Diets that consist of a lot of fattening foods, can raise the risk of stroke for women over the age of 50, a new study says. Read the full story

Saturated fats get a bad rap, but a new analysis of previously published studies has failed to find any clear link between how much saturated fat you eat, and the risk of developing heart disease. Read the full story

This week on WLS News, find out how metformin could help teens who struggle with obesity, even if they don’t have diabetes. Plus, saturated fats get a bad rap, but new research indicates the risks may be overstated. We’ve got the details. We’ll also tell you why parents often don’t recognize when their kids are overweight, how the street where you grow up could affect your waistline, and what first lady Michelle Obama is doing to beat the epidemic of childhood obesity in America. All of these stories and more in this week’s report! Read the full story

Obesity has done a number on cholesterol levels among kids and teenagers, studies show. And in some cases, the numbers are high enough to signal heart problems. Read the full story

This week on WLS News, we’ll tell you why one couple is facing charges of child abuse after reacting badly to their baby’s weight gain. Plus, find out what Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson is doing to address the nationwide obesity epidemic — and the controversy surrounding the project. We’ll also tell you about a weight loss pill in the works that uses a natural protein, reveal the results of a new experiment on willpower, and share some alarming statistics concerning the cardiovascular health of today’s youth. Read the full story

Control sugar and hunger levels by eating pistachios? Watch this week’s WLS News to find out what researchers are saying. Read the full story

View this week’s WLS News to learn how pistachios may curb hunger; see how a high-fat diet among pregnant women can be bad for a baby’s liver; and discover how researchers are tackling diabetes and obesity by studying a hunger hormone. Also, learn the latest about a recent survey showing that some obese children don’t want weight loss surgery, even if it would benefit their health. And, get the details on a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicating that willpower is a brain function we can actually measure. Read the full story

Former President Clinton Leads Charge to Fight Child Obesity

Former President Clinton is leading the charge in the fight against childhood obesity by spearheading a new program called the Alliance Healthcare Initiative – a joint project of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation.

Currently, more than a third of all children in the United States are overweight or obese, which not only puts the children’s health at risk, but can also mean skyrocketing healthcare costs for their parents. The initiative would provide funding to reimburse doctors and registered dietitians for providing healthcare and nutritional counseling to obese children and their parents on an ongoing basis.

Billed as the first of its kind, the project links medical organizations, like The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dietetic Association, with major insurance carriers and large, privately-held companies to provide benefits that are designed to stop the trend of childhood obesity. The project is expected to help address the healthcare needs of about 1 million children in the first year and more than 6 million children within three years.