A study examining the health effects of soft drink consumption in 10 European countries reportedly found that both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages are associated with greater all-cause mortality. Mullee et al., "Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries," JAMA Internal Medicine, September 3, 2019. The researchers assessed dietary intake of 451,743 participants and apparently found a correlation between consuming two or more soft drinks per day and higher rates of mortality from circulatory, digestive and neurodegenerative diseases.
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
A U.K. modeling study has apparently found that a 20% tax on foods with high levels of sugar could reduce rates of obesity more than taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Scheelbeek et al., "Potential impact on prevalence of obesity in the UK of a 20% price increase in high sugar snacks: modelling study," BMJ, September 4, 2019. The study model predicted the effects of a 20% price increase on "three categories of high sugar snacks: confectionery (including chocolate), [cookies], and cakes." The model reportedly showed that the price increase would cause average Body Mass Index numbers for U.K. residents to decrease by 0.53. "This change could reduce the UK prevalence of obesity by 2.7 percentage points," the researchers assert.
French researchers have published a study in BMJ purportedly finding that the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) "was significantly associated with the risk of overall cancer" while the "consumption of artificially sweetened beverages was not associated with the risk of cancer." Chazelas et al., "Sugary drink consumption and risk of cancer: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort," BMJ, July 10, 2019. The researchers tracked the SSB consumption—including soft drinks, syrups, juices, hot beverages, sports drinks and energy drinks—of 101,257 participants through "repeated 24 hour dietary records" for periods between five and nine years. The results apparently showed that an increased consumption of 100% fruit juice "was positively associated with overall cancer rate" while the "association between sugar sweetened soda specifically and cancer rate was borderline non-significant." BMJ also published an opinion piece responding to Boris Johnson's assertion that he may review the effectiveness of U.K. SSB and other "stealth sin" taxes…
A study published in a BMJ journal has purportedly found that foods marketed to children in the United Kingdom frequently contain health and nutrition claims that mislead consumers into believing that the products are healthful. Garcia et al., "Confused health and nutrition claims in food marketing to children could adversely affect food choice and increase risk of obesity," Archives of Disease in Childhood, April 4, 2019. The researchers categorized marketing claims on 332 products and reportedly found that some claims were unsubstantiated, including 75 percent of "one of 5-a-day" fruit or vegetable content claims. The researchers concluded that uniform guidance would help consumers navigate the nutritional quality of food products.
Researchers in Circulation reported finding a correlation between a higher risk of total mortality in American adults and regular consumption of SSBs. Malik et al., "Long-Term Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Mortality in US Adults," Circulation, March 18, 2019. "Consumption of SSBs was positively associated with mortality primarily through [cardiovascular disease] mortality and showed a graded association with dose," the researchers concluded.
Swiss researchers have reportedly found that cheese exposed to hip-hop music during production had enhanced flavors compared to cheese exposed to opera, rock, techno or ambient music. The researchers apparently used mini-transmitters to "conduct the energy of the music" into nine 22-pound wheels of Emmental cheese. The wheels were separated and exposed to music by hip-hop collective A Tribe Called Quest, rock group Led Zeppelin, Mozart's "Magic Flute," techno artist Vril and "dark ambient" artist Yello along with soundwaves at high, medium and low frequencies. The hip-hop sample "was the strongest of these in terms of smell and taste," the researchers reported. The taste tests were reportedly conducted twice and yielded approximately the same results. "The differences were very clear, in term of texture, taste, the appearance, there was really something very different,” one taste-test judge told Reuters.
A study in Nature Human Behavior has reportedly found that Americans who oppose the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) believe themselves to be highly informed on the subject but lack knowledge of it. Fernbach et al., "Extreme opponents of genetically modified foods know the least but think they know the most," Nature Human Behavior, January 14, 2019. A survey of 501 Americans asked true/false questions about GMO technology and asked participants about their willingness to eat GMO foods, likelihood of participation in protests against them and belief in the necessity of GMO regulation. The researchers reportedly found that "as extremity of opposition to and concern about genetically modified foods increases, objective knowledge about science and genetics decreases, but perceived understanding of genetically modified foods increases."
A review of 56 observational studies and controlled trials has reportedly found "no compelling evidence" that non-sugar sweeteners (NSSs) cause positive or negative health effects. Toews et al., "Association between intake of non-sugar sweeteners and health outcomes: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials and observational studies," BMJ, January 2, 2019. Some of the studies included in the review showed minor benefits to promoting weight loss, while others found minor increases in blood glucose levels for subjects who consumed artificial sweeteners; the researchers found the evidence on both contentions to be weak when compared to similar studies. "For most outcomes, there seemed to be no statistically or clinically relevant difference between NSS intake versus no intake, or between different doses of NSSs," the researchers concluded. "No evidence was seen for health benefits from NSSs and potential harms could not be excluded."
A Pew Research Center poll has reportedly found that Americans are "of two minds about food additives" because about half "say the average person faces a serious health risk from food additives over their lifetime (51%) while the other half believes the average person is exposed to potentially threatening additives in such small amounts that there is no serious risk (48%)." The poll also found that 49 percent of respondents believed genetically modified (GM) foods to be "worse for one's health than non-GM foods, while 44% say such foods are neither better nor worse and 5% say they are better for one's health." Pew reports that it found "an inverse relationship between how much people know about science generally, based on a nine-item index of factual knowledge, and their beliefs about the health risk of foods with additives as well as GM foods. People with low science knowledge tend to…
The North Carolina Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program has reportedly found that children can be exposed to elevated levels of lead through consumption of spices and herbal remedies. Angelon-Gaetz et al., "Lead in Spices, Herbal Remedies, and Ceremonial Powders Sampled from Home Investigations for Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels - North Carolina, 2011-2018," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The researchers examined North Carolina counties that showed an increase of the number of children with blood lead levels "much higher than most children's levels," per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards. The researchers reportedly found that 28.8 percent of spice samples taken from 59 homes showed lead levels of more than one milligram per kilogram. "Increasing testing of spices, herbal remedies, and ceremonial powders for heavy metals by food safety regulators at the port of entry when these substances are imported into the…
