Free Republic

America's obesity epidemic is so deeply rooted that it will take dramatic and systemic measures - from overhauling farm policies and zoning laws to, possibly, introducing a soda tax - to fix it, the influential Institute of Medicine said on Tuesday. In an ambitious 478-page report, the IOM refutes the idea that obesity is largely the result of a lack of willpower on the part of individuals. Instead, it embraces policy proposals that have met with stiff resistance from the food industry and lawmakers, arguing that multiple strategies will be needed to make the U.S. environment less "obesogenic." The IOM,...

More than six decades ago, when the federal standards on the strength of airplane seats and seat belts were written, government regulations specified that seats be designed for a passenger weight of 170 pounds. But now the average American man weighs nearly 194 pounds and the average woman 165. Now, some engineers and scientists have raised questions about whether airplane seats, tested with crash dummies that reflect the 170-pound rule, are strong enough to protect heavy travelers. “If a heavier person completely fills a seat, the seat is not likely to behave as intended during a crash,” said Robert Salzar,...

America's obesity epidemic is so deeply rooted that it will take dramatic and systemic measures - from overhauling farm policies and zoning laws to, possibly, introducing a soda tax - to fix it, the influential Institute of Medicine said on Tuesday. In an ambitious 478-page report, the IOM refutes the idea that obesity is largely the result of a lack of willpower on the part of individuals. Instead, it embraces policy proposals that have met with stiff resistance from the food industry and lawmakers, arguing that multiple strategies will be needed to make the U.S. environment less "obesogenic." The IOM,...

It was in this one-story, windowless, brick building with a cheesy neon sign on top that 11 Secret Service agents assigned to protect the President ended up embarrassing their country all for a little fun and flesh, local sources told the Daily News. Drinking beers and whisky that range in price from 40,000 to 150,000 pesos ($24 to $84) for bottle service, the agents had their pick of young girls with long, black and brown hair and lots of makeup. “The gringos got rowdy at the bar. They drank fine whisky and slept with the prettiest ones, the ones that...

A high-fat "ketogenic" diet may reverse the kidney damage caused by diabetes, a study published online Wednesday by the journal PLoS One reports. Past research has shown that lowering blood sugar through diet can prevent kidney failure but not reverse it in patients with diabetes. Lead author Charles Mobbs, a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, said that this study -- in which mice were fed a high-fat diet of 5% carbohydrate, 8% protein and a whopping 87% fat -- was the first to show that dietary intervention alone is enough to reverse kidney failure...

(VIDEO AT LINK) I guess it’s great to have goals, but this one could be fatal. Mother of two Susanne Eman is on a mission to be the fattest woman in the world, and she is well on her way at 728lbs. Susan is only at the half way mark of her 1600lb goal. Meet Susanne and get the rest of the story after the jump. Susanne Eman, 32, runs her own blog on the way to 1600+pounds where she describes herself as “your average gal next door who just happens to have a body to match the size of...

It was called the “First All-American Tush Tally,” an informal test to measure the behinds of two dozen New Yorkers to see if they could fit into the prescribed space in new subway cars made by Kawasaki. ..The problem of American waists that are too big for seats meant to accommodate them is certainly not new. Today, everything from love seats to toilet seats can be built bigger to accommodate wider profiles, and the seats offered on public transportation are no different. ..The airline industry has also spent years trying to balance passengers’ desire for bigger, more comfortable seating with...

Airlines paying more for fuel because waistlines are expanding by: Anne Wright From: Herald Sun January 12, 2012 12:00AM PEOPLE weighing more than average should pay more for their airfares than slimmer passengers, a former Qantas executive says. Tony Webber said airlines were paying more for fuel because the average weight of the population had increased. The extra fuel needed cost about $472 a plane, he said, and additional weight of passengers affected airlines' profits. "It's just a fact, and the thing is airlines consider these things when deciding how much fuel to put on the plane," said Mr Webber,...

Meghan McCain, MSNBC’s newest contributor with a growing laundry list of outlandish comments to her credit, appeared as on Wednesday’s Tonight Show. During the broadcast, the quirky McCain compared herself to conservative icon President Ronald Reagan, asserting that if he were in the presidential race today, “he would be called a dirty moderate like me, unfortunately.” McCain, who identifies herself as a “big proponent” of same-sex marriage, said that her views have isolated her in Republican circles. “People don’t think I’m Republican enough because I’m a big advocate of marriage equality in this country. But I’m very proud to do...

