Posts Tagged ‘sugar’

Have Dietary Guidelines for Americans gone seriously awry? In a newly published doctoral thesis, Adele Hite suggests they have. As an RDN and a scholar of how public health and policy makers frame issues of nutrition, she brings a unique perspective. The definition of a healthy diet has shifted subtly, but profoundly. No longer is […]

We are in the midst of a great change in how our food is labeled for nutrition. The Nutrition Facts label goes back to 1993, with no changes since 1999. That’s when trans fats gained a place on the label. Now, starting in 2020, the label will call out added sugar. That should be simple, […]

We have some surprising days ahead in the war on sugar. We now have a decade of it behind us. So people all over the world are responding. Canada offers us a new snapshot that tells us how it’s going there. If you believe the self reports, sugar in Canada is down. But the picture is […]

JAMA grabbed some headlines this week on a popular subject – cutting sugar consumption for kids. Fatty liver disease is a serious problem and the headlines point to a simple solution. “To fight fatty liver, avoid sugary foods and drinks,” said the New York Times. How did researchers prove that? All it took was a randomized […]

Is this a millennial dream? Or instead, a caricature? Recess is coming at us with a distinctive vibe for sparkling water – infusing it with hemp extract and “adaptogens.” The brand promises balance and clarity. Can this be what’s replacing soda for generations to come? Tapping All the Trends In case you haven’t noticed, big soda’s […]

Forgive us for saying so. But this seems a bit like opposite day. On one hand, taxing sugar sweetened beverages is popular in progressive enclaves like Berkeley, California. On the other, the conservative Wall Street Journal is warning that such taxes are highly regressive. They’re hurting vulnerable, low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia, says the Journal. Are […]

Who pays and who benefits from a national sugar-sweetened beverage tax? A new paper in AJPH asked this question and demands our attention. Unfortunately, instead of offering objective answers, we find only wobbly math used to make a point about the hypothetical cost-effectiveness of an SSB tax. A Complex Model to Make a Simple Point […]

As 2018 winds down, we have a chance to gratefully reflect on the fact that more than 100,000 users took the time to read some of the content we provided this year. No, this is surely not the New York Times. We admit that we have a very narrow focus. But given this narrow focus, […]

Health reporters have a news flash for us. Soda is the worst! All those other sugary foods? Not so bad, say the headlines. For diabetes risk, soda is the thing to fear. A Very Nuanced Study vs Sensational Headlines Why are we suddenly awash in such headlines? A study in the BMJ is at the […]

ObesityWeek brings together diverse perspectives – scientists, clinicians, and public health professionals. We heard from all of them last week. “Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes work,” a number of public health folks told us. “For their intended purpose. To reduce unhealthy beverage consumption.” That last bit provides the important fine print. Taxes on SSBs are spreading all over […]