The Weekly Skinny: All the healthy news you need (9-11-09)






What do you think it would take to help get kids moving? Maybe some "wild" movie characters? FatFighterTV has a look at this story and other diet and fitness headlines making news this week.

"Wild Things" unleashed to fight childhood obesity

In June, it was all about athletic seals helping to get kids moving. Now, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hopes characters from the classic "Where the Wild Things Are" can help fight childhood overweight and obesity. You'll soon see and hear new ads with characters and scenes from the movie, which comes out next month. The campaign promotes the benefits of exercise and encourages children to move and play every day.

New nutrition labels praise sugary cereals - Seriously???

About a year ago, I told you about these new Smart Choices nutrition labels designed to make it easier for us to spot healthier foods. Now, I'm starting to think they're a bad idea. The green check mark has been showing up on hundreds of packages of foods including sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops!

Before it can be considered for the Smart Choices program, every product must meet criteria for nutrients to limit, based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For added sugars, that's a maximum of 25 percent of total calories. So, does this really make Froot Loops and other sugary cereals a "smart choice"… or just another marketing gimmick?

Food prices falling
Remember when the costs for ingredients and fuel were so high, food makers raised their prices or shrank package sizes to make up for it? Now, we may finally see a little relief from the higher prices. A new report shows retailers are dropping prices to pass along savings from lower ingredient and gasoline costs. You should start seeing a drop in the cost of dairy, meat, fruits, vegetables and bread.

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[photo credit: Getty Images]