As obesity rates continue to climb, new research finds some obese people do not realize they have a weight problem. The study says one in ten people classified as obese do not understand they are overweight, and believe they are healthy.

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A new ad campaign from the dairy industry is stirring up quite a debate. The ads say that without the sugary flavoring in chocolate milk, some kids won’t drink regular milk and won’t get its nutrients. Critics say kids will drink white milk if it’s the only milk offered, and that they already get too much sugar, which is adding to the country’s obesity problem.

Should schools serve chocolate milk? What do you think?

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Congrats to FatFighterTV member – Angie – for winning last week’s giveaway for the set of Kim Lyons’ new DVDs, Start Fitness Now: Beating Type 2 Diabetes. Enjoy! And if you didn’t win, here’s another chance for you to try for the DVDs again – good luck!

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As obesity rates in children have been rising, we’ve heard how lack of exercise and a bad diet are to blame. Now, a surprising new study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says the amount of physical activity among U.S. teens has not changed that much over the past 20 years, but teens have still gotten heavier. So, is diet the only reason for the weight gain? Or will we see another study in the future with different results about how much teens are exercising?

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You’ve seen her whip contestants into shape on The Biggest Loser. Now celebrity personal trainer, Kim Lyons is taking on diabetes with her new workout DVD series, Start Fitness Now: Beating Type 2 Diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes now affects nearly 24 million people in the U.S. – up more than three-million in about two years – and obesity is a major risk factor for the type 2 diabetes epidemic. I recently spoke to Lyons about all this. She tells FatFighterTV, it’s time to turn things around now.

Diabetes-friendly workouts
One of the first things I wondered about these DVDs was how these workouts were different than others. What makes them specifically for diabetics? Lyons says they eliminate the exercise intimidation factor.

“A lot of the workout videos that are out there right now are very high intensity, and they’re the kind of videos that are going to draw in people that already exercise, whereas people that have diabetes or are struggling with obesity issues or both are going to really be intimidated by that,” Lyons tells FatFighterTV. “This is kind of a way to get people started and help them get off the couch. There are even workouts where they can sit down and get moving. A lot of people don’t even know they can exercise while they’re sitting down.”

Can you really get a good workout if you’re sitting down? Yes and no, says Lyons. The DVDs are designed for beginners, so while they may not benefit someone who already exercises, working out while sitting down may be just the right place to start for someone who’s new to physical activity.

Doctor’s orders
The workouts were developed with the help of Dr. Shaila Singh, a Diplomat of the American Association for Family Physicians (AAFP) who has managed type 2 diabetes and weight loss in patients for over 22 years.

“Recent research has really brought to light that you can almost halt the disease progression; you can change it, even,” says Dr. Singh. “People who have type 2 diabetes really can [stop being] type 2 diabetic just by exercise and healthy diet modification.”

Lyons adds, “I think it’s just really important to give those people hope and let them know that, yeah, you absolutely can change your life – just 20 minutes a day.”

Beyond the DVDs
Along with the DVDs, there is also an online support program that includes nutrition tips, recipes, and Q&As about diabetes with Dr. Singh, all at StartFitnessNow.com.

Giveaway
To tie in with American Diabetes Month, The Start Fitness Now: Beating Type 2 Diabetes 3-DVD set is giveaway #2 in FatFighterTV’s Winter Workouts (indoors) giveaway series. Again, the workouts are designed for diabetics who need to start a fitness routine, or other exercise beginners.

To enter for a chance to win, just tell me why you want to try these workouts… or if you want to give them to someone as a gift, why you think that person would enjoy them.

See you in the comments!

Contest runs through midnight EST this Friday, November 13, you have to have a U.S. mailing address to enter, and we will use random.org to pick the winner.

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As some of you may now, I started FatFighterTV after I had covered the obesity epidemic for years and saw its effects on so many people, especially children. I interviewed families with kids who were not even teenagers yet who had developed type 2 diabetes because of their weight.

So, I’m thrilled to see Diabetes Act Now – an interactive site raising awareness about the risks of the disease. One of the first things you’ll see when you visit are these sobering statistics – 2 out of 3 people with diabetes die of a heart attack or stroke. 2 out of 3!

The American Diabetes Association launched the site to help answer questions about type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and to show patients easy ways to help reduce and prevent complications like heart attack and stroke.

Diabetes Act Now features:

• A personal dashboard to track your progress and choose action plans.

• A library of videos to help you make easy lifestyle changes to improve your diabetes numbers.

• An interactive widget with diabetes-related content and resources that you can access directly on your personal desktop.

There’s also a Spanish version of the site, Diabetes Actua Ya and a Twitter account

November is Diabetes Awareness Month… so help me spread the word about the risks of the disease and this important site!

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Three new prescription diet drugs are in the final stages of development. The Food and Drug Administration has yet to review the drugs before deciding whether to approve them, so it will be at least one year before they hit the market, if they get the green light from the FDA.

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With more emphasis on stopping childhood obesity, some day cares are making changes in their menus. This article shows how a day care center in Delaware is serving grilled chicken instead of hot dogs, strawberries instead of cookies, and water and low-fat milk instead of fruit juice. The goal is to teach kids early that being active and eating healthy can be the norm and that junk food should be a rare treat.

Do you think changes like these will help reduce childhood obesity?

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Cancer is one of the many health problems linked to obesity. Now, a new report finds being overweight could become the number one cause of cancer in women in Western countries in the future. Obesity or overweight make up about eight percent of cancers in Europe. Experts say that’s expected to go up significantly as the obesity epidemic continues, and other big cancer causes like smoking and hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women go down dramatically.

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In June, it was all about athletic seals helping to get kids moving. Now, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hopes characters from the classic “Where the Wild Things Are” can help fight childhood overweight and obesity. You’ll soon see and hear new ads with characters and scenes from the movie, which comes out next month. The campaign promotes the benefits of exercise and encourages children to move and play every day.

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