A recent study investigating weight bias in the courtroom has apparently concluded that both the “weight and gender of a defendant may affect juror perceptions of guilt and responsibility.” N. A. Schvey, et al., “The influence of a defendant’s body weight on perceptions of guilt,” International Journal of Obesity, January 2013. The study relied on responses from 471 lean and overweight adults “who read a vignette describing a case of check fraud while viewing one of four images (a lean male, a lean female, an obese male or an obese female)” and then “rated the defendant’s culpability on a 5-point Likert scale and completed measures of anti-fat attitudes.” According to the study, “male participants judged the obese female defendant as significantly guiltier than the lean female defendant,” although female respondents “judged the two female defendants equally regardless of body weight.” Lean male participants also apparently believed that “the obese female defendant…
Category Archives Issue 467
New research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reportedly indicates that the number of emergency room (ER) visits involving energy drinks has doubled nationwide—from about 10,000 to more than 20,000—from 2007 to 2011. The statistics were gathered through the Drug Abuse Warning Network. “Consumption of energy drinks is a rising public health problem because medical and behavioral problems can result from excessive caffeine intake,” according to the report. “A growing body of scientific evidence documents harmful health effects of energy drinks, particularly for children, adolescents and young adults.” Among other things, the report also indicated that people ages 18 to 25 accounted for the largest group of ER patients, and men accounted for about two-thirds of those treated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reportedly considering the findings in its broad review of the safety of energy drinks this spring. See The DAWN Report: Update on Emergency…
Research based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase Three has reportedly linked fast food consumption to asthma and eczema severity in kids. Philippa Ellwood, et al., “Do fast foods cause asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema? Global findings from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase Three,” Thorax, January 2013. Analyzing data from more than 319,000 13- to 14-year-old adolescents in 51 countries and more than 181,000 6- to 7-year-old children in 31 countries, the study evidently relied on written questionnaires that asked participants about their asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema symptoms, as well as their dietary habits. In addition to “a potential protective effect on severe asthma… associated with consumption of fruit ≥3 times per week,” the results allegedly found that children and adolescents who consumed fast food three or more times per week had an increased risk of severe asthma, severe rhinoconjunctivitis…
A recent study has reportedly claimed that low exposures of a bisphenol A (BPA) alternative known as bisphenol S (BPS) also disrupt estrogen, raising questions about the chemical’s impact on human health. Rene Vinas and Cheryl Watson, “Bisphenol S Disrupts Estradiol Induced Nongenomic Signaling in Rat Pituitary Cell Line: Effects on Cell Functions,” Environmental Health Perspectives, January 2013. University of Texas researchers apparently sought to “characterize the non-genomic activities of BPS” at low doses by examining how it mimics “the effects of physiologic estrogens via membrane-bound estrogen receptors” in rat pituitary cells, “alone and together with the physiologic estrogen estradiol (E2).” The results evidently showed that, like BPA, BPS “disrupts membrane-initiated E2-induced cell signaling, leading to altered cell proliferation, cell death, and PRL [prolactin] release.” According to the study’s authors, BPS has replaced BPA in some thermal papers and plastics because it is “less likely to leach from plastic containers with…
Wall Street Journal columnist Carl Bialik recently authored two related articles questioning whether body mass index (BMI) is a reliable data point insofar as it “lumps together all body mass, including bone, muscle and beneficial fat, rather than singling out the more dangerous abdominal fat, which most researchers see as the real threat to health.” In particular, Bialik focuses on a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report finding that out of 2.9 million people involved in 97 studies, those participants whose BMI classified them as overweight had a 6 percent lower risk of death than those classified as normal weight. But Bialik notes that several scientists have since criticized the results of CDC’s report, partly because threshold BMIs in the mid-to-high 20s tend to paint “a wide range of body types… with the same brush.” He adds that Pennington Biomedical Research Center Executive Director Steven Heymsfield,…
A recent survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC) indicates that even though Americans apparently understand many of the reasons behind increasing rates of obesity and the alleged link between obesity and chronic health conditions, people are split on their support for government policies that would affect consumers’ food and beverage choices. “The American public has clearly gotten the message about obesity as a major public health issue, including its connection to other major health problems,” said Trevor Tompson, director of the AP-NORC Center. “What is less clear is consensus about how to address the issue and a surprising number of overweight people who are not told by their physicians that it is an issue that needs attention.” For example, one-third of those surveyed said the government should be deeply involved in finding ways to curb obesity, while a similar proportion wanted little or no…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has released its 2013 “Xtreme Eating” report, which singled out restaurant foods that are allegedly laden with excessive calories, fat and sodium. Claiming that some restaurants seem to “scientifically engineer[] these extreme meals with the express purpose of promoting obesity, diabetes, and heart disease,” the report condemns menu items from The Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano’s Little Italy and other retailers that in some cases purportedly contain as much as “four-and-a-half days’ worth” of recommended fat and more than a day’s worth of recommended calories. “I hope the Obama Administration promptly finalizes overdue calorie labeling rules for chain restaurants,” said CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson. “Not only do Americans deserve to know what they’re eating, but, as our Xtreme Eating ‘winners’ clearly indicate, lives are at stake. And perhaps when calories become mandatory on menus, chains will begin innovating in a healthier direction,…
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published the results of a recent poll asking readers whether governments should regulate sugar-sweetened beverages. After presenting two arguments for and against government regulation, the poll received 1,290 votes from readers in 75 countries, with 68 percent of voters favoring “regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages to help reduce the burden of obesity.” In particular, the NEJM pollsters noted that the one outlier was the United States, where only 58 percent of voters favored regulation compared to the 84 percent from other countries. “Readers opposed to government regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages pointed out that the problem of obesity involves much more than the excess consumption of sugary drinks and that limitations on portion size or taxes on soft drinks will not alter the fundamental issue—that people need to change the way they live their lives,” concluded the “Clinical Decisions” article, which also included reader…
Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC has filed a complaint in an Illinois federal court against Kellogg and Keebler, claiming that the companies’ cookie packaging infringes resealable food container patents that Kraft owns. Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC v. Kellogg N. Am. Co., No. 13 321 (N.D. Ill., filed January 16, 2013). According to the complaint, the infringing products involve the defendants’ Keebler Sandies® line of products, including shortbread, pecan shortbread and dark chocolate almond cookies. Kraft alleges that it informed the defendants of the infringement during an August 2012 meeting, but despite that knowledge, “Defendants continue to commit acts of infringement.” Kraft seeks injunctive relief, destruction of infringing products, an accounting, damages, a determination that the case is “exceptional,” attorney’s fees, costs, and interest.
A New York resident has filed a putative nationwide class action against the company that makes Red Bull energy drinks, alleging that the product does not, as advertised, “give you wings,” that is, provide more benefit than a cup of coffee. Careathers v. Red Bull GMBH, No. 12-369 (S.D.N.Y., filed January 16, 2013). According to the complaint, the defendants allegedly base their claims that the product will “significantly improve a consumer’s physiological and mental performance beyond what a simple cup of coffee or caffeine pill would do” on scientific studies. The plaintiff claims, “there is no genuine scientific research and there are no scientifically reliable studies in existence that support the extraordinary claims of Defendants.” The complaint outlines the beverage’s history and development, beginning as tonic created in Thailand in the 1980s, and cites research that analyzed energy drink ingredients and concluded, “With the exception of some weak evidence for…
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