News summary

More research on low-carb diets

Research in Denmark suggests that low fat diets are just as effective as controversial low-carbohydrate diets at helping with weight loss in the long term. Professor Arne Astrup and colleagues at RVA University in Copenhagen say people on low carbohydrate diets tend to lose more in the first six months, but at the 12-month point there is much less difference. Prof Astrup, who is a medical adviser for Weight Watchers, and his team have found more evidence to suggest that reducing carbohydrate intake may reduce the risks of heart disease by cutting levels of “bad” cholesterol, but they warn that cutting out fruit, vegetables, whole-grains may increase the risk, and that of cancer as well.
(BBC News Online)
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Kidney stones and coffee

It may be advisable for people who are prone to kidney stones to limit their caffeine intake, according to new US research. Scientists at Washington State University in Spokane have found that people with a history of kidney stones excreted more calcium in their urine when they were given a dose of caffeine equivalent to that found in two cups of coffee. Study author Dr Linda Massey says stone suffers should limit themselves to less than two cups of coffee per day or a comparable amount of caffeine from other sources.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Further ill-effects of childhood obesity

Obesity in children can lead to both constipation and lack of bowel control, according to new research. Scientists in the US say nearly one-quarter of obese children aged 1 to 18 are constipated, and that 15 per cent appeared to have problems with faecal soiling, which typically occurs in only 1 to 3 per cent of children generally. Dr Samuel Nurko, of the Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, says it is not entirely clear why the rate of bowel problems is so much higher in obese children. He believes that many paediatricians are unaware that their obese patients have bowel problems, and recommends that parents monitor frequency of toilet visits, and check for signs of soiling, bringing problems to doctors? attention.
(Reuters Health Online)
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Europeans “eat less bad fat than Americans” ? so far

The European Food Safety Authority says Europeans eat less of the most dangerous, cholesterol-raising fats than Americans do and that intake is dropping. The US Food and Drug Administration has ordered food manufacturers to list trans fat alongside saturated fats on product labels, from 2006, and as the obesity problem in the US spreads to Europe, there have been calls for food manufacturers in the EU to be required to do likewise. Denmark has already ordered a virtual end to the use of artificial trans fats in processed foods, and is urging other EU countries to do the same. The executive director of the European Food Safety Authority, Geoffrey Podger, says decisions on whether or not the EU should follow the United States’ lead is a political matter.
(The Washington Post Online)
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Food safety warning

The Food Standards Agency is advising against the consumption of a number of pickles, sauces and preserved vegetables imported from Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and India. The products contain illegally high levels of erucic acid, a substance naturally found in some plant-derived oils. Although there have been no confirmed cases of toxicity in humans, high levels of erucic acid have been linked to the formation of fatty deposits in heart muscle in animals. The affected products ? which include varieties of preserved chilli beans, mango pickle and minced green chilli paste ? have been found mostly in small food shops serving local ethnic communities.
(Food Standards Agency press release)
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Public “wants action on healthy eating”

More than 80 per cent of the public believes the government should subsidise the cost of fruit and vegetables in order to encourage healthy eating, according to a survey conducted for the BBC by ICM. Three quarters of those questioned said junk food ads should not be shown between children’s TV programmes and 60 per cent supported a ban on the displaying of sweets at supermarkets check outs. There is also widespread support for a prohibition on the practice of schools making money from vending machine sales to pupils. Paul Streets, the chief executive of the Health Development Agency, says, “The findings of this poll are a clear signal that a stronger partnership for health between the government and the public is needed to reduce ill-health.”
(BBC News Online)
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