A study in the Journal of the American Medical Society, reviewing CDC figures, says that obesity has leveled off. Though it's based on data I accept as credible, I do have to say that what I see at the mall, at a ballgame, or at the airport, I still see a lot of overweight people. Maybe I'm just looking for them, based on my sensitivities.

But what made me want to comment is this:

But for the Democracy Institute, a free market think tank, the new data in the JAMA exposes the myth of the obesity epidemic.

The second annual conference on "Promising Practices in Food Addiction Recovery" will be at the end of the month in Houston. The focus this year will be on assessment — refining how the standards measures of addiction can be recognized in problem eaters.

Sponsors include Kay Sheppard, Renaissance Nutrition Center, Turning Point of Tampa, Shades of Hope Treatment Center of Texas, Milestones Eating Disorders Program of Miami, and ACORN Food Dependency Recovery Services of Sarasota. Essentially, these are the, uh, heavyweights of food addiction treatment.

Yeah, OK, so I've been MIA forever, and probably, that's likely to continue. Georgie's family leave ends today, and I'll be finally taking on the full reality of what I set out to do when I left the Globe almost three years ago — be the full-time caregiver for my child. (His name is Joe; you can view photos here if you want.)

More than a hundred hardy people huddled together for warmth and solidarity in a frigid downtown Boston Friday night to declare their support for a strong and binding climate agreement, whose prospects are being discussed these days in Copenhagen.

"This has been a true expression of the deep sense of betrayal many [blanks] feel about [blank]'s lack of effective action on climate change," said Georgina Woods, spokesperson for the demonstration. "We voted for this government so they would stand up to the big polluters, and lead the world on dealing with the impending climate crisis."

"Instead, [blank] has perfected a marvellous line in greenwash, the polluters are getting taxpayer handouts and under the legislation currently before the Senate, [blank] will not have to cut domestic emissions one jot."

Author and activist Bill McKibben [above] wasn’t only preaching to the choir when he addressed the annual meeting Sunday of the Mass. Climate Action Network, he was among the adoring.

I received this over the transom, and am happy to pass it along. I know no one personally who has reached out to ABA, but I do know people who have gotten help from food-related 12 Step groups, and I could not endorse them more strongly.

When I think of ecotourism, I think of jungles and rain forests. Get in, get out, leave as little trace as possible.

Don'tcha hate people who say that? Yeah, me too, but it doesn't make me not one of those people sometimes. Anyway...

I don't have much time — I'm between feedings for my son, Joseph Fulton Prager, who was born about 22 hours ago — but I wanted to note that the so-called "Smart Choices" program, which was devised by the food industry allegedly to allow quick-glance assurance that a certain food product was based on sound nutrition, had suspended its labeling activity because the feds said they were intending to investigate programs like theirs.

With 5,600 events spread over 180 countries, there has been no end to the reports on what transpired at the climate-change rallies instigated by 350.org on Saturday . I've seen a half dozen just in my in-box, and many more filled my Facebook windows before my account crapped out (710 friends gone, just like that!).