At this point, most of us generally have a clue about the basics of staying in good health—eat well, exercise, don’t drink too much and don’t smoke. And plenty of research has been dedicated to exploring how failing on any of those fronts, or even more than one at a time, can be detrimental to overall health. Yet, for many people,
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A new study combining DNA barcoding and mercury analysis finds that, mercury content in tuna sushi told in supermarkets and restaurants varies by species, and that, in some cases, exceeds recommended amounts. The study, published online today in the journal Biology Letters was based on 100 samples of both akami (lean red tuna) and toro
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While applauding the First Lady’s efforts to combat childhood obesity through the Let’s Move initiative, researchers from the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco say that the campaign’s efforts focused primarily on behavioral and nutritional intervention—in school or at home—will yield “limited
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Despite the widely held belief—promoted by the World Health Organization and U.S. public health organizations for two decades—that eating more fruit and veggies can diminish cancer risk, a large scale study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds that getting a daily five servings of apples, tomatoes and leafy
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To analyze how portion sizes have changed, not just in the last two decades, but in the last millennium, the director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab and his brother, a biblical scholar at Virginia Wesleyan College, sized up portion sizes in paintings of the Last Supper over time, according to an article published earlier
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For middle-aged women who aren’t counting calories, how much exercise does it take to keep off extra weight? According to a new study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, roughly an hour per day. Though current recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services suggest that a weekly 150
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A provision included in the more than 2,000 pages that make up the recently passed health care bill will expand a policy of putting calorie counts on chain restaurant menus, the Wall Street Journal health blog points out. Currently a handful of cities and counties across the U.S.—including New York City, and Washington state’s King
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A natural fiber found in seaweed may reduce the body’s fat absorption by as much as 75%, according to findings presented this past weekend at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco. As part of a three-year research project funded by the U.K.’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council researchers Iain
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The BBC News Magazine reports this week on a growing trend of people relying on convenience foods such as pre-chopped carrots and onions, instead of buying the raw ingredients and doing the prep work themselves. As writer Finlo Rohrer reports, popular U.K. supermarket chain Waitrose released figures showing a 40% increase in the last
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A recent study examining the potential impact of sin taxes—increasing the cost of junk food, in particular—as a means to promote healthier choices found that, in a lab setting at least, when unhealthy foods cost more, people tended to eat them less. Now, new research attempts to size up the value of sin taxes in the real world. A
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As part of a broader effort to shed their unhealthy food reputation, in Australia and New Zealand McDonald’s is teaming up with Weight Watchers to market some menu items as healthy options that fit into the diet program’s points system, the Telegraph reported last week. The collaboration means that McDonald menus will bear the Weight …
Public health officials grappling with the obesity epidemic have debated a wide range of approaches to helping slim the American waistline. To some degree, everything from building more sidewalks to banning chocolate milk has been explored. Yet few tactics have been as polarizing as the possibility of introducing tariffs on treats.
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Grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandchildren, right? All of those extra treats and indulgences that Mom and Dad would say no to are often fair game when they’re coming from Nana or Grampy. Yet, while that may be a harmless occasional policy, when Granny and Pops are full-time childcare providers, it can be a recipe for
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