Food is worse than crack

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Diet pills don't work

A new study in Australia says that, surprise surprise, pills that claim to help you lose weight don't really do that.

It asked 10 sponsor companies of 18 products for proof their medications were effective in weight loss. Only four sent any kind of supporting documentation, and Choice said even this wasn't good enough to justify any sort of consumer recommendation.

A Recipe For Overeating: Studies Outline Dangers Of Mixing Stress, Deprivation And Tempting Foods

This story describes studies that say stress, deprivation, and certain foods lead to binge eating.

In light of their findings, she says, "Highly palatable food can mimic opioid drugs by releasing opioids or activating sensitized receptors, so imagine what it can do in a human with a history of dieting. If only rat chow is available, even rats with a history of dieting when stressed don't binge -- but when they get a little bite of cookie first, they do."

The lesson seems to be that that "allowing" yourself that first bite can be deadly.

California campaign against obesity

This story discusses a new California program to reduce obesity in schools.

California will have the toughest school food nutrition guidelines in the nation when the new laws take effect. The legislation, which Schwarzenegger signed over the objections of the California Chamber of Commerce and food manufacturers, drew praise from educators and physicians who see it as a way the state can make a significant difference in shaping the health of the state's children.

SB12 sets nutrition standards for schools with the aim of limiting the amount of calories and sugar content that children consume. SB965 will extend the state's ban on the sale of soda during school hours to high schools, allowing only milk, water, juice and electrolyte drinks to be sold. The ban already applies to elementary and middle schools.

The restrictions will apply only to food sold at schools and does not affect what students can bring to campuses.

More obese people in 49 states

A new report says that 49 of the 50 U.S. states had higher obesity rates in the latest reporting period vs. the previous period.

Some 22.7 percent of American adults were obese in the 2002-04 period, up slightly from 22 percent for 2001-03, says the advocacy group Trust for America's Health, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alabama had the biggest increase. There, the obesity rate increased 1.5 percentage points to 27.7 percent.

Eight states came in under 20 percent: Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Montana, Utah and New Hampshire. But their figures were all rising. Oregon held steady at 21 percent.

Weight gain linked with breast cancer

This story describes a study in which women who gained weight after age 50 had a greatly increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Women who had gained more than 33 pounds since age 20 were similarly at a 60 percent increased risk for postmenopausal disease, but it was the extra pounds put on after 50 that appeared to play a more significant role, study author Marilie D. Gammon said.

Atkins bankrupt

Now that Atkins Nutritionals is bankrupt, various folks are explaining why it happened.

Harry Balzer, vice president of market researcher NPD Group, follows Americans' eating habits. ''They asked you to change your behavior forever, to get rid of dessert, don't eat bread,'' he said. ''It's too hard. If it was easy we'd all be thin.''

Few of these folks (Marion Nestle is one) were advising against Atkins all along.

Overweight in China

This article discusses the obesity problem in China.

Severe obesity in the country's large and wealthier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing now affects some 16 to 20 percent of youths, according to the China Daily.

Affluence brings obesity.

Diet soda makes you fat?

The news has recently carried this story about a study claiming that people's obesity risk goes up for every diet soda consumed.

The researchers call it the Mad Hatter theory, referencing the part of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland when Alice, vexed because she was offered tea but given none, eventually grabs not just tea but also some bread and butter.

So it is with our bodies, researchers theorize: Given a sweetish drink, but no calories, we go into search-obtain-and-eat mode. (Infant rats did this in an earlier study: Those given fake sweeteners craved calories more than those given real sugar).

Or perhaps the research has confused cause and effect: maybe people who are fat drink more diet soda because they drink more soda, and they're trying to control their weight.

Overweight in Ireland

This story describes the overweight epidemic in Ireland -- it's similar to the problem in almost every industrialized country in the world.

According to the government-appointed National Taskforce on Obesity, 300,000 children are overweight or obese and projected increases of 10,000 annually loom unless radical measures are taken.

Treating obesity-related illnesses costs nearly €500-million per year, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said and promised to assess whether taxation could be amended to encourage healthier diets.