Childhood Obesity

Public health analysts and justice activists are tackling food deserts in a state known for its agricultural output. Low-income neighborhoods of color are the hardest hit by a lack of grocery options.

March 20, 2015 - Pacific Standard

Many Americans believe children should not be free to walk alone, because of crime and traffic. But children constantly driven around by their parents or locked away at home are also subject to significant risks.

September 3, 2014 - Michael Lewyn

The NAACP is probably not the first advocacy group you think of when it comes to supporting walking and biking. But the civil rights organization encourages increasing physical activity in minority communities to help reduce childhood obesity.

October 7, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

In another sign that efforts to reduce childhood obesity may be having an impact, a new study published in the journal Pediatrics has found increases in physical activity and the consumption of healthy foods among 11 to 16-year-old Americans.

September 23, 2013 - USA Today

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a 'broad decline' in childhood obesity rates among poor children in the United States. Could the country be turning a corner in its battle against childhood obesity?

August 6, 2013 - The New York Times

Tara Haelle examines the growing consensus among scientists that environmental factors, rather than genes or sloth, are the primary cause of childhood obesity. The onus is on planners and policy makers to create environments that nurture health.

April 15, 2013 - Scientific American

Modern medicine is prolonging our lives while our lifestyles are shortening it - that paradox is the main finding of the 2012 America's Health Rankings that ranked Vermont as the nation's healthiest state with Louisiana and Mississippi tied for last.

December 13, 2012 - USA Today

Sabrina Tavernise reports on promising news concerning one of America's most formidable public health crises: for the first time in decades several American cities are reporting declines in childhood obesity rates.

December 11, 2012 - The New York Times

New research in child development is giving rise to playgrounds designed to build children's confidence in facing challenges and evaluating risk, Sumathi Reddy reports.

November 24, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Matt Bevilacqua looks at the ways in which communities across America are attempting to shrink the "play deficit" afflicting the country's children.

May 4, 2012 - Next American City

Gina Kolata reports on the findings of two new studies that question the very concept of food deserts in poor neighborhoods, and the connection between fresh food access and obesity.

April 18, 2012 - The New York Times

A new study conducted by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute looks at how zip code is as important as genetic code in determining childhood obesity.

April 13, 2012 - Seattle Children's Hospital

Tim Gill chronicles a community-based movement to reclaim streets for play, part of a global wave of playful street-based interventions looking to change the nature of how we view our shared spaces.

March 31, 2012 - Rethinking Childhood

The New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids is leading an effort to make time for physical activity and put healthy food on children's plates, Beth Fitzgerald reports.

March 23, 2012 - NJ Spotlight

Colorado has been heralded as the trimmest state in the country, but NPR reports that residents' weight is still on the rise.

October 7, 2011 - NPR

Cities across the developing world are dealing more with rising obesity rates as urbanization occurs, reports TheCityFix's Jonna McKone.

January 13, 2011 - TheCityFix