The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an interim report that seeks to identify policy options for mitigating the risk of childhood obesity. Published by WHO’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, the strategy document emphasizes “the importance of a life-course approach to simultaneously address the risk factors for childhood obesity from before conception, through pregnancy and during childhood, as well as the obesogenic environment in which children and adolescents grow and develop.” Among other things, the interim report urges policymakers to “tackle the obesogenic environment” by adopting standardized food labeling schemes and addressing food and beverage marketing to children. “There is unequivocal evidence that unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing is related to childhood obesity,” states the commission. “The increasing number of voluntary efforts by industry and communities suggest that the need for change is widely agreed. Any attempt to tackle childhood obesity should, therefore, include a reduction in exposure…
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Three studies published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism have sought to quantify “the burden of disease and associated costs attributable to EDC [endocrine-disrupting chemical] exposures in the European Union.” Supported by the Endocrine Society, the research responds, in part, to the EU Commission’s request for an impact assessment that addresses the economic implications of restricting, phasing out or authorizing certain EDCs. To this end, the studies discuss the costs associated with EDCs and their alleged link to obesity and diabetes, male reproductive disorders, and neurobehavioral deficits and diseases. Using “the midpoint of each range for probability of causation” by EDCs, a fourth paper estimates the overall median cost of these diseases and disorders at $209 billion annually in Europe. “The primary finding of this manuscript is that there is a substantial probability of very high disease costs across the life span associated with EDC exposure in the EU,” note the authors.…
A series of six articles published online February 18, 2015, by The Lancet reportedly “examines false dichotomies and proposes a reframing of obesity as a consequence of the ‘reciprocal nature of the interaction between the environment and the individual,’ where feedback loops perpetuate food choices and behaviors.” “Our understanding of obesity must be completely reframed if we are to halt and reverse the global obesity epidemic,” Christina Roberts, who co-authored the first article in the series with Kelly Brownell and others, was quoted as saying.“On one hand, we need to acknowledge that individuals bear some responsibility for their health, and on the other hand recognize that today’s food environments exploit people’s biological, psychological, and social and economic vulnerabilities, making it easier for them to eat unhealthy foods.” Among other things, the series’ fourth article, “Child and adolescent obesity: part of a bigger picture,” asserts that the “food industry has a…
The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine is hosting a March 2-3, 2015, workshop in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to discuss the “interplay between environmental exposures and obesity.” Topics of discussion will include the alleged links “between exposure to environmental chemicals and increased incidence of weight gain, glucose intolerance and insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and aspects of metabolic syndrome in animal models and human studies.” March 3 sessions will target the potential roles of antibiotics, high-fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners as well as potential policy solutions to address reducing chemical exposures associated with the development of obesity. Issue 555
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) will reportedly commit $500 million over the next 10 years to intensified efforts ensuring that “all children in the United States—no matter who they are or where they live—can grow up at a healthy weight.” According to a February 5, 2015, news release, the health philanthropy’s new initiatives will focus on developing strategies to reducing the health disparities that contribute to higher rates of obesity among children of color and children living in poverty. “We have made substantial progress, but there is far more to do and we can’t stop now,” said RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey “We all have a role to play in our homes, schools, and neighborhoods to ensure that all kids have healthy food and safe places to play.” RWJF’s stated priorities for the next decade include (i) eliminating sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among 0- to 5-year-olds; (ii) making a…
The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT), an independent group charged with providing counsel to various UK government agencies, is holding a March 18, 2015, symposium in Birmingham about the possible role of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on the development of obesity. The robust agenda will include presentations from UK and Italian experts. See Food Standards Agency News Release, January 28, 2015. Issue 554
A University of California, San Diego, study has reportedly claimed that the brains of obese children “literally light up differently when tasting sugar,” according to a December 11, 2014, press release. Kerri Boutelle, et al., “Increased brain response to appetitive tastes in the insula and amygdala in obese compared to healthy weight children when sated,” International Journal of Obesity, December 2014. Researchers apparently scanned the brains of 10 obese and 13 healthy weight children “while they tasted one-fifth of a teaspoon of water mixed with sucrose (table sugar).” The results evidently showed that the obese children “had heightened activity in the insular cortex and amygdala, regions of the brain involved in perception, emotion, awareness, taste, motivation and reward.” As the lead author explained, “The take-home message is that obese children, compared to healthy weight children, have enhanced responses in their brain to sugar. That we can detect these differences in…
The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has published Sugary Drink FACTS 2014, a report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that targets trends in beverage advertising to children. Claiming that companies spent $866 million on advertising for sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) in 2013, the report argues that even though youth-oriented TV programs and websites showed fewer SSB ads in 2013 than in 2010, the advertising available “is still overwhelmingly for unhealthy drinks.” The authors point out that as SSB advertising on children’s websites declined by 72 percent, “the popularity of energy drinks and regular soda brands on social media increased exponentially from 2011 to 2014.” According to the report, energy drink and regular soda brands now represent 84 percent of the 300 million Facebook likes for the brands included in the analysis, 89 percent of 11 million Twitter followers, and 95 percent of 1.8 billion YouTube views. In…
According to a joint World Health Organization (WHO)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) news release, the ministers and senior officials of 170 countries convening in Rome have adopted a Framework for Action and a Declaration on Nutrition. Opening the Second International Conference on Nutrition, WHO Secretary General Margaret Chan reportedly criticized the production of what she characterized as less healthy industrialized food and called attention to the consequences of its contribution to obesity and overweight along with the emergence of diabetes, cancers and heart disease. The commitments and recommendations set forth in the framework and declaration are intended to ensure “that all people have access to healthier and more sustainable diets.” They also commit the governments to prevent malnutrition “in all its forms, including hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.” Among other matters, governments are urged to “educate and inform their citizens about healthier eating practices” and reinforce obesity initiatives “by the creation…
A new study has reportedly found that U.K. residents with at least two fast-food restaurants within 500 meters of their homes have significantly increased odds of developing Type-2 diabetes. Danielle Bodicoat, et al., “Is the number of fast-food outlets in the neighborhood related to screen-detected type 2 diabetes mellitus and associated risk factors?,” Public Health Nutrition, November 2014. After analyzing data from three cross-sectional studies with a total of 10,000 participants, University of Leicester researchers estimated that for every additional two outlets per neighborhood, the population would have one additional diabetes case, “assuming a causal relationship between the fast-food outlets and diabetes.” “The observed association between the number of fast-food outlets with obesity and type 2 diabetes does not come as a surprise; fast-food is high in total fat, trans-fatty acids and sodium, portion sizes have increased two to fivefold over the last 50 years and a single fast-food meal provides…
