Michael Bloomberg got the headlines for his assault on the Big Gulp, but I’m more intrigued by Disney’s anti-obesity push. Last week, Disney said it will dump TV, radio and web ads for junk food, sweet cereals and candy, a ban that goes into effect in 2015. It calls to mind 1971, when Congress banned tobacco TV advertising. That was a government edict, of course, and this time, one private company is making the move unilaterally. But the intent is the same: to insulate young, impressionable viewers from slick ads pitching unhealthy products. The parallel between our nation’s campaign against smoking and its looming battle against obesity has been on my mind since Monday, when I listened to former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler speak in Boise/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Will fighting obesity in this country be the 21st Century equivalent to the battle against tobacco? Or will it fade away because America enjoys eating?

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

So Christa Hazel provides this link to a decidedly unflattering photo of Gov. Christie. The LA Times opinion piece poses the question “Chris Christie: Does he have the look of a president?”

To be president, do you have to look presidential?

And if so, does that mean Chris Christie should forget about a run for the Oval Office?

New Jersey's governor, considered a rising star in the Republican Party, was hospitalized Thursday after having trouble breathing (he suffers from asthma), The Times reported. The story takes note of Christie's weight issues:The governor has acknowledged leading an unhealthy lifestyle. In a recent interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, Christie said he feels “guilty” about his weight.

“I'm really struggling, been struggling for a long time with it, and I know that it would be better for my kids if I got it more under control. And so I do feel a sense of guilt at times about that,” he said.

What do you think? Would Americans elect an overweight man or woman as president?

PS: Mike Kennedy, Christa specifically hopes that you will weigh in on the subject.

A higher percentage of baby boomers are obese than in any other group in the USA, a poll carried out by LifeGoesStrong has revealed. Findings revealed that while approximately 36% of baby boomers are obese, the figure for the two generations directly above and below them is about 25%. A baby boomer is somebody born during a baby boom, which in this text refers to US citizens born between 1946 and about 1965/Medical News Today. More here.

Question: Why are so many Baby Boomers obese?

Children who regularly sit down with their families to eat tend to enjoy better health, have a considerably lower risk of becoming obese, and develop healthy eating habits, researchers from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign revealed in the journal Pediatrics. Regularly means at least three meals per week. The authors add that children who share meals with their families frequently are also much less likely to have disordered eating, which is one of the early signs of a potential eating disorder/Medical News Today. More here. (AP file illustration)

Question: Do you eat together with your children?

Idaho was named the 36th most obese state in the country, according to the seventh annual F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2010 report from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The state’s adult obesity rate is 25.1 percent, and, in Idaho men are more obese than women at 25.2 percent. Now more than two-thirds of states (38) have adult obesity rates above 25 percent/Trust for America’s Health. More here.

Question: Is there anything any state can do to address the obesity problem?

“Donna Simpson, from New Jersey, weighs 273kg but told the Daily Mail newspaper she had her heart set on reaching her goal weight of 1000lb (450kg) in two years.

The 42-year-old already holds the title of the world’s fattest mother after giving birth to her daughter in 2007 when she weighed 241kg.

“I’d love to be 1000lb … it might be hard though, running after my daughter keeps my weight down,” Ms Simpson told the Daily Mail. Read more.

Thoughts?

“Americans entering their 70s today are experiencing more disabilities in old age than did the previous generation, researchers announced Thursday. The shift in health fortunes comes as a surprise and predicts high future disability rates for baby boomers.”

The possible cause?

“The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging and published in the American Journal of Public Health, doesn’t explain why more people are becoming disabled as they enter their later years. But, Seeman said, rising levels of obesity appear to be a major factor; the greatest increases in disability were among nonwhites and people who were obese or overweight.”

Now, might be a good time to put the donut down. Still, it seems to be the older generation is a lot more active than in the past. Agree or disagree?