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.

In the March 6, 2009, edition of WLS News, we’ll look at how former President Clinton is leading the charge in the fight against childhood obesity. We’ll also show you a special kind of balloon that might help stop overeating; investigate the growing phenomenon of medical tourism for weight loss surgery; and unwrap a new global initiative to curb the growing rate of cancers related to obesity. And, of course, WLS Journeys host Yvonne McCarthy will pop in to highlight two outstanding websites for WLS information and support. Tune into this week’s newscast now!

Organizations mentioned in this week’s news:

• Alliance Healthcare Initiative
• American Heart Association
• William J. Clinton Foundation
• BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina
• BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts
• Aetna
• WellPoint
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Dietetic Association
• University of Cincinnati
• National Institutes of Health
• Circulation Research (medical journal)
• BioEnterics® (Makers of the BioEnterics® Intragastric Balloon System)
• Dr. Adam Smith (Head surgeon, Fort-Worth Lap-Band)
• American Cancer Society
• World Cancer Research Fund
• WorldMedAssist (medical tourism company)
• WLS Lifestyles (WLS support website and magazine)
• Duodenal Switch Information Zone (DS support and information)
• Bariatric Girl (Yvonne McCarthy’s WLS support site)
• Bariatric Advantage (nutritional supplements)

A new kind of celebrity, weight loss royalty, is on the rise in the United States.  So-called “weight loss czars” have appeared in several U.S. cities, each czar crowned by local governments out of concern over rising obesity rates.

Take Toledo, Ohio. A recent American Heart Association study shows Toledo to be among the 200 metro areas with the highest rates of obesity and related illnesses in the country. As a result, the local county commissioners voted recently to appoint area radio personality Andrew Zepeda its first Weight Loss Czar.

Zepeda – who is better known as Andrew “Z” on local airwaves – leads by example, with the goal of encouraging residents of metro Toledo to lose a million pounds in 2009.

His Imperial Majesty himself has lost 80 pounds in the past year by means of diet, exercise, and undergoing Lap-Band surgery. Now that’s leadership!

Other cities have their own weight-loss royalty. Philadelphia, for example, has had its own Fitness Czar – Czarina, actually – Gwen Foster, who has held court over the city’s Health and Fitness Commission for almost a decade. Even libertarian Houston has joined the trend, selecting former Mr. Universe Lee Labrada as its first Fitness Czar in 2002.

It’s hard to tell how well the new weight-loss royalty will do at getting their respective communities into shape. And, this new trend begs the question of whether we want government meddling in our personal diet and exercise habits. But, I for one welcome our new weight loss overlords. And, I’d like to remind them that as a trusted online personality, I am happy to help encourage others to do their part in the new, healthy-living order!

Long live the lords and ladies of our new weight loss royalty!

New research reveals that the effects of childhood obesity on the arteries and other blood vessels are similar to those of old age.

Results of a recent study supervised by the American Heart Association show that some obese ten-year-olds actually have the arteries of a person who is 45.

A separate study further showed that childhood obesity can be tied to the enlargement of the left atrium of the heart – a risk factor for later heart disease and stroke.

Doctors recommend teaching children about the importance of good nutritional choices, and encouraging children to exercise. By exercising with their children, parents help children avoid childhood obesity, hardened arteries, and heart disease.