Behind the Headlines

Obesity may cause low vitamin D levels

Thursday Feb 7 2013

"Study finds obesity can lead to lack of vitamin D," BBC News has reported. This fascinating, insightful and accurate BBC story highlights a new danger to add to the long list of problems caused by obesity...

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Tool to predict babies likely to become obese

Thursday Nov 29 2012

“Parents can learn whether their newborn is at risk of becoming fat using a simple online calculator,” The Daily Telegraph has reported. The story is based on a study that looked at whether a baby’s chances of becoming obese in childhood…

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Do 'fat genes' really make you happier?

Wednesday Nov 21 2012

'Fat people really are more jolly,' is the Daily Mail's childishly over-simplistic take on a complex piece of research that looks at the association between BMI, depression and a specific genetic variant called FTO...

Is childcare ‘making kids chubbier’?

Tuesday Nov 20 2012

'Children who go to nursery are 50% more likely to be overweight than those cared for by their parents' the Daily Mail reports. This follows a Canadian study that found that kids sent to daycare were 50% more likely to be overweight in later childhood…

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Are TV cookery shows making us fat?

Wednesday Nov 14 2012

"Is Nigella making you fat?" asks the Daily Mail, telling readers that, "TV cookery shows make us tuck into unhealthy snacks". The headline comes from a small study that found young adults who watched a 10-minute clip of a cookery...

Is your doctor fattist?

Thursday Nov 8 2012

'Doctors are 'prejudiced' against overweight patients' the Daily Mail claims after the publication of a study aiming to assess doctors’ attitudes towards overweight and obese people…

Huge rise in gout cases

Monday Oct 1 2012

'Disease of kings' is on the rise as more people get gout because of rising rates of obesity, according to the Daily Mail. Gout is a condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints. It often affects the big toe but can affect larger joints...

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Can you really be both 'fat and fit?'

Wednesday Sep 5 2012

People "can be obese yet physically healthy and fit and at no greater risk of heart disease or cancer", according to BBC News. This counterintuitive headline stems from a study that was...

Obesity surgery 'rockets'

Friday Aug 24 2012

‘Fat Britain’, says the Daily Mail, in a report on the growing number of gastric bypass operations reportedly costing the NHS £85million a year. The media has reported extensively on weight-loss surgery for obesity today, with...

Avoid obesity to stave off mental decline

Tuesday Aug 21 2012

“Obesity ‘bad for brain’ by hastening cognitive decline”, reports the BBC, with most of the mainstream national media covering the same story. The news is based on the results of a...