Obesity does not impact the risk of cardiovascular disease for individuals without other risk factors, a Dutch study suggests. Read the full story

Trans fats, those partially hydrogenated oils that raise bad cholesterol, are no longer popular with restaurants and supermarkets, a new study says. Read the full story

Obesity may be caused by bacteria in the stomach, according to a new study which claims that germs in the gut may help drive appetite. Read the full story

This week on WLS News, we’ll explain how an occasional sip of vino could help you keep a sleek physique, and why putting a tax on junk food may actually help Americans save money. Plus, find out how too little sleep at night could keep you from shedding pounds, and see what researchers are saying about the effect a specific stomach bacteria has on obesity. Get the details on all of these stories and more in this week’s newscast. Read the full story

Obese men suffer health consequences,according to a study that followed 1,800 men for 30 years.  Researchers came to the the conclusion that it is  impossible to be overweight or obese without exhibiting signs of metabolic syndrome. Read the full story

High cholesterol may dramatically increase the risk of high-grade prostate cancer according to a new study.  As with most cancers, prevention may be the best cure. Read the full story

Ohio’s Plan to Prevent Childhood Obesity

The obesity rate among children and adults in Ohio has swelled far beyond an acceptable level, and state officials are fighting back. It’s called the Ohio Obesity Prevention Plan, and it was released at the end of March.

This is the state’s five-year initiative to help reverse the obesity trend that has made it the 17th heaviest state in the country. Right now, an estimated two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese – and more than a third of Ohio’s youth have weight problems.

The plan’s purpose is to not just encourage healthier eating and more exercise, but to make those methods more available to everyone there, everywhere. Over the next five years, the Ohio Department of Health hopes to spearhead policies that target unhealthy lifestyle factors among adults and limit access to unhealthy food and beverage choices among children in schools.

Change exercise and eating habits now, experts say, and today’s children will become healthier adults. The department is also prepared to spend time each year examining the policies they have developed, in case any of them need to be changed.

The plan, as developed, may do more for the obesity problems of the future than for cases that are observed today. But based on the current trend, many obese children are set to develop diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, often even before they reach adulthood.

And, as Kristopher Weiss of the Ohio Department of Health recently noted, if this doesn’t change, many of today’s children will live shorter lives than their parents.