New research claims that the daily consumption of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) during pregnancy is associated with increased infant body mass index (BMI). Meghan Azad, et al., “Association Between Artificially Sweetened Beverage Consumption During Pregnancy and Infant Body Mass Index,” JAMA Pediatrics, May 2016. Using food-frequency questionnaire data from 3,033 mother-infant dyads enrolled in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study, researchers reportedly determined that, when compared to children whose mothers did not consume ASBs during pregnancy, those born to the 5.1 percent of mothers who imbibed ASBs daily were twice as likely to be overweight at age 1. “Infant birth weight was not affected, suggesting that maternal ASB consumption influenced postnatal weight gain rather than fetal growth,” explain the study authors. “These associations were independent of material BMI, diabetes, total energy intake, diet quality, and other known obesity risk factors. No comparable associations were identified for SSB [sugar-sweetened…
Tag Archives obesity
Government agency leaders, industry representatives, academics and public health advocates will gather in Washington, D.C., on June 3 for “Vote Food 2016: Better Food, Better Health.” Organized by the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, event sessions will target the next president’s food agenda, antibiotic resistance in livestock, sugar and obesity, and food insecurity, with the overarching goal of generating a “clear articulation of the range of legal and regulatory solutions [to health issues] available to whoever is elected in 2016.” The O’Neill Institute will later publish the conference proceedings and a related white paper. Issue 603
A study has allegedly linked fast-food consumption to higher urinary phthalate-metabolite levels but not to increased bisphenol A (BPA) levels. Ami Zota, et al., “Recent Fast Food Consumption and Bisphenol A and Phthalates Exposures among the U.S. Population in NHANES, 2003–2010,” Environmental Health Perspectives, April 2016. Using 24-hour dietary recall data obtained from 8,877 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2003- 2010), researchers with George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health apparently “observed evidence of a positive, dose-response relationship between fast food intake and exposure to phthalates.” The study authors report that, compared to participants who did not consume fast food, those who received more than 34 percent of their total energy intake from fast food had 23.8 percent and 39 percent higher levels of metabolites of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (ΣDEHPm) and diisononyl phthalate (DiNPm), respectively. In particular, the data suggested that (i) “fast food-derived…
In this April 7, 2016, article about changing dietary recommendations and rising obesity rates, Ian Leslie resurrects the forgotten work of John Yudkin, a U.K. nutritionist who in 1972 authored a book titled Pure, White, and Deadly about the purported dangers of excess sugar consumption. Drawing parallels between this earlier research and that of contemporary anti-sugar crusader Robert Lustig, Leslie suggests that the scientific community effectively silenced Yudkin when his data came into conflict with the prevailing “fat hypothesis” backed by “brilliant, charismatic, and combative” Ancel Keys, who posited that dietary fat caused heart disease and other metabolic diseases. As Leslie explains, “[The] sharp fluctuations in Yudkin’s stock have had little to do with the scientific method, and a lot to do with the unscientific way in which the field of nutrition has conducted itself over the years. This story, which has begun to emerge in the past decade, has…
“Conflicts between individual choice and collective action underlie many of the most contested and challenging debates relating to health and health care, from the very existence of Obamacare to government responses to the obesity and tobacco epidemics,” according to promotional materials for an April 15, 2016, conference on the campus of Northeastern University in Boston. The event will include sessions titled “The Politics of Public Health”; “Commercial Speech, Individual Responsibility & Health”; and “Addiction.” The “Obesity and Chronic Diseases” roundtable will be moderated by Northeastern Law Professor Richard Daynard, founder of the Public Health Advocacy Institute’s Center for Public Health Litigation, which “uses the civil justice system to improve public health by focusing on litigation targeting tobacco industry products, unhealthy foods, deceptive health marketing, and deceptive gambling practices.” Issue 596
The Canadian Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology has issued a “groundbreaking” report on obesity that calls for a tax on sugar- and artificially-sweetened beverages as well as a ban on advertising food and drink to children. Titled Obesity in Canada: A Whole-of-Society Approach for a Healthier Canada, the March 2016 report also recommends, among other things, (i) “a National Campaign to Combat Obesity,” (ii) “a complete revision of Canada’s food guide to better reflect scientific evidence,” (iii) “a review of nutrition food labelling to make it easier to understand,” and (iv) “a plan for making healthy food more affordable.” “Canada’s dated food guide is no longer effective in providing nutritional guidance to Canadians. Fruit juice, for instance, is presented as a healthy item when it is little more than a soft drink without the bubbles,” notes the report, which summarizes expert testimony given before the committee…
Russian MP Oleg Mikheyev has reportedly asked the government to require “graphic warning labels” on fast-food packaging in an effort to stop the spread of obesity and improve the health of Russian citizens. Mikheyev, who previously proposed a tax on “junk food,” also argued that producers of food products such as potato chips or soft drink be required to include photos of illnesses caused by excessive consumption of those products. “People know that sugar can cause type-2 diabetes, but few of them actually know what the trophic ulcers look like. Same goes for kidney stones that appear because of excessive consumption of salty foods or cholesterol plaques,” Mikheyev reportedly wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Russian politicians have discussed mandatory labeling for fast food and other food products in the past, including in a July 2015 bill that proposed restricting fast-food and alcohol ads. See RT, January…
New research reportedly suggests that belief in food addiction translates into support for obesity-related policies, “even when accounting for the significant associations of age, gender and political party.” Erica Schulte, et al., “Belief in Food Addiction and Obesity-Related Policy Support,” PLoS One, January 2016. Relying on the responses of 200 individuals recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk to answer questions about belief in food addiction and support for 13 obesity-related initiatives, researchers reported that “belief in food addiction and political party both had moderate effect sizes for predicting support for obesity-related policy.” “Historically, the identification of a substance as addictive shifts public perceptions in a manner that increases support for public policies that aim to reduce the negative impact of the substance (e.g., restrictions on marketing, taxation),” the study’s authors noted. “For example, the identification of nicotine as addictive, rather than habit forming, was one of the defining moments that shifted…
The World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) has issued a January 25, 2016, report that recommends, among other things, a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), context-specific dietary guidelines, and “interpretive” front-of-pack labeling. Taking “a life-course approach” that focuses on what it describes as an obesogenic environment, the report urges WHO, member governments and non-state actors to implement specific action items designed to (i) promote intake of healthy foods and reduce intake of unhealthy foods and SSBs among children; (ii) promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviors; (iii) provide guidance on preconception and antenatal care to reduce the risk of childhood obesity; (iv) support healthy diet, sleep and physical activity during childhood; (v) promote healthy school environments, health and nutrition literacy; and (vi) provide family-based lifestyle weight management services. In particular, ECHO singles out food and beverage marketing as “a major issue demanding change that will protect…
The Access to Nutrition Foundation has released its second Access to Nutrition Index® (ATNI), which ranks the 22 largest food and beverage companies on their “contributions to tackling obesity and undernutrition.” According to a concurrent press release, “The 2016 Index concluded that, while some companies have taken positive steps since the last Index, the industry as a whole is moving far too slowly. Scored out of ten on their nutrition-related commitments, practices and levels of disclosure, no company achieved a score of more than 6.4.” Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the 2016 Global Index ranks companies in the following areas: (i) governance, including whether the company has a corporate nutrition strategy; (ii) product formulation and nutrient profiling systems; (iii) efforts to make healthier products accessible to consumers via pricing and distribution; (iv) compliance with marketing practices and policies geared toward general…
