CAMDEN, N.J. – The Campbell Soup Co. is planning to spend $10 million over the next decade on a new initiative to reduce obesity and hunger among children in Camden, the company’s impoverished hometown.
Company officials plan to announce the initiative Wednesday but gave The Associated Press details in advance.
“We want to build hope in Camden,” Campbell President and CEO Douglas Conant said. “And we think we can.”
The FDA’s review, posted online Friday, also raised questions about the pill’s effects on the heart, a perennial issue for weight loss drugs that have been plagued by safety issues.
Orexigen’s pill Contrave is the third weight loss pill to be reviewed by the FDA this year. FDA officials have acknowledged the need for new weight loss drugs amid an epidemic of U.S. obesity, though the agency rejected the two other medications due to safety concerns.
Eating for two just took on a whole new meaning. Researchers have found that a mother’s diet during pregnancy could alter her child’s DNA, through a process called epigenetic change, which could lead to her child putting on extra weight later in life. So those KitKat bars, salty French fries, and crispy bacon need to be eaten in moderation.
While it is no surprise that eating a healthy balanced diet while pregnant will give your baby the best chance at a healthy life, researchers have found a link that proves obesity, and its related health problems, begins in the womb. Regardless of the normal weight of the mother, her diet—particularly in the first trimester—can effect genetic changes that will make her offspring more likely to gain an excess of fatty tissue.
American supermarket meat cases offer more than just a variety of protein-packed fare. A new study found that much of the meat and poultry produced in the United States is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In fact, the analysis revealed that 47 percent of the meat sampled contained drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as Staph bacteria. The full report was recently published in the April 15 edition of the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
MONDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) — When it comes to shedding pounds and improving or eliminating type 2 diabetes, gastric bypass surgery may be better than other surgical weight-loss procedures, two new studies find.
But obese patients should be careful to choose surgeons who have performed a high volume of these procedures before committing, said Dr. Guilherme M. Campos, lead author of one of two papers appearing in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery.
MUMBAI (AFP) – Indian housewife Sujata Budarapu was shocked when she was told that her two sons were on the verge of developing Type 2 diabetes.
“It had never even occurred to me that this could happen. I had heard that outside India this happens to other people’s kids but I never thought it would happen to my own,” the 38-year-old from Mumbai told AFP.
Sujata’s children are not exceptional cases, even in a country more traditionally associated with malnourishment and chronic food shortages than overeating and weight-related illness.
Spring has sprung; green grass, budding trees and a wide array of beautiful flowers and plants are arriving daily. However, spring also brings something that isn’t so welcome; seasonal allergies. Each year more than 35 million Americans face symptoms such as sneezing, wheezing, runny nose, and itchy, watery, red eyes.
Many allergy sufferers find relief in traditional medications, such as oral decongestants, antihistamines, topical steroid sprays, and desensitization. However, an increasing number of people are turning to all-natural treatments. Mary Hardy, M.D., director of integrative medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, says, “Using nature-based products can be a very useful way to handle mild allergies and a useful adjunct for more significant allergies, and there are many types of treatments you can safely try.”
It may be surprising to learn that despite a ban on birth control, that the Catholic Church is losing the battle with its female followers. According to a new report from the Guttermacher Institute, a nonprofit sexual and reproductive health research organization, about 98 percent of sexually active Catholic women use contraceptives. This leaves a mere 2 percent among the most pious who rely on natural family planning, as mandated by the practice of Catholicism.
The findings support a decade-long trend tracked by Catholics for Choice, and the current numbers are almost identical to those from the 2002 NSFG, which found that 97 percent of Catholic women were using birth control.
Blueberries are primarily touted as an antioxidant, and they do in fact serve up a good-sized dose of antioxidants, as well as containing anthocyanins and phenolics that can also act as antioxidants. Antioxidants serve to protect the body against the damaging effects of free radicals, combating aging and chronic illness. And the USH Blueberry Council reports that “Using a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have shown that a serving of fresh blueberries provides more antioxidant activity than many other fresh fruits and vegetables.” And now, research is showing that blueberries can be added to the arsenal to fight obesity.
Obesity not only puts people at risk for a number of chronic conditions but may also increase the likelihood of dying in a car crash, according to a new study.
The results show moderately obese individuals – those with a body mass index, or BMI, between 35 and 39 – have a 21-percent increased risk of death during a severe car crash compared with normal-weight individuals. Morbidly obese individuals – those with a BMI of 40 and above – have a 56-percent increased risk of death from car crashes. BMI is a ratio of weight to height and is considered an indicator of body fatness.