The American Academy of Pediatrics has declared one in every three children in the U.S. is overweight or obese. The Center for Disease Control estimates that childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years. Among children aged 6-11 years, the obesity rate increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The impact of this obesity “epidemic” is far reaching. Obese kids are at increased risk for multiple health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, as well as poor self esteem and psychological problems. On Tuesday, First Lady Michelle Obama officially launched "Lets Move", a multi-faceted campaign intended to provide healthier food in schools, encourage children to be physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available to all children. Northfield-based Kraft Foods and the Sara Lee Corporation in Downers Grove are among the 40 companies that officially pledged to support “Lets Move” by promoting healthy eating. more ›

Illinois is now the 27th state to confirm incidents of dog flu, most commonly picked up by dogs confined in close quarters, such as doggy day cares and grooming facilities. more ›

In the category of unstoppable diseases, ten cases of a drug-resistant flu have been diagnosed at a Chicago-area health care facility. The name of the facility has not been released. But the emergence of a flu strain that is not responding to Tamiflu, the most popular front-line anti-viral medication, is causing concern among health officials. more ›