Obesity

"Obeast" Shines A Light On Perceptions Of Obesity

Frank Stasio and Alex Granados — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:34:16 +0000

Turn on any news program and you’ll eventually hear about the dangers of obesity. It’s commonly accepted that being heavy is bad, and being skinny is good. Rachel Herrick is challenging that idea with her Obeast project.

NC Takes Obesity Battle One Step At A Time

Will Michaels — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:15:00 +0000

Doctors in North Carolina roll out a long-term plan today to reverse the rise of the state's obesity rate. The proposal recommends thousands of behavioral and policy changes for the next seven years. The recommendations range from limiting time in front of the television to adding funds for hiring health coordinators at every school district. Doctor Carolyn Dunn is a professor at N.C. State and lead writer of the plan. She says the strategy to reduce obesity is shifting from broad reform to one policy change at a time.

Holiday Challenge Aims To Keep The Pounds Off

Isaac-Davy Aronson — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:55:00 +0000

State health officials want to help North Carolinians keep the pounds off this holiday season.

UNC Study: More People Turning Into Couch Potatoes

Asma Khalid — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 10:10:00 +0000

New research from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill finds physical fitness around the globe is plummetting.

Asma Khalid: Sure, we may already know a lot of us Americans are overweight. But, the problems aren't limited to our borders. This study finds a growing number of people in the U.K., Brazil, India and China are less active than a generation ago. Barry Popkin is a nutrition professor at UNC and a co-author of the report.

Praise For "The Walking Classroom"

Leoneda Inge — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:10:00 +0000

A Chapel Hill non-profit has been recognized nationally for developing a program that targets childhood obesity while helping students learn. The program is called “The Walking Classroom.”

Leoneda Inge: The Walking Classroom Institute is about one year old and was started by former 5th grade teacher Laura Fenn.

Laura Fenn: What I did is one day, when I was home after school, I went out for a walk and I was listening to a podcast while I was walking and I thought to myself, my students can do this.

Frequent Intervention Helps Fight Obesity

Eric Hodge — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:10:00 +0000

Researchers at Duke University say a new study shows promising results from a program promoting weight loss for obese patients. The study's authors say the program starts at primary care clinics and focuses on high-risk patients from ethnic minority populations and low income groups. Gary Bennett is an associate professor at Duke and worked on the study.

Chatham Schools Promote Physical Activity

Catherine Brand — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:30:00 +0000

Chatham County schools are trying to get kids to be more active through 'Eat Smart Move More' grants. The goal of the project is to encourage schools and teachers to integrate physical activity into the curriculum no matter what the discipline. Holly Coleman is with the Chatham County Health Department:

The Origins of Obesity

Alex Granados and Frank Stasio — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 16:28:00 +0000

More than 190 million people in the United States are overweight. That’s two-thirds of the American population and almost half of that number are obese. Research into the causes of obesity is showing that much more than willpower is needed to tackle it. Obesity has ties to addiction and depression and a person's environment may play a bigger role than once thought.