December 7, 2011
Parents have good reason to worry about the sugar content of children’s breakfast cereals, according to an Environmental Working Group review of 84 popular brands.
Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, at nearly 56 percent sugar by weight, leads the list of the 10 worst children’s cereals, according to EWG’s analysis. In fact, a one-cup serving of the brand packs more sugar than a Hostess Twinkie, and one cup of any of the 44 other children’s cereals has more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies.
In response to the exploding childhood obesity epidemic and aggressive food company …

December 2, 2011, Shreveport Times
Rachel Boogaerts is dispensing a dose of nutrition advice disguised as play to youngsters in Shreveport.
A graduate student at Louisiana Tech University, Boogaerts plans to become a dietitian. She developed a game based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate meal guidelines with help from Deborah Harris, director of the Caddo Parish school system’s child nutrition program. She tested the activity with members of the Physical Activity and Wellness Club at Fairfield Elementary Magnet School in Shreveport.
Teams of Fairfield students raced to build the healthiest plate, …

December 4, 2011, The Star Online, By Dr TEE E SIONG
All stakeholders must collaborate in the prevention of obesity.
THE World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted that obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.6 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese.
Once considered a problem only in high-income countries, the incidence of overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries. It is an ever increasing problem, and worldwide, obesity has more than doubled since 1980.
In 2008, it was …

The Vancouver Sun, December 1, 2011 Sarah Schmidt, Postmedia News
CANADA – The federal government has abruptly stopped testing grocery-store product labels for exaggerated nutrition claims and unproven health claims, Postmedia News has learned.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency put the sampling program “on hold indefinitely due to budgetary constraints” after test results from previous years showed widespread problems with food labels on store shelves, according to internal records released under access to information.
The controversial decision was taken just days before the 2011/12 fiscal year started in April, minutes of a meeting …

AP, Marilynn Marchione, December 1, 2011
It’s true — apple juice can pose a risk to your health. But not necessarily from the trace amounts of arsenic that people are arguing about.
Despite the government’s consideration of new limits on arsenic, nutrition experts say apple juice’s real danger is to waistlines and children’s teeth. Apple juice has few natural nutrients, lots of calories and, in some cases, more sugar than soda has. It trains a child to like very sweet things, displaces better beverages and foods, and adds to the obesity problem, …