After you hear the news,what are you thinking?

 After rising steadily for a quarter century, the rate of obesity in the United States appears to be leveling off, although it remains alarmingly high, a US government report concluded Thursday.

But the CDC report released Thursday entitled "Obesity Among Adults in the US: No Significant Change in 2005-06," found that more than a third of US adults -- some 72 million Americans -- are sufficiently overweight to be classified as obese.

The CDC has said that obesity is one of its top public health priorities, and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, type 2 diabetes and other ailments.collectiblesguidememorabiliaguidenetworkingecomputersconsumerelectronicscraftsguide

Janet Collins, director of CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, said the US government has undertaken an all-out effort to combat obesity, including in "the nation's schools, community organizations, businesses, medical systems and faith communities, to promote and support healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weight."

when a man who says he was not allowed to adopt a child because he is obese and underwent gastric bypass surgery to lose weight attended a second adoption hearing on Thursday,we should know the policy is right.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man who says he was not allowed to adopt a child because he is obese and underwent gastric bypass surgery to lose weight attended a second adoption hearing on Thursday.

But several adoption experts have said the case is considered the first case where a couple seeking to adopt has resorted to surgery in the increasingly prevalent practice of denying parents adoptions because they are obese.

Since undergoing gastric bypass surgery in August, Stocklaufer has shed nearly 200 pounds.

Jackson County Circuit Judge John O'Malley did not rule in the matter after the closed hearing on Thursday, Stocklaufer said. It was unclear when the judge would rule, but more witnesses were expected to testify Friday, Stocklaufer said.

"I'll feel better when we get him home," Stocklaufer said outside the courthouse.

Court officials would not comment, citing confidentiality in adoption cases.

The baby, who was 4 months old when he was removed from the Stocklaufer home, had lived with the Stocklaufers since he was a week old and is related to the Stocklaufers.

Stocklaufer and his wife, Cindy, 34, claimed their plans to adopt Max were denied because of Gary's weight. Instead, Max was given to another couple for possible adoption.

Gloria Hochman, spokeswoman for the National Adoption Center in Philadelphia, said weight problems are becoming more commonly considered by adoption agencies. But she said she didn't know of any agencies with written policies prohibiting adoption by obese people.

She said courts and agencies probably consider weight when placing children because they are concerned about an adoptive parent's longevity and "the ability of the parent to be able to really parent in a healthy way."classictoysshoesclothingcoinsancientcoinsguidepapermoneyuscoinsworldguide

The Stocklaufer case is a private adoption and does not involve the state Department of Social Services. But Sara Anderson, spokeswoman for the department, said a number of factors, including physical health, are considered in an adoption.

The Stocklaufers, who have been married 15 years and have an 8-year-old son they also adopted, said they were pleased to have the second hearing, and hoped it would result in their gaining custody of the baby.

We Can! Program Takes Aim at Childhood Obesity .we should combat the obesity epidemic among America's children.

THURSDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Association of Children's Museums are teaming up on a program to combat the obesity epidemic among America's children.

Other We Can! communities include Armstrong County, Pa.; Carson City, Nev.; Gary, Ind.; South Bend, Ind.; and Roswell, Ga.

"I am really confident that this partnership among the federal government, the We Can! program, the Association of Children's Museums and civic organizations is ultimately going to lead to healthier children in the United States, healthier families and better health-care outcomes for everybody," acting U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral Dr. Steven K. Galson said during an afternoon teleconference.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, said childhood obesity has reached "crisis" proportions.

"We are facing a crisis, and we must find ways to change the tide that is facing us and affecting our children," Zerhouni said during the teleconference.

There are more than 12.5 million overweight children and teens in the United States. Galson said obesity is a big contributor to such childhood health problems as high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and asthma.

"Chronic diseases cause seven out of 10 deaths," Galson said. "And the costs are staggering."

Galson noted that portion sizes have increased while life in America has become more sedentary. "Our kids are growing up with unhealthy lifestyles, the consequences of which could be with them for the rest of their lives," he said.

"Reversing this epidemic does not have one answer," he added. "It's going to take a concerted action by all of us. We need to focus our activities on prevention -- on what we can do today."

We Can! can be a model for overcoming the challenges of childhood obesity and overweight, Galson said. "Its partnerships are demonstrating how physical activity and sound lifestyle choices can make a difference and how communities can work together to make those lifestyle choices real," he said.

