Other ideas: We could convert refrigerated soda machines to vending machines that dispense grapes and carrots, as has already been done in Japan and Iowa. We could provide recipes, cooking lessons, even cookware for those who can’t afford it. Television public-service announcements could promote healthier eating. (Currently, 86 percent of food ads now seen by children are for foods high in sugar, fat or sodium.)

Money could be returned to communities for local spending on gyms, pools, jogging and bike trails; and for other activities at food distribution centers; for Meals on Wheels in those towns with a large elderly population, or for Head Start for those with more children; for supermarkets and farmers’ markets where needed. And more.

By profiting as a society from the foods that are making us sick and using those funds to make us healthy, the United States would gain the same kind of prestige that we did by attacking smoking. We could institute a national, comprehensive program that would make us a world leader in preventing chronic or “lifestyle” diseases, which for the first time in history kill more people than communicable ones. By doing so, we’d not only repair some of the damage we have caused by first inventing and then exporting the Standard American Diet, we’d also set a new standard for the rest of the world to follow.

Fat Thanks to Sunita K. for the tip!

Tax Soda, Subsidize Vegetables – NYTimes.com

Jawbone announced the grand project theyve been quietly working on for years: A wearable band called Up, which is infused with sensors and smartphone connected, allowing you to track your eating, sleeping, and activity patterns.”The interest grew when people realized how large this market is.”

“The CDC says that for the first time in history, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes are killing more people than communicable diseases,” Travis Bogard, Jawbones VP of product management, tells Co.Design. “Were trying to solve that problem.” The Ups sensors collect data about how much youve been sleeping and how much youve been moving. That data is then fed into a smartphone app, which also takes in information about your meals. You enter meal data manually, in part by taking pictures of what youve eaten. Based on all that information, the smartphone program provides “nudges” meant to help you live healthier, day by day. For example, if you havent slept much, when you wake up the app might suggest a high-protein breakfast and an extra glass of water.

Fat Thanks to Sunita K. for the tip!

Jawbone Announces Up, A Wristband To Track Health, Fight Obesity | Co. Design

Foodmakers, fast-food chains, and media companies have teamed up to battle government efforts to create voluntary nutritional guidelines for foods marketed to children, The Washington Post reports Sunday. And the group is being managed by former White House communications director Anita Dunn.

The group, called the Sensible Food Policy Coalition, includes General Mills, Kellogg, PepsiCo, and Time Warner. Disclosure records show they spent $6.6 million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year, and the members of the group collectively have spent nearly $60 million on lobbying since the start of the Obama administration, the newspaper reports.

Media giant Viacom is one of the members. It owns the Nickelodeon television network, whose animated characters such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants are featured prominently on food products marketed to children. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also weighing in.

Former White House Staffer Fights Obama Obesity Efforts – – NationalJournal.com

Our bodies contain two kinds of fat: white and brown. White fat is the kind that most people are trying to get rid of. It stores calories, but too much causes obesity and increases risk of type 2 diabetes, along with several other obesity-related diseases. Brown fat acts like muscle — it contains iron and even burns calories within the cells. It is also responsible for maintaining body temperature. The brown fat is naturally lost as people age, and it cannot be gained by eating certain foods or performing certain exercises.

But in a finding that may be exciting for many, researchers were able to turn white fat into brown fat by blocking a natural chemical in the body. The change led to weight loss, improved blood sugar levels and insulin tolerance in the mice.

Fat Thanks to Sunita K. for the tip!

White Fat Turned to Brown May Shed Pounds – ABC News

America continues to get fatter, according to a comprehensive new report on the nations weight crisis. Statistics for 2008-2010 show that 16 states are experiencing steep increases in adult obesity, and none has seen a notable downturn in the last four years.

Meanwhile, cases of Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure that health experts have long warned would result from the nations broadening girth and sedentary ways are becoming increasingly widespread, according to the report, titled “F as in Fat,” released Thursday.

Even Coloradans, long the nations slimmest citizens, are gaining excess pounds. With an obese population of 19.8% — it is the only state with an adult obesity rate below 20% — Colorado remains the caboose on the nations huffing, puffing train to fat land.

Obesity: America just keeps getting fatter, report says – latimes.com