Diet & health

A selection of studies pointed towards eating meals irregularly was linked with an increased risk of a high BMI and blood pressure.(© iStock.com)

SCIENCE SHORT

You are WHEN you eat: Are guidelines needed for eating times?

By Will Chu

Meal times should be considered in future national dietary guidelines as irregular meal patterns may contribute to a higher BMI and blood pressure than for people who eat at set times with others, say scientists.

 'Food brands actively seek to recruit Facebook users to spread their marketing – seeking likes, tags, comments and photos,' write the authors. Photo: iStock

Facebook could be making kids fat: report

By David Burrows

Food and drink brands are restricting their use of websites to promote unhealthy products to children, instead using social media giant Facebook, an Irish report has found.

Photo: iStock

Belgium to reduce nation's calorie intake by 5%

By Niamh Michail

Belgian manufacturers and retailers have signed a voluntary convention with the Health Minister to cut the nation's calorie intake by 5% by next year - but without independent monitoring, critics say it lacks credibility.

The global energy drink sector is set for robust growth but could regulations and health concerns chill expansion? ©iStock

Sector to grow 40% by 2020

The world’s unquenchable thirst for energy drinks

By Shane STARLING

Global sales of energy drinks hit €38.2 billion last year and will be worth €53.4bn in 2020 according to Euromonitor International, even as regulatory winds blow ill beneath the sector's wings. 

New sugar labeling a boon for alternative sweeteners

New sugar labeling a boon for alternative sweeteners

By Hank Schultz

The added sugars portion of the newly revamped nutrition facts labels for food products will provide a significant opportunity for purveyors of alternative sweeteners, an industry expert says.

The soft drinks sugar tax could cost Coca-Cola £226M a year

Coca-Cola could face £226M sugar tax

By Gwen Ridler

The Coca-Cola Company could face a bill as high as £226M a year under the sugar tax, if it doesn’t pass on the increased charge for its sugary drinks to consumers, according to market research firm Euromonitor.

Board members objected to the way the report was published - not its contents, a spokesperson said. © iStock

Four NOF members resign over controversial report publication

By Niamh Michail

Four board members of the National Obesity Forum (NOF) have resigned because they were not consulted before the publication of a controversial report which slammed public health advice for fuelling the obesity crisis.

Total sugar, added sugar, free sugars and of which sugars...would it be easier if nutrition labels just depicted the amount of sugar that has been added in teaspoons? © iStock

NUTRITION LABELLING IN THE US AND EUROPE

Should Europeans be told how much sugar is added to their food?

By Niamh Michail

Nutrition labels in the US will now have to tell consumers how much sugar has been added by manufacturers and how much is naturally occurring. Is it time Europe introduced similar measures so consumers know whether the food they are eating is healthy?

The National Obesity Forum report on fats and carbohydrates has been attacked by its own board members

National Obesity Forum fat report rejected by board members

By Rick Pendrous

Health lobby group the National Obesity Forum (NOF) has come under swingeing attacks from some of its own medical advisers in press reports over the past weekend, following controversial advice it rushed out last week advising people to eat more fatty...

Following a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet recommended by official UK guidelines is the wrong approach, according to a The National Obesity Forum. (© iStock.com)

'Food science has been 'corrupted by commercial influences,' slam authors

Government guidelines for low-fat diet 'disastrous' for health: report

By Will Chu

Following a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet, recommended by official UK guidelines, is based on "flawed science" that has had "disastrous" health consequences, according to a report by a UK health charity.

The big issue: How can industry be part of the obesity solution?

The big issue: How can industry be part of the obesity solution?

By Niamh Michail

Obesity and overweight rates continue to rise across the globe and although no country has managed to reverse the trend to date, all agree action is required. Join us for a free online event on May 25 where key issues will be up for debate.

This is the first human evidence that eating artificial sweeteners during pregnancy may increase the risk of early childhood overweight, say the researchers. © iStock

Artificial sweeteners linked to overweight babies

By Nathan GRAY

Consumption of artificially sweetened beverages during pregnancy could double the risk infants being overweight one year after birth, according to new research in mothers.

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