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 …
Diet & Fitness
Would junk food taxes really make people eat better?
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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Grandparent childcare: a risk for childhood obesity?
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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Can chocolate lower your risk for stroke?
While some of the staples of eating healthy are pretty easy to remember—eating balanced meals that include veggies, protein and starch, and eating lots of fiber, not too much sugar and not too much fat—sometimes keeping track of all of the little ways that diet can influence our health can be a challenge. Yet, if there’s one thing
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On the slopes, helmets cut head injury risk by a third
Wearing a helmet when you take to the slopes is commonly considered a good idea, but just how much of a difference does it really make? A big one. According to an analysis published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, for skiers and snowboarders, wearing a helmet reduces the risk of head injury by more than a third. And while,
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Menu calorie counts mean fewer calories for kids
City mandates requiring fast-food and chain restaurants to post calorie counts on menus have had mixed success at actually curbing people’s caloric intake. A study published this past October in the journal Health Affairs for example, found that, while nearly 30% of people said reading calorie counts on menus impacted their choices, when
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Trial run: testing the barefoot running trend
I don’t particularly enjoy running. On the other hand, I don’t particularly enjoy being overweight and out of shape either, so I do it — usually about three times a week, depending on my work schedule and willpower. But over the years I’ve developed chronic soreness in my knees and lower back, which I attribute at least in …
Red-faced from drinking? It could be an evolutionary advantage
Lots of people get flushed in the face when they feel embarrassed, but for many Asians it’s the facial flush itself that can be embarrassing.
About half of all people of Asian descent share a genetic trait that causes a prompt reddening of the face in response to drinking alcohol — the result of an enzyme deficiency that interferes …
Next on New York’s health agenda: curbing salt intake
In recent years New York City has earned a reputation for ambitious—and some argue, overreaching—efforts to improve its’ citizens health. In 2006, the city’s Board of Health voted to ban trans fats in restaurant cooking. Two years later, they mandated that any restaurants with 15 or more chain locations post calorie content in their
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Does that smokey flavor come with a health cost?
Additives used to give meats, cheeses and other foods a “smokey flavor” may pose a health risk, according to initial results of an investigation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Officials researched the effect of 11 different smoke flavorings—which are added to food products, as opposed to flavor incorporated through
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Cut back TV time, burn more calories
It may seem obvious that spending less time lounging on the couch may help burn more calories, but a team of researchers from the University of Vermont recently confirmed that cutting back daily TV time increases the amount of calories you burn. The study, published last month in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, included 36
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Have another cookie, it’s the holidays! Why our eating habits vary on weekends and special occasions
Part of the reason people tend to gain weight around the holidays may have to do with the way that we think about food, and eating, outside of our workweek routines. According to research published in the Fall 2009 issue of the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, our tendency to separate eating habits into different
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Recall of all Slim Fast canned drinks
All Slim Fast canned beverages were recalled at the end of last week, following the discovery of contamination with the microorganism Bacillus cereus. The bacteria, which was discovered during quality testing, can cause diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Unilever, the manufacturer of Slim Fast, alerted the Food and Drug Administration and
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