Excess TV watching engenders bad eating habits among kids

October 6th, 2009 Study: NYC calorie postings don't change ordersNEW YORK — A new study finds New York City's law requiring restaurant chains to post calories on menus doesn't change the eating habits of low-income people. The study tracked customers at McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken in poor New York City neighborhoods with high obesity rates.

September 17th, 2009 First lady speaks and shops at farmers marketWASHINGTON — First lady Michelle Obama bought cheese, fingerling potatoes, eggs, black kale and other items Thursday at the launch of a new farmers market blocks from the White House. Before shopping, Mrs.

July 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of researchers has identified factors that may increase overweight adolescents' risk of engaging in extreme weight control behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, the use of diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics, as well as binge eating. Overweight youth with certain socio-environmental, psychological, and behavioral tendencies, such as reading magazine articles about dieting, reporting a lack of family connectedness, placing a high importance on weight, and reporting having participated in unhealthy weight control behaviors, are more likely to suffer from eating disorders.

May 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Strict maternal control over eating habits during early childhood-such as determining how much a child should eat and coaxing them to eat certain foods-might not have any connection with future weight gain in kids, according to a study. The study suggests that such behaviour may be a response to concerns over a child's increasing weight.

May 4th, 2009 Survey says French excel at eating, sleepingPARIS — The French are living up to their image as lovers of food and can add a new love to the mix, sleep, according to a survey released Monday. In fact, the French excel at the two leisure activities, spending more time at table and in bed than many other nations.

April 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Burgers, pizzas, chips and soft drinks might be making children fatter but they also make them happy, concludes a new study. According to Professor Hung-Hao Chang from National Taiwan University and Professor Rodolfo Nayga from the University of Arkansas in the US, programs aimed at tackling childhood obesity, by reducing children's consumption of unhealthy food and drink, are likely to be more effective if they also actively seek to keep children happy in other ways.

April 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Fast food and soft drinks may be fattening children but they are also making them merrier, a new study has found. One way of tackling childhood obesity effectively is to reduce their consumption of unhealthy food and drink, and keeping them happy in other ways, according to Hung-Hao Chang from National Taiwan University and Rodolfo Nayga, University of Arkansas.

March 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills has landed a lucrative deal to promote vegetarian food for fast food chain Burger King. According to the UK's The People, the 41-year-old former model has apparently inked a 4.3 million dollars deal to promote Burger King's new meat free burgers at the company's 11,350 outlets throughout the world.

March 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Regular family meals result in better eating habits for adolescents, a new study has suggested. During the study, researchers at the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota found that adolescents who participated in regular family meals reported more healthful diets and meal patterns compared to adolescents without regular family meals.

March 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study from University of Montreal has revealed that exposure to perinatal environment, the period around childbirth especially the five months before and one month after childbirth, has a significant impact on aggression in children. The research team led by Sylvana Cote, a professor at the Universite de Montreal Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, has found that pregnant mothers exposed to adverse conditions such as poverty, stress, malnutrition are likely to have aggressive kids.

February 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Teenagers are more likely to follow their parents in gorging on fast foods like burgers and fries rather than healthier fruits and vegetables. University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers found that adolescents are more likely to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day if their parents do.

January 29th, 2009 SYDNEY - Parents need not overly worry about kids spending most of their time indoors. They could be watching their favourite movies and exercising their minds.

January 17th, 2009 LONDON - Comedian Kevin James is scared for his daughters' health and wants to raise them healthy. According to contactmusic.com, James confessed he is struggling to lose the weight he gained after becoming a comic.

January 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - As adolescents grow into young adults, time constraints imposed by school or work can begin to affect their eating habits in an unhealthy way. In a study, researchers observed that while young adults enjoy and value time spent eating with others, 35 percent of males and 42 percent of females admitted lacking time to sit down and eat a meal.

January 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Does eating less help fend off weight gain in middle age? Yes, says a new study. The study found that women had more than twice the risk of substantial weight gain if they did not become more restrained in their eating.