"Huge" show about Anorexia airs tonight on ABCFamily

Congratulations to ABCFamily for promoting positive body image. Tonight's world premiere, "Huge," stars dangerously gaunt Nikki Blonsky of "Hairspray" fame. The show takes place in a teen camp for habitual under-eaters and self-starvers, including a moderately underweight character played by David Hasselhoff's daugther, Hayley. But it's the 21 year-old Blonsky who plays our heroine and defies the camp's will for her to become a healthy weight. The alarmingly emaciated character says it best, "Why should I change..?"

Penn Jillette Would Rather Make-out w/ a Burger than Me... Shoot, I Kinda Like Him...

Tune in to the latest episode of Penn & Teller's "Bullshit" Showtime series... Episode 2 is "Fast Food" and features "Mindless Eating" author and Cornell professor Brian Wansink, NYU Associate Professor of Public Policy Rogan Kersh, and me.

We had a total blast shooting this episode... but you won't see those parts. Oh well... their "Cheerleaders" episode last week was really good.

And apparently I'm not Penn Jillette's type. He'd prefer to make-out with a burger... My loss??

Happy "Eat Your Vegetables" Day- Hooters and Limp Men

Yeah, it's Eat Your Vegetables Day... We get it, right? We're supposed to be eating a mostly-Vegetarian diet... So if you happen to eat meat (your best source of B12), think of it more as a garnish...

Stuart Varney & Co., let's talk about Hooters... Obesity discrimination in Michigan... and Hey Men! Happy Father's Day. Now check your "health dipstick" this weekend and make sure you're hitting that 135-degree angle. Good artery health means great bedroom performance..!

Felt this fatigue? I know I have. America's Obesogenic culture is counting on all of us to give in to it...

I love Dan and Chip Heath's book "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard..." Any book that uses Van Halen's notorious brown M&M clause as higher metaphor for better business strategy is alright with me... (David Lee Roth, I'll luv ya till the day I die...)

One of the many insights in Switch, and there are many gems, is the concept of willpower that fatigues. Ever committed to healthful eating then spent the day on the Jersey Shore with a boardwalk overflowing in Kohr Bros. frozen custard, funnel cakes, cotton candy, taffy, fried OREOS and gi-normous pizza slices..? Sure that stuff is crap, so you don't indulge. But for those of us raised in the Pop-Tart generation, that crap looks mighty tempting... And saying "no thanks" aloud or just in your mind over and over again all day long can get exhausting.

Smarter folks than I have studied this exhaustible self-control... Check it out from Dan Heath in June 2nd's Fast Company. And BTW, it's still no damn excuse... It's just motivation to plan our days more strategically.

Hollywood Keeps Me Fat..? Brooke Elliott aka Jane Bingham of Drop Dead Diva

"Drop Dead Diva" Brooke Elliott under contract to stay fat..? Weird Hollywood twist... But dangerous waist circumference for Jane Bingham, er, Brooke Elliott...

Is this you? You want it so bad. And maybe it takes loads and loads to satisfy you?

I find it hard to even look at this photo of the chocolate cake... I want to eat the whole damn thing, and I don't mean one slice. No, I want to grab the rest of the cake box and empty it out, and maybe hunt down the baker for another...

How 'bout you? No effect? One nibble will go a long way? Or maybe you wanna scarf it down?

Scientific American and Eric Stice at the Oregon Research Institute are calling it the "Goldilocks Principle of Obesity."

For me, eating sweets just triggers the urge to eat more sweets. Why is that true for most of us? There are 2 things going on: 1- a cascade of pleasure chemicals is released when I eat sweets, so now craving-inducing dopamine reminds me of that constantly. Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! It was sooo delicious last time..! And 2- a charge of sugar leads to a rush of insulin, then a plummet in sugar. So my now out-of-whack-blood-sugar-body tries to convince me I'm hungry even when I'm really not. Smarter, more disciplined people than I are giving up sugar altogether. (Way to go, Ellen DeGeneres..!) So far, I'm just trying not to go overboard. I make sure to eat right and exercise daily, and basically eat within my means. But if I had to be 100% honest, I'd be better off just ditching the treats.

Connie Bennett's SugarShock! book is a great resource for giving up sugar...

Food Makers know all about our behavioral and neuro-chemical dependencies upon junk food. They installed them after all... We're onto you about the "Bliss Point," Kellogg's, Coke and Kraft..! And who owned Kraft up to just a few years ago..?

Hooters Girls Are Too Fat? Obesity Discrimination? What Does Michigan's Special Protection for the Obese Mean for American Business?

