June 17, 2011, ABC news/Medpage Today, Kristina Fiore
Although high school students report drinking plenty of water, milk, and real fruit juice, they still gulp down more sugar-sweetened beverages than is probably good for them, CDC researchers found.
Nearly three-quarters (72.4 percent) of the teens who responded to a national survey said they drank at least one glass of water a day over the preceding seven days, Nancy Brener of the CDC and colleagues reported in the June 17 issue of Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.
Among the 11,429 survey respondents, 42 percent …

The 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 …

Food and Health News, November 13, 2010
Consumption of fructose-rich beverages, such as sugar-sweetened sodas and orange juice is associated with an increased risk of gout among women, although their contribution to the risk of gout in the population is likely modest because of the low incidence rate among women, according to a study that will appear in the November 24 print edition of JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American College of Rheumatology annual scientific meeting.
Gout is a common and …

Reuters, Julie Steenhuysen, November 1, 2010
Despite efforts to limit their availability, public elementary school students in the United States have more outlets to buy unhealthy beverages at school, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Over a three-year period ending in 2009, more students could buy sweetened beverages like sodas, higher-fat milk and sports beverages from vending machines and school stores, they said. Such drinks are a major source of calories, and removing them from schools could help curb the nation’s obesity epidemic.
“Elementary school students are still surrounded by a variety of unhealthy …

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 …

Los Angeles Times, Karen Kaplan, October 26, 2010
High-fructose corn syrup is often singled out as Food Enemy No. 1 because it has become ubiquitous in processed foods over about the last 30 years – a period that coincides with a steep rise in obesity. One of the primary sources of HFCS in the American diet is soda – in fact, many public health advocates refer to soda as “liquid candy.”
That nickname is more apt than advocates realized, according to a study published online this month by the journal Obesity.
Researchers from …

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 …

A new study has found that regular consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a clear and consistently greater risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. According to the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, the study provides empirical evidence that intake of sugary beverages should be limited to reduce risk of these conditions.
The study appears online October 27, 2010, in the journal Diabetes Care and will appear in the November print edition.
“Many previous studies have examined the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of diabetes, …

CSPI, July 15, 2010
Scientists Question Whether Federal Nutrition Assistance Funds Should Be Used to Buy Obesity-Promoting Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

WASHINGTON—The soft drink industry receives a $4 billion subsidy from taxpayers each year, according to aneditorial published today in the American Journal of Public Health.
According to the paper, that’s about how much carbonated soda is purchased with money from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), the program formerly known as Food Stamps. And that total doesn’t include non-carbonated soft drinks. Considering that the overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is helping fuel an epidemic of obesity that …

ShareThe Dietary Guidelines for Americans report 2010 is out! In contrast to some of the advise given in the 2005 version, this one seems to be much more evidence-based and contains some progressive changes in recommendations that are independent of pressures of the major food industries.
I’ve summarized some of the major points below, for more information read the short Excecutive Summary.

SoFAS (added sugars and solid fats) contribute approximately 35 percent of calories to the American diet

Reduce the incidence and prevalence of overweight and obesity of the US population …