Posts Tagged ‘beverage’

Maybe seeking out an RDN (registered dietitian nutritionist) would be a better idea than relying on celebrities for guidance about what to eat and drink. A new study in the journal Pediatrics finds that “music celebrities who are popular among adolescents endorse energy-dense, nutrient-poor products.” Marie Bragg and colleagues collected data on endorsements of food […]

Diet soda is definitely not fashionable these days. Millennials regards it as “chemicals in a can” and opt instead for artisanal soda with real cane sugar. Fine. But does fashion, plus a an observational study, add up to a sound basis for recommending what to drink in pregnancy? A pair of publications in JAMA Pediatrics […]

In the heated debate over soda taxes, traditional labels of conservative, liberal, progressive, and regressive just got a little more confusing. Bernie Sanders, the favorite of young, liberal voters is not backing down from saying that a Philly soda tax will hurt poor people and so he opposes it. In a Philadelphia town hall Monday […]

If you’re looking for a hot concept in weight management and food policy, portion control is a good pick. But what are the distinctions between misleading hype and real scientific outcomes. Few scientists have studied this question as thoroughly as Barbara Rolls. So it was a rare privilege at the WM DPG Symposium to have […]

Following news that soda sales are down to levels not seen since the 1980s, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a massive celebration at the White House last night, marking the end of the childhood obesity epidemic. With the President at her side, the First Lady told an assembled crowd of trim and fit youngsters: We’ve […]

Will Britain’s soda tax turn out to be potent symbolism or just another leaky sandbag on the anti-obesity levee? We are well past the point of changing anyone’s mind on this polarized issue. It’s become an article of faith for some — they’ve discarded any doubts it will work. For others, it’s evidence for the […]

Big soda is rapidly becoming small soda, without the help of soda taxes. Sales of the three largest soft drink makers — Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper Snapple — are stabilizing as measured in dollars while the number of ounces sold is continuing a long-term decline. Those clever marketers are repositioning their brands as a […]

Cascades of headlines this week claim that water fountains offer a simple solution to childhood obesity. These excessive claims are part of a larger pattern that has us wondering. What is it about childhood obesity that leads otherwise sensible people to spout puffery? The paper that’s causing this week’s nonsense was published in JAMA Pediatrics, and the […]

In its first year, Mexico’s soda tax does appear to have caused a reduction in purchases of soda, according to a new study published in the BMJ. Researchers from Mexico and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found a six percent decline in 2014 for sugary beverages that were taxed and a four percent increase in […]

In the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans unveiled yesterday, there’s a little something for everyone. From different perspectives, people are seeing a triumph for lobbying, virtue, or science. Lobbying. Some public health observers see a big win in these guidelines for the meat and soda industries. Harvard’s Walter Willet commented that “there are clear benefits […]