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 …

Cleveland.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 …

Los 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 …

The Washington Post, Jane Black, October 2, 2010
Every five years the federal government updates its dietary guidelines for Americans. This year, with most Americans overweight or obese and at risk of high blood pressure, policymakers are working to reinvent the familiar food pyramid and develop advice that is simple and blunt enough to help turn the tide.
The food pyramid shown here is the only one with 100% scientific background, made by the Nutrition Department of Harvard School of Public Health, see the thenutritionsource.org for more information.
Although most people do …

ABC, Kim CArollo, Oct 1, 2010
If there were ever a reason to cut back on kids’ consumption of cake, cookies, pizza and soda, nutrition experts say a new study highlights just how unhealthy young people’s diets really are.
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md. analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and found that nearly 40 percent of calories consumed by children ages 2 to 18 were empty calories, the unhealthiest kind of calories.
Obesity Rates Rise in Some States, Fatty Food Abounds Everywhere McDonald’s to …

We’ve all heard the expression, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” And for years, we’ve known that at least in spirit, it’s  somewhat true. Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins and nutritionists say they contain ingredients that can fight off certain illnesses.
Now a new study, published this week in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, finds that eating a diverse diet of veggies and fruit can decrease your risk of developing lung cancer, especially if you are a smoker.
Scientists …

Washington Post, Jane Black,  August 20, 2010
Public health advocates have long yearned to link food assistance to good nutrition. But the question was how? Telling people what to eat is a political no-no – and it’s impractical to boot: How could the government rate which of the 50,000-plus products in a grocery store are healthy? Would Diet Coke pass the test? How about juice drink Sunny Delight?
This week, the USDA took a first crucial step toward finding the answer when it announced details of a $20 million pilot program that …

Richard Knox, NPR, April 6, 2010
In summary, the findings from the EPIC cohort add further evidence that a broad effort to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables will not have a major effect on cancer incidence. Such efforts are still worthwhile because they will reduce risks of cardiovascular disease, and a small benefit for cancer remains possible. Walter Willett, Editorial

Remember the government’s advice to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day to lower your risk of cancer? Well, times change. A huge nine-year study of diet and cancer, …