 by Matt Gillman, MD, SM I’ve just returned from a week in South China. This trip was driven in part by the question of why China, along with India and other Asian countries, are hot spots for 21st century diabetes. By 2030, ½ billion people on the planet will have type 2 diabetes. The majority will be in Asia.
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 by Stephanie Linakis, MPH In late 2010, Congress passed a law requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more locations to post calorie content on their menus and menu boards. The law was a provision in the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), and was driven by the belief that individuals might consume excess calories when they are eating restaurant meals because of limited awareness of the calorie content. Since I manage a study that is investigating the impact of menu labeling at six chain fast-food restaurants in New England, I was particularly intrigued by a recent talk by Dr. Lorien Urban regarding restaurants exempt from the law.
 by Chelsea Jenter, MPH Your thoughts, beliefs, and expectations about what you are eating may actually influence how your body processes food. The idea that weight loss is just a numbers game – calories in versus calories out – may not be as simple as we once believed. Previous blog posts by Stephanie Linakis and Avik Chatterjee refer to the challenges and complexity of diets and food choices. A 2011 study in Health Psychology further complicates things by suggesting that your mindset about the food you are eating can influence how full or hungry you are after you eat it.
 by Renata Smith, MPH Exposure to media and advertising has been linked to consumption of low-nutrient foods in children. The bulk of food advertising is for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, such as sugary cereals, fast foods, candy, and soda. Traditional methods of advertising include television commercials, popular character licensing, and athlete endorsements. As technology advances, “new media” advertising on social media, mobile devices, and the Internet has also evolved. If you use Facebook, you may have noticed “sponsored posts” that now show up in your newsfeed (as a runner, I see targeted ads from race organizers, gear companies, etc., for example).
 by Wei Perng, PhD I have always loved dessert. As a researcher in the field of nutrition and obesity prevention, I am embarrassed to say that I love it more than “real food.” My mother believes that my unrelenting sweet tooth stems from her own preference for anything sweet when she was pregnant with me – pastries, donuts, ice cream, pudding, chocolate – you name it. I always thought this was an old wives’ tale until I stumbled upon some interesting literature while working on a book chapter on the effect of maternal diet on the long-term health of the child. Might we develop preferences for food even before we are born?
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