August 15, 2011, Los Angeles Times, Jeannune Stein
Just how many calories in that eggplant parmigiana? In 2012, when restaurant labeling becomes the law of the land as part of healthcare reform legislation, diners will be in for some surprises. The law requires restaurants and retail food businesses with 20 or more locations to list calorie content for standard items on menus and menu boards. Drive-throughs are included, but movie theaters are exempt. Beyond calories, more detailed nutritional information — such as sodium, saturated fat or cholesterol content — must be …

August 12, 2011, The Jakarta Post
As many nutrition-deficiency illnesses starts during pregnancy and childhood, WHO officers said women were the key to preventing future malnourished generations.
Francesco Branca, the director of nutrition for health and development at the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), said on Tuesday that many different nutritional challenges such as low birth weight, stunted growth and micro-nutrient deficiencies among children began during pregnancy and neonatal periods.
“We cannot solve nutrition problems in one night. If you want to prepare for the next generation, you have to act through young …

August 10, 2011, Boston Globe, Deborah Kotz
The seven-year-old policy restricting the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in Boston Public Schools appears to be paying off: Consumption dropped among high school students from 1.7 servings a day on average in 2004 to 1.4 servings a day in 2006, according to a new study by Harvard researchers.
They calculated that this 3.8 ounce decline in sugary beverages added up to a drop in calorie consumption of about 45 calories per day. While the researchers did not track changes in the students’ body mass index, …

August 9, 2011, Viet Nam News, Phuong Ngo
 A war against nutrition was re-raged by international health officials yesterday in Colombo, Srilanka amidst growing concern over the losing public interest on both underweight and overweight people– a double burden to most countries across the globe.
Nutritional risk factors are responsible for 3.9 million deaths globally in children under the age of 5 each year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) – the key host to the three-day Bi-regional Meeting on Scaling up Nutrition.
The meeting, gathered health experts and policy-makers from 19 …

August 9, 2011, Health Day
As parents prepare to send their children back to school, they need to remember that nutrition is an important factor in academic performance, an expert advises.
Studies have shown that children who eat healthy, balanced breakfasts and lunches are more alert throughout the school day and also earn higher marks than those who have an unhealthy diet, says Mary Pat Alfaro, clinical manager of the division of nutrition therapy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, in a center news release.
A healthy breakfast includes a variety of foods …

August 8, 2011,  WalesOnline, Madeleine Brindley
We know that too much salt isn’t good for us, but we’re still eating far more than we need. Health Editor Madeleine Brindley looks at our ongoing love affair with salt and what it’s doing to our health
EVERY time television chef Rick Stein adds a generous handful of salt, he tells the camera crew the salt police won’t like it.
While it’s debatable whether the salt police actually exist, there’s certainly been a high profile and ongoing campaign to gradually cut the amount of salt we …

July 14, 2011, New York Times, William Neuman
Are Goldfish crackers junk food?
Under proposed new nutritional guidelines, the federal government says yes, and it does not want food like the crackers advertised to children because they contain too much saturated fat and salt and are made from white flour.
But food makers say the fish-shaped treats, made by Campbell Soup’s Pepperidge Farm division, belong on a list of healthful foods that are fine to market to children.
The seeming tempest in a fishbowl is typical of a growing tug of war as government …

Associated Press, July 9, 2011 (Boston Herald)
Massachusetts health officials are set to approve what could be some of the toughest school nutrition standards in the country.
The Public Health Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday to consider the changes that would apply to all food sold or provided at school a la carte lines, vending machines, school stores, events, and fundraisers during the school day.
Health officials said the regulations will meet or exceed the strongest standards in the nation, and could improve the eating habits of a million Massachusetts public school …

June 22, 2011, Boston Globe, By Deborah Kotz and Neena Satija
Cigarette packages will soon be splashed with horror-movie-style warning labels showing corpses, diseased lungs, and rotted teeth, which were among nine new images unveiled yesterday by the Food and Drug Administration. By September 2012, cigarette manufacturers will be required to place these images across the top half of every pack, with large-type warnings such as “smoking can kill you’’ and “cigarettes are addictive.’’
The new images will replace the small white warning boxes that have adorned cigarette packages unchanged for …

June 22, 2011, April Fulton, NPR
For some of us, the regular trudge to the grocery store is a trial all by itself. But consumers trying to make healthier choices are often left scratching their heads in wonder at the sheer volume of food products with claims about less fat and more whole grain.
When first mom and food maven Michelle Obama called for some clearer guidance last year, the food industry proposed a simple, front-of-package label called Nutrition Keys. It has boxes with information on saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories, …