USA Today, November 10, 2010
Obesity is proving to be a heavy burden for the nation’s kids and teens.
Experts have known for years that hauling around extra pounds takes a huge toll on children’s health. It puts them at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and other health problems.
A study in 2005 found that children today may lead shorter lives by two to five years than their parents because of obesity.
About a third of children and adolescents in the United States weigh too much. With so many …

The New York Times, Lesley Alderman, November 5, 2010
THE lunch menu at my son’s elementary school — Public School 29 in Brooklyn — looked very tempting recently: vegetarian chili, sofrito brown rice, confetti corn salad, pico de gallo, salad bar, milk. Making the menu even more appealing was the price: $1.50.
When a school lunch is nutritious and tasty, it’s one of the best health bargains around. Lunches provided through the National School Lunch Program, which is subsidized by the federal government, cost parents about $1.25 to $2, typically less …

Reuters, Julie Steenhuysen, November 1, 2010
Despite efforts to limit their availability, public elementary school students in the United States have more outlets to buy unhealthy beverages at school, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Over a three-year period ending in 2009, more students could buy sweetened beverages like sodas, higher-fat milk and sports beverages from vending machines and school stores, they said. Such drinks are a major source of calories, and removing them from schools could help curb the nation’s obesity epidemic.
“Elementary school students are still surrounded by a variety of unhealthy …

ABC, Kim CArollo, Oct 1, 2010
If there were ever a reason to cut back on kids’ consumption of cake, cookies, pizza and soda, nutrition experts say a new study highlights just how unhealthy young people’s diets really are.
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md. analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that nearly 40 percent of calories consumed by children ages 2 to 18 were empty calories, the unhealthiest kind of calories.
Obesity Rates Rise in Some States, Fatty Food Abounds Everywhere McDonald’s to …

San Fransisco Chronicle, Stacy Finz, September 23, 2010
Science classes in Berkeley are taught weekly in campus gardens. English, history and math courses are held regularly in the kitchen. The cafeterias have been rid of processed food, and everything is made from scratch.
The experiment started five years ago to teach a generation reared on junk food about good nutrition, where their food comes from and the environment.
The naysayers laughed, “Only in Berkeley.” Even the less skeptical wondered if kids could be weaned off Pop-Tarts with the lure of Brussels sprouts.
Now, the …

Boston Globe, Stephen Smith,  September 9, 2010
More than one-third of Massachusetts students evaluated during the 2008-2009 school year were overweight or obese, according to a report released yesterday that revealed stark differences in how the obesity epidemic has touched cities and towns.
The study, which reflects weight and height measurements for about 110,000 students, for the first time provides data on separate school districts and underscores the role of poverty and affluence in determining weight.
Lawrence, one of the state’s poorest cities, had the highest rate of students with excessive weight, about …

Los Angeles Times, Elena Conis, August 23, 2010
For parents looking to sneak some nutrition into their kids’ school lunches, brightly packaged fruity snacks — many of which promise they’re the equivalent of a serving of fruit or more — are undoubtedly tempting. After all, the plastic-wrapped bars, sticks, rolls and strips contain no pits, seeds or cores and require no washing, peeling or slicing. And kids tend to eat them without any fuss.
But convenience aside, parents shouldn’t kid themselves. “They’re not as good as eating regular fruit,” no matter the …

The New York Times, Natasha Singer, August 12, 2010
The farm stand is becoming the new apothecary, dispensing apples — not to mention artichokes, asparagus and arugula — to fill a novel kind of prescription.
Doctors at three health centers in Massachusetts have begun advising patients to eat “prescription produce” from local farmers’ markets, in an effort to fight obesity in children of low-income families. Now they will give coupons amounting to $1 a day for each member of a patient’s family to promote healthy meals.
“A lot of these kids have a very …

The Independent, Jeremy Laurance, August 10, 2010
Hospital admissions for food allergies among children have risen by 500 per cent in the last 20 years but doctors do not understand what is driving the increase.

Reactions to food can be severe, affecting the skin, the lungs or the gut, and are recognised as a major paediatric problem in the UK and other western countries. Overall, 6-8 per cent of children under three are affected by food allergies, a dramatic increase since 1990.
Experts say that even these figures underestimate the true incidence …

The Washington Post, Jane Black, August 5, 2010
The Senate passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act on Thursday, a bill that provides an additional $4.5 billion over 10 years to federal child nutrition programs including school lunch. If signed into law, it will be the first time that the federal government has increased funding for the programs in 30 years.
The bill was bipartisan and fully paid for. But advocates, led by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), had battled to find time for a vote in an intensely busy legislative period. On Monday, Michelle …