Researchers at Texas A&M International University enrolled 75 children aged 3 to 5 years into an experiment and divided them into two groups to watch cartoons. One group's cartoons included commercials for French fries, while the other featured ads for apples. At the end of the cartoon, the children were asked to pick a coupon that would get them either of the foods that were advertised. Parents were told to help their child decide – half of them pushed for the apples, and the other half stayed neutral.

More than 70 percent of subjects who saw commercials for fries chose that option if their parents remained neutral, but that proportion decreased to 55 percent if their parents suggested apples. About 46 percent of kids who saw ads for apples still wanted fries if their parents were neutral, and that number went down to 33 percent if the parents goaded them the other way.

"Children were clearly influenced by the commercials they saw; however, parents are not powerless," said author Christopher Ferguson. Instead of focusing on bans of commercials for junk food, people may want to support advertising for healthy food, he added.

A review of childcare practices and states' regulations around the U.S., published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, reveals different areas for improvement in regards to encouraging healthy living for children.

The study shows that because individual states are largely responsible for regulating their own childcare policies, standards and practices can vary widely across the country. While some state laws have diet/exercise guidelines that may differ from those advocated by public health experts, other states have no guidelines for their preschools at all. Overall, the review concluded that there should be improvements to the nutritional quality of food served to preschoolers, time allotted for physical activity, and taking advantage of teaching opportunities in class.

"The majority of U.S. parents depend on childcare providers to support the development of healthful behaviors by providing their young children with nutritious foods and regular physical activity…Significant improvements in the eating and activity behaviors of preschool children will likely depend on the combined strength of interventions and supportive policy changes," said lead author Nicole Larson, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., Research Associate in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota.

The researchers said they believe that elevated levels of fish consumption among Eskimos is the reason for this inconsistency. They previously established that Yup'ik Eskimos who live in Alaska eat 20 times more omega-3 fatty acids than residents who live in the lower 48 states.

Obesity can cause changes in the levels of proteins and triglycerides in a person's blood, which may contribute to heart disease or diabetes.

Tests showed that obese participants who had high blood content of omega-3 fatty acids had levels of C-reactive protein and triglycerides that were similar to those found in normal-weight individuals.

"The new finding was that obesity did not increase these risk factors among study participants with high blood levels of omega-3 fats," senior study author Alan Krista, Dr.PH., said.

The researchers said they believe that the healthy acids found in seafood have a protective effect against obesity-related conditions.

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. The study subjects were divided into five groups according to the amount of added sugar and caloric sweeteners they consumed daily. Individuals in the highest-consuming group consumed an average of 46 teaspoons (tsp) of added sugars per day. The lowest-consuming group consumed an average of only about 3 tsp daily.

They found that people who consumed more added sugar were more likely to have higher cardiovascular disease risk factors, including higher triglyceride levels and higher ratios of triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good cholesterol.

Researchers say total consumption of sugar in the U.S. has increased substantially in recent decades, largely due to an increased intake of added sugars in processed foods and beverages.

"It would be important for long-term health for people to start looking at how much added sugar they’re getting and finding ways to reduce that," said the study’s co-author, Miriam Vos, M.D., in an online health report. "A diet based of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean meats will be low in added sugars."

Data also reveals that obesity rates for the 27 countries in the EU has doubled over the past 20 years and the study authors suggest that there is no evidence that indicates the rate is going to slow down in the coming years.

Some of the problems may be found in the sedentary lifestyle led by many European children. Only 20 percent exercise regularly and there seems to be a marked decrease in physical activity between the ages of 11 and 15.

This means that many children are at risk for health conditions caused by weight problems and researchers also noted that this change may lead to significant costs to healthcare systems.

Yahoo.com reports that one effective way to drop unwanted pounds is to stock up on slimming foods and have them for snacks. Melons, fat-free yogurt, vegetables and lean meats should be emphasized in place of sugary and fatty foods.

"They've not been consuming enough calories to compensate for what they're body needs based on energy levels and that sort of thing," Dr. Tracie Pasold, director of the Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, told the news source.

These kinds of unhealthy eating habits can cause heart problems that, in turn, lead to trips to the emergency room.

The report also highlighted a growing prevalence of eating disorders among young males. Pasold speculates that they may be trying to add muscle mass, but are following incorrect weight-gaining strategies. In fact, she thinks that the country's anti-obesity campaign has been the cause for many problems in young people who aren't eating correctly.

It will be difficult for the nation to balance these two ideals without worsening the obesity epidemic – a team of researchers at Harvard University has estimated that the overweight population of the United States will grow to 42 percent in the next 40 years, according to Reuters.

The findings seemed to be correlated with different ethnicities as well – African American and Hispanic women downplayed their weight more often, while many Caucasians worried about their body.

The real problem appears to be that many individuals gauge their body weight by their peers.

"If you go somewhere, you see all the overweight people that think they are normal even though they're overweight," study lead author Mahbubur Rahman told the news provider.

He and his colleagues determined that, overall, 30 percent of heavier Americans believe that their weight is normal. Additionally, 70 percent of those who classify as obese believe they are just overweight and 39 percent of the morbidly obese consider themselves overweight as well.

Diet is one of the most important factors in losing weight. Reader's Digest states that one can eat healthier food without sacrificing taste by eating seafood, such as lobster or salmon.

These issues had a wide range of consequences, from mental to emotional.

One-third of children who were normal weight were found to have sleeping problems, while 48 percent of overweight youngsters had the problem. Headaches were another common discomfort for obese kids, affecting 43 percent of the group.

Overweight children even appeared to be more prone to anger and fighting than their peers.

"There are some good data out there that show connections between stress and being overweight," Kathryn Henderson, a clinical psychologist, told the news provider.

One of the other noticeable trends was that obese children generally resorted to eating when they felt overwhelmed, while other kids tried to manage their stress with sports. However, both groups had one thing in common – they were prone to a sedentary lifestyle in front of a screen.

Parents may want to encourage children to go outdoors by participating in fun activities with them. A leisurely bike ride or hike can make for a fun day for the whole family, according to FamilyEducation.com.

The study observed the factors and influences that led to overweight individuals and concluded that the rate of obesity may slowly climb to 42 percent over the next 40 years.

One of the largest factors was found in the kind of company an individual kept – having an overweight friend increased one's chance of gaining weight by over 50 percent.

The trend didn't seem to be true when reversed.

"We didn't find having more healthy-weight friends made it more likely to help people lose weight. It fits in with this idea of thinking about it as an infectious disease. You don't really catch healthiness," graduate student Alison Hill told the news provider.

She added that public policies could help solve the problem. Currently, medical conditions due to obesity account for $147 billion a year.

Those looking to lose weight may want to keep slimming foods in their fridge, such as melons, fat-free yogurt, vegetables, and turkey, Yahoo.com reports. Drinking eight glasses of water a day can also have a significant impact on weight loss.

A total of 350 patients with upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) cancers were examined over the period of the study, in addition to 400 healthy participants.

Nearly 9 in 10 of the diagnosed cancers were determined to have been caused by alcohol, smoking and a lack of vegetables in the patient's diet.

Gary Macfarlane, the lead author of the study, noted that the their work was meant to determine whether these factors or genetics play a larger role in the development of cancer.

He added that these findings are meant to promote awareness about the dangerous effects that smoking, drinking alcohol and a poor diet can have on individuals of all ages.

GreenFacts.org states that alcohol consumption has been linked to over 60 diseases, some of the most dangerous of which include lip, tongue esophagus, throat and liver cancer, as well as heart disease.