Kim Kardashian and her famous curves star in a new ad campaign for Carl's Jr. The reality star is promoting the fast food chain's salads, which she told People magazine "are healthy," which, she said, "fits what I'm about right now."

Well, we hate to break it to you, but that's only partially accurate. For starters, the reality TV star said she used diet pills to lose weight and even promotes Quick Trim. As for the salads, the Charbroiled Chicken Salad is not a terrible choice, weighing in with 250 calories, 9 g fat, 75 mg cholesterol and 590 mg sodium (before adding dressing), and the Side Salad barely counts with just 50 calories and 2.5 g fat. However, there's another option that's much, much worse: The Green Burrito Taco Salad.

Click on the video below to get a sneak peak of Kim Kardashian's sultry Carl's Jr. commercial. Story continues below the video.



This salad contains a whopping 970 calories, 58 g fat (19 of those being saturated), 75 mg cholesterol and 1850 mg sodium. And yes, most people probably know that, by its very nature, a taco salad is never the healthiest salad option. However, when Kim said, "The salads are healthy," you'd think there would be more than one diet-friendly meal option (one and a half, if you count the little side salad as a meal).

Thanks to the popularity of things like Facebook, Playstation and TiVo, it's pretty obvious that teenagers today are getting less physical activity than they were a few decades ago. Or is it? Recent findings from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found that teenagers today are definitely heavier than they were 20 years ago, but they're still getting about the same amount of physical activity. Which means, then, that a lack of exercise isn't to blame for the staggering levels of obesity in young adults today.

Of course, if obesity isn't caused by a reduction of calories being burned off, the only other logical explanation is that it's caused by an increase in the calories being consumed -- we're getting just as much activity as we did before, but it's simply not enough to make up for all the extra food we're consuming. In fact, other experts argue that the surge in obesity levels in youngsters is caused by food alone -- exercise habits don't even factor into the equation.

Hey, nobody's saying that exercise isn't important -- it's definitely an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. But when it comes to obesity levels in teenagers, it seems the problem starts at the dinner table, not the couch.

Many people are also pointing fingers at school lunches -- students in Chicago can fill up on nachos five days a week.

The addition of calorie counts to menu boards at fast food restaurants in NYC has been generally regarded as a controversial-yet-monumental step in conquering obesity -- so it's a little bit disappointing that a study recently found that they don't actually work in low income neighborhoods.

The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, found that only half of the 1,156 consumers questioned actually noticed the nutritional information, and of those, only a quarter said that it made a difference in their food choices. That's not all -- the researchers charted data from both before and after the labeling scheme was introduced and found that the average amount of calories consumed by each patron actually went slightly up.

"We did not find evidence in our sample that menu labeling influenced the total number of calories purchased at the population level," concluded lead author Brian Elbel, adding "menu labels may need to be coupled with additional policy approaches."

But NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is standing by the decision to include calorie counts on menus. "At least the public has information and that's the government's job -- to make sure that the public has information," Reuters reported him saying. Still, at the end of the day, it's up to each of us to make the right choice for our health.

So, should calorie counts be on menus in other places, too, or should we just cut our loses?

Baby, it's cold outside! Think twice about how you choose to warm up.

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If you missed our daily postings this past week, we invite you to take some time to catch up on our prior week's news and gear up for a new week of healthy living information and inspiration.

The Freshman 15 is closer to the Freshman six to nine. (That's not an excuse to bong another beer.) It's a lot less fun taking pounds off than putting them on, so keep an eye on that weight gain either way.

Did you win the MOTOROKR S-9 Wireless Headset from the Fit Beauty Giveaway? Check back next week to find out!

Fitz has a workout routine that will having you saying bye-bye to back fat once and for all.

Eating lunch out today? Try one of these options for a meal that's under 400 calories.

Stephanie Hobbs lost 44 pounds! Find out more about how she did it.

Kate Winslet insecure? Not exactly, but find out why she said, 'Once a fat kid, always a fat kid.'

'Tis the season ... for apple cider. How many calories are in your mug?

Snacking after your workout? Find out why you might want to wait.

Have a great week everyone!

If you're a frequent fast-food flyer or a vending machine junkie, chances are you're drinking lots of sugary drinks too. It just makes sense, doesn't it? If you're already eating crap, might as well throw in a crappy beverage too. Not only does this line of reasoning work for you -- it works for your kids too.

In one study, the diets of 1,475 middle school students were analyzed. The kids' schools all housed vending machines stocked with soda and other sweetened drinks. And here's what happened: Researchers found that 66 percent of students reported fast-food restaurant visits and of the 646 who used vending machines, 71 percent purchased sugar-sweetened drinks.

The bottom line, then: Use of vending machines and fast food restaurant visits seem to be associated with sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Does this ring true for you and those around you? If so, you might want to revamp that lifestyle of yours. The gallery below can help you get started.

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There's lots of uproar these days about the state of lunches offered at school. Parents, teachers and even celebs are upset that there aren't healthier options available to kids, and it's mostly blamed on a lack of funds. But according to a report from Newsday.com on kids in Long Island, there's more to it than that: most kids simply don't like eating healthy food.

And while younger kids are held captive to what their parents give them or what the cafeteria serves, older kids are ditching the healthy school meals and heading to nearby fast food restaurants to pick up the junk foods they're craving.

