An Australian school-based obesity prevention program for adolescent girls has failed to reduce body mass index (BMI) in the participants, according to a report published by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Researchers at the University of Newcastle, Australia, examined the effects of a 12-month group trial designed to prevent unhealthy weight gain in adolescent girls living in low-income communities. The study was funded by a grant from the Australian Research Council. The study... ...Read more »

The US National Restaurant Association (NRA) research has published a list of trends it predicts will emerge in the US quick service restaraunt industry during 2012. As diners become more sophisticated in their tastes and desire for flavourful, healthful foods, quickservice and fast-casual operators are plating up additional items that satisfy those demands, the NRA research found. Consumers questioned for the NRA’s 2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast ranked their top 10 food trends and several... ...Read more »

Food manufacturers including Nestlé, Hershey and Kraft Foods have published their own uniform guidelines on the nutritional content of products advertised to US children. The criteria, published yesterday, are an attempt to regain the initiative over the issue from the US government, which has put forward plans for criteria for the food industry to follow. The US government, which is facing rising levels of obesity, published its set of “voluntary principles” in April and invited public... ...Read more »

SPC Ardmona has announced the release of three new fruit snacks aimed at kids of all ages into supermarkets across Australia. The Coca-Cola Amatil subsidiary said the three snacks, SPC Fruit Squeezies, SPC Fruit Crush-Ups and SPC Power Pulp, are designed specifically to make fruit fun for kids of all ages, from preschoolers to teens. “According to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, kids aged four to 18 should eat between one and five serves of fruit each day. However the latest National... ...Read more »

UK supermarket chain Tesco is launching a healthy-eating range for children in the UK called Tesco Goodness, which is already on sale at its stores in the US.The range is a selection of healthy snacks, convenient chilled prepared meals and lunchbox fillers developed to meet children’s nutritional needs, the UK retailer said. It is also the first own-label range to be introduced to the UK market from Tesco’s international business. Goodness is already available in Tesco’s Fresh &... ...Read more »

Children’s exposure to television advertising for unhealthy fast food has not changed since the introduction of industry self-regulation, and fast food ads are significantly more frequent overall, according to new research from the University of Sydney. The research, led by dietician Lana Hebden and published in the Medical Journal of Australia today, analysed all TV ads broadcast during a four-day sample period, in both May 2009 and April 2010. The Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry... ...Read more »

Overweight girls lose more weight and can better stay on a healthy diet if they eat sugar-free, low-fat desserts several times weekly, as opposed to their choice of dessert once a week, according to a new study by the Athens University School of Medicine. “Dieters commonly splurge on dessert once a week, usually choosing fattening items,” said lead investigator Antonia Dastamani, MD, PhD, a pediatrician and research fellow at Athens University School of Medicine. “However, we found... ...Read more »

The South Australian Health Minister, John Hill, has announced new results from the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service showing a decline in the percentage of four year-old children in South Australia who are overweight or obese. In 2003, 20.1 percent of four year-olds were overweight or obese; in 2009 that had fallen to 18.3 percent. The Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service measures the height and weight of 4-5 year-old children to monitor the weight status of preschool children... ...Read more »

McDonalds has defended their iconic Happy Meals against a lawsuit alleging that the fast food company’s use of toys is unfair and deceptive marketing, and lures children into unhealthy choices. America’s Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) announced in June that they would sue McDonalds if McDonalds continued to include toys in the meal, and yesterday announced their support for California mother-of-two Monet Parham in filing her class-action lawsuit against the company. “I... ...Read more »

A new study by Cornell University suggests that the simplest way to persuade kids to make healthy food choices in school canteens is to make them easy and appealing. In one set of schools examined, sales of fruit increased by 100% when it was moved to a colorful bowl. Salad bar sales tripled when the cart was placed in front of cash registers. The conclusion of six different studies with over 11,000 middle and high school studies show that psychology and economics might be better than outlawing tasty... ...Read more »