We have interviewed respected leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the country including Dr. Catherine Egli, Children's Hospital Oakland, Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest Martha Marino, food and nutrition consultant, Frank Vespe, executive director of TV Turnoff, Joanne Ikeda, co-director for Center on Weight and Health, Alice Waters, restaurateur and Dr. David Satcher, former Surgeon General of the United States among others.

PROJECT SYNOPSIS

A one-hour educational documentary titled The Weight of Obesity...a balanced reality distributed nationally captures the words of the experts and the hearts of childre. The video is designed an accessible and understandable non-clinical approach that communicates to the general population the severity, consequence and strategies to help ward off childhood obesity.

Ironically, in the midst of this epidemic, American families are chronically under-nourished. How can this be? Pressured by the need for two full-time wage earners to meet the minimal expenses of raising a family, parents spend less and less time with their children. One of the first casualties of our economy's pressures on families is the vital nurturing connection provided by the traditional family meal and it's importance on social and mental growth.

The problem will not be solved in the halls of Congress but in the kitchens and dining rooms of our homes, in the health clinics of our communities, at the seats of government in our regions, in the community outreach programs of our neighborhoods and in our schools. The film will portray children and parents that represent so many of us caught in today's fast-paced lifestyle.

NEWS

Where You Live Affects What You Eat - Study Finds Limited Access to Quality Fruits, Veggies in Some Urban Areas
NAASO
NOVEMBER 18, 2004

People who live in poor, urban neighborhoods have less access to quality fruits and vegetables and to stores selling a larger variety of foods than those who live in higher-income neighborhoods, according to two studies being presented at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO)’s Annual Scientific Meeting. One study compared the availability and quality of produce in high-income versus low-income urban neighborhoods in Kansas City. The study found that people living in low-income, urban neighborhoods had access to at least one convenience store and a liquor store that sold convenience foods but very few supermarkets or grocery stores. The produce that was available to these neighborhoods included few fresh fruits and hardly any vegetables. In contrast, the high-income urban neighborhoods studied were more likely to have access to supermarkets and grocery stores and the quality and quantity of produce available was higher than that found in low-income neighborhoods.  Click here for full article

Study Links Kids' Obesity to Watching TV
Lancet Journal/Commerial Alert
NOVEMBER 9, 2004

Children who watch more than two hours of television a night seem to be at higher risk of becoming smokers or being fat, out of shape or having high cholesterol as adults, according to a new study.

Watching TV in childhood and adolescence has long been linked to adverse health indicators, including obesity, poor fitness and high cholesterol, but the study published Friday in The Lancet was the first to track a group from birth to adulthood.

Dr. David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital in Boston, and Steven Gortmaker, a sociology lecturer at the Harvard School of Public Health, said the data indicate television viewing in childhood has "serious long-term consequences" and strengthen "the case for a ban on food advertisements aimed at children." Neither was connected with the study.  Click here for full article

Youth Weight-Loss: What Schools Can Do to Help Stem the Tide of Childhood Obesity - After-School Programs, Smaller Snack Portions and Better Health Education Can Make a Difference
NAASO
NOVEMBER 15, 2004

School-based programs can play a significant role in helping youth to lose weight or at least avoid putting it on, according to several studies being presented at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity’s (NAASO’s) Annual Scientific Meeting.

“Children and adolescents spend more time in school or involved in school-based activities than anything else. Our schools have to be a major component of our efforts to prevent overweight and obesity. These studies show that schools can play a key role in preventing obesity by providing instruction on proper nutrition and physical activity, and through physical activity that takes place as part of the curriculum, recess, and extracurricular activities,” said Tom Wadden, PhD, Vice-President, NAASO.  Click here for full article

UK study says parents are best weapons in anti-obesity fight
Obesity Policy Report
OCTOBER 9, 2003

Parental involvement is "the key to tackling children's obesity," the UK Health Development Agency said in a new report issued earlier this week.  "Parents can make a huge impact on rising levels of childhood obesity," HDC Chair Dame Yve Buckland said. "The good news is that the evidence shows parents can successfully treat their child's obesity by actively changing the whole family's approach to diet and physical activity and by avoiding couch potato lifestyles. The myriad of child-focused food advertising is a real challenge, but parents can fight back — it's them paying at the checkout, not their children."  Click here for full article

FTC Launches “Big Fat Lie” Initiative Targeting Bogus Weight-loss Claims
Federal Trade Commission
NOVEMBER 9, 2004

Today, the Federal Trade Commission is launching “Operation Big Fat Lie,” a nation-wide law enforcement sweep against six companies making false weight-loss claims in national advertisements. Operation Big Fat Lie is the latest in the Commission’s efforts to: stop deceptive advertising and provide refunds to consumers harmed by unscrupulous weight-loss advertisers; encourage media outlets not to carry advertisements containing bogus weight-loss claims; and educate consumers to be on their guard against companies promising miraculous weight loss without diet or exercise.  Click here for full article

Public "misjudges" obesity threat, drug company says
Obesity Policy Report
OCTOBER 16, 2003

The general public is underestimating the health threat posed by obesity, a major pharmaceutical company said recently.  According to a survey commissioned by Pfizer Inc.'s Public Health Group, "more than two-thirds of the 1,012 adult Americans surveyed listed AIDS, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases as the major public health threat facing the nation, "the drug giant said. "In contrast, 81% of public health professionals surveyed ranked obesity as the major threat."  Click here for full article

International group says industry must do more to fight obesity
Obesity Policy Report
AUGUST 28, 2003

The food industry is beginning to grasp the scope of the obesity problem, but still needs to "face up to their responsibility to improve nutritional health," International Obesity Task Force chairman Philip James said earlier this week.  Click here for full article

Researchers probe link between obesity and behavior in women
Obesity Policy Report
April 10, 2003

Medical researchers studying the relationship between different types of sedentary behavior and obesity in women have come to a familiar conclusion: long hours spent watching television can significantly contribute to weight gain... Click here for full article

Childhood Obesity A Serious Problem
Chicago
May 1, 2002

A dramatic increase in diabetes and other diseases related to childhood obesity in the United States has added millions of dollars to health care costs, a study said Wednesday.
"As overweight children become overweight adults, the diseases associated with obesity and health care costs are likely to increase even more," said the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study, published in the May issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said a review of hospital records found that "the proportion of discharges with obesity-associated diseases has increased dramatically in the past 20 years."
Researchers culled hospital discharge records, comparing obesity-related hospitalizations of 6- to 17-year-olds between 1979 and 1981 with those from 1997 through 1999... Click here for full article

Growing up too fat / Kids suffer adult ailments as more become dangerously obese
San Francisco Chronicle
May 12, 2002

Shirleisa Rogers is 10 years old and weighs more than 200 pounds. Every morning, she slips a needle full of insulin into the fat on the back of her right arm. At lunch, she finds a spot on her left arm. Before she goes to bed, she pumps the syringe into her stomach.
The San Leandro girl has a kind of diabetes once so rare in children that doctors call it "adult-onset." A decade ago, the pediatricians treating Shirleisa would have been surprised to see such a case in a child. Now, they see two to five youngsters a day with it.
California public health experts say children like Shirleisa are ailing canaries in a coal mine -- the early signs of a deeper problem. The state's kids are the fattest they have ever been... Click here for full article