July 19th, 2011

A mozzarella stick grilled cheese sandwich? A burger topped with pork belly smoked cheese AND a fried egg?

What will American restaurants not do to entice us to belly up, literally?
Apparently, despite all the warning bells about American obesity, shortened lifespans and soaring health care costs, they won’t tone it down, or help you tone up.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has turned a spotlight on menu trends, discovering that mainstream American eateries continue to roll out over-stuffed, grease-packed new concoctions in an apparent competition to out fat the competition.

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January 31st, 2011

Eat your veggies! And, while you’re at it, quit drinking so much soda.

The government’s new dietary guidelines issued today are unequivocal. Americans need to get serious about eating healthier. They need to put more produce on their plates and push out the sugar, saturated fats and sodium that have crept into the American diet in so many ways, via soda, packaged meals and sweet snacks.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (yes, it’s 2011, in case you’re reading in real time) are more explicit than ever, federal officials said, because the nation’s got big obesity issues.

So instead of just urging us to eat 5 to 7 “servings” of fruits and vegetables every day, the mantra of the last adjustment in the food pyramid, these new guidelines tell us to drink water instead of “sugary drinks”, switch to 1 percent milk, and fill half of our plates with fruits and vegetables.

But wait! Don’t overfill that plate. Portion size and exercise also are part of the equation.

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December 15th, 2010

Toys that entice children and their parents to McDonald’s for meals have long been a source of contention between nutritional experts and marketers.

Now a Sacramento mom, with the help of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is taking the case against fast food toys to court, claiming that marketing nutritionally poor meals to kids via toys amounts to fast food chains pulling a fast one.

Monet Parham, mother of Maya, 6, and Lauryn, 2, filed a class action lawsuit today California Superior Court in San Francisco that aims to stop McDonald’s from marketing to her young children.

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October 1st, 2010

Reading Scientific American this week, I became transfixed with a little graphic the editors included at the back of the magazine.
It showed how the number of Americans who are seriously overweight has doubled over the past 30 years. Thirty four percent of Americans are now considered obese (meaning they have a body mass index over 30), compared with 15 percent who met that criteria in 1980.

The number of Americans who are overweight (with a BMI of 25 to 30) has remained almost steady; but that still means that the overweight and the obese together now comprise a hefty 68 percent of the population.

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September 27th, 2010

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, facing criticism that its products are not “All Natural” as it claims on labels, has announced it will drop the use of the term on ice creams and frozen yogurts that contain alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and other processed ingredients.

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August 5th, 2010

If you’ve ever taken a pre-schooler out to eat, you’ll know that toys are a powerful lure. We adults consider appetizers, drinks, entrees, pricing, calories and ambiance, evaluating a matrix that leads us to lunch.
But five-year-olds are at the mercy of their bellies, and the pull of shiny baubles. A five-year-old wants food and treats.

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