An Israeli study released in the latest issue of the journal, Steroids, has suggested that adding dessert foods such as cakes, cookies or chocolate to a balanced breakfast meal, could aid in the functionality of weight-losing dieting to help control cravings. The study was conducted by a team of scientists led by Dr Daniela Jakubowicz, a leading professor Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine. Over 32 weeks, One hundred and ninety three clinically obese, non-diabetic adults were randomly... ...Read more »

Scientists from the University of Sydney, Australia, claim to have found the first scientific evidence that dietary protein plays an important role in human appetites. According to the Dr Alison Gosby and Professor Steve Simpson, from the university’s School of Biological Sciences, including enough protein in our diets, rather than simply cutting calories, is the key to curbing appetites and preventing excessive consumption of fats and carbohydrates. In their study, 22 participants were put on... ...Read more »

Survey findings published this week by Go Grains Health and Nutrition, an advocacy body for the Australian grain industry, appear to indicate that Australians are eating just over half the recommended daily amount of grain-based foods because of concerns about weight gain. Go Grains Health and Nutrition commissioned market research agency Colmar Brunton to undertake a national survey tracking the consumption of grain-based foods, breads, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta and noodles, and legumes in... ...Read more »

The results of a survey by weight-loss company Atkins suggest that over half of women in the UK think more about food than they do about sex. Atkins surveyed 1,290 women dieters across the UK. In addition to 54 per cent of the women confessing that they thought about food more than they thought about sex, over a third of the women, 37 per cent, said they thought about food and dieting more than they thought about their partner. One in four of the women surveyed by Atkins admitted they thought dieting... ...Read more »

Women are much more likely to be persuaded to either eat healthily or undertake dangerous dieting by other women, rather than men, according to new research from The Australian National University. The research by PhD student Tegan Cruwys, released during National Psychology Week, found that both healthy and unhealthy messages delivered by men had little effect on the female participants. Additionally, she found that when a healthy eating message is delivered by someone women identify with, it was... ...Read more »

Has the long-sought magic potion in society’s “battle with the bulge” finally arrived? An appetite-control agent that requires no prescription, has no common side effects, and costs almost nothing? Scientists today reported results of a new clinical trial confirming that just two 8-ounce glasses of the stuff, taken before meals, enables people to shed pounds. The weight-loss elixir, they told the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), is ordinary water. “We... ...Read more »

Eating “better for you” foods rather than dieting appears to be the weapon of choice against the battle of the bulge, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research firm. NPD reports that the percentage of American adults on a diet has decreased by 10 percentage points since 1990, while the percentage of Americans eating healthier foods has increased. “While dieting for both women and men remain huge markets, they are not growing markets,” says Harry Balzer, Vice President... ...Read more »