I’m a huge fan of documentaries, especially those about food, health, and the physiology of the human body. I’ve recently been suggested by a number of users to check out “Fat Head,” a documentary by Tom Naughton made in response to “Super Size Me” by Morgan Spurlock. As noted multiple times by Naughton, the purpose of the film is committed to proving that everything you think you know about food is, well, probably a load of bologna. A Couple Great Points Naughton drives home a couple good points about people’s perception on food. First, he brings out some good...

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), known for his cantankerous ways and for not speaking to media unless it’s his idea, was overheard at the Delta Crown lounge at Reagan National Airport today talking on his cellphone about an incident he said occurred three weeks ago while at an Episcopal church auction. Please note, a church auction. Our source, a Democratic operative who heard the whole thing, said he was “very loud”. Sensenbrenner was overheard saying that after buying all their “crap” (his word) a woman approached him and praised first lady Michelle Obama. He told the woman that Michelle should practice...

Newly-minted MSNBC contributor Meghan McCain declared Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann “the thinking man’s Sarah Palin” after conducting her first official interview for the network with the Minnesota congresswoman. “I famously said a statement earlier where I said that Michele Bachmann was the poor man’s Sarah Palin, and after meeting this woman I am completely wrong,“ McCain said Thursday on ”Now With Alex Wagner.“ ”This is the thinking man’s Sarah Palin.” “I didn’t know what to expect and I’m a person who has been around politicians my entire life,” she added about meeting Bachmann. “I connected with this woman and...

Angel Buechner of Minneapolis, a member of the Welfare Rights and Minnesota Coalition for the Peoples Bail Out, was one of about a half-dozen picketers outside the hearing. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)

Even in such a thin economy, he could no longer stomach the fat “jokes.” Thomas Hunt, 48, claims his manager at a Raymour & Flanigan furniture store in Queens was so fixated on Hunt’s weight that she ordered him to establish a “fat club,” recruit members and act as its president. The exec, Marlene Albarano, relentlessly ribbed Hunt about his extra poundage, a Brooklyn Supreme Court lawsuit claims — even denying him a promotion solely because of his appearance and once ordering him to walk around the building for 30 minutes on his lunch break, according to court papers.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBS Charlotte) – One man made sure a Charlotte motel was going to pay for him running out of toilet paper. Upset about the lack of toilet paper that was available in his room, a man destroyed $2,090 worth of hotel property on Monday, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report. The identity of the man remains unknown. The incident, which happened at the Charlottetown Manor, happened around 10 a.m. Monday. According to the report, the man grew irate after learning he didn’t have toilet paper and proceeded to walk upstairs to a vacant room that was being renovated....

If, like me, you scanned the crowds rioting at Penn State last night after the announcement of the firing of Joe Paterno, you may have noticed that nearly all the people there were white men. The riots were about white men not liking to be held accountable. As a native Pennsylvanian, I never once considered attending Penn State University. Penn State always seemed like a place full of cliquish white people recalling their glory years of making fun of the dorky kids in high school. More progressive white people and people of color went to big city state schools like...

I went down to Occupy Denver late Thursday afternoon to hear Michael Moore address the occupiers. When I arrived I walked smack dab into two occupiers fighting over pot. That was entertaining for a moment. At any there is audio of his time there on the Hear Us Now website if you're interested. Kelly Maher of Who Said, You Said shuld have video up some time Friday afternoon.

Two small earthquakes that shook the Lancashire coast of northeast England and the nearby city of Blackpool earlier this year were probably caused by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking—a shale gas extraction technique that was being used nearby to explore its shale gas wells—according to a report(PDF) released today. The energy company Cuadrilla Resources had begun an experimental drilling operation half a kilometer from the quakes' epicenter in March. Fracking has caused concerns in some countries over its potential health and environmental impact—critics accuse it of contaminating drinking water with gas and the chemicals used for extraction—and it is banned in...

http://www.breitbart.tv/kathy-bates-i-want-obama-to-stand-up-on-his-hind-legs-and-fight-these-rat-bastards/

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision to stay out of the Republican presidential race means that the American people will be spared months of discussion about his ample waistline and the bad example it sets. Nonetheless, with first lady Michelle Obama urging everyone to get moving, obesity remains a political hot potato, or maybe a tater tot. Below, a helping of skepticism about the causes of Americans' poor eating habits - and the efficacy of political fixes. 5 myths of healthy eating...

