If you worry about how your body looks, don’t look to television for comfort. A study to be published next year in The Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology has found that television shows that encourage women to love their bodies are having the opposite effect. The study focused on body anxiety and weight dissatisfaction [...]

Did you know the U.K. has one of Europe’s most overweight populations? More than 60 per cent of the island country’s adults and one third of children age 10 to 11 are obese according to a report issued by Britain’s department of health. “We are still too heavy as a nation; not enough of us [...]

Obese individuals worldwide now outnumber the hungry, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross. The influential humanitarian group focused on nutrition in its annual World Disasters Report. This year’s report seeks to highlight the disparity between the rich and poor, and problems caused by the global spike in food prices. Using statistics the [...]

Statistics Canada has just released a report on Canadian sugar consumption – and the data shows Canada has a serious sweet tooth. “The sugar that Canadians consume accounts for 21 per cent of their daily calories. Beverages are among the top sources of sugar,” wrote the report’s authors. Sugar can occur naturally in fruits or [...]

The brains of overweight individuals may be wired differently for impulse control, such as resisting sugary sweets like muffins and doughnuts when their blood sugar levels drop, a study from the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles suggests. The research appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical [...]

Alberta’s provincial government is taking steps to combat obesity by increasing access to weight loss surgery and funding programs in the province’s schools. Alberta Health, the provincial health agency, estimates there are one million obese Albertans, and another one million who are overweight. That’s about 25 per cent of the province’s population. The agency has [...]

 A new children’s book aimed at readers as young as 4 is creating controversy because of its focus on dieting. Maggie Goes on a Diet will be released in Canada this coming October. Author Paul Kramer’s book tells the story of Maggie, a young, overweight girl who is bullied at school. Maggie decides to go [...]

Two new studies are calling into question the war North American governments are fighting against obesity. The studies, from Canada’s University of Alberta and York University, argue that doctors should consider not just a patient’s BMI, but how well they take care of themselves. The studies both suggest BMI (Body Mass Index) a traditional measurement of whether someone [...]

You’ve recently been banded. You wake up in the morning and feel tightness in your stomach. This means your band is restricted. Don’t worry – it’s completely normal to experience this. A glass of warm water with lemon juice every morning is a good way to loosen your band and increase your comfort level as [...]

Stress is a fact of life. It’s often a positive aspect of life – stress motivates us to perform at work, to be accomplished in business, and drives us to succeed generally. However, too much stress can be an unhealthy damper on your spirits. It can also trigger binge eating if you’re prone to this. Fortunately, eating [...]