Overview for health

Why Food Stamps Don't Pay for Healthy Meals

I applaud Monica Marier's commitment and the good intentions of Sesame Street's producers in drawing trying to draw attention to child hunger in the United States. Certainly, far too many children grow up in bad circumstances in the United States and some of these circumstances relate to food. …

Written by Eli Lehrer on Tuesday October 11, 2011

Calorie Counts are a Dud

September is National Childhood Obesity Month, and the President marked the occasion with a proclamation calling on all Americans to “take action by learning about and engaging in activities that promote healthy eating and greater physical activity by all our Nation’s children.” Obesity is a …

Written by David Gratzer on Monday September 12, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Drawing the Line at 1% Milk

Summer is almost over and the weather has gone from molten to within mortal endurance. I’ve been going outside a little more, and began to examine my diet again to make sure I was on the right track. Sadly, my rock-hard zero tolerance for goodies has softened a little. I wondered if I could …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday August 12, 2011

The Fat Diaries: The Supermarket Field Trip

Suddenly everything was going all wrong! I didn’t want her to equate junk food with fat, I just wanted her to equate good food with healthy. Yesterday I was, once again, debating whether I should go grocery shopping with the kids or whether popcorn and ketchup would be a good dinner. The fact …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday June 10, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Can I Have That Downsized?

With food companies making packaged portions smaller many Americans are complaining that they just aren't getting their money's worth. But I couldn't be happier. Lately, people have been complaining that companies are cutting back on the size of food portions. The chips come in smaller bags, …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday May 27, 2011

For the Pros: The Pain is Worth the Gain

Rajon Rondo played most of the Celtics-Heat playoff series with torn ligaments in his elbow, illustrating the courage and pain threshold of athletes. But was it worth it? Rajon Rondo played most of the Celtics-Heat playoff series with torn ligaments in his elbow, illustrating the courage and …

Written by Alan Hirsch on Friday May 27, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Selling Junk Food to Mom

Manufacturers may have to stop peddling their junk food to kids but money-conscious parents are apparently still fair game. Whenever I go grocery shopping, I forget everything. I forget to bring in the plastic bags to recycle. I forget to bring the cloth bags (so I don’t have an even …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday May 20, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Beware the Vending Machine Diet

Asking restaurants and theaters to post calorie counts seems like a good call, but targeting vending machines may be too much. New rules are being proposed by the FDA that could (if approved) make some changes in the world of vending machines. The feds want the calorie content of each item …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday May 13, 2011

Why's FDA Wasting Time on Vending Machines?

Whatever one thinks about candy consumption by Americans, the FDA has more important things to focus on than regulating vending machines. Under the terms of Section 4205 of the Patients Protection and Affordable Care Act, vending machine operators who own or operate more than twenty machines …

Written by Horace Cooper on Thursday May 12, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Can You Sleep Your Way to Skinny?

It’s been pounded into our heads since we were old enough to whine, “but I’m not tired, Mom,” that sleep's important. But now, it's harder to get than ever. So how was your weekend? A doozy right? A royal wedding and the bad guy dies. Sounds like a Shakespeare play (or maybe a Disney movie). …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday May 6, 2011

The Fat Diaries: The New Eating Disorders

Thanks to our crusade against obesity we know more about the science of why we eat. But as we learn more, we may have to shift our focus from weight to health. We’ve all heard of anorexia, bulimia, and even lately overeating described as a psychological mania in people. In fact thanks to …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday April 29, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Boot the Brown Bag Lunch Ban

A public school in Chicago has instituted a ban on lunches from home. But is dissing parents really the way to push healthy eating? If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding! How can you have any pudding, if you don't eat yer meat? - Pink Floyd, Another Brick in the Wall …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday April 15, 2011

The Fat Diaries: Is Honey the All Natural Allergy Fix?

It’s allergy season again: trees are busy making baby trees and humans are suffering. This year, I'm trying something new to ward off my symptoms. If you’re like me, and like about half the population of the Piedmont Basin, this last week has been a rough one for you. It’s …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday April 8, 2011

The Fat Diaries: The 'Royal' Diet Hits America

A new French diet is all the rage in Europe and thanks to a rumored link with Prince William's future mother-in-law, the frenzy is about to hit our shores. Have you got your commemorative plate? Your William & Kate mug? Is your gigantic refrigerator bearing the likenesses of the …

Written by Monica Marier on Friday March 25, 2011

A Conservative Case for Farmers’ Markets

So much of what we celebrate today as the “farm-to-table” movement is really just a modern re-imagining, or re-invention, of a less industrialized time. Every Thursday evening, around 7 p.m., I begin checking outside my side door to see if the elves have made their delivery yet. It’s quite …

Written by Danielle Crittenden on Friday March 11, 2011

Dems Get Obamacare Back on Track

The Democrats took a major step forward today when Sen. Baucus pushed his legislation though the Senate Finance Committee – and did it with Sen. Snowe's support. Now, health-reform legislation by year's end once again seems likely. In September, they seemed hopeless – internally divided, …

Written by David Gratzer on Tuesday October 13, 2009

Deal or No Deal?

Until now, the threat of a government-run healthcare plan has deterred Republicans from negotiations with the administration. But now that the single most threatening element of such a deal has been voted down by Democrats, Republicans can begin to think: are there things we want? ... well, maybe …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday September 30, 2009

Giving Moderation a Bad Name

The so-called moderate Baucus plan announced yesterday offers no answers to the problem of rising health costs. It imposes an individual mandate, extends federal subsidies, and imposes a tax on employers to generate some expansion of coverage. But as to cost control, it proposes virtually nothing. …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 17, 2009

The Hidden Healthcare Problem: Immigration

Steve Sailer points out that Obama has promised to block illegal aliens for benefiting from his 2009 health plan, while also promising to legalize illegal aliens in his proposed 2010 immigration plan. Steve Sailer makes a good point here : If Obama promises both: A) to block illegal …

Written by David Frum on Thursday September 17, 2009

Why is the Club for Growth Attacking Senator Bennett?

The Club for Growth has released a new ad attacking Utah Sen. Robert Bennett’s sponsorship of the Healthy Americans Act. But many of the ad's criticisms of the Bennett bill also apply to the Republican alternative to the president’s health plans: the Coburn-Ryan bill. Why then is one bill …

Written by David Frum on Monday August 31, 2009