Buffett’s Son Defends Occupy Wall Street

Gov. Rick Snyder recently proposed an unprecedented plan to have doctors report the Body Mass Index of individual children into a state database and tracking system (the Michigan Care Improvement Registry). Contrary to the governor’s claim, this is not anonymous reporting. The records in this database would be accessible not just to doctors and nurses, but also to schools, day care providers and insurance companies — all without parental consent. Specific children could be tracked over time, as could their compliance (or lack thereof) with a doctor's recommendations. The scientific and statistical reality of this intrusiveness is impossible to ignore....

Gov. Rick Snyder recently proposed an unprecedented plan to have doctors report the Body Mass Index of individual children into a state database and tracking system (the Michigan Care Improvement Registry). Contrary to the governor’s claim, this is not anonymous reporting. The records in this database would be accessible not just to doctors and nurses, but also to schools, day care providers and insurance companies — all without parental consent. Specific children could be tracked over time, as could their compliance (or lack thereof) with a doctor's recommendations. The scientific and statistical reality of this intrusiveness is impossible to ignore....

Canadian doctors are considering a policy that would bar obese women from trying to have babies through fertility treatments – provoking debate over whether the fat have the same reproductive rights as the thin. Some studies find obese women face higher risks of medical complications while trying to become pregnant through in-vitro fertilization (IVF). The science is not certain and some believe a ban would be tantamount to discrimination, yet a growing number of fertility doctors worldwide already bar treatment based on a woman’s Body Mass Index. “We’ve had many angry patients say to us, ‘This is discriminatory’ and I...

NEW YORK -- In Tiffany Spaulding's 12 years in the pharmaceutical industry, she has worked for three companies, two of which no longer exist, and relocated to four states. Now 39 and living in Brookfield, Conn., she hasn't had a promotion in five years and says she sees no chance to advance, stuck behind a wall of baby boomers. She would quit and turn her hobby of jewelry design into a business, she says, if not for the home and school loans that eat up half her salary. Spaulding, according to a new report, is a typical member of the...

Gov. Rick Snyder plans to direct doctors in Michigan to begin monitoring the body weight of their young patients and provide the data to a state registry in one of the most extensive government efforts to address the growing problem of pediatric obesity, the Associated Press has learned. The move would help track the state's growing obesity problem while opening the way for doctors to be more proactive in offering advice, Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The Republican governor will announce the initiative Wednesday as part of his proposal for improving Michigan residents' health. The...

Scientists have discovered a biological switch that gives energy-storing white fat the characteristics of energy-burning brown fat. The findings could lead to new strategies for treating obesity. The animal study by researchers at The Ohio State University Medical Center shows that the change is due to the activation of a nerve and biochemical pathway that begins in the hypothalamus, an area of the brain involved in energy balance, and ends in white fat cells. This pathway, called the hypothalamic-adipocyte axis, also induces brown-fat-like cells within masses of white fat. The white-to-brown fat transformation occurs when animals are placed in an...

EXCERPT "Poor Hillary feels terrible about the way she looks, but she is so busy she isn't making time for her own needs." Making things even worse is her husband of 35 years - who's battled his own weight woes until becoming thinner recently. Bill pointed out that she needed to do something, sources say . "When Hillary asked him how she looked, he told her, 'You're huge! You need to go to a fat farm!' "Then he made things worse by saying treadmills and stair climbers were fun," a pal told The ENQUIRER. "Hillary exploded!"

Baby boomers face of what used to be called the retirement age are offering 70 million members strong market for the legions of companies, entrepreneurs and plastic surgeons willing to take advantage of their “forever young” mode think, either through wrinkle creams, face lifts or training schemes. That adds to the potential bonanza. Market research firm Global Industry Analysts projects that fuel the boom in consumer base, “seeking to keep the dreaded signs of aging at bay,” will drive the U.S. market anti-aging products for about $ 80 million today to more than $ 114 billion by 2015. The baby...