Bad news, America, the obese are starting to win special protections. Nevermind most obesity is the result of habitual improper eating...

Hooters girls say they were fired (in an at-will state) for being too fat! Michigan, with its special protections for the obese, says it's against the law, but will that actually hold up in court??

And what does this mean for American businesses? Do you have the right to market your business as you see fit, especially if your employees are your company's greatest marketing, eh hem, asset? Nobody's going to Hooters for the wings...

Pro-Fat Acceptance is Over. Healthy at Every Size (HAES) is Over.

R.I.P. Obesity... You're torturing Americans, especially our most precious newborns. Pro-Fat Acceptance is Over. Healthy at Every Size (HAES) is Over. I say so. Darwin says so.

Obese Pregnancy = $200,000.00
Normal Pregnancy = $13,000.00

And how do you calculate the human suffering..?

Paul Campos and Linda Bacon, pay up..!

National Man Boob Day Pretends to be about Doughnuts

Come on, every doughnut costs you 300 calories...or more! That's a 3-Mile Run for every glob of fried dough... We all know that it's not really National Doughnut Day--It's National Man Boob Day.

Double Down While Doubling the Size of Your Ass... Thanks KFC..!

The names of those lined up yesterday for KFC's new "Double Down" fried chicken monstrosity were collected as to quickly expel them from America's new healthcare plan, or at least disqualify them from the "no pre-existing conditions" clause...

Lifestyle choice, anyone..??

More about KFC, food policy, salt reductions and good ol' accountability with GRITtv's Laura Flanders and Jennifer Iannolo...

Ronald McDonald and His Cohorts are Pervy Child Predators

Clowns are creepy... Clowns that pressure kids to eat more junk food are downright pervy... Yes, we mean you, Ronald McDonald.

You've had your 50 year run and you've won..! When you, Ronald McDonald (Willard Scott), started your clown act, we had a child obesity rate of 4%. Now a third of America's children are overweight or obese. A third are expected to develop Type 2 Diabetes. Half of our children of color are expected to develop Type 2 Diabetes in their lifetimes. Half..! Congratulations, Ronald McDonald, Shrek, Sponge Bob Square Pants, Toucan Sam, Tony the Tiger, Trix, L.C. Leprechaun, Count Chocula, Dig'em, Cap'n Crunch, Snap Crackle Pop, Colonel, King and you too, Wendy.

If Sesame Street and Disney characters can distance themselves from junk food, YOU can too..!

Parents, don't let adult junk food marketers, masked as cutesy kiddie cartoons, attempt to isolate, communicate with, and establish a direct relationship with your child...

Dr. Phil, MeMe Roth and Ozzy Osbourne's Kid..? Get Ready for One Hot Mess...

Dr. Phil, "The Ultimate Fat Debate" Tues April 6 and Wed April 7. Ready for a hot mess..? Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne's daughter Kelly joins all of us on the panel including Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels and of course, those pro-fat bullies... Man they're mean... or just really angry... or both. 3pm Eastern TOMORROW and Part 2 on Wednesday...

I Saw You Tonight in the Hot Tub Time Machine!

I saw you tonight..!

You were young and tight, had shiny hair, white teeth (naturally), and you were SO MUCH FUN..!

We were out way past curfew, and not once did anyone mention "snacking." Instead it was boys boys boys or girls girls girls or whatever. We were all more interested in hooking up rather than scoring a 4th Meal...

What a blast we had! You were full of energy, so light in your shoes, so agile...so sexy.

Listen to me right now. Jump into that damn Hot Tub Time Machine and get back to where you once belonged. Get back, Jojo! Whether the soundtrack of your fitter and more fun self is the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, the Stones, James Taylor, the Eagles, Bad Company, AC/DC, Bob Seger, Journey, Duran Duran, Siouxie and the Banshees, Adam Ant, the Cure, Bon Jovi, Ratt, Poison, Madonna, the Black Crowes, Nirvana, REM, Lenny Kravitz, Hootie and the Blowfish...or whatever... Put it on and rock out..!

Get yourself back into the mindset of when you had everything in front of you and the weight of the world was a concept in your mind not a reality on your ass... Come on! Come on! You know you can do better... You know you are better... Be your better self! Maybe your sillier self... your slinkier self... And have a blast doing it...

I'm turnin' on Van Halen II right effing now... Have you seen her? So fine and pretty...

Tell Me Your Answers for Obesity...