We Can! is an education program to help children aged 8 to 13 years old to maintain a healthy weight. It's being implemented in more than 450 communities in 44 states.

Zerhouni said getting kids away from the TV and the computer is key to improving their health. Increased activity, better food choices and smaller portions complete the arsenal for fighting the obesity epidemic, he said.

The three new We Can! cities announced Thursday are introducing the program to city employees, community groups, corporate wellness programs, health professionals and schools.

While improvement in childhood obesity is vital, the results may not be seen for decades, Galson said.

"It's a national necessity with profound implications -- we all have a stake in the outcome," he said. "The result may not be apparent for many years, but it's going to be a fitter, healthier, more physically active nation in which the epidemic of childhood obesity slows down."

In addition to the Association of Children's Museums, 40 national and corporate partners are starting We Can! programs in community centers, schools, health-care settings, corporate wellness programs and faith-based organizations, officials said.

A study this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that after increasing for the last 25 years, the prevalence of obesity among adults has not risen in the past few years. Still, 34 percent of Americans aged 20 and older are obese.

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"In view of these alarmingly high rates of obesity in all population groups, [the] CDC has made the prevention of obesity one of its top public health priorities," Janet Collins, director of CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, said in a prepared statement. "We are actively working in partnership with state and local public health agencies, the nation's schools, community organizations, businesses, medical systems and faith communities to promote and support healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weight."

More information

To learn more about the We Can! program, visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

In this news ,we can found"Obesity is fast emerging as the public health issue of our generation and its impact on maternity must be taken seriously",I think it's right.

 LONDON (Reuters Life!) - More than half of British mothers who died during child birth were overweight, a report found on Tuesday.

In its annual report, "Saving Mothers' Lives: reviewing maternal deaths to make motherhood safer," it found that of the almost 300 women who died during childbirth between 2003 and 2005 from pregnancy-related conditions, more than half were obese. The deaths left 520 children motherless, it added.

Obese pregnant women are more at risk of dying, suffering heart disease, miscarriage, diabetes, infections and blood clots.

Although the death rate has not changed significantly since 2000, it has risen by around 40 percent since 1985/87, the study showed.

It also found that women from poorer backgrounds were up to seven times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications.

About 40 percent of deaths were preventable, it added.

Tuesday's report criticized doctors for failing to identify and manage common medical conditions or potential emergencies outside their immediate area of expertise.

It comes just a few days after the Healthcare Commission found that one in four women giving birth in NHS hospitals were left alone during labor, in clear contravention of official guidelines.

The report said that maternal obesity was now a "major and growing risk factor for maternal death."

It called for more pre-conception counseling and advice for obese woman to help tackle the problem.

CEMACH director, Gwyneth Lewis, said the report "clearly shows the impact that a mother's overall health has on the outcome of her pregnancy."

President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, said maternal obesity puts more pressure on resources.

"Obesity is fast emerging as the public health issue of our generation and its impact on maternity must be taken seriously," he said in a statement.communicationbackpackpurchasebagpurchasedballpurchasesbangle

"Maternity services are already struggling to cope with the increasing birth rate."

(Editing by Stephen Addison and Paul Casciato)

We can learn form this news,"without effective intervention, the costs of obesity might well become catastrophic, arising not only from escalating medical expenses but also from diminished worker productivity caused by physical and psychological disabilities"

BOSTON (Reuters) - The number of obese children will grow dramatically in the coming years and so will their death rates from heart disease, according to a pair of studies from the United States and Denmark published on Wednesday.

The Danish study, which tracked more than one quarter of a million school children in Copenhagen from 1930 to 1976, found that overweight children grew up to have more heart problems, particularly the boys.

The heavier they were as youngsters, particularly entering their teens, the greater the risk.

For example, a 13-year-old boy who was 25 pounds (11.2 kg) above the average weight was found to be 33 percent more likely than a child of normal weight to have a heart attack or some other problem caused by coronary heart disease (CHD) by age 60.

The finding "suggests that more children than ever before are facing increased risks of CHD in adulthood," said the team led by Jennifer Baker of the Center for Health and Society in Copenhagen.

About 17 percent of boys and 16 percent of girls now in the United States -- more than 9 million total -- are overweight.

