Category: Scientific/Technical Items
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New Studies Focus on Sodium and Calorie Content of Restaurant and Processed Foods
Three recent studies published in JAMA Internal Medicine have analyzed the nutritional content of restaurant and processed foods, raising questions about consumer, industry and government efforts to curb calorie, sodium and fat consumption. Authored by Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) Executive Director Michael Jacobson and colleagues at George Washington University and Northwestern…
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Food Marketing in U.S. Spanish-Language TV Target of New Study
A recent study has reportedly concluded that while fewer food advertisements overall are shown during U.S. Spanish-language children’s TV programs than during similar English-language programs, “the nutritional quality of food products on Spanish-language channels was substantially poorer than on English channels.” Dale Kunkel, et al., “Food Marketing to Children on U.S. Spanish-Language Television,” Journal of…
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Engineered Avian and Swine Flu Hybrids Raise Concerns About Mammal-to-Mammal Transmission
Chinese scientists investigating the spread of airborne influenzas have reportedly combined genetic material from avian (H5N1) and swine (H1N1) flu strains to create more than 100 different hybrid viruses, five of which proved contagious among mammals. Ying Zhang, et al., “H5N1 Hybrid Viruses Bearing 2009/H1N1 Virus Genes Transmit in Guinea Pigs by Respiratory Droplet,” Science, May…
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Food Commercials Allegedly Linked to Increased Brain Activity in Teens
A recent study has allegedly concluded that food commercials increased brain activity in adolescent viewers regardless of body weight. Ashley Gearhardt, et al., “Relation of Obesity to Neural Activation in Response to Food Commercials,” Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, May 2013. Researchers with Yale University’s Rudd Center for Policy & Obesity, the University of Michigan and…
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Added Sugar Constitutes 13 Percent of Daily Caloric Intake for Americans, Says CDC Report
A recent report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has allegedly found that “approximately 13% of adults’ total caloric intakes came from added sugars between 2005 and 2010” despite government recommendations that “no more than 5% to 15% of calories should come from solid fats and added sugars.” R. Bethene Ervin,…
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Special Issue of Biological Psychiatry Focuses on Food Addiction
The Society of Biological Psychiatry has dedicated the May 1, 2013, edition of its flagship journal, Biological Psychiatry, to the debate over whether “food is, or can be addictive.” According to its introduction, the special issue explores (i) whether food and drugs of abuse share common neurobiological mechanisms; (ii) whether the addiction model can “reasonably”…
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Researchers Claim Industry Policy Submissions Are Unreliable
British-based researchers who closely examined alcohol industry submissions to a 2008 Scottish government consultation on “Changing Scotland’s relationship with alcohol” have distilled the arguments presented and contend that they misrepresent the scientific evidence and should not be considered persuasive. Jim McCambridge, et al., “Industry Use of Evidence to Influence Alcohol Policy: A Case Study of…
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New Study Examines Role of Gut Bacteria in Link Between Lecithin and Cardiovascular Disease
A recent study investigating the link between dietary phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) and the production of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), “a proatherosclerotic metabolite,” has concluded that “the production of TMAO from dietary phosphatidylcholine is dependent on metabolism by the intestinal microbiota.” W.H. Wilson Tang, et al., “Intestinal Microbial Metabolism of Phosphatidylcholine and Cardiovascular Risk,” The New England Journal of…