The New York Times asks how to solve the obesity crisis... Harriet Brown, Kelly D. Brownell, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Alwyn T. Cohall and Ellyn Satter answer...

And here's my answer...

We must accept that most of those already obese will remain so. Not that they can't lose the excess weight, but that they won't. It's hard enough in today's culture to prevent excess weight, and far harder to lose it once gained... (Although, for everyone of you trying, go go go!)

So what do we do? 2 Things:

1- We do all that we can to encourage daily exercise and wholesome food consumption for all people of all sizes. Why? To reduce the steep financial cost and human suffering cost of chronic illness.

2- We direct all our resources to the Pre-Pregnancy to Age 5 bracket--before their body compositions, eating habits and exercise patterns are set. Now is the time to foster Generation H for Healthy... We'll age ourselves out of this obesity crisis, beginning with Gen H.

The above will take immediate cultural changes and policy changes--and a deep questioning of the very memes that ushered in this era of obesity--to create an environment that promotes health rather than instant gratification, food solicitations directed at vulnerable children, and the only benchmark being 90-day updates to Wall Street of increased sales at reduced costs.

The challenge isn't just nutrition or exercise--it's behavioral psychology and neuroscience. And at that game, my friends, industry has us beat. They have every corner of our parietal lobes lit up, they know just how to trigger intense dopamine-driven cravings, and they know the exact "bliss point" to release the pleasure cascade of opioids should we give in to temptation. Industry's plan is to formulate, package and market "ingestible entertainment" that bypasses all reason... Don't believe me? Strip down and look in the mirror.

And yet, I do believe 100% in personal responsibility. Just as we're held accountable for our anger and sexual impulses, so too must we learn accountability for our eating impulses. Instead of indoctrinating our children into a mode of eating as entertainment (40% of "food" served to children is of low or no nutritional value according to a recent D of Ag study. We're not even trying, People...), we must emphasize the unadulterated pleasure of nourishment. And if children aren't deprived of their minimal hour of daily exercise, they can enjoy the occasional treat with little consequence to their weight or health...

For eons, humans had to survive scarcity. Now we'll find out just who can survive abundance. My bet is on the kids whose parents aren't hooking them on soft drinks...

(Now tell me your answers for reversing today's alarming obesity trends... Please add your comments.)

Fat Kids = Healthy Kids..??

The Pro-Fat-Acceptance Movement goes too far... They say Fat Kids = Healthy Kids... Watch exactly what this Pro-Fat Leader says today on MSNBC...

Tune in to Fox Business Network and Stuart Varney's Show at 10:15ish A.M... Wednesday, February 10, 2010. I'll join the always-angry-at-me Stuart Varney to chat up Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" Child Obesity Campaign...

Will Governor Paterson Wuss Out? Soda Tax...Again

In today's budget press conference, New York Governor David Paterson once again pushed for a "soda tax;" aka, Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax. Instead of going for the 18% tax like his last failed effort, this time Paterson is following the lead of experts pushing at the national level for a soda tax including UNC's Barry Popkin, Yale's Kelly Brownell, Harvard's David Ludwig and the CSPI's Michael Jacobson. The model calls for a penny-per-ounce tax on the ubiquitous, non-essential liquid candy.

On a national level, $15 billion annually is expected to be raised by the penny-per-ounce tax. Here in New York, we anticipate about $1 Billion annually in extra funds raised from taxing sugary soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, fruit-like drinks, etc.

Beverage lobbyists are crying foul that the tax is regressive and disproportionately targets poorer, lesser educated communities of color. News Flash: Obesity/diabetes/soda marketers disproportionately target poorer, lesser educated communities of color. This soda tax will help those communities by curbing soda consumption, reducing obesity-related illnesses and setting aside funds to cover some publicly funded healthcare expenses associated with obesity/diabetes/soda consumption. Of the $7.6 billion (more than almost any other state) spent annually on adult obesity-related health issues in New York, an astounding 80% is covered by Medicaid and Medicare. Quick Translation: That's me and my fellow New Yorkers footing the bill..! And that's ALL OF US at the national level... Hello, Obesity Bailout.

But Paterson backed down before. Why? Pepsi threatened to pull its headquarters out of New York and head West to New Jersey or East to Connecticut. Will Pepsi bully Paterson into submission again?

Or will the desperate dollar needs of New York state prevail?

I much prefer a Soda Tax over paying more into this massive Obesity Bailout.

Burger King and Reebok Meaning of Christmas

Fantastic News! Burger King's offering Funnel Cake Sticks "served all day long" says the TV spot. That ubiquitous and creepy King suggests you might enjoy a "taste of the circus" anytime.

