obesity
When you add it up, Americans eat too much
The sunny side of a USDA examination of food consumption is that Americans are eating more fruits and vegetables than they did four decades ago. In fact, they're eating a lot more of everything, except for dairy products — nearly 400 calories a day more — during a period of rising rates of obesity.
The war on sugar: ‘our latest dietary enemy No. 1’
The drive for healthy diets has targeted over-consumption and excess fat in food. "Now, there's a fuill-on war on sugar," says Vox, laying out why the subject is more complicated than it first appears and offering "11 facts to clear up the confusion."
Foundation donates to Philly in fight against soda companies
The Laura and John Arnold Foundation donated $500,000 to the city of Philadelphia to fight the beverage industry, which sued after voters passed a soda tax last November, says Philadelphia Business Journal.
You may not be obese, but you could still be ‘overfat’
Up to 76 percent of the global population of 7.2 billion is "overfat" - a term that a new study published in Frontier Public Health says refers to “a condition of having sufficient excess body fat to impair health.” It includes the 39-49 percent of the global population that qualify as obese, as well as those falling into current standards for normal fat levels.
Worth a look
A roundup of some noteworthy stories from the last few days.
Industry-backed study claims sugar advice is based on weak evidence
A prominent medical journal published what the New York Times called a "scathing attack on global health advice to eat less sugar," arguing that such recommendations were based on weak evidence. Just as quickly, however, critics of the study pointed out that it was biased.
Nestlé revamps the sugar molecule
Starting in 2018, Nestlé candy products will include a newly formulated version of sugar. The innovation will allow the company to lower sugar content 40 percent, says The New York Times. Without divulging exactly how Nestlé changed the traditional sugar molecule, Dr. Stefan Catsicas, the company’s chief technology officer, explained, “It is sugar, but it is assembled differently so it can disassemble easily in your mouth with less going into your gastrointestinal tract."
Soda tax rises again as Massachusetts statehouse issue
Energized by victories in four cities and Illinois' largest county, Massachusetts state Rep. Kay Khan says she will introduce a soda-tax bill when the legislature meets in January, says public broadcaster WBUR-FM. Khan championed the tax in the past but believes this time is different: "I think it does make a difference to see that others are thinking about this, and you're not standing out there alone."
To spur healthy diets, doctors advise grocery shoppers
It's called "Shop with Your Doc," an initiative that stations doctors and nutritionists at supermarkets in Orange County, Calif, "to answer questions and offer advice about healthy eating — all for free," says the Los Angeles Times. Health economic professor Glenn Melnick, of USC, says it's part of an evolution of the healthcare system to try to improve community health.
Obesity rates fall for pre-schoolers in poor families
A study by the CDC and USDA shows that obesity rates among children ages 2-4 who are enrolled in the so-called Women, Infants and Children nutrition program. Rates are down in 31 states, said the Trust for America's Health, but the average of 14.5 percent is still too high.
Cook County gets 1-cent-per-ounce soda tax on a tie-breaking vote
The newest locality to approve a tax on sugary beverages is also the largest — Cook County, home to 5.2 million people including the city of Chicago. The Cook County Board approved the 1-cent-per-ounce tax on a 9-8 vote with board president Toni Preckwinkle breaking a tie, said the Chicago Tribune.
Perfect score: four cities pass soda-tax referendums
Three cities in California's Bay Area — San Francisco, Oakland and Albany — approved 1-cent-per-ounce soda taxes and Boulder, Colo., voted for a 2-cent levy on sugary beverages, marking large, landmark victories for public health campaigners against the beverage industry. Only two years ago, Berkeley, Calif., was the first city in the country to enact a soda tax.
California campus bars sale of sugary beverages
At least 30 medical centers across the nation have restricted the sale of soda and full-calorie energy drinks, a list that includes the Cleveland Clinic, says the New York Times. UC-San Francisco, with a health sciences center, has gone a step farther by stopping sales entirely of sugar-sweetened beverages on its campus and creating the setting to study the impact on people who formerly drank the beverages during the work day.
WHO report backs soda taxes, subsidies for healthy foods
Taxes on sugary beverages are a tool for reducing obesity and chronic disease such as diabetes, says a WHO report that also advocates subsidies to encourage people to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Prevalence of obesity worldwide has doubled since 1980 and now includes more than half a billion adults, while 39 percent of adults are overweight.
Three sectors to watch in general-election results
The 2016 general election can be split into sectors of interest for food and agriculture issues: state referendums on agricultural issues; four municipal referendums on soda taxes, and three House races in which the food movement targeted Republican incumbents.
An Election-Day test for Big Ag and Big Soda
The farm lobby has a reputation for punching above its weight when it comes to federal policy, while the beverage industry usually has prevailed easily in arguments over soda taxes. Their winning records will be tested in Tuesday's general election, when polls suggest agricultural groups will lose referendums in Massachusetts and Oklahoma.
Big Soda wants Bay Area voters to think soda tax is a grocery tax
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the beverage industry is spending millions to convince voters that the proposed soda tax will raise their grocery prices, not just the cost of sugary drinks, says Bridget Huber in FERN’s latest story, produced with PRI’s The World.
Bernie Sanders takes a pop at soda-tax ads
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders told a soda industry group, in the form of a cease-and-desist letter, to stop using him in its campaign against soda taxes in California's Bay Area, says Politico. Sanders says he has not taken a position on referendums in San Francisco and Oakland and it is "false" and "misleading" for the American Beverage Association to feature him in advertising.
CDC: High obesity rates in 23 states
New population data show that in 23 of the 50 states, at least 35 percent of adults are obese, a startling increase in a decade, said the Centers for Disease Control. Before 2013, adult obesity did not reach these rates in a single state.