The second study reported that out of this group, 25 percent of the boys now are obese, and that number is expected to increase to 30 to 37 percent by 2020, when they turn 35.

For females in that group, 32 percent of whom now are obese, the ratio will rise to 34 to 44 percent, according to that research team, led by Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California, San Francisco.

That will lead to more heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure at a younger age, and even aggressive treatment will not be able to stem the trend, they reported.

By 2035, the prevalence of heart disease will have increased by 5 to 16 percent, they estimated.

"Barring a major advance in the treatment of either excessive weight gain itself or its associated alterations in blood pressure, lipid levels and glucose metabolism, current adolescent overweight will have a substantial effect on public health far into the future," they concluded.

"My colleagues and I have predicted that pediatric obesity may shorten life expectancy in the United States by 2 to 5 years by mid-century -- an effect equal to that of all cancers combined," said Ludwig.sellartistbetrayasianmerchandiseataricommodityattrstoreautoshoppeaviatia

He also warned that "without effective intervention, the costs of obesity might well become catastrophic, arising not only from escalating medical expenses but also from diminished worker productivity caused by physical and psychological disabilities."

I agree this report,:

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight children and adolescents are more likely to be overweight or obese adults and more likely to suffer early heart disease and death, two new studies conclude.

The second, based on a computer model, found that overweight adolescents are more likely to end up with heart disease and even dying in early adulthood.

"Teenage and childhood weight does matter," said Dr. Thomas R. Kimball, a pediatric cardiologist with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "This is not a problem of middle-aged adults. This is a problem that we have to face as a society in our children."

"When you see a shift at this level across the entire population, it really suggests that this is a major public health problem and requires intervention that really needs to be reinforced at every level of policy makers, every level of institutions," said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, lead author of the computer modeling study.

"This is more than just a problem of overweight adolescents and their parents. It's a problem that requires really a concerted effort at federal, state, local policy levels to reinforce the availability of healthy foods for kids and the availability of physical activity. We really want to prevent obesity before it starts," said Bibbins-Domingo, who is assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics and the Robert Wood Johnson Harold Amos Medical Faculty Scholar at the University of California, San Francisco.

Both studies are published in the Dec. 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The overweight and obesity crisis is reaching epidemic proportions around the world. In the United States, federal statistics estimate that 9 million adolescents (17 percent of the population) are overweight and 80 percent of overweight adolescents grow up to be obese adults. Childhood obesity rates have tripled since 1970.

Worldwide, children are becoming heavier at younger and younger ages. In the United States, 19 percent of kids between the ages of 6 and 11 are overweight.

Being overweight or obese puts you at risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other ills.

The first study looked at a group of almost 277,000 Danish children -- all schoolchildren in Copenhagen -- from 1930 to 1976.

Out of that initial group, more than 10,200 men and 4,300 women were identified whose childhood body-mass index (BMI) data were available and who had received a diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD) or died of CHD as adults.

Boys with a higher BMI at 7 to 13 years of age and girls with a higher BMI from 10 to 13 years of age had a higher risk of a heart disease event in adulthood, the researchers found.

The authors used as an example a 13-year-old boy who weighs 11.2 kilograms (24.6 pounds) more than average boy his age. He now has a 33 percent increase in the probability of having a coronary event before he turns 60, the Danish team said.

"It's scary," Kimball said. "We knew that if you're an overweight kid, you're at a higher risk to be an overweight adult. This study goes a step further. It's proving that you have an increased risk of cardiovascular events as early as 25 years of age."

The second study projected the number of overweight adults based on the number of overweight adolescents in 2000.

Using a computer model, it predicted that up to 37 percent of men and 44 percent of women will be obese when these people -- now teenagers -- turn 35 in 2020.

This could result in up to 5,000 additional deaths from heart disease and 45,000 heart attacks, cardiac arrests and related events by 2035 among this group of young adults. It would raise the death toll from obesity-related coronary heart disease by 19 percent.eshopartsaleankinfoapperelshopinfoarombuyitemarrowinformationglass

 "To some extent, we're not surprised. We know it's not good to be overweight at any age but we were really struck by the magnitude of this increase," said Bibbins-Domingo. "We're modeling a young adult population 35 to 50 years. These are people who should be working and raising families, not worrying about heart disease, and we're suggesting more will be hospitalized for heart attacks, will need chronic medication to manage high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and many more will actually die before the age of 50."

