This 2006 industry report from IDG.com is now available for free download. It provides guidance to the UK food industry on whole grains.
Archive for category Nutrition and obesity
UK Whole Grain Guidance
Mar 13
Until March 18th you can dowload the 64 page report “Contemporary Food Trends” on Nutrition Trends for free. Thanks, Hartman Group. The world is a very, very different place than it was 12 months ago. To look back at where we’ve been as well as where we are headed, to try to make sense of life in these uncertain economic times. Consumers are beginning to approach nutrition in critically different ways than in past epochs: Consumers are increasingly looking to specific foods ‘” ideally non-packaged versions of those foods ‘” which are considered to provide nutritional benefits originally obtained from supplements. As a direct consequence of this trend, we are already noting precipitous declines in supplement usage in certain critical categories. Enjoy reading.
The Which? consumer magasin in the UK just published a highly interessting 36 page report called “Hungry for Change?”. It’s about their healthy eating campaign, the demands they set out to government and industry and the progress that been made. Enjoy reading.
A new study from Detroit finds that the food environment of a neighborhood (the presence or absence of grocery stores, food markets and convenience stores) and whether they sell fresh produce influences how many fruits and vegetables are eaten daily. Having a large grocery store in the neighborhood boosted the average fruit and vegetable intake by 0.69 servings per day.
A total of 2054 schoolchildren aged 7-14 from Germany participated. Weight status of the children was associated with weight status, education and employment status of the parents. Meal patterns were strongly dependent on children’s age and parental employment. As age increased, the frequency of meal consumption, participation rate in school lunches and the number of family meals decreased. Age-specific prevention programmes should encourage greater meal frequency. The close involvement of parents is essential in any strategy for improving children’s (families’) diets.
A cross-sectional survey of twelve fresh fruit and vegetable items in 288 food stores in ten communities across Scotland showed that stores in more affluent areas tended to have the highest-quality fresh fruit and vegetables. Stores where food is secondary, stores in urban settings and stores in more deprived areas tended have the lowest-quality fresh produce.
For 1317 adolescents aged 15-19 years logistic regression was used to examine the association of overweight or high waist circumference with fast-food and sweetened beverage consumption, adjusting for potential confounders. Overweight occurs frequently among Jamaican 15-19-year-olds and is associated with increased consumption of sweetened beverages. High WC is more prevalent among females and is related to low consumption of fruits and vegetables. Measures to reduce the consumption of sweetened beverages and increase fruit intake may reduce the prevalence of excess body fat among adolescents.
Parents of 800 Australian kids completed a questionnaire regarding the frequency per week their child usually ate takeaway or fast foods. Access to outlets where takeaway or fast food could be purchased did not predict frequency of consumption of takeaway or fast food in the expected direction. Such relationships appear to be complex and may not be adequately captured by the measures of access included in the current study.
For more than 25 years, Quebec has had one of the world’s toughest policies on the marketing of products to children. According to 2004 StatsCan data, the prevalence of obese and overweight children in Quebec is lower than in the rest of Canada. Children in Quebec also eat more fruits and vegetables and less fast food than children in provinces where industry essentially polices itself when it comes to advertising to children.
The Environmental Working Group just issued a guide to consumers on how to cope with pesticides on fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s handy shopping card identifies the Dirty Dozen (highest in pesticides) and the Clean Fifteen (lowest). Organics, it says, are still the best choices! Here is how they arrived at the 12 and 15 products: http://www.foodnews.org/methodology.php