Obesity

WASHINGTON -- The ranks of obese Americans are expected to swell even further in the coming years, rising from 36 percent of the adult population today to 42 percent by 2030, experts said Monday.

MORGAN — For the third year in a row, Morgan County is the healthiest county in the state, according to a national report.

The County Health Rankings report, conducted by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, compares counties in a number of categories, including healthy behavior, clinical care and social and economic factors.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Epcot's new Habit Heroes attraction, which tackles childhood obesity, has landed in big fat trouble.

Shortly after its unofficial opening last month, the interactive exhibit was blasted by critics for stigmatizing fat kids. Now, Disney has closed the Innoventions exhibit for "retooling."

Most patrons of fast-food shops are regularly asked if they'd like to "value size" or increase the portions of their meal for a few cents more.

Experts say supersized meals and a "clean plate" culture largely contribute to a national obesity rate among adults greater than 33 percent.

But for a few weeks at a time in 2010, visitors to the Panda Express franchise at Duke University in Durham, N.C., were offered the option of less -- and a surprising number of people took it.

Kids might be at higher risk for obesity if Dad is overweight, a study suggests.

Other studies have shown an association between two overweight parents and higher weight in their children, and weight relationships between fathers and sons and mothers and daughters. Researchers in this study, published in the January issue of the International Journal of Obesity, measured the height and weight of children from 3,285 two-parent families in Australia in 2004, when the children were ages 4 and 5, and again in 2008 when they were ages 8 and 9.

OGDEN -- Utah currently ranks seventh in the nation when it comes to the overall health of its residents, the same spot it held in last year's rankings.

The 22nd annual America's Health Rankings shows Utahns have a lower prevalence of smoking, binge drinking and obesity than other states. In addition, the state has a low rate of preventable hospitalizations, low rates of cancer deaths, cardiovascular deaths, infant mortality and adult diabetes.

The report shows a 10 percent drop in preventable re-hospitalizations among Medicare patients for illnesses such as pneumonia, asthma, congestive heart disease and diabetes.

If your dog or cat looks more like a footstool than an animal, it's time to do something about that excess weight.

There is an epidemic of fat pets in the United States, one that's often unrecognized.