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Here's a small diet tip from none other than mega popstar Beyonce: Skip the drive-thrus. The sensational singer was recently quoted as saying, "I love all the greasy stuff even though I know it's not good for me. I have to be very careful for months on end about what I eat. And then suddenly I will have a moment of weakness and have junk food. I just try and whiz straight past the drive-thrus now because it can be so dangerous."

Maybe too many visits to the drive-thru is the reason she resorted to the lemon juice diet a while ago? Regardless, this is good advice -- drive-thrus are way too convenient and way too unhealthy. Keeping your fast food indulgences to a minimum is an effective, easy and inexpensive way to keep the numbers on the scale down.

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Over at AOL Health, they're talking about fast food. But it's not what you think -- while most health fiends will tell you to avoid fast food at all costs, they're giving you the downlow on what the best fast food choices are. Check them out -- maybe your favourite on-the-go meal made the list. In the meantime, we're wondering ...

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According to General Mills, sales are up significantly on some popular brands, including baking goods, yogurt, soups, cereal and snack products. Some experts think this is a strong indicator that people are eating out less and opting to enjoy their meals at home instead.

Why do you think this is? If you ask me, there are a couple of factors at play:

• A drop in the economy coupled with rising fuel costs leaves less money in the bank for luxuries like eating out, OR
  
• Perhaps people are wising up and realizing that picking up their meals from a fast food restaurant is doing them no favours health-wise.

I have nothing against the occasional meal out with family or friends, but let's be honest -- cooking your meals at home is the only way to ensure that you're getting the healthiest, most nutritious meals possible. Your thoughts?

(via Diet Blog)

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Everyone knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Not only does a well-rounded breakfast give you the fuel you need to start the day, it'll also help you keep your daily calorie load down. But breakfast, especially if it's fast food, can be especially sinful.

The authors of Eat This, Not That recently lined up the worst of the worst when it comes to breakfast food. There aren't too many surprises; did anyone actually think that McDonald's deluxe breakfast was a healthy choice for any meal of the day? But looking over the fat, salt, and calorie content is a good reminder that one meal can equal nearly all the calories you should take in in an entire day if you aren't careful.



So what should you be eating for breakfast? According to a recent study, there's no reason to skimp. Obese women who ate a hearty, well-rounded breakfast of high-quality protein and whole grains lost significantly more weight than women who ate a smaller breakfast. Whatever you choose, avoid refined grains and added sugars.

What's your favorite healthy breakfast?

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Think about it: What form of technology has made the single biggest impact in the lives of children over the past 100 years? Computers have revolutionized the world, but I suspect television has made the biggest impact on young people, particularly because they are a captive audience subjected to clever and manipulative advertising that is targeted specifically at them. As such, it's believed that TV advertising is one of the top causes of ever-rising childhood obesity.

This revelation has caused Mark Scott, the Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corp, to push back against kid-targeted advertising, and he's calling for a commercial-free Children's channel to be developed down under.

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At any kind of restaurant or fast food chain where you have a choice of what size beverage to order, what do you usually end up choosing? According to statistics, most people land right in the middle, not the largest option but not the smallest either. Everything in moderation, right?

Not if the fast food chains can help it! They want you to order the biggest, baddest of everything and they're don't have any scruples against using tricks to get you to do it. For example they've figured out that by simply calling a medium a "small," a large a "medium," and creating a new, even bigger "large" size they get people to order more -- i.e. they keep ordering the middle size, which is of course, bigger (and more expensive).

Ugh, I'm so sick of fast food chain games.

Via psfk

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I remember back when I was in high school (what my son would call the "olden days"). When my friends and I finally scored drivers licenses and cheap used cars, we smelled freedom. Almost every day we'd escape the school's cafeteria and go out to lunch. We wouldn't go home or bring healthy, packed lunches to an off-campus spot to eat. Instead, we'd hit one of the fast-food joints downtown. It was a terrible habit to get into -- unhealthy and expensive.

Not too many years from now, my son will have the same freedom. We live practically next door to the local junior high and high school. I hope, when he has the freedom to leave school grounds at lunch, he opts to come home more often than not. I'd rather have him leave fast-food as an occasional treat, and choose healthful foods more regularly. (Though, if he brings home several teenage friends for lunch, my grocery bills will skyrocket!)

I just read an article which proves that students going out to lunch is a health decision parents and schools worry about around the globe. Short of preventing high school students from leaving the school campus, all we can do is teach our kids the importance of good nutrition from a young age. Then, hopefully, when they're old enough to do so, they make good choices.

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Healthy fast food? Could there really be such a thing? A West Hollywood restaurant in California called O!burger seems to think so, and they're not talking cold sub sandwiches either. Burgers, fries, and shakes make up a good part of their menu, along with veggie burgers, yogurt smoothies, and salads.

Their main claim to fame (and health) is that they're 100% organic and striving to be eco-friendly in every way they can. They do have a healthy sounding veggie burger made of spinach and corn, but no mention of fat grams or calories. Is being organic enough to make such a broad claim like "healthy?" Unfortunately I don't live in the area and can't go try it for myself but if you do then give it a shot and let us know what you think!

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