A recent article published in The Lancet: Diabetes & Endocrinology has questioned current nutritional guidelines that permit the substitution of fruit juice for one daily fruit serving, arguing that some fruit juices contain as many calories as other sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Jason Gill and Naveed Sattar, “Fruit juice: just another sugary drink?,” The Lancet: Diabetes & Endocrinology, February 2014. After surveying approximately 2,000 adults “to assess knowledge of sugar content of a range of SSBs, fruit juices, and smoothies,” researchers with the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences reported that participants underestimated the sugar content of fruit juices and smoothies by 48 percent on average while overestimating the sugar content of carbonated drinks by 12 percent on average. The article suggests that many people perceive fruit juices and smoothies to be “low-sugar alternatives” to soda, even though the micronutrient content of these beverages “might not be sufficient…
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
A recent study has reported that although “mean caffeine intake has not increased among children and adolescents in recent years,” “coffee and energy drinks represent a greater proportion of caffeine intake as soda intake has declined.” Amy Branum, et al., “Trends in Caffeine Intake Among U.S. Children and Adolescents,” Pediatrics, February 2014. Using 24-hour dietary recall data obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999- 2010, researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 73 percent of children consumed caffeine on a given day, with soda accounting for the majority of caffeine intake throughout the study period. “However, the proportion of intake attributable to soda declined from 62% in 1999-2000 to 38% in 2009-2010,” said the study’s authors. “Coffee accounted for only 10% of caffeine intake in 1999-2000, but increased significantly to nearly 24% of caffeine intake in 2009-2010… Energy drinks did not exist as…
A recent study has purportedly concluded that adults who consumed more than 21 percent of their daily calories from added sugars (those found in sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, candy, and other processed foods) doubled their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Quanhe Ye et al., “Added Sugar Intake and Cardiovascular Diseases Mortality Among US Adults,” JAMA Internal Medicine, February 2014. Led by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study relied on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1998-1994, 1999-2004 and 2005-2010, which showed that more than 70 percent of adults receive at least 10 percent of their caloric intake from added sugars. The results also allegedly found that, compared to participants who consumed less than 8 percent of calories from added sugar, those who consumed approximately 17-21 percent of calories from added sugar had a 38 percent higher risk of…
A study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization has reported “a strong and positive association between fast food consumption and age-standardized mean BMI [body mass index]” in high-income countries, citing market deregulation as a possible factor in increased fast food consumption. Roberto De Vogli, et al., “The influence of market deregulation on fast food consumption and body mass index: a cross-national time series analysis, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, February 2014. In addition to analyzing data on fast food consumption and age-standardized BMI from 25 high-income countries, researchers apparently used the index of economic freedom (IEF) created by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal to gauge the extent of market deregulation policies adopted by each country. According to the results, the average number of annual fast food transactions per capita increased from 26.61 to 32.76 between 1999 and 2008, while age-standardized mean BMI increased…
Weill Cornell Medical College scientists have reportedly presented an abstract at the 2014 American Society for Microbiology (AMS) Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting, positing that “multiple sclerosis [MS] may be triggered by a toxin produced by common foodborne bacteria.” According to a January 28, 2014, AMS press release, “MS is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system characterized by blood brain (BBB) permeability and demyelination, a process in which the insulating myelin sheaths of neurons are damaged,” although the environmental factors that activate the disease in genetically susceptible individuals is not yet known. Now researchers have purportedly found evidence that the epsilon toxin produced by certain strains of Clostridium perfringens not only causes BBB permeability but kills “the brain’s myelin producing cells, oligodendrocytes; the same cells that die in MS lesions.” “We also show that epsilon toxin targets other cells types associated with MS inflammation such as the…
A recent report published in the journal Appetite has allegedly concluded that “the same kinds of impulsive behavior that lead some people to abuse alcohol and other drugs may also be an important contributor to an unhealthy relationship with food.” Cara Murphy, et al., “Interrelationships among impulsive personality traits, food addiction, and Body Mass Index,” Appetite, January 2014. According to a January 24, 2014, press release, University of Georgia researchers apparently “used two different scales, the Yale Food Addiction Scale and the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, to determine levels of food addiction and impulsivity among the 223 participants,” and “then compared these results with each participant’s body mass index.” Their findings evidently showed that individuals “who reported acting more rashly when experiencing strong levels of positive (Positive Urgency) and negative (Negative Urgency) emotions, endorsed more symptoms of addictive eating,” while those “who reported more food addiction symptoms indicated that they…
A recent study has reportedly documented “for the first time in a large, US-based population of women” the prevalence of food addiction in middle-aged and older women. Alan Flint, et al., “Food addiction scale measurement in 2 cohorts of middle-aged and older women,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2014. Authored by Harvard School of Public Health research scientist Alan Flint and Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy Dean Kelly Brownell, as well as researchers from the University of Michigan, Arizona State University, Children’s Hospital Boston, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and Harvard Medical School, the study analyzed dietary data from 134,175 women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS II) in light of a modified Yale Food Addiction Scale. “Overall, 7,839 (5.8%) of the women surveyed met the criteria for food addiction measured by the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale,” stated the study’s…
Researchers with the University of California, San Francisco, have reported that 25 percent of 1,056 online coupons surveyed during a four-week period “were for processed snack foods, candies and desserts,” raising questions about the impact of retailer discounts on dietary patterns. Andrea López & Hilary Seligman, “Online Grocery Store Coupons and Unhealthy Foods, United States,” Preventing Chronic Disease, January 2014. According to the study, which reviewed all online coupons weekly from six retail grocery chains across the United States, the largest percentage of available coupons was for processed snack foods (25 percent), followed by prepared meals (14 percent), beverages (12 percent) and cereals (11 percent). While less than 1 percent of coupons were for fruits or beverages, more than 50 percent of the total beverage coupons were for sodas, juices and sports/energy drinks. “Our data are consistent with previous research showing that grocery stores infrequently promote foods that support a…
University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health researchers have apparently assessed the “subgroup-specific effects of fast food price changes on fast food consumption and cardiometabolic outcomes,” reporting greater sensitivity to fast food price changes among sociodemographic groups with a disproportionate burden of chronic disease. Katie Meyer, et al., “Sociodemographic Differences in Fast Food Price Sensitivity,” JAMA Internal Medicine, January 2014. Using data from 5,115 participants enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study, which included food-frequency questionnaires as well as clinical measures such as body mass index (BMI) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance scores, the study’s authors determined that, over 20 years of follow-up, “fast food price was inversely associated with frequency of fast food consumption, with greater price sensitivity among blacks, as compared with whites, and among others with lower educational attainment.” In addition, the results suggested that “fast food price was…
A recent study examining national trends in school nutrition environments has reportedly concluded that “most U.S. elementary, middle and high school students attend schools where they are exposed to commercial efforts aimed at obtaining food or beverage sales or developing brand recognition and loyalty for future sales.” Yvonne Terry-McElrath, et al., “Commercialism in US Elementary and Secondary School Nutrition Environments: Trends from 2007 to 2012,” JAMA Pediatrics, January 2014. Relying on data from two parallel surveys of school administrators—the Food and Fitness study for elementary schools and the Youth, Education and Society study for middle and high schools—that were conducted by the Bridging the Gap program between 2007 and 2012, University of Michigan researchers measured student exposure to (i) “exclusive beverage contracts and associated incentives, profits and advertising”; (ii) “corporate food vending and associated incentives and profits”; (iii) “posters/advertisements for soft drinks, fast food, or candy”; (iv) “use of food…
