Posts

Opinion  – Why Your New Years Diet is Doomed

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New York Times
The playbook for much of the junk-food marketing is similar to what the tobacco industry used for decades: advertising strategies focused on young people, a shirking of responsibility for poisoning entire populations, and an emphasis on individuals’ responsibility for their own health. Read more

Fast food makes an unhealthy comeback among kids

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Web MD 

After a period of improvement, U.S. kids are eating as much fast food as they were in the early 2000s, new government figures show. Researchers found that between 2003 and 2010, there was a decline in U.S. kids’ intake of fast-food calories — dipping from an average of 14% of daily calories, to just under 11%. By 2018, that figure was back up to 14%.  Read the article here

 

Mexico state bans sale of sugary drinks and junk food to children

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The Guardian 

The southern Mexican state of Oaxaca has banned the sale of sugary drinks and high-calorie snack foods to children – a measure aimed at curbing obesity. The bill puts sugary items into the same category as cigarettes and alcohol. “It’s important to finally put the brakes on this industry, which has already sickened our country and our children,” said Magaly López Domínguez, the Oaxaca lawmaker who presented the bill. “[The industry] gets into the most remote corners of the state” – known for its mountainous topography – “where there’s often not even medicines, but there’s Coca-Cola.” Read the article here

Stopping ‘buy one get one free’ deals in supermarkets could help tackle obesity, experts say

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iNews.co.uk
Dr. Jean Adams, a senior lecturer working at Cambridge University’s Centre for Diet and Activity Research agrees this could “make an impact”. “Less healthy food on different offers are more likely to be on promotion than healthier foods. We also know that promotions work.” There is “no magic bullet,” she makes clear. “We have to think of it as a complicated problem that needs many solutions. And restricting price promotions on less healthy foods could certainly be a sensible part of a wider plan.” Read the article here

 

Coronavirus: Snacking and family meals increase in lockdown

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BBC
A study of lockdown eating from the Guy’s and St Thomas’s Charity and the Bite Back 2030 healthy eating charity, studied over 1,000 14-19 year olds and found contrasting trends for more unhealthy snacks, but also more shared meals as families spent more time at home together. It also found a widening social divide in healthy and unhealthy eating. The report describes snacking as the “biggest negative consequence” in eating habits during the pandemic, with a 40% increase in snacks. Young people in poorer families were “more likely to snack, less likely to eat fresh fruit and vegetables” than their wealthier counterparts. Read the article here

Over 100 doctors call for tax on junk food to handle obesity epidemic

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Metro Newspaper (UK) 

A group of around 200 doctors and healthcare professionals signed an open letter to ministers putting forward a number of proposals to overhaul the UK’s ‘unfair, unhealthy and unsustainable’ food system when the pandemic passes. This includes a tax on foods that are high in salt and fat, a tax on food derived from animal agriculture, subsidies for plant-based diets, a return of public sector catering to stop processed meat being served in schools and hospitals and that the ban on junk food advertising is accelerated and made total, banning such advertising even after the watershed. Read the article here

Top health official frets over higher alcohol, junk food use by Canadians during pandemic

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The Province 

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam expressed concern over the higher consumption of alcohol and junk food during the coronavirus epidemic. “While social interactions and activities might look different right now, Canadians should be actively looking for safe ways to socialize, engage in physical activity and make … healthy food choices,” she said. Read the article here

 

Obesity costing Western Australia $340 million per year

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News. com. au 
Obesity is costing Western Australia’s health system close to $340 million a year, with experts renewing calls for a ban on junk food advertising. A report by WA’s Department of Health finds that health conditions related to excess body mass were responsible for 9.3 per cent of all hospitalizations in 2016. The report projects that by 2026, such hospitalizations will have risen by 54 per cent – and the costs to the health system increased to $610 million – unless the problem is addressed.  Read the article here

Coronavirus and obesity: Doctors take aim at food industry over poor diets

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Food Navigator

A cardiologist has blamed the food industry for normalizing ultra-processed junk food as more evidence emerges that obesity is the biggest factor for death from Covid-19 in under 50s according to a new study from the US Center for Disease Control based on 99 countries and 14 states from March. You can read the article here

National study finds diets remain poor for most American children; disparities persist

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Tufts Now 

Despite consuming fewer sugar-sweetened beverages and more whole grains, most American children and adolescents still eat poorly – and sociodemographic disparities persist, according to an 18-year national study between 1999 and 2016 of U.S. children’s dietary trends. Read the story here

You can find the study here (behind a paywall)