Biggest Loser? Healthy Eating. Weight Loss Is Not Entertainment

May 3, 2016 Update Medical communities and studies on metabolic measures should skew headlines into bold "I told you so" moments given that many have wagged about this show doing 'more harm than good' for years, yet producers bring it back time and again, knowing profit over public health reigns supreme. "I'm surprised someone hasn't died yet" should have been at least a … [Read more...]

AHA & Nintendo: Tag-Teaming Innovation To Get Kids Moving (Pt2)

Feb 3, 2011 When I was invited to attend the “Power of Active Play” summit hosted by the American Heart Association and Nintendo, my synapses were firing in Howard Rheingold mode, wondering if this convening was going to be a glorified commercial for the gamification of life. I may not be wearing the same rose-colored shades of Jane McGonigal’s Wall Street Journal article … [Read more...]

Dialing for Disorders: Let’s Move To Prevent Them By July 12!

June 29, 2010 As a kids' health advocate (inside and out) I’ve been covering the "HUGE" conversation pertaining to media’s responsibility and accountability in how the portrayal of being overweight in our appearance-obsessed culture is handled. (Huge: Part One, Part Two) Now it’s time to weigh in on the policy piece. (I'm not referring to RWJF's annual "F as in Fat" … [Read more...]

Body Image: Tips for Teens To Survive the Media Morass

January 21, 2010 Last night I talked about body image to our local high school PTSO with Susan E. James, an LMFT eating disorders specialist and RD/MPH Cindy Stack-Keer from Kaiser Permanente all about how body image links a child’s emotional and physical health. The little Animoto video I created for the session gives you a snapshot of both the ‘problem and the solution’ … [Read more...]

Media, Misinformation and Unhealthy Spin

August 14, 2009 I'm very thankful that Shaping Youth Nutrition Correspondent Rebecca Scritchfield, RD takes the helm today with her piece "The Price of Misinformation in Media," as I’m trying to manage some media of my own to make sure I’m not misinterpreted either! As you know by now, I’m quite media shy, not just because I'm a former journalist who can ‘spot the spin’ with … [Read more...]