It’s the perennial conundrum of many personal weight-loss and diet goals writ large: Kids are eating better and engaging in more physical activity, but pound-for-pound, they aren’t quite achieving the desired results.

Teenagers are exercising more, consuming less sugar and eating more fruits and vegetables, a trend that may be contributing to a leveling off of obesity rates, a new study shows.

The findings suggest that aggressive anti-obesity messages aimed at children may be starting to make a difference, albeit a small one. The study was published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday.

The Latino population is now the fastest growing immigrant population in the U.S.; it’s also far from the healthiest. In Los Angeles, (where I, a Latino cardiothoracic surgeon, have lived and practiced for decades) 60 percent of Latinos are overweight and 40 percent are obese. To look at just one subgroup nationwide, Mexican American women are 40 percent more likely than non-Hispanic women to be overweight, according to 2010 data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month creates the opportunity to reflect on the history and experiences of Hispanic and Latino Coloradans. Colorado has a rich Hispanic heritage with early settlers from Spain and Mexico establishing strong roots and thriving communities across the state in our early history.

Beautiful, wonderful, hopeful news is upon us! A new study has just revealed that U.S. teens are showing healthier lifestyle choices, such as eating more fruits and vegetables and engaging in less screen time. However, as awesome as this is, the obesity epidemic is still a problem. Is this an opportunity for a turnaround, or false hop