More Acceptable Today?

Leta Shy — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:09:30 PST

The obesity rate may be steadily increasing over the years, but it seems that most Americans don't care. In fact, what we think of as our "ideal weight" has also increased over the past 20 years, reflecting a rising acceptance of being heavier.

A new Gallup poll of over 1,000 adults found that the average American weighs about 20 pounds more than the average American did 20 years ago. Back in 1990, according to the survey, the average American woman weighed 142; today, the average woman weighs 160 (the average weight for men in 1990 was 180 pounds, and today it's 196).

Not only has the average woman's weight increased, so has our perception of what our ideal weight should be, which has increased almost 10 pounds over 20 years, jumping from 129 pounds to 138 pounds. The same survey found that even though the average woman weighs 30 pounds more than the "ideal weight" of 1990, over half of men and women think their weight is "about right."

The increase in both average and ideal weight shows that being heavier has become the norm as the rate of Americans who are obese or overweight has increased (it's currently at 61 percent, according to government calculations based on BMI). Do you think that being overweight has become more acceptable now? Are you at your ideal weight? What is it? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Guess the Number: How Many of Us Will Be Obese by 2030?

FitSugar — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:34:23 PDT

A new study from the journal Lancet shows that the obesity epidemic shows no signs of slowing down. Currently, the obesity rate in the United States stands at 32 percent for men and 35 percent for women, or about a third of the population. The rate continues to grow; take the quiz to guess how much of the population will be obese by 2030.

Take the Quiz

New Studies Say You Can Be "Healthy Obese"

Leta Shy — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:33:26 PDT

New studies show that weight shouldn't be the only factor when determining whether or not someone is unhealthy. In fact, the studies show, certain obese people may actually be healthy.

The first study surveyed 8,000 Americans and found that not all those who qualified as obese - over 30 on the BMI scale - had health problems. It found that 20 percent of obese participants were what one of the study researchers described as "pretty healthy despite being large."

Your BMI, or body mass index, is determined by calculating your weight relative to your height. But many experts agree that a BMI number doesn't always correlate to how healthy you are.

Read on for more about the new findings after the break.

Frequent Dining Out May Foreshadow Obesity

Susannah Chen — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:13:51 PDT

Are you a frequent diner-about-town? If so, it could be making you fat. The USDA has been examining the relationship between restaurant food and obesity, and it turns out that eating just one meal a week outside the home correlates to roughly two extra pounds a year.

Non-shocker: in comparison to homemade meals, restaurant portion sizes are larger, higher-calorie, and filled with inexpensive, obesity-promoting foods like processed grains and trans fats, all factors that certainly promote weight gain. That's a staggering statistic when combined with the fact that more than half of all American adults eat out more than three times per week.

Are you one of them - and if so, are you worried about its long-term impact on your waistline?

New Study Blames Obesity on Office Jobs - Should Employers Intervene?

Leta Shy — Thu, 26 May 2011 13:07:16 PDT

The obesity epidemic is not all about huge portions and processed foods - it's a no-brainer that a more sedentary lifestyle is part of the equation. And since most of us spend a good portion of the work day sitting in a chair, a new study published in the journal PLoS One has set about to quantify exactly how much those desk jobs are really hurting us. Turns out a lot; the number of desk-bound or light-activity jobs has increased in the last 50 years from 50 percent to 80 percent, leading to a loss of 140 to 160 calories burned a day.

These numbers are in line with the climbing obesity rate (currently one in three Americans), and while the results aren't surprising, it does show just how much the shift from more active jobs like those in farming and manufacturing has affected our national waistline. And having an understanding of how the eight or so hours in the day we spend sitting in a chair has led to a collective decrease in activity will help us get to the bottom of the reasons why our society continues to gain weight. Also, researchers want to use the findings as a way to encourage employers to offer incentives like discounted gym memberships or public transit fares (or even those hilarious-looking yet probably effective walking desk stations).

From taking walks at lunch (or the stairs instead of the elevator), office workers still have some fitness tricks up their sleeves. But does this study show that employers need to offer ways for workers to be more active, or should fitness be a personal responsibility?

Did Weight Affect Your "Risky" Teen Behavior?

Tara Block — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:40:57 PDT

A study that looked at obese vs. normal-weight teens and their "high-risk" behavior (i.e. drinking, sex, smoking, drugs, and suicide tendencies) found weight didn't drastically affect the likelihood teens took part in these activities. The researchers were surprised with these results because they thought obese teens would take fewer risks than their peers due to being stigmatized and isolated, which I'm guessing they equated to less partying.

I also wonder if the researchers were expecting obese teens, especially girls, to feel too self-conscious to engage in sexual activity, which wasn't really the case since the numbers were pretty similar - 32 percent of obese girls have had sex compared to 46 percent of normal-weight girls. What I find most disturbing from this research is that obese girls are riskier with their sexual encounters, having sex before age 13 (seven percent compared to three percent), drinking alcohol or using drugs before sex (42 compared to 17), and not using condoms (54 compared to 42).

When you were a teenager, did your weight affect the choices you made in these areas? Share your stories in the comments.

Obesity Stigma Grows Around the World

Leta Shy — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:57:23 PDT

Even as more and more people become overweight, fat gets a bad rap. Between the ever-thin actresses and prominent healthy-living campaigns, most know that being fat isn't something to be proud about. But this increasing nonacceptance for the overweight is not just in our celebrity-obsessed American society - a recent study found that most people view obesity in a negative light, especially ones in cultures that usually view bigger bodies as attractive.

The study asked 700 people around the world what they thought about overweight people by responding to statements like "Fat people are lazy." or "A big woman is a beautiful woman." They found that societies that traditionally value larger bodies actually had the most negative opinions about the overweight.

An increasing global fat stigma can be a double-edged sword. While it does help encourage people to lose weight, it doesn't factor in the fact that being overweight is caused by a number of factors, not all of which have to do with lifestyle habits - which can make the obese feel even worse about themselves.

But is it needed? Do you think a global fat stigma, like a smoking stigma, will help us become a healthier society?

Source: Flickr User tobyotter