A controversial federal lunch program — mandating healthier school lunches — is up for reauthorization in the coming weeks. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 set minimum nutritional standards for school lunches — the first major change in 30 years. The Act mandated smaller portion sizes and required the addition of fruits and vegetables.

So what are school kids doing with all those healthy fruits and vegetables they’re required to accept? A new study looked at fruit and vegetable consumption before and after the Act using a video camera footage. Kids are tossing their healthy snacks straight into the trash – otherwise known as File 13 in my grade school! According to research in that was published in Public Health Reports, school kids are consuming fewer fruits and vegetables than before; boosting food waste by more than one-third.

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The soda tax passed last fall by voters in Berkeley, California – the first such city ordinance in the country – has fizzled at raising retail prices for high-calorie sugary drinks by less than half the amount expected, according to a Cornell University and University of Iowa study. The law, which took effect this March, imposes a penny-per-ounce tax on distributors of sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, energy drinks and presweetened teas. Distributors pay 20 cents per 20-ounce bottle of Coke, for instance. Tax proponents expected the extra cost to result in higher prices for shoppers, which would discourage soda consumption.

Source at: Berkeley Soda Tax Fizzles Out

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Coca-Cola is catching flack for something that any other group who promotes ways to boost physical activity would be praised for. According to the New York Times Well Blog, “Coca-Cola, the world’s largest producer of sugary beverages, is backing a new ‘science-based’ solution to the obesity crisis: To maintain a healthy weight, get more exercise and worry less about cutting calories.”

Coke has contributed millions to start and fund an organization to promote active lifestyles. It’s also funding scientists who perform research on the benefits physical activity on chronic disease and health status.

Basically, Coke is telling people if they want to stay fit and not have to worry about calories, then get active. That strategy won’t work for everyone. But it is a strategy that many people I know adhere to; it works fine for them. What is perplexing is that public health advocates (who hate Coke) are up in arms when Coke promotes an agenda that advocates would ordinarily agree with.

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Recent studies and surveys have shown a distinct relationship between unemployment and obesity, particularly for lower-skilled workers who struggle to find work — a search made more challenging by their weight.

In Hagerstown, where blue-collar jobs have gone overseas or to cheaper parts of the country, 8.4 percent are unemployed — well above Maryland’s 5.9 percent rate. Last month, Gallup identified the area as the third-heaviest place in the United States, with almost 37 percent of its residents obese. Local studies put the number even higher. (More)

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Your digestive system is actually a complex ecosystem, playing host to hundreds of species of bacteria that do things as diverse as fermenting undigested carbohydrates and providing vitamins. They also regulate how much fat your body stores.

Not everyone, however, has the same gut bacteria. And, interestingly, the composition of this bacteria correlates with obesity…

Researchers harvested bacteria from pairs of twin mice, where one twin was obese and the other was not. Then they transplanted these bacteria into different mice. The mice who received bacteria from the obese twin gained weight, while the others did not. The mice did not eat more: Their metabolism changed so that they put on more weight even with the same caloric input…

A study…shows that obesity seems to “spread” across social networks, with people infecting their friends and neighbors. I had always assumed that was because birds of a feather flock together — and that is surely part of the explanation. But because gut bacteria can also spread among people in close proximity, perhaps the obesity epidemic really is, well, an epidemic? (NYT)

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