More information

To learn more about the government's We Can! Program regarding childhood obesity, visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

 CHICAGO (AFP) - The epidemic of obesity among US teenagers could lead to double digit increases in cases of heart disease and heart-disease related deaths by 2035, according to a new study.

"Today's adolescents are the young adults of tomorrow, young adults who would ordinarily be working, raising their families, and not worried about heart disease until they are much older," said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, assistant professor in medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics at University of California at San Francisco.

"Our study suggests that more of these young adults will have heart disease when they are 30-35 years old, resulting in more hospitalizations, medical procedures, need for chronic medications, missed work days and shortened life expectancy."

Using computer modeling, the researchers projected that up to 37 percent of men and 44 percent of women who will be 35 in the year 2020 will be obese, based on the numbers of teenagers who were overweight in 2000.

These young adults are expected to have more heart attacks, more chronic chest pain and more premature deaths before they reach age 50 than previous generations.

The researchers said the lifestyle-driven disaster could increase the number of people with heart disease 16 percent over today's levels by 2035. That's an additional 100,000 cases.

The increase in obesity-related heart disease deaths could shoot up by as much as 19 percent, according to the projections in the study published Wednesday.

"We must recall that we all tend to gain weight as we age, so overweight in adolescents means even higher weights later on," said Lee Goldman, senior author of the paper and dean of Columbia University Medical Center in New York.buyshopgoacousticshopairfindpurfhottoolebuyalphaonlineampwareanim

"Although the general findings of our analysis are not surprising, we were struck by the sheer magnitude of the impact of adolescent obesity and, as a result, how important it is as a public health priority."

Some nine million US adolescents are overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Childhood obesity rates have tripled since the 1970s, and studies show that 80 percent of overweight adolescents become obese adults.

The findings also suggested that aggressive drug treatment would reduce but not eliminate the projected cardiac complications.

 By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON, Associated Press Writer Sun Nov 25, 6:07 AM ET

HOUSTON - A pair of spacewalking astronauts wired the international space station's newest room on Saturday, crossing the last major task off their to-do list before the next shuttle mission early next month.

Harmony will serve as a docking port for a new European laboratory named Columbus. The shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to deliver the lab in two weeks. A Japanese lab set to be delivered early next year also will dock to the school bus-sized module.

Flight controllers on the ground were checking all of Harmony's systems Saturday to make sure the module would be ready to accommodate the new lab.

"It looks good so far," Mission Control told the astronauts as they floated back into the hatch at the end of the spacewalk.

Flight director Derek Hassmann said Harmony's cooling and power systems were up and running, as were its computers. He said it is an "amazing accomplishment" that the station crew got all their work done so quickly with no major mechanical hiccups.

"It's become routine but it's uniformsguide not nearly as easy as this crew and this team makes it look," Hassmann said.

Much of Saturday's work involved lugging a second 18 1/2-foot, 300-pound tray holding fluid lines to Harmony and bolting it down. The lines carry ammonia, a coolant. The astronauts moved and installed another fluid tray on Tuesday.

"Don't rush," Whitson told Tani as they struggled to move the bulky tray. They took turns handling the equipment, with one astronaut passing it to the other and then crawling forward for another hand-off.

"Cool, I can feel the ammonia rushing in," Tani commented after he hooked up one of the fluid lines.

Tani also spent about an hour inspecting a jammed joint that is needed to turn one of the space station's two sets of huge solar wings. The gear has been experiencing electrical current spikes and must be repaired over the coming months to continue station construction.

Last month, Tani found steel shavings inside the joint while spacewalking during Discovery's visit. He found similar debris on Saturday.

Guided by an engineer on the ground, Tani tennisguide and Whitson took digital pictures of the joint's inner workings and described the debris and damage they could see. Most of the shavings were concentrated in one area, Tani said, and nearly everything else was covered with a fine dust.

The area of the joint that Tani uncovered will remain exposed so astronauts can shoot video of it later.

The space station's three residents have been working almost nonstop since Discovery's departure on Nov. 5. This was their third spacewalk and the last planned before Atlantis arrives.