Eating a diet rich in spices, like turmeric and cinnamon, reduces the body's negative responses to eating high-fat meals, according to Penn State researchers. "Normally, when you eat a high-fat meal, you end up with high levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, in your blood," said Sheila West, associate professor of biobehavioral health, Penn State, who led the study. "If this happens too frequently, or if triglyceride levels are raised too much, your risk of heart disease is increased. We found that adding spices to a high-fat meal reduced triglyceride response by about 30 percent, compared to a similar...

EXCERPT A Washington Post journalist on the scene confirmed the first lady, who’s made a cause out of child nutrition, ordered a ShackBurger, fries, chocolate shake and a Diet Coke while the street and sidewalk in front of the usually-packed Shake Shack were closed by security during her visit. According to nutritional information on Shake Shack’s Web site, the meal amounted to 1,700 calories.

Man oh man. What is happening to our society? Where are all of these people coming from all of the sudden? People parking in Handicapped spots that walk completely fine and then pull down the placard as they drive away. Ignorant people that cut in line at the deli, amusement park or shows. Parents on cell phone calls as their crazed kids run around uncontrollably. I ain't perfect, nor am I one of those people that said "when I was young..." Because I feel a lot of these teens have more "manners" than most adults and younger kids. WTH is...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Southwest Airlines has apologized to a mother and daughter who said they got rough treatment at the airport. Kenlie Tiggeman, a 30-year-old political strategist and weight loss blogger in New York City, said it was humiliating, being told she was too fat to fly, reports CBS 2’s John Slattery. “It was rude. It was in front of lots of people,” said Tiggeman, who’s originally from New Orleans. Tiggeman said the incident happened in Dallas over Easter. She and her mother were told by a gate agent they each had to purchase two seats. “And said that...

Holder to oil fraud panel: Report if gas prices don't fall Washington (CNN) -- Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday ordered the newly formed government working group investigating oil and gas prices to make sure gasoline prices are dropping after this week's sudden decline in crude oil prices. Holder sent his memo to several federal agencies, including the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the departments of Treasury, Energy and Agriculture. He also sent the directive to state attorneys general.

Scientists say they have found a way to turn body fat into a better type of fat that burns off calories and weight. The US Johns Hopkins team made the breakthrough in rats but believe the same could be done in humans, offering the hope of a new way to treat obesity. Modifying the expression of a protein linked to appetite not only reduced the animals' calorie intake and weight, but also transformed their fat composition. "Bad" white fat became "good" brown fat, Cell Metabolism journal reports. Brown fat is abundant in babies, which they use as a power source...

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Export-Import Bank, an independent agency of the federal government, is now planning a $2.84-billion loan for a massive project to expand and upgrade an oil refinery--in Cartagena, Colombia. The money would go to Reficar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ecopetrol, the Colombian national oil company. “This is part of a $5.18 billion refinery and upgrade project in Cartagena, Colombia supplying petroleum products to the domestic and export markets,” the Export-Import Bank said in a statement. The U.S. government-controlled bank says the $2.84-billion in financing it plans to undertake will be the second largest project it has...

The benefits of blueberry consumption have been demonstrated in several nutrition studies, more specifically the cardio-protective benefits derived from their high polyphenol content. Blueberries have shown potential to have a positive effect on everything from aging to metabolic syndrome. Recently, a researcher from Texas Woman's University (TWU) in Denton, TX, examined whether blueberries could play a role in reducing one of the world's greatest health challenges: obesity. Shiwani Moghe, MS, a graduate student at TWU, decided to evaluate whether blueberry polyphenols play a role in adipocyte differentiation, the process in which a relatively unspecialized cell acquires specialized features of an...

Are we going a bit far with using Lipo-Diesel? In a Traffic Jam? A top Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon says he used fat he removed from patients in liposuction operations to power his 'green' 4x4 car. U.S. authorities have launched an inquiry into claims made by Dr Alan Bittner that the fat he had sucked out of patients in liposuction operations was turned into biodiesel. Bittner wrote on his website: 'The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel -- and I have more fat than I can use. 'Not only do they get to...

Anti-war filmmaker Michael Moore tore into President Obama for taking military action in Libya on Saturday.

