A guest columnist published an op-ed in The New York Times on Thursday about how the new American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines on treating childhood obesity have left her terrified. And she should be terrified. . .

But Virginia Sole-Smith, the author of “Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture,” which comes out in April, is terrified for all the wrong reasons. According to Sole-Smith, the medical community’s remaining stigmas against excessive weight are problematic.

“The guidelines are rooted in a premise that should have been rejected long ago: that weight loss is the best path to health and happiness,” Sole-Smith wrote. “The academy’s guidelines are the latest sally in the war on obesity that health care providers, public health officials and the general public have waged to shrink our bodies for over 40 years. The approach hasn’t worked; Americans, including kids, are not getting thinner.”

She’s right that the kids are not all right. But she’s dangerously wrong to claim Americans should raise the white flag on the issue. On the contrary, Americans should be alarmed that the population’s obesity epidemic has swollen to such epic proportions that 1 in 5 children is clinically obese. Americans should be disturbed that by even the “healthy” diet standards their government recommends, their food is still leaving them and their neighbors not just fatter but sicker, with 88 percent of adults suffering from some form of metabolic dysfunction. . .

Sole-Smith’s solution to childhood obesity, however, is to recalibrate objective standards of health. In keeping with the modern “body positivity” movement and the left’s habit of redefining truth and terms to fit their perception of reality, the Times guest columnist thinks we would all be healthier if we just stopped calling obesity and other health detriments unhealthy. (Read more from “NYT Contributor Is Terrified of New Childhood Obesity Guidelines for All the Wrong Reasons” HERE)

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Colorado parents are asking the state to make teachers stop talking about nutrition in ways that “trigger” them into body image and health crises.

One parent told the Colorado State Board of Education that his daughter was triggered by a teacher remarking that fat in food becomes fat in the body.

The Denver Post explained helpfully that this was medically inaccurate, since a “body stores any calories beyond its needs as fat, and our bodies need some fat stores for insulation and to protect our organs.”

Another father said his daughter was triggered when a teacher made their students use an app to count caloric intake. . .

Another example of “triggering” classroom lessons was one where students lined up to have their body mass percentage measured.

(Read more from “Parents Don’t Want Teachers Talking to Their Children About Unhealthy Food Because It’s Triggering” HERE)

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The nation’s obesity rate has reached the highest-ever level this year, according to the United Health Foundation’s 2018 . Obesity is a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease, cancer and other conditions. Additionally, an increase in drug deaths, suicides and cardiovascular disease deaths is contributing to an increase in premature death.

In its 29 th year, the America’s Health Rankings Annual Report also reveals bright spots, including the reduced rate of childhood poverty and an increased number of mental health providers and primary care physicians per 100,000 people. Key findings include: . . .

The obesity rate exceeded 30 percent of the adult population for the first time in America’s Health Rankings history, up 5 percent in the past year (from 29.9 percent to 31.3 percent). Premature deaths increased 3 percent (from 7,214 to 7,432 years lost before age 75 per 100,000 people). (Read more from “Obesity Rates Soar Extremely High in 2018” HERE)

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