The people benefiting from food allergies
From Slate.com, an interesting read about who benefits from the increase in food allergies over the past few decades. Food allergies of course are very real (I have some mild contact allergies with certain fruits, and shrimp for my sister equals a trip to the hospital), but this article asks some provocative questions about who ultimately cashes in.
Beware the Skinnymunch, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that crunch!
According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, which examines how other peoples’ weight and food choices influence how much we eat, we are more likely to eat more in the presence of a thin person who eats a lot.
I’m not really sure how broadly (sorry) applicable these findings are, but they at least add to a growing body (double sorry) of evidence that indicates how our eating behaviours are shaped by social cues.
The press release, as usual, oversimplifies the concepts underlying the research…
1 in 6 obese Australians believe their weight is normal, says survey
According to results released Sept 15 by Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich) and the Heart Foundation in their joint second annual Zurich Heart Foundation Heart Health Index:
Australians have a risky, distorted perception of their health status, and are unwittingly putting their heart health at risk… [T]his year even more Australians have been shown to be obese or overweight (54 per cent)… Many Australians are clearly unaware that making lifestyle changes could lower their risk of heart disease…
[Clicky to read more…]
Knocked Up: A Female Nutrition Researcher’s Pregnancy
A great blog series by Cassandra Forsythe, one of the authors of The New Rules of Lifting for Women. Cassandra’s in her first trimester, and journaling the ups, downs, and upchucking of pregnancy as an experienced weight trainer and nutritionist. First discovery: The George Costanza nap is a great innovation.
Are triathletes healthy?
Puzzling as it is for many people unaccustomed to this logic (typically, those people prone to assume that if 1 drink is fun, 20 must be fucking hilarious), biology has a sweet spot for everything. There is a right amount — usually a range — for everything. It may indeed be moderate. It may be large. Or it could be a tiny microgram.
In this case, endurance exercise. How much is too much? There is accumulating evidence that while some is good — say, a nice half-hour’s run outside on a sunny day — running marathons may not be the brightest idea for the average person…
Swine-B-Gon
Now that the world is convinced that the swine flu apocalypse is nigh and the season of snottynosed brats at daycare is upon us, I’d like to draw your attention to a very easy, yet important, public health and prevention measure. Vitamin D. Recent research, confirmed by the World Health Organization, indicates that an enormous […]
My core workout for the day
These sites have no fitness content whatsoever. They just made me laugh until my abs went on strike, and I wanted to share.
Physical activity and cancer
From a recent study:
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 1 in 4 deaths annually. It has been estimated that one third of all cancer deaths are related to overweight/obesity, physical inactivity, and poor diet. Epidemiological studies have shown that regular physical activity reduces the risk for some types of cancer as well as postdiagnosis mortality.
Let’s break it down…
In Which Your Gentle Narrator Continues to Stare Into The Abyss
Thanks to reader April for this one:
A new food-labeling campaign called Smart Choices, backed by most of the nation’s largest food manufacturers, is “designed to help shoppers easily identify smarter food and beverage choices.” The green checkmark label that is starting to show up on store shelves will appear on hundreds of packages, including — to the surprise of many nutritionists — sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops.
“These are horrible choices,” said Walter C. Willett, chairman of the nutrition department of the Harvard School of Public Health…. Dr. Kennedy, who is not paid for her work on the program, defended the products endorsed by the program, including sweet cereals. She said Froot Loops was better than other things parents could choose for their children.
Yes, not just “inappropriate” or “unseemly”. Downright horrible. To quote Chief Wiggum, “Nice work, boys.”
And I agree, Froot Loops is better for children than, say, flaming gasoline or a sharp stick in the eye. STOP CRYING OR I’LL GIVE YOU SUMTHIN TO CRY ABOUT!
In Which Your Gentle Narrator Loses Faith in the Universe
Yesterday I was in the grocery store. A package caught my eye. I picked it up and examined it. It was baby food. Across the front, in big letters: HEALTHY BLUEBERRY PUREE.
The substance actually resembled Rice Krispies. It wasn’t blue in the least, which indicates a somewhat minor contribution from blueberries. Ingredients? Wheat flour, sugar, rice starch, soy lecithin, sodium, 3 preservatives. Last and surely least, blueberry puree. Yes, blueberry puree probably accounted for about 0.1% of this abomination. Basically, this was baby Froot Loops.
WHAT KIND OF ASSHOLE PURPOSELY FEEDS SUGAR TO BABIES!? And pretends it’s healthy? I hope every food company executive responsible for this gets a horrible genital rash and ingrown eyelashes.