Category: Scientific/Technical Items
-
Study Investigates Dark Side of Chocolate Temptation
A recent animal study has reportedly identified a new mechanism by which the brain increases the desire to overconsume sweet and fatty treats like chocolate. Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, et al., “Enkephalin Surges in Dosal Neostriatum as a Signal to Eat,” Current Biology, October 2012. Relying on advanced opioid microdialysis techniques to detect extracellular levels of a…
-
BPA Allegedly Linked to Reproductive Abnormalities in Monkeys
A recent study has allegedly linked low doses of bisphenol A (BPA) to reproductive abnormalities in rhesus monkeys. Patricia A. Hunt, et al., “Bisphenol A alters early oogenesis and follicle formation in the fetal ovary of the rhesus monkey,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 2012. Seeking to determine whether BPA exposure “could influence…
-
Commentary Cites Lack of Evidence Linking HFCS to Obesity Epidemic
A recent commentary published in the International Journal of Obesity has dubbed high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) “one of the most misunderstood ingredients,” arguing that studies linking the sweetener’s use to increasing obesity rates tend to rely on temporal associations, “an ecologic fallacy in which group data are extrapolated to individuals.” D.M. Klurfeld et al., “Lack…
-
fMRI Study Claims Youthful Brains Recognize Food Logos
Researchers with the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Kansas Medical Center have published a study claiming that children’s brain scans registered increased activation in the orbitofrontal precortex and inferior prefrontal cortex when the subjects were shown familiar food logos. Amanda Bruce, et al., “Branding and a child’s brain: an fMRI study of…
-
NEJM Focuses on Studies Examining Effects of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published a series of studies and commentary on the purported health effects of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages. The American Beverage Association issued a statement contending that studies focusing “solely on sugar-sweetened beverages” as an alleged cause of obesity “or any single source of calories, do nothing meaningful to…
-
New Study Alleges Link Between BPA and Obesity in Youth
A recent study has purportedly identified an association between urinary bisphenol A (BPA) concentration and obesity in children and adolescents. Leonardo Trasande, et al., “Association Between Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration and Obesity Prevalence in Children and Adolescents,” Journal of the American Medical Association, September 2012. Relying on data from 2,838 participants ages 6-19 years who were…
-
CDC Researchers Raise Concerns over Children’s Sodium Intake
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers recently published a study finding that sodium intake among U.S. children and adolescents “is positively associated” with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and risk for pre-high blood pressure and high blood pressure (pre-HBP/HBP). Quanhe Yang, et al., “Sodium Intake and Blood Pressure Among US Children and Adolescents,”…
-
JAMA Publishes Obesity-Themed Issue
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has devoted its latest issue to articles focusing on obesity. Among them is a commentary authored by Thomas Farley, who is affiliated with New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which recently adopted a prohibition on sugar-sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces. Titled “The Role…