Overweight moms underestimate their child’s weight

Moms who are overweight and also have overweight kids tend to underestimate their own child’s weight, but when it comes to judging whether an unrelated child is overweight, her effectiveness will depend on her socioeconomic status, a report in the journal Pediatrics says. More than 200 moms looked at silhouettes of kids of different sizes, and while two-thirds could correctly identify the pictures of overweight kids, just over 40 percent put their own child in the right weight group. Researchers say that’s a problem, because the first step in getting parents involved in helping a child lose weight is getting them to realize the child has a weight problem.

Cookie dough tests positive for E. coli

After a nationwide recall of Toll House refrigerated cookie dough, tests at the manufacturing plant have confirmed E. coli in the dough. Sixty-nine illnesses in 26 states have been linked to the outbreak, and the Food and Drug Administration is working with Nestle to determine the cause of the contamination (you’d expect salmonella in cookie dough, not E. coli). The company says anyone with products that are part of the recall can return them to the store for a refund.

Lessons from Kentucky on school junk food

Kentucky may be the seventh-fattest state in the union, but it’s been a leader in limiting junk food in schools, passing bans on soda and sugary drinks as well as fatty, salty and sugary snacks back in 2005. One school district saw revenue rise 61 percent when healthier options were the only choices in the cafeteria, without raising prices. Such precedents are likely to shape the debate as Congress reauthorizes the school lunch program this year. But there’s another change that might bode well for those who want junk out of schools as well: more food companies are backing federal standards that would limit portion sizes and eliminate full-strength sodas. Of course they aren’t for getting rid of their products entirely in schools, but many of the big companies sell healthier options as well as the junky stuff.

Antioxidant seems to boost exercise performance

When 12 college students who were not regular exercisers were given supplements of the antioxidant quercetin, they seemed to have improved performance when exercising compared to a week they were monitored without taking the supplement. Quercetin is found in red apples, red onions, green and black tea, cabbages and broccoli and is thought to help activate cell energy and halt inflammation. During the week when participants got the supplement they had a 4 percent increase in oxygen uptake while exercising and were able to work out 13 percent longer before feeling too tired to continue.

Belgium says Red Bull is safe

Finally, you may remember reports from late last month that Red Bull Cola was found to have tiny traces of cocaine in samples tested in Germany and was taken from shelves. Now the food safety board in Belgium says it has conducted its own test and found no traces of the substance when it sampled 20 cans. The group says the public should not be worried about the contents of the soda.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 and is filed under Beverages, Childhood obesity, Exercise and fitness, Food miscellaneous, Food safety, Foreign stories (non-U.S.), Kids and families, Legal and legislative, Nibbles: diet news shorts, Nutrition, Public policy, School lunches and junk food, Snacks, Soda pop, HFCS, and beverages. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.