News on Health and Nutrition

January 28, 2010

Salt Reduction Initiatives across Europe

Salt reduction initiatives are underway in all the EU member states under the EU framework, but public awareness raising and reformulation are patchy. The EU framework for national salt initiatives was adopted in 2008 by the High Level Group on Diet, P...

January 27, 2010

Nutrition Menu Labeling May Lead to Lower-Calorie Restaurant Meal Choices for Children

A study published in Pediatrics shows that when nutritional information is available on fast-food restaurant menus, parents are more apt to pick lower-calorie foods for their kids. Often spurred on by legislation, many U.S. restaurant chains are now po...

January 19, 2010

$465 million excise tax on syrup for soft drinks proposed by Governor Paterson of New York State

New York Governor David Paterson on Tuesday proposed a budget of nearly $136 billion for fiscal 2011, a 0.5 percent increase from the current year, that will partly close a $7.4 billion deficit by raising taxes on cigarettes and other items.Paterson sa...

January 16, 2010

Estados Unidos congela sus tasas de obesidad

Las tasas de obesidad de Estados Unidos no aumentaron durante el periodo entre 2003 y 2008, según muestran los resultados de un estudio realizado por el National Center for Health Statistics at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. En c...

January 15, 2010

Have US obesity data reached a plateau?

Americans, at least as a group, may have reached their peak of obesity, according to data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Wednesday.The numbers indicate that obesity rates have remained constant for at least five years among men...

January 13, 2010

New Jersey readies menu labeling law

New Jersey lawmakers passed Wednesday a measure requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets around the country to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards in their locations throughout the state.The state Assembly passed the bill by a margi...

January 13, 2010

Nueva York ordena reducir un 25% la sal de los alimentos

El alcalde de Nueva York, Michael Bloomberg, sigue con su cruzada por la vida sana. Primero, prohibió fumar en bares y restaurantes de la ciudad. Después, obligó a retirar las grasas trans y a especificar las calorías en los menús. Y ahora lanza una ca...

January 11, 2010

New York City Health Department Announces Targets for Voluntary Salt Reduction in Packaged & Restaurant Foods

The National Salt Reduction Initiative, a New York City-led partnership of cities, states and national health organizations, today unveiled its proposed targets to guide a voluntary reduction of salt levels in packaged and restaurant foods.Americans co...

January 11, 2010

Responses to NYC led National Salt Reduction Initiative

Today the NYC Health Department announced the details of its National Salt Reduction Initiative. The program will ask food producers to voluntarily cut their sodium output 20 to 25 percent by 2014. Some big-name companies have signed on (PepsiCo plans ...

January 11, 2010

CDC supports efforts to reduce the sodium content of manufactured and restaurant foods

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports efforts to reduce the sodium content of manufactured and restaurant foods. Most American adults should consume no more than 1,500 mg. of sodium – the equivalent of about two-thirds of a t...

January 10, 2010

Kettle Brand® Baked Potato Chips invites 'real resolutions'

Kettle Foods, maker of Kettle Brand® Baked Potato Chips, is kicking off the New Year by inviting fans to share their “Real Resolutions” for healthy eating and living. Kettle Brand® Baked Potato Chips, the only baked chip made from whole slices of re...

January 08, 2010

Más obesos que fumadores

Por primera vez en Estados Unidos la obesidad superó al consumo de tabaco como la principal amenaza para la salud. A pesar de que la mayoría de las personas con sobrepreso toman como resolución de Año Nuevo perder algunas libras, una encuesta revela qu...

January 07, 2010

Romania will tax foods high in fat, salt, sugar starting March 2010

A new tax on junk food products will be introduced as of March 2010 in Romania, the proceeds of which will go on health programmes, EurActiv Romania reports. The move appears to set a worldwide precedent.The new tax is due by the juridical persons who ...

January 06, 2010

Alimentos procesados generan obesidad en Guatemala

El aumento en el consumo de alimentos procesados contribuiría significativamente al alto índice de obesidad y sobrepeso en Guatemala, el noveno país más pobre de América Latina y el Caribe, de acuerdo con estudio publicado en la revista científica Heal...

January 06, 2010

Obesity overtakes smoking as health burden in US

The morbidity-mortality curves for smoking and obesity in the US have crossed as the latter appears to have become the greater health threat, at least as measured by quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) lost, suggests an analysis published online Januar...

January 06, 2010

Popcorn: Diacetyl substitutes might be harmful for workers as well

Two years ago, Orville Redenbacher soared from the graveyard and announced in weeks of TV ads that his popcorn was now free of diacetyl. That's the chemical in artificial butter flavoring that has been blamed for sickening hundreds of workers, killing ...

January 02, 2010

A partir de enero, cero trans en California

Hoy sí, a partir del 1 de enero los restaurantes y comederos del estado no podrán utilizar las grasas saturadas o trans, un componente culinario asociado a las enfermedades cardiovasculares, en la preparación de alimentos. La ley que así lo dispone f...

December 28, 2009

California Restaurants can't cook in trans fat after January 1

California will bar restaurants from cooking with trans fat beginning New Year's Day, becoming the first state to crack down on the substance tied to clogged arteries, strokes and coronary heart disease. The ban is hailed by supporters as a way to pr...