August 20, 2022 — Fast food and junk food are slippery and pejorative terms that many people equate with a risk of obesity. Most people – even people who routinely consume it – presume that fast food is not good for health. With the release of Super Size Me in 2004, we seemed to hit a peak in the […]
June 18, 2022 — Two new studies in AJCN provide observations on the relationship between health outcomes and fast food, take-out, café, or home-cooked meals. These studies find an association of worse outcomes with fast food and take out. But the real question is, why? What are the causal relationships behind these observations? In an editorial, Barry Popkin suggests […]
November 10, 2021 — A preliminary analysis by a team of scientists at four major research institutions finds disturbing levels of phthalates in a sample of fast food. Lead author Lariah Edwards told WebMD that she wasn’t especially surprised to find this, because the food sold by fast food chains is so highly processed, packaged, and handled. Every step along […]
May 25, 2020 — Play deserts, food deserts, food swamps. These are elegant metaphors to sell an appealing narrative. The story they tell is simple. Certain types of neighborhoods might cause obesity. Some researchers have found correlations between fast food outlets and obesity prevalence in some studies. Others have found that neighborhoods with more resources for physical activity have […]
November 6, 2019 — Bad habits and bad choices. That’s where the public thinking lies on the subject of obesity. So at ObesityWeek yesterday, a string of researchers told us about their efforts to close the information gap on obesity. They’re looking for ways to warn people about sugary drinks. They’re trying to figure out if posting calorie counts […]
September 28, 2019 — Remember the the McDonald’s seaweed burger? It was called the McLean Deluxe. Also later called the McFlopper. To replace some of the fat in a typical burger, food scientists pumped seaweed extract and soy into a modified beef patty. Back in 1991, plant-based diets were not a thing – low fat everything was it. But […]
March 5, 2019 — Three decades have passed since McDonald’s started selling us fast food salads. Consumers want to eat healthy – whatever that is. So fast food outlets are serving us ever more healthy-sounding food that tastes great. In larger portions, with more calories and more sodium than ever. These are the findings of new study by Megan […]
December 13, 2018 — We seem to need the boogeyman. That little hobgoblin who gets the blame for whatever ails us – especially for obesity. So naturally, we have a long list of bad guys to blame for obesity. Fast food has long been one of them. But a new study of portion sizes in the BMJ suggests that fast […]
January 28, 2018 — Panera want you to know that they will sell you a better egg sandwich than anyone else. This is a natural extension of their smug advertising that tells us they sell “food as it should be.” So now, they’d like a little help from FDA. They want the agency to crack down on fast food […]
January 3, 2018 — “Having a gym nearby does help us to lose weight, suggests new research.” So says Medical News Today. This bit of classic click bait for weight loss season comes from Lancet Public Health. It’s an observational study of the correlation between a person’s risk of obesity and their home address. The authors found that people […]
