Focusing on recent research into food addiction, a review article published in the Journal of Adolescent Health discusses “the need for multilevel interventions that go beyond simple behavioral approaches” in low- and middle-income counties (LMICs) with increasing adolescent obesity rates. Albert Lee and Susannah Gibbs, “Neurobiology of Food Addiction and Adolescent Obesity Prevention in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” Journal of Adolescent Health, January 2013. The article argues that “advances in the understanding of neurobiology may provide important guidance in shaping how obesity is addressed in LMICs,” where changes in global food production have prompted many consumers to shift “from consuming meals prepared at home to consuming mass-produced processed foods that are high in sugar, salt, and artificial ingredients.” Citing numerous studies that have investigated the neurobiology of food addiction and its alleged similarities to substance abuse, the authors ultimately credit the current body of literature with suggesting that “lifestyle- or willpower-based models…
Category Archives Issue 468
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers recently published a study claiming that consumers found it easier to compare food items with singleserving or dual-column nutrition facts (NF) labels as opposed to the NF labels currently in use. Lando and Lo, “Single-LargerPortion-Size and Dual-Column Nutrition Labeling May Help Consumers Make More Healthful Food Choices,” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, February 2013. Scientists with FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition apparently asked 9,482 adults to determine the healthfulness of a single product or compare the nutrition information on two products using one of the following NF configurations: (i) a single-column format listing two servings per container; (ii) a dual-column format listing two servings per container, with one column showing NFs per serving and one column showing NFs per container; and (iii) a single-column format listing a larger single serving per container. Within each of these formats, “there were…
In an effort to combat marketing to children, a Washington, D.C.-based organic grocer has stopped stocking products whose packaging features cartoon characters from books, movies and TV programs. According to a MOM’s Organic Market news release, products such as Dora the Explorer frozen soybeans will be replaced with alternatives in cartoon-free packaging. “Marketing to children is wrong and should be illegal,” said MOM’s founder and CEO Scott Nash. “Advertising is a shady game. It focuses on creating a shallow emotional attachment instead of pointing out the merits of a product. Unfortunately, it works—and young children are particularly susceptible.” “Using beloved media characters to sell kids on a particular brand of food is wrong, even if it’s healthy food,” said Susan Linn, Director of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. “Children should not be trained to pick foods based on the cartoon on the box. We congratulate MOM’s for taking…
The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) has issued a position statement on energy drinks (ED) and energy shots (ES), claiming that “given the number of servings of these products that are consumed daily, the rate of adverse events appears low in the population of consumers.” Bill Campell, et al., “International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: energy drinks,” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, January 2013. After analyzing the scientific literature on this topic, ISSN found that “[a]lthough ED and ES contain a number of nutrients that are purported to affect mental and/ or physical performance, the primarily ergogenic nutrients in most ED and ES appear to be carbohydrate and/or caffeine.” The society thus concluded that consuming low-calorie ED “10-60 minutes before exercise can improve mental focus, alertness, anaerobic performance, and/or endurance performance,” but cautioned that drinking higher-calorie ED during exercise may promote weight gain. At the…
Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia and the National Heart Foundation of Australia have issued recommendations about the sale and availability of sugar-sweetened beverages as well as launched a new public service announcement titled “Rethink Sugary Drinks.” According to a January 17, 2013, press release, the three organizations “have called for immediate action by governments, schools and non-government organizations such as sport centers to tackle one of the key contributors to obesity in Australia—sugary drinks.” In particular, the groups advocate (i) a government-sponsored social marketing campaign “to highlight the health impacts of sugar sweetened beverages consumption and encourage people to reduce their consumption levels”; (ii) a Federal Department of Treasury and Finance investigation “into tax options to increase the price of sugar-sweetened beverages or sugar-sweetened soft drinks, with the aim of changing purchasing habits and achieving healthier diets”; (iii) government restrictions on the marketing of sugar-sweetened beverages to children, “including through schools…
The European biotech firm EuropaBio has published a new report titled “Science Not Fiction: Time to think again about GM” that provides an overview of the debate in Europe over genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). The report urges Europeans to take a new look at evidence for GM safety, to confront some of the “misleading tactics” used by some anti-GM-science campaign groups and to “think again about GM and to discuss how Europe can play its part in reducing the immediate and future stresses facing our life support system—the food chain.” According to a EuropaBio news release, the report “provides insights into the acceptance challenges of the past, the process of re-establishing ‘fact over fear,’ and the role of scientists, policymakers, the food chain, media and other stakeholders over the last 20 years.” Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, director of Agricultural Biotechnology at EuropaBio said, “The scientific consensus on GM crops is even greater than…
In a paper titled “Obesity: Chasing an Elusive Epidemic,” Hastings Center Scholar and President Emeritus Daniel Callahan calls for a combination of measures to stop what he calls “the most difficult and elusive public health problem this country has ever encountered.” Contending that current initiatives have failed to stem the tide, Callahan includes “social pressure on the overweight” as a promising tactic. He apparently attributes his success in quitting smoking to “being shamed and beat upon socially” and thus believes that stigmatization will help people “strongly want to avoid being overweight.” The paper also recommends taxes on sugared drinks and unhealthy processed foods, youth marketing bans, calorie postings in restaurants, and government subsidies for healthy foods to “make a significant difference” on the “supply side.” Callahan’s recommendation to the business community is to create wellness programs for employees while the second prong of his approach targets preventative strategies aimed at…
Food activist and attorney Michele Simon has issued a report that explores the relationship between the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) and corporations such as Kellogg, General Mills, PepsiCo, and Nestlé that make what Simon characterizes as unhealthy food and beverages. Titled “And Now a Word From Our Sponsors: Are America’s Nutrition Professionals in the Pocket of Big Food?,” the January 2013 report examines the level of financial support provided to AND by the largest U.S. food manufacturers since 2001. According to Simon, the companies provide numerous speakers for courses needed by dietitians to maintain their professional credentials as well as sponsorships for AND’s meetings, while taking up the most prominent and significant amount of floor space during AND’s annual meeting expo. The report includes a first-person account of Simon’s attendance at one of these meetings, including her dismay that other conference attendees (i) willingly accepted food samples from…
In a long-running dispute between Anheuser-Busch LLC and Budějovický Budvar, národini podnik, the European Union’s (EU’s) General Court has determined that a Czech brewery cannot stop the St. Louis-based company from using the “Bud” mark in a number of EU member nations. Budějovický Budvar, národini podnik v. Anheuser-Busch LLC, Nos. T-225/06 RENV, T-255/06 RENV, T-257/06 RENV, & T 309/06 RENV (Gen. Ct., decided January 22, 2013). The matter was before the court on remand from the Court of Justice. The court found that the Czech brewery’s evidence of sales in France and Austria were so small that the company could not show “trade of a sign of more than mere local significance.” The parties were ordered to pay their own costs.
McDonald’s Corp. and a franchisee that owns a Dearborn, Michigan, restaurant which purported to sell halal chicken products have agreed to settle complaints that some of the products sold to consumers were not prepared according to Islamic law. Ahmed v. Finley’s Mgmt. Co., No. 11-014559-CZ (Wayne Cty. Cir. Ct., Mich., hearing held January 18, 2013). While denying any liability, the defendants will post notices about the settlement in two area restaurants, at area mosques and in several other locations. The settlement amount is $700,000, including attorney’s fees and an incentive award for the plaintiff. The net proceeds will be distributed to a health clinic and to the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. According to plaintiff’s counsel, “McDonald’s from the very beginning stepped up and took this case very seriously. They made it clear they wanted to resolve this. They got ahead of the problem.” See The Washington Post, January…
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