And no worries about those 300 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 7 and a half teaspoons of sugar. Just get yourself a pair of those Reebok EasyTone shoes... Wear 'em to bed like in their cheeky commercial, and Voila!

You still get to have a nice ass.

Hallelujah! Burger King and Reebok together deliver a real Christmas Miracle...

It's Friday Night. Do You Know Where Your Penis Is?

It's Friday night--Do you know where your penis is?

Obesity is robbing our nation of its manhood--literally.

Adipose tissue in those giant bellies is converting testosterone into estrogen. Yes, THAT estrogen. Obesity is emasculating our men. Man boobs, man-o-pause, manly night sweats?? Are we gonna let this happen?

It doesn't stop there. Our overweight boys on the cusp of puberty are awash in estrogen too instead of testosterone. Our obese little girls are getting breasts and their periods in 1st grade instead of 8th. We're a nation of women--but not in a good way. This isn't a feminist movement, but rather a feminizing movement. And that aint good.

Ah Men--their square jaws, broad shoulders, taut chests--they're my favorite. And I'd like to keep the world ratio about 50/50 men to women.

And yet our men are overly in touch with their feminine side, having eaten themselves limp. That's right. This excess estrogen lessens libido and bedroom performance. Forget that rock-hard, 130 degree angle of magnificence--this is castration by obesity. All-Eunuch-Can-Eat-Buffet Style...

Do this. Tonight in the shower, look down... Glorious sight or nothing but belly? No man should stand for an obscured view of his manhood. If I had what you have, I'd really like to be able to see it in person, not just in the mirror.

And Warning Ladies: A good man is hard to find... but a hard man is becoming nearly impossible...

Save the Manhood..!

Zero Weight-Gain Pregnancy- Blame the Baby?

I'm a straight-shooter, so I have zero tolerance for passive aggressive types. My least favorite are those who blame their children for making them fat.

How many times have you heard women talking about "pregnancy weight" they're carrying around years after their babies are no longer babies. I grew up with that silly rhetoric. Every woman in my family regularly claimed "baby weight." Luckily, I also had a look at what they ate and what exercise they didn't do...

What kind of message is it to blame our children for what we ate while pregnant..? Pregnancy doesn't make you fat. What you eat while pregnant does.

Thankfully and tragically, with the majority of U.S. women of child-bearing age already overweight or obese before conceiving, experts have adjusted pregnancy weight-gain guidelines. There's also a new "Healthy Moms" study suggesting the obese mother-to-be keep her weight in check by gaining no more than 3% of her starting body weight during gestation.

We know obesity increases the risk for pregnancy and delivery complications. We also know obesity is associated with a higher incidence of birth defects. Birth Defects. It simply has to be said more than once that we're eating ourselves not just into cancer, diabetes stroke, organ failure and incontinence, but also birth defects for our children.

If you're unwilling or unable to eat properly before, during and after pregnancy, then the socially unacceptable truth is you're unprepared to be a parent.

This isn't about "dieting" or "restricting calories" as the pro-fat bullies roar--this is about a fundamental obligation to an unborn child.

More info on this in New York Times, Tara Parker Pope's "Well" Blog...

Obesity Stuff You Want to Know...

Children Now and the FTC and other bigwigs are discussing "Marketing to Kids" this week in Washington, DC. Are we really still discussing this same topic since the Carter administration? It's wrong to bypass parents and market junk food directly to kids...wrong and also pretty skeevy.

If you can't be in DC Tuesday morning, December 15th, watch the FTC's "Sizing Up Food Marketing & Childhood Obesity" event live via webcast here. The super-fabulous Margo Wootan of the CSPI will be on the afternoon panel.

So General Mills is reducing the sugar content of the cereal it markets to kids. It'll go down to 9 grams of sugar per serving. That's more than 2 teaspoons for every 3/4 cup. Just buy high-protein, high-fiber, high-quality cereal that has ZERO sugar. Then let your little one add 1 single teaspoon of sugar. That'll be 4 grams. I don't like the idea of habituating kids to tossing sugar onto cereal, but I think it's better than the best of big brand's "candy for breakfast" offerings... Going with berries is a better option than sugar of course...

I loved Thomas Frieden when he headed up NYC's Department of Health, (now head of the CDC). And I love our new guy, Thomas Farley too. And I've always loved Cathy Nonas... She's busy rockin' out her campaign "Don't Drink Yourself Fat." The newest installment comes today as a gross-out tv spot.

Are we really serving this shit to our kids..?