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TweetThe Atlantic, By Kelly Brownell, Professor of Public Health at Yale University, November , 2010
Food companies have been in a headlong rush to prevent government from enacting policies that would affect sales of items such as sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food. One of their tactics is for the companies to issue pledges to protect children, saying in so many words, “You can trust us to police ourselves so government can back down.”
The marketing of junk food has been the focus of many such pledges. In the U.S., the pledges are …

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Food and Health News, November 13, 2010
In the second paper in The Lancet Series on Chronic Disease and Development, experts show that in the UK everyone eating a healthy diet would deliver big health effects with minimal knock-on effects to domestic agriculture and trade. But in a middle-income country like Brazil, it’s a different story. There, healthier eating (both in Brazil or the UK) could have a major impact on agriculture, trade, and, by definition, jobs. The second paper is by Professor Richard Smith, London School of Hygiene and Tropical …

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TweetFood and Health News, November 13, 2010

In a Comment linked to the Series, federations representing the four priority chronic diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes) say that “If governments and aid agencies continue to ignore this threat, we will sleepwalk into a future in which healthy people will be in a minority, obese and unhealthy children die before their parents, and economic development and already vulnerable health systems are overwhelmed. Non-communicable diseases have no borders or boundaries—they are the world’s number one killer and devastate the bottom …

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TweetThe New York Times, November 10, 2010
Federal drug regulators unveiled 36 proposed warning labels for cigarette packages on Wednesday, including some that are striking pictures of smoking’s effects.
Designed to cover half of a pack’s surface area, the new labels are intended to spur smokers to quit by providing graphic reminders of tobacco’s dangers. The labels are required under a law passed last year that gave the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products for the first time.
The proposed labels include pictures of a man smoking from a …

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TweetThe New York Times, Michael Moss, November 6, 2010
Domino’s Pizza was hurting early last year. Domestic sales had fallen, and a survey of big pizza chain customers left the company tied for the worst tasting pies.
Consumers devoured the cheesier pizza, and sales soared by double digits. “This partnership is clearly working,” Brandon Solano, the Domino’s vice president for brand innovation, said in a statement to The New York Times.
But as healthy as this pizza has been for Domino’s, one slice contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended …

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TweetBBC News, Helen Briggs, November 2, 2010
Forcing food manufacturers to cut salt levels in processed food could help cut heart disease rates, claim Australian researchers.
A theoretical study suggests mandatory salt limits could help reduce heart disease rates by 18% – far more than by using existing voluntary measures.
High-salt diets are linked to high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks or strokes.
Adults are advised to consume a maximum of 6g of salt a day – about a teaspoon.
The study looked at the effectiveness of different strategies around the world …

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The Huffington Post, Gordon Campbell, October 28, 2010
New York City has an obesity problem and it’s hurting our children. Almost 40% of New York City public school children in kindergarten through eighth grade are overweight or obese. Obesity rates are substantially higher in low-income neighborhoods like Harlem and Corona, Queens where the percentages of obese or overweight children are 48% and 51% respectively. It is telling that consumption of sugar-packed drinks is consistently higher in those neighborhoods.
This is why Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson are seeking permission …

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TweetCBC News, October 22, 2010
Canada’s food industry and federal government have developed a guide to help consumers better understand the nutrition labels that have been affixed to food products for 22 years.
Health Canada and Food & Consumer Products of Canada have begun a campaign to help Canadians better read nutrition labels on food. (Health Canada)The Nutrition Facts Education Campaign is a multimedia effort developed by Health Canada and the national industry association Food & Consumer Products of Canada.
Its basic goal is to increase consumer understanding of the information contained in …

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TweetCleveland.com, Evelyn Theiss, October 24, 2010
Move over, trans fat. There’s a new nutritional pariah.
It’s high-fructose corn syrup, a moniker that has become so unappealing that the industry trade group behind it — the Corn Refiners Association — made a bid to the Food and Drug Administration in September to change the name to “corn sugar.”
The group says that “corn sugar” is more accurate, because “high-fructose corn syrup” incorrectly implies that the product, which is used in foods as a sweetener, is high in fructose when actually its proportion of …

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TweetLos Angeles Times, Jeannine Stein, October 19, 2010
Obesity affects many aspects of our society, and the military is no exception. But the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has a solution to slimming down potential recruits: promote vegetarianism.
The committee recently wrote a letter to Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offering free copies of its “Vegetarian Starter Kit.” The group supports “compassionate and effective medical practice, research and health promotion,” according to its website, and is against animal research and testing.
A news release included part of the …