The American spacewalkers' toolsguide Russian crewmate, Yuri Malenchenko, remained in the station during Saturday's outing.

Atlantis is scheduled to blast off on Dec. 6.

 BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese leaders hailed images sent back from the country's first lunar satellite on Monday, saying they showed their nation had thrust itself into the front ranks of global technological powers.

"The full success of our country's first lunar exploration mission is helping to turn the Chinese nation's 1,000-year old dream of reaching the moon a reality," Wen said.

State television showed the orbiter broadcasting into space transportationguide "The East is Red," the Communist Party's old anthem to a rising China, when Wen visited. The revolutionary tune was also broadcast by China's first satellite in 1970.

The picture on the Xinhua Web site (www.xinhuanet.com) showed a patch of grey moon surface splotched with craters.

Even as hundreds of millions of Chinese struggle in rural hardship, the ruling Communist Party is committed to clambering into the select ranks of global space powers, and Chang'e 1's journey has been accompanied by a stream of patriotic propaganda.

In 2003, China became only the third country to put a man into space using its own rocket after the former Soviet Union and the United States. It then sent two astronauts on a five-day flight on its Shenzhou VI rocket in October 2005.

China plans to launch its third manned rocket, Shenzhou VII, into space in October 2008 and may send an astronaut on a space walk, a Shanghai paper said.

But a space official downplayed plans to put a man on the moon.

"There are no plans at the moment to send anyone on to the moon. I've heard of foreign reports which say China will put a man on the moon by 2020, but I don't know of such a plan," said Sun Laiyan, head of the China National Space Administration.

"Please don't give us any more pressure. But I'm confident one day we'll put an astronaut on the moon," he told a news conference.

The official China Daily newspaper said triathlonguide last month China planned to put a man on the moon "within 15 years."

Wen said the probe's success showed the world that "the Chinese people have the will, confidence and ability to constantly compose fine new chapters as we scale the peaks of modern science and technology."

"The Chinese nation is fully able to stand tall among the world's ranks of advanced nations."

But other Asian powers have also announced plans to make a stake on the moon. And fears of potential military rivalry in space with the United States have mounted since China blew up one of its own weather satellites using a ground-based missile in January.

Japan plans to launch its first mission to land a spacecraft on the moon in the next decade, a feat so far achieved only by the former Soviet Union and the United States.

The Chang'e 1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket on October 24 from the southwestern province of Sichuan.

 JAKARTA (AFP) - A strong earthquake of 6.7-magnitude struck off Sumbawa island in southeastern Indonesia early Monday, injuring at least 17 people and prompting a tsunami warning that was later lifted, officials said.

The earthquake, which hit at 12:02 am (1602 GMT), occurred 44 kilometres (27 miles) west of Raba and 349 kilometres (217 miles) east of Denpasar, Bali, at a depth of 30 kilometres (19 miles), the USGS said.

"The hospital is treating 17 injured people, most of them wounded from collapsing walls," said Suriyani, an official at the general hospital in Dompu district on Sumbawa.

"Of these two people were seriously injured, with open wounds to the head and broken bones," she told AFP.

Local Metro TV reported that a five-year-old boy had died, but Suriyani said that although she had heard a report of the death no body had arrived at the hospital and she could not confirm the fatality.

She said those injured had come from Monta village, about five kilometres from the hospital.

The quake and an aftershock of 5.0-magnitude that struck just over an hour later caused panic at a hospital in Raba town, about 50 kilometres from Dompu. Its 300 patients were evacuated twice but there were no reports of casualties in the area, a worker said.

"All the patients in the hospital rushed to the opentoysguide  air outside, they felt the quake quite strongly," Nining told AFP.

"There was panic but I have heard no reports of damage," she added.

The Indonesian meteorological agency said a tsunami warning was issued, though for technical reasons it was not sent as usual by text message to media.

"There were some problems with the technical equipment and the quake was read as being on land, when actually is was undersea. The threat has already been lifted," agency official Ali Imron told AFP.

Earlier another official had told AFP no warning was issued.

The quake was felt on the nearby islands of Lombok and Bali.

"I felt the shake for almost one minute," east Lombok resident Hariono told the radio station, which also said the quake was felt in South Sulawesi.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered tradingcards Asian tsunami in December 2004, which killed 168,000 people in Aceh province alone.