It is without question that there is an obesity epidemic in the United States. With childhood obesity being more prevalent, a previously–considered adult disease, Type 2 diabetes, is now being seen more and more frequently in children. Likewise, osteoarthritis has always been considered a disease that arises in older adults. Again, due to the prevalence of obesity, people are developing osteoarthritis as young as in their 30s and 40s. At such a young age, not only is quality of life impacted, but also the increased likelihood of needing joint replacement surgery at an earlier age.

How listening to yourself eat might actually help you cut down on unhealthy snacking practices. Everyone has a pet peeve. It could be the sound of nails on a chalkboard, or maybe hearing a coworker click their pen all day as they work. For a lot of people, the sound of chewing is one that will drive them right over the edge of sanity.

A recent study in the medical news examined teens’ self-perception in terms of obesity and normal weight. It showed that teens viewed themselves as normal even though they had an increased BMI. Zhang et al. (Am J Prev Med 2015) studied two different time periods (1988-94 and 2007-2012) and found that only 21% of boys correctly perceived themselves as overweight in the recent survey as opposed to 28% of those in an earlier survey. For girls, 36% correctly perceived their weight status in the latest survey as opposed to 79% in the first. The reality is that obesity prevalence has more than doubled in teens during the past 20 years.

Clinical Psychologist Walter Mischel 50 years ago did a “Marshmallow Test” on kids to test their self-control. He left them alone in a room with a single marshmallow sitting on a plate in front of them. If they could wait 20 minutes without eating it, they would get 2 marshmallows. Kids who managed to wait 20 minutes without chowing down on the marshmallow were also the ones most likely to excel in school, get better jobs, maintain better physical health (lower BMI) and have more positive self- esteem then their peers as adults.

If you have not had your vitamin D level checked, it is wise to do so. Primary care physicians are beginning to check the level of this vitamin in the blood routinely at annual physicals because of the high percentage of Americans who are deficient in this vitamin.