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34 percent are now obese

The fattest nation in the world is now even fatter, according to statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics, which show 34 percent of Americans are officially obese, while 32.7 percent are merely overweight. This is the first time more people have registered as obese than overweight. About 6 percent of Americans can be classified as extremely obese. The numbers are based on a survey of more than 3,000 adults and are from the 2005-2006 survey. That 34 percent means about 72 million people in America are now obese.

Childhood fitness linked to adult health

People who were physically fit at age 13 are less likely to be obese or have high blood pressure early in adulthood, but the health effects fade by the age of 40. That’s the conclusion of a study from the University of Oslo in Norway, which has followed about 1,000 people for 30 years, since they were 13. Researchers say adults still need to keep up fitness as they age, but being healthy as a kid may make it more likely you’ll start off adulthood on a healthy foot as well.

Peanut butter may be cause of salmonella outbreak

An Ohio company has recalled its King Nut smooth peanut butter after it was found that all of the people recently sickened with salmonella in the state of Minnesota had eaten the peanut butter. The Minnesota outbreak, which has sickened 30, is part of a larger outbreak in which at least 369 people in 41 states have gotten sick. The peanut butter hasn’t yet been connected to the larger outbreak, but the strain of salmonella is the same in Minnesota and other states. The peanut butter was sold under the brands King Nut and Parnell’s Pride, and was only sold to institutions such as hospitals, restaurants, colleges and nursing homes.

China to crack down on food safety before new year

In anticipation of the Lunar New Year, which begins January 26, Chinese health officials are focusing their attention on food safety in seven provinces to ensure that food is safe and that people who have broken the law will be punished. The health ministry also said it will quickly report any important food safety cases to the public “in a timely manner.” This comes after at least six children died and nearly 300,000 were sickened from drinking infant formula tainted with melamine, which was later found in chocolates, eggs and other food products.

Phone, e-mail counseling help with weight loss

For people who don’t want weight loss counseling in person, getting help via phone or e-mail can help people lose weight and improve their diets, according to a Dutch study looking at 1,400 overweight workers. Over the course of six months, people who got phone counseling lost about three pounds more than people with no counseling and those who got e-mail counseling lost a little over a pound more than the control group.

One in 200 kids are vegetarian

Finally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 1 in 200 kids under the age of 18 in America are vegetarians. That’s about 367,000 kids who don’t eat meat, and it’s been suggested the numbers are higher among teenagers. This estimate is based on a 2007 survey of about 9,000 adults who spoke for their children. Experts say many kids are driven to become vegetarian because of animal cruelty videos on the Internet, and some kids who try vegetarian diets aren’t very healthy about it and can still end up overweight.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 and is filed under Diet Tips, Exercise and fitness, Food safety, Foreign stories (non-U.S.), Kids and families, Nibbles: diet news shorts, Obesity statistics. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.