Move it!: New research published by LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center and its partner organizations points to a lack of physical activity as the biggest predictor of childhood obesity around the world. The study results appear in the journal Obesity and link a lack of sleep and a lack of physical activity with too much television time as major lifestyle risk factors for childhood obesity. “We know that diet and exercise play significant roles in overall health and weight management, but I was surprised to see that physical activity makes an even bigger impact on children’s weight than we previously thought,” says Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, associate executive director of population science and public health at Pennington Biomedical and one of the study’s authors, in a prepared statement. “This study shows that obesity cannot be explained away by culture, class or status, and these research results reinforce the need for kids to engage in play time and other forms of physical activity each day.” Pennington has more details and a link to the full study.
Defunded: The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals informed Planned Parenthood it is exercising its right to terminate Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid provider agreement, Gov. Bobby Jindal announced this afternoon. The move comes after controversial videos shot by anti-abortion groups posing as fetal tissue middlemen surfaced, prompting many Republicans to call for the defunding of the group. The videos purport to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of tissue from aborted fetuses. It is illegal to profit from the sale of fetal tissue, but it is not illegal for expenses involved in its collection to be reimbursed. “It has become clear that this is not an organization that is worthy of receiving public assistance from the state,” Jindal says in a news release, which has more details on the announcement.
Here’s the plan: Calling it a moral obligation, President Barack Obama unveiled the final version of his plan to dramatically cut emissions from U.S. power plants, as he warned anew that climate change will threaten future generations if left unchecked. Touting the plan at a White House event today, Obama said the unprecedented carbon dioxide limits are “the single most important step” America has ever taken to fight climate change. The Associated Press reports he warned that because the problem is so large, it may become impossible to reverse if the world doesn’t get it right quickly, leaving populations unable to adapt. Opponents immediately announced they would sue the government to stop the rules from taking effect. Read the full story.
