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Nanny nutritionist Carrie Latt told NBC's Later Today that the restaurant industry was largely to blame for the so-called obesity epidemic. "They could feed Third World countries with the portions we get in restaurants. I mean it's seriously out of control. What's interesting is, calories are on the rise, where fat grams have come down. But we're still obese, and it's getting worse and worse every day. A lot of it is the restaurant industry, to be quite honest." Read excerpts from Latt's latest book, "Portion Savvy."

For the first time, nannies have linked a "body count" to new fat taxes. A British study released today claims a whopping 17.5% tax on high-fat food will save 1,000 lives a year. It was met with cheers in Canada, with one academic calling it "a neat way of getting health care money." The USDA voiced preference for other solutions, but labeled the concept "intriguing."

The drumbeat against restaurant portions goes on and on. Once again, restaurants are being blamed for the so-called "obesity epidemic." "Restaurant portions have done so much to contribute to obesity," according to a Cincinnati dietician. Another argues that larger restaurant food portions have distorted people's judgment about what is a reasonable amount of food.

Testifying in favor of Colorado’s proposed “Obesity Prevention Act,” Dr. James Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado, told the Colorado Senate, “We…

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a massive new ten-year information campaign to improve Americans’ health, called “Healthy People 2010.” Among their goals is a…

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala and Surgeon General David A. Satcher will release the Healthy People 2010 initiative final draft tomorrow. Healthy People 2010 contains broad-reaching national health goals for the first decade of the new century. It is evident in preliminary drafts we've obtained that the federal government is going to try to make the case that restaurants are partly to blame for the so-called "obesity epidemic," giving credence to legislative initiatives like those in Colorado. Check back here for full coverage of the release.

Calling obesity “a full blown health crisis and truly a national epidemic,” Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) promoted her “Lifelong Improvements in Food and Exercise Act” at a press conference…