February 13, 2004 Recent News
Here's the skinny: Study finds a 30-year upswing in amount Americans eat
British doctors launch battle on obesity
School cuts out sales of junk food
European Commission grants EUR 11.7 million for obesity and diabetes research
Food for thought over nutrition claims
The FDA takes aim at low-carb labeling
Florida lawmakers seek to protect fast food industry from fat lawsuits
California bill seeks to bar fat food lawsuits
Here's the skinny: Study finds a 30-year upswing in amount Americans eat
A study published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention in Atlanta found that Americans' daily intake of calories has risen over the past 30 years. Between 1971 and 2000, women's daily intake of calories rose 22 percent, to 1,877 calories a day from 1,542, while men's daily intake of calories rose 7 percent, to 2,618 calories a day from 2,450. Most of the increase comes from eating more carbohydrates. The report didn't examine precisely which types of carbohydrates people are eating more of, but data from roughly the same period suggests it may be at least partly due to increased consumption of salty snacks, soft drinks, and pizza, as well as eating out more often and consuming bigger portions.
(Extracted from The Wall Street Journal, 2/6/04)
British doctors launch battle on obesity
The Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of Public Health, and the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, warned that on current trends at least one-third of adults, one-fifth of boys and one-third of girls in Britain would be obese by 2020. New standards in nutritional content, food labeling, and food marketing and promotion should be agreed jointly by the food industry. Also, incentives to encourage the production, promotion and sale of healthier foods should be introduced.
(Extracted from Reuters Health E-Line, 2/11/04)
School cuts out sales of junk food
A secondary school has become the first in Britain to replace the junk food in its vending machines with healthy alternatives. Pupils at Queensbury school in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, said they were pleased that chocolate bars and cans of cola had been replaced with muesli sticks and mineral water.
(Extracted from The Times, 2/4/04)
European Commission grants EUR 11.7 million for obesity and diabetes research
The European Commission's 6th framework program has awarded EUR 11.7 million to a large project on obesity and type 2 diabetes research. Twenty-four European institutions, including three companies, are participating in the 5-year-long project. The grant is the largest the European Commission has ever given to obesity and diabetes research and it is currently the largest award in the area of chronic diseases (excluding cancer).
(Extracted from Diabetes Week, 2/2/04)
Food for thought over nutrition claims
Proposed European Union regulation governing nutrition and health claims aim to tighten the rules on what health benefits food companies can boast about on the labels of their products. The only health or nutrition claims that would be acceptable, say the legislation's backers, are those "which can be proven scientifically following an assessment by the European Food Safety Authority."
(Extracted from Financial Times, 2/9/04)
The FDA takes aim at low-carb labeling
The low-carb stir has made its way to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA's Obesity Working Group presented a report on the issue of food labeling, and the FDA plans to recommend labeling requirements aimed at helping consumers understand what "low-carb" means to them. There currently is no definition for low- and reduced-carbohydrate foods as there is for low-fat and low-calorie foods.
(Extracted from Salem Statesman Journal, 2/12/04)
Florida lawmakers seek to protect fast food industry from fat lawsuits
People who blame their supersize waist lines on too many Big Macs, Whoppers or Biggie Fries wouldn't be able to sue the fast food industry for their weight problems under a measure that won unanimous approval from a Florida House panel. The House Judiciary Committee was taking a pre-emptive move because no one is known to have won such a lawsuit in Florida. But people have sued other states to have the industry held liable for the weight-related health effects of their products.
(Extracted from Florida Sun-Sentinel/Associated Press, 2/4/04)
California bill seeks to bar fat food lawsuits
California Assemblyman John Dutra is fed up with fast-food lawsuits and thinks people who eat too much have only themselves to blame for getting fat. Dutra has introduced a bill to deny them a chance to make money from what they eat. Dutra's bill would bar lawsuits on grounds that a food contributed to obesity, provided the food complies with other national regulations.
(Extracted from Reuters Health E-Line, 2/11/04)
