Health professionals and parents are up in arms today over a new anti-obesity ad campaign in Georgia, featuring stark black-and-white photos of overweight children with lines like “Some diseases aren’t just for adults anymore,” and “Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid.” Is it a useful tactic, or just shameful? And when will Bloomberg bring it to New York? more ›

Nanny Bloomberg had some relatively good news to brag about today. Bucking national trends, the overall obesity rate among NYC kindergartners through eighth graders has dropped 5.5 percent in the last five years. Of course it has gone from 21.9 percent obese in 2006-07 to 20.7 percent in 2010-11, but still! Notably, the sharpest decline has been seen in kids aged 5-6, which has good implications for the long term. So naturally hizzoner took the news as proof that "years of pioneering policies to improve child nutrition and encourage exercise" (and maybe scary ads!) were behind the drop. more ›

Finally, an answer to the age-old question: why are kids so fat these days? Because...[drum roll please]...schools aren't providing enough physical education. more ›

Americans may say they want to eat healthy but the truth of the matter is we really like to eat disgusting fatty foods. Despite efforts to bring healthier fare to fast food restaurants—thanks, Michelle!—when it comes time to order we turn to the fried stuff nearly every time, according to the AP. In totally unrelated news, Pediatrics magazine now recommends doctors not call kids fat since their parents would prefer to be told their kids are at an "unhealthy weight." more ›

Last week there was considerable consternation over a new children's book called Maggie Goes on a Diet, which was being marketed on Amazon with a reading level for kids between ages 4 and 8. As you can see by the cover illustration, Maggie does need to drop a few pounds in order to fit into that sleeveless dress and earn the respect of her peers. As the book's synopsis puts it, "Maggie has so much potential that has been hiding under her extra weight." And [SPOILER] she manages to unleash that potential without any binging, purging, cutting, or cocaine. For that, Fox News hails Maggie as "a welcome truth-seeker" and "a fabulous role model, far better than the size 20 women who go on talk shows and lie about how happy they are with their bodies." And today the Daily News concurs: more ›

Obesity remains a huge problem in America—especially with one third of our our nation's children being classified as overweight or obese—but a number of large restaurant chains are now teaming up to do something about it. Of course, let's not go overboard: they're teaming up to cover themselves in case the government ever gets too worried about our nation's girth. To that end, more than a dozen chains, including Au Bon Pain, Burger King, Chili's, Denny's, Friendly's, IHOP and Outback Steakhouse, have created a "Kids LiveWell" initiative that aims to bring healthier fare to kids trays. more ›