Water Water Everywhere, But Everyone’s Drinking Soda
This is a second inquiry into the links between drinking soda and obesity rates. It follows High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Its Place in the Obesity Epidemic:
Consumption of sugary drinks has been on the rise since the 1970’s and it is though to be a key factor in the simultaneous rise in obesity rates. Frighteningly, soda and [...]
May 13, 2009
Tags: fast-food, nutrition, obesity, soda, sugar Posted in: Health, Science & Technology 
No Comments
High-Fructose Corn Syrup, Its Place In The Obesity Epidemic
HFCS in the Big Picture
Companies that manufacture goods heavily laden with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contend that it is just as good for you as regular sugar (”in moderation”). HFCS is not “the villain“.
It’s true, replacing sugar with HFCS is neither the primary nor the exact cause of the increase in obesity. Blaming just HFCS [...]
May 8, 2009
Tags: fast-food, Health, innovation, marketing, obesity, subsidies, sugar Posted in: Health, Science & Technology 5 Comments
Behind The Scenes At The Child Nutrition Policy Meeting
From the American News Project in February:
The Committee on Medicine said they are looking to make “evidence based” changes to the National School Lunch Program. Funny how they haven’t paid attention to the evidence for the last thirty years. It might have something to do with the fact there weren’t any scientists at [...]
May 4, 2009
Tags: agriculture, change, farmers, food event, Health, marketing, nutrition, obesity, policy, subsidies Posted in: Health, Politics No Comments
Fast Food Bans Popping Up in London, Maybe New York
Waltham Forest, a neighborhood in London, has banned the construction and establishment of fast food restaurants within 400 meters of a school. Whereas a little over 1 in 10 children in the borough are overweight, an overwhelming majority (93 percent!) of the residents approved of the measure, intended curb childhood obesity (link).
The measure has [...]
April 22, 2009
Tags: change, fast-food, McDonald's, nutrition, obesity, policy Posted in: Health, Politics, Science & Technology 2 Comments
Soda Taxes, In Review
The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has just published its analysis of the debate surrounding soda taxes. Â Policy makers in at least 40 states have already implemented such measures in order to curb obesity and related health problems. The Rudd Report (pdf) is an easy to read, objective review of the health and [...]
March 4, 2009
Tags: food, Health, nutrition, obesity, soda, subsidies Posted in: Health, Politics One Comment
A Beef Cartoon-A Cut Above The Rest?
Yesterday’s flowchart about the hidden costs of industrial beef production focused on the creation the beef itself, not the consequences of actually eating the beef. Â This cartoon does a handy job of expressing some of those other concerns in a suscint and humorous manner.
What will you be having today?
February 27, 2009
Tags: agriculture, cows, Health, nutrition, obesity Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health One Comment
The Bottomless Soup Bowl Experiment
Featured in the Annals of Improbable Research and winning an Ignoble Prize, Brian Wansink’s experiment “first makes people laugh, and then makes them think.” He wondered how we determine when we’ve eaten enough food.  Do we stop eating at the physical feeling of fullness or do we use external cues (that everyone else has already [...]
February 20, 2009
Tags: education, food, food safety, obesity, trvia Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health 7 Comments
Eating Better: Politics and Strategy For The Dinner Table
Most parents are worried about getting their kids to eat healthier.  You could be wondering how to get yourself to eat more veggies, too. Brain Wansink, in Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, describes how our environment often stimulates us to eat more of the “bad” stuff.  It’s not a diet [...]
February 16, 2009
Tags: change, food, food event, Health, moms, nutrition, obesity Posted in: Fun Food Facts, Health One Comment
“Food Deserts” and What Cities Are Doing About Them
Wal-Mart in Chicago and a Moratorium on Fast-food Joints in LA
I’ve been complaining about the lack of grocery stores in minority and poor neighborhoods for a while. Â Apparently such inequity becomes news only when someone comes up with a catchy name for it: food deserts. Â Food deserts happen when people do not have access to [...]
February 9, 2009
Tags: change, Health, hunger, nutrition, obesity Posted in: Health, Politics 2 Comments
A Bit of Foodie Fan Fiction
This next piece necessitates an introduction. Â It is a vignette I wrote in response to an essay prompt some time ago. Â Unfortunately, the prompt is long forgotten. Â What remains is the short, bittersweet story of one man’s struggle with his insatiable relationship with food. Â Please, enjoy:
I had an addiction – – a habit worse [...]
January 24, 2009
Tags: food event, nutrition, obesity Posted in: Uncategorized One Comment
