Ideas: Childhood Obesity
Aired December 15, 2005 on WVIZ/PBS
Also featured on a special Children's Health compilation episode of Ideas, aired June 15, 2006 on WVIZ/PBS
Several kids and families were profiled on this episode of Ideas. Also, a doctor/nutrition specialist was interviewed about the causes of obesity, the rise in overweight and obese children and recommendations to help manage the problem.

Frontline: Diet Wars
Aired December 27, 2005 on WVIZ/PBS
Americans spend $40 billion a year on books, products, and programs designed to do one thing: help us lose weight. From Atkins to Ornish and Weight Watchers to South Beach, today's dieters have a dizzying array of weight loss programs from which to choose, yet the underlying principles of these diets are often contradictory. Is low fat better than low carb? Is Atkins the answer? And has the USDA food pyramid done more harm than good? Frontline “Diet Wars” examines the great diet debate. Viewers follow Frontline correspondent Steve Talbot, whose discovery that those “few extra pounds” have put him perilously close to the clinical definition of obesity prompts him to evaluate the myriad of diets now available to overweight Americans.

  • American Obesity Association (AOA)
    The American Obesity Association is the only obesity organization focused on changing public policy and perceptions about obesity. In only a few years we have become an authoritative source for policy makers, media, professionals and patients on the obesity epidemic. In this period of time we have established an impressive record of changing federal policy: having the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recognize obesity as a disease, providing evidence to the IRS to make the costs of obesity treatment eligible for the medical deduction, and having Medicare change its policy language on obesity as a disease.
  • Childhood Obesity from the American Obesity Association
    The term "childhood obesity" may refer to both children and adolescents. In general, we use the word, "children" to refer to 6 to 11 years of age, and "adolescents" to 12 to 17 years of age. Obesity in children and adolescents is a serious issue with many health and social consequences that often continue into adulthood. Implementing prevention programs and getting a better understanding of treatment for youngsters is important to controlling the obesity epidemic. This web page focuses on the identification, prevalence, causes, and prevention of childhood obesity. Growth charts are provided to help parents identify children that are at risk.
  • We Can!
    We Can! stands for Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition. We Can! is a national education program designed for parents and caregivers to help children 8-13 years old stay at a healthy weight. Parents and caregivers are the primary influencers for this age group. We Can! offers parents and families tips and fun activities to encourage healthy eating, increase physical activity and reduce sedentary or screen time. It also offers community groups and health professionals exciting resources to implement programs and fun activities for parents and youth in communities around the country.
  • The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity
    This Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief that reviews more than 40 studies on the role of media in the nation's dramatically increasing rates of childhood obesity explores what researchers do and do not know about the role media plays in childhood obesity. It also outlines media-related policy options that have been proposed to help address childhood obesity and identifies ways media could play a positive role in helping to address this important public health problem.
  • Obesity in Children
    The latest news, research, references, and clinical trials about obesity in children.