Filmmaker Michael Moore slammed President Obama in a string of tweets for taking military action in Libya. Moore, who frequently criticized President George Bush for launching the Iraq War, compared the U.S. military’s mission in Libya to Iraq and Afghanistan in several Twitter messages sent Saturday. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/03/20/filmmaker-michael-moore-rips-president-obama-libya/#ixzz1H9NxSrUi

Tod Pulvermacher drew cheers from the crowd and plenty of attention from the news media Saturday as he chugged around the Capitol Square in Madison on a tractor pulling a manure spreader. The attention could take a different turn. A check of online court records shows that a Tod Pulvermacher has been convicted of drunken driving four times and has no valid driver's license. The license was revoked for 33 months on July 2, the date of his fourth conviction for operating while intoxicated. The unusual spelling of the name, the age and the hometown listed in the online court...

Protesters in Madison have "aroused a sleeping giant" in the national fight for workers' rights, filmmaker Michael Moore told thousands at the Capitol Square on Saturday, as rallies opposing Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposals wrapped up their third week.... "America is not broke ... Wisconsin is not broke," Moore said. "The only thing that's broke is the moral compass of the rulers." More at Wisconsin State Journal A "sleeping giant" was aroused?!? I'm confused, I'll explain why in Pulp Fiction style: First of all, boobs...check...liberal ideology....check...did I not just say a fat lady is singing? Second, assuming his skin...

The documentary filmmaker was in Wisconsin yesterday, slamming Republicans for cutting union benefits. Michael Moore has a message for Wisconsinites: Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe -- so that you'll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents had -- America is not broke. The claim came at the beginning of a speech delivered by the documentary filmmaker and liberal firebrand at the Wisconsin State Captiol yesterday. Over the course of 30 minutes, Moore railed against Republicans, who he accused of misleading the American public when they claim that...

These are the 10 largest unions, noting the number of employees who earn more than $200,000, leadership salaries and campaign contributions to federal candidates in 2009-2010. Union: National Education Association Membership: 3.2 million Assets: $216 million The NEA, representing most of the nation’s teachers, has 31 headquarters officers and employees who earn over $200,000. The president, Dennis Van Roekel, received $397,721 in salary and benefits. Of the $3.7 million NEA spent on political activities in the last election cycle, 98 percent went to Democratic candidates. The NEA has 98,000 members in Wisconsin. Before taking the helm in 2008, Van Roekel...

America’s first lady is hell bent on fighting the obesity epidemic. For now it is focused on the nation’s children. She has interfered in school lunch and snack programs, and has even gotten one of the largest companies in the world, Wal-Mart, to comply with her plea to sell foods with less sugar and salt. In a Daily Caller op-ed, Orit Sklar, spokeswoman for My food. My Choice! wrote, “Now, one of the largest companies in the world is the vehicle through which all American food and health policy will flow. As Wal-Mart begins to institute the five-year plan, aimed...

A reversal on carbs Fat was once the devil. Now more nutritionists are pointing accusingly at sugar and refined grains. Most people can count calories. Many have a clue about where fat lurks in their diets. However, fewer give carbohydrates much thought, or know why they should. But a growing number of top nutritional scientists blame excessive carbohydrates — not fat — for America's ills. They say cutting carbohydrates is the key to reversing obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Oh yeah! The first lady went had had a 1600 calorie feast in a Rib Joint in Vale. That's how you build up to pump some Breast Milk. Yee Haw! Gotta grow those veggies for the school lunch chumps... then chow down on some nice meaty meat. Yum. You go girl. Eat a rib for me.

<p>The first lady went to Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail Village on Saturday night, dining on a pickled pumpkin salad with arugula and a braised ancho-chile short rib with hominy wild mushrooms and sauteed kale.</p> <p>“Yes, it's true, the first lady dined at our restaurant tonight and seemed to really enjoy it,” chef and owner Kelly Liken said.</p>

THOUSANDS of British women are so desperate for a bigger bottom they are risking their lives by taking pills designed to fatten up chickens. The poultry tablets are packed with hormones that have been linked to breast cancer and liver problems in humans. Originally they were used by farmers to bulk up chickens - but it was discovered that when taken by women they enhance the size of thighs, hips and bottom.