 by Stephanie Linakis, MPH Replacing sugar sweetened beverages with artificially sweetened, zero and reduced calorie substitutes would seem to be one foolproof strategy for weight loss, right? Well, maybe – the story could be more complicated. Our body’s myriad biological and psychological pathways challenge what would logically appear to be a simple choice. The body can easily recognize and process a natural, calorie free substance such as water. Drinks – and yogurt and other products – that are artificially sweetened (with aspartame, saccharin, or sucralose, for example), however, can confuse our systems and may lead to unintended consequences.
0 Comments
 by Maricelle Ramirez If you are hungry and running low on time, money, and/or palatable options, eating nutritious food may take the backseat, even if you do care about your food.
Over the past few summers, as part of a nutrition study, I went out to over 40 fast-food restaurants across New England and surveyed people who had just purchased food. It seemed that even participants who answered that calories were important in choosing their food also tended to respond that they either did not see calorie information or saw it but did not use it.  by Jason Block, MD I’m a rabid New Orleans Saints fan. Raised in Louisiana, I started going to games as a young child, joining my grandfather, dad, brother and others. I have reveled in their highs (in the last few years) and despaired in their lows (many, many over their history). I even went to the Super Bowl in 2010 when the Saints won. Needless to say, I have a Drew Brees jersey and consider him to be one of the greats. He is a future Hall of Famer, a remarkable community asset, and a true leader. So what does Drew Brees have to do with the obesity epidemic? In one word: endorsements.
 A colleague and I recently wrote a JAMA commentary that revisited the arguments in favor of menu labeling. People eat large calorie meals when dining at restaurants, and they often don’t know how many calories they are consuming. Calorie labeling provides immediately accessible calorie information at the moment when customers are making decisions. Also, calorie labeling might prompt restaurants to reduce the calories in items, especially those with the most egregious calorie counts (check out Dave’s Hot and Juicy ¾ pounder at Wendy’s or the 12 inch Big Hot Pastrami at Subway, both coming in at over 1000 calories, even before the sides are added on).
|
RSS Feed
©2017 WeighingInBlog. All rights reserved. 401 Park Drive, Boston, MA