Parents who watch television with their children may know what it’s like to cringe at the sight of junk food commercials. However, a recent study shows that both advertising and parents can influence what children want to eat.

First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative put a national spotlight on the importance of teaching children healthy eating and exercise habits. Recent research suggests that the most opportune time to instruct kids on the subject may be in preschool.

Alaskan Eskimo populations have rates of obesity similar to those found among people who live in other areas of the United States. However, excess body fat may not increase their risk of developing weight-related diseases as it does for the rest of Americans, according to a recent study that was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests eating foods with added sugar may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers at Emory University analyzed United States government nutritional data and blood lipid levels in more than 6,000 adult men and women between 1999 and 2006.

A new report published by the European Commission has dispelled notions about obesity being predominantly a problem in the United States. The research shows that 50.1 percent of adults within European Union countries, and one in seven children, are overweight, according to Medical News Today.

A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics has shown that, from 1999 to 2006, there was an increase of 119 percent in hospitalizations of children under the age of 12 with eating disorders, according to TodaysTHV.com.

Obesity may not just be a difficult health issue, it may also be a problem of perception. Healthday News reports that a recent study has shown that almost 25 percent of women who are overweight believe that they have an average figure.

A new report that studied over 1,000 children has found that those who are overweight may suffer from poorer mental health than their peers, according to The Province.

Some reports have claimed that obesity has peaked in the United States, at 34 percent of the population, but a team of researchers at Harvard University have recently discovered that this may not be the case, according to Reuters.

A five-year study conducted at the University of Aberdeen has found that a poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle choices can double an individual’s risk of oral cancer, which was found to be particularly prevalent in young people, according to The Times of India.