A research article examining the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) and Palatable Motives Eating Scale (PEMS) has concluded that together these tools “offer a rigorous way to evaluate whether an addictive process contributes to certain eating disorders, such as obesity and binge eating.” Jose Manuel Lerma-Cabrera, et al., “Food addiction as a new piece of the obesity framework,” Nutrition Journal, January 2016. Summarizing various “food addiction” studies, the authors posit that these models suggest “certain highly processed foods can have a high addictive potential and may be responsible for some cases of obesity and eating disorders.” In particular, the article notes that despite the evidence for food addiction, “it is highly unlikely that all foods have addictive potential.” It claims that manufacturers “have designed processed foods by adding sugar, salt, or fat, which can maximize the reinforcing properties of traditional foods (fruits, vegetables). The high palatability (hedonic value) that this…
Tag Archives obesity
Plain food packaging for snack foods decreases purchase intention and brand perception but increases actual consumption among some consumers, according to French and Belgian researchers. Carolina O.C. Werle, et al., “Is plain food packaging plain wrong? Plain packaging increases unhealthy snack intake among males,” Food Quality and Preference, December 2015. Billed as the first to examine “the impact of plain packaging on consumers’ perceptions and actual consumption of unhealthy food items,” the study used brand- and plain-packaged M&M’s® to explore the effects of plain packaging on (i) product and brand attitudes as well as the intention to consume an unhealthy snack, (ii) food intake once consumers have sampled the product, and (iii) food intake when plain packaging is combined with low-fat claims. The results evidently indicate plain food packaging “negatively impacts product and brand attitudes as well as intention to consume an unhealthy snack when consumers only evaluate the packaging.”…
The University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has conducted a study assessing public support for policies and laws that would prohibit discrimination based on weight. Rebecca M. Puhl, et al., “Potential Policies and Laws to Prohibit Weight Discrimination: Public Views from 4 Countries,” The Milbank Quarterly, December 2015. In an online survey, the researchers questioned 2,866 adults in the United States, Canada, Australia and Iceland about their opinions on several policy measures related to weight discrimination, including (i) “adding body weight to existing civil rights statutes,” (ii) “extending disability protections to persons with obesity,” and (iii) “instituting legal measures to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees because of body weight.” The propositions with the most support referred to protection of employees from discriminatory practices in hiring and wage determinations. A majority of respondents in the United States and Canada supported the inclusion of weight discrimination in…
U.K. medical journal The Lancet has announced establishment of a Commission on Obesity “to provide a multidisciplinary platform to contribute to accounting systems for action and to critically analyze the systemic drivers of, and solutions for, obesity.” The 22-member commission is a partnership among The Lancet, University of Auckland, George Washington University, and World Obesity Foundation. The commission’s activities will reportedly build upon various U.N. initiatives targeting obesity and aim to “stimulate action and strengthen accountability systems for the implementation of agreed recommendations to reduce obesity and its related inequalities at global and national levels” and “develop new understandings of the underlying systems that are driving obesity,” among other things. The group’s first meeting is scheduled for February 2016 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. See The Lancet, October 31, 2015. Issue 583
A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) report on Mexico’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax has concluded that “strong advocacy work, scientific evidence, and knowledge of the political context can be important facilitators to policy change that promotes obesity prevention and control.” The case study highlights the strategies used by civil society organizations, public interest lobbyists, health and government officials, and other SSB-tax proponents to (i) build coalitions, (ii) persuade legislators to support the initiative, (iii) generate media attention, and (iv) leverage the perspectives of national and international experts. In particular, it notes that successful advocacy campaigns must “understand the political context to capitalize on windows of opportunity.” “Overall, it is essential that policy proponents know the political context—the system’s structure and the needs of political actors—to act on opportunities that could promote public health goals within broader government pursuits and reforms,” notes the report. “Regardless of the underlying…
Public health advocates from around the United States will convene in San Diego, California, on June 29-July 2, 2015, for the 8th Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference. The “Marketing to Kids” track of the two-day event will include a mini-plenary session titled “Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages for Public Health: What Have We Learned from the Mexico, Berkeley and San Francisco Initiatives”; “Effective Marketing to Build Public Support to Curb Unhealthy Food Marketing to Children”; and “Would You Eat 91 Cubes of Sugar: A Look at Several Strategies for Decreasing Consumption of Sugary Drinks.” Other sessions will include “Toward Healthier Diets: Where Non-Governmental Organizations and Industry Clash and Cooperate” and “Warning Labels on Sugary Drinks: Promoting Informed Choices.” Supporters of the event include the California Department of Public Health, California Endowment and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Issue 568
During a May 31, 2015, interview with BBC One’s “The Andrew Marr Show,” National Health Service (NHS) England Chief Executive Simon Stevens called on industry stakeholders to reduce the amount of sugar in food and beverage products. In particular, he claimed that “one in three of our teenagers are drinking high-energy, sugary drinks,” urging “responsible retailers [and] food producers” to reformulate their products as they once did to reduce salt content. “We’ve done very well in terms of cutting smoking and teenage pregnancy and drink driving,” Stevens was quoted as saying. “But the new smoking is obesity. One in five cancer deaths is now caused by obesity.” See Press Association, May 31, 2015. Issue 567
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a “non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment,” has issued an analysis of more than 250 foods that identifies which of the products’ cans are lined with bisphenol A (BPA) as well as an online petition imploring consumers to encourage companies to stop using BPA-based epoxy resins in can linings. “The biggest problem is that people have no reliable way of knowing whether they are buying food that is laced with this toxic chemical,” an EWG representative was quoted as saying. “Federal regulations do not require manufacturers to label their products to identify cans with BPA-based linings. … We hope to arm people with the critical information they need to avoid BPA and make smarter shopping decisions.” EWG classifies the food companies mentioned in the survey into four categories of “players,” claiming that 78 brands (“worst” players) use BPA-lined cans for…
A proposed bill (A.B. 1357) that would have imposed a 2-cent per ounce tax on soft drinks, sweet teas, energy and sports drinks has failed to pass the California Assembly Health Committee by a vote of 10-6. “I am disappointed that the committee failed to act today on one of the biggest health crises facing our nation,” said Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), author of the legislation. “Diabetes is now the seventh largest cause of death in the nation. If current trends aren’t reversed, one-in-three children born after 2000—and specifically one-in-two African-American or Hispanic children—are expected to develop type 2 diabetes. The overwhelming view of health experts is that the single most significant cause of obesity and diabetes is overconsumption of sugar.” Revenue generated by the tax would have generated an estimated $3 billion for health, education and wellness programs aimed at reducing the incidence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and…
The World Obesity Federation is convening clinicians, researchers and policymakers in Berlin, Germany, for a June 29-30, 2015, conference titled, “Dietary Sugars, Obesity and Metabolic Disease Risk.” Sessions will include those addressing studies allegedly linking dietary sugars to the development of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and fatty liver disease; global consumption patterns; and policy solutions. Issue 559
