http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. With simple and innovative measures, public agencies at state and local levels can play a significant role in promoting healthier eating habits—steps that could make a difference in curbing the nation's obesity epidemic. One effective option, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is requiring restaurants to include calorie counts on menus, along with the physical activity equivalents required to burn off a meal. The researchers, who examined studies on calorie labeling and regulatory options available to local governments, offer several recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of menu labeling. The suggestions are especially applicable to chain restaurants with fewer than 20 locations, a category that represents more than half of the restaurants in the U.S. These eateries are not subject to the federal Affordable Care Act's menu- labeling provision. It requires chain restaurants with more than 20 locations to provide calorie information on their menus and menu boards, as well as a statement addressing daily recommended caloric intake. The findings are featured in a Perspective in the May 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-state-local-obesity-epidemic.html Overweight and Obesity Thu, 09 May 2013 16:02:45 EST news287334155 (Medical Xpress)—Subway may promote itself as the "healthy" fast food restaurant, but it might not be a much healthier alternative than McDonald's for adolescents, according to new UCLA research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-adolescents-subway-food-healthier-mcdonald.html Health Wed, 08 May 2013 07:08:25 EST news287215697 The most obese state in the U.S. now says local governments can't restrict the sizes of food or drink portions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-obese-state-food-portion-restrictions.html Overweight and Obesity Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:55:16 EST news282923706 (AP)—Anti-smoking advocates and health experts hailed proposals from Mayor Michael Bloomberg that would keep cigarettes out of sight in New York City stores, while tobacco companies and smokers called it an overreach. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nyc-cigarette-criticism.html Health Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:52:23 EST news282898331 (AP)—A new proposal would require New York City retailers to keep tobacco products out of sight under a proposal aimed at reducing the youth smoking rate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nyc-tobacco-products-sight.html Health Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:29:05 EST news282828538 A little-noticed provision of the Affordable Care Act requires all chain restaurants and retail food establishments with 20 or more locations to list calorie counts on their menus. But according to research co-written by a University of Illinois agricultural economist, numeric calorie labels might not be the most effective way to influence patrons to select "healthier" (often interpreted as lower-calorie) items. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-traffic-menus-effective-diners.html Health Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:12:07 EST news282409920 Eateries around New York City have gotten a last-minute reprieve from the first ever U.S. ban on big sugary drinks, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg is urging them to shrink their cups and bottles, anyway. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nyc-mayor-soda-decision-temporary.html Health Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:10:01 EST news282322327 (AP)—Diners will have to wait a little longer to find calorie counts on most restaurant chain menus, in supermarkets and on vending machines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-fda-menu-thorny-issue.html Health Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:30:01 EST news282286961 (AP)—A judge struck down New York City's pioneering ban on big sugary drinks Monday just hours before it was supposed to take effect, handing a defeat to health-minded Mayor Michael Bloomberg and creating confusion for restaurants that had already ordered smaller cups and changed their menus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-nyc-sugary-drinks-size.html Health Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:19:04 EST news282241130 Spectator sports and food—often high-calorie or low-nutrition—have long gone hand-in-hand, yet FDA regulations geared toward calorie transparency at restaurant chains ignore this relationship. Popular fast-food restaurants soon will be required to post calorie counts, but concession stands at major sports facilities and many sports bars will not. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-expert-sport-food-strong.html Health Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:10:01 EST news279267731 A new poll finds that Americans blame too much cheap fast food for fueling the nation's fat epidemic, but they're split on how much the government should do to save them from themselves. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-poll-obesity-crisis-junk-food.html Overweight and Obesity Fri, 04 Jan 2013 04:58:08 EST news276497871 With grilled chicken, salads and oatmeal now on fast food menus, you might think fast food has become healthier. And indeed, there has been greater attention in the media and legislatively, paid to the healthfulness of fast food. But a close look at the industry has found that calorie counts have changed little, while the number of food items has doubled. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-fast-food-menus-lot-calories.html Health Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:57:38 EST news272037451 Calorie listings on fast-food chain restaurant menus might meet federal labeling requirements but don't do a good job of helping consumers trying to make healthy meal choices, a new Columbia University School of Nursing (CUSON) study reports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-fast-food-menu-calorie-legally-compliant.html Health Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:14:25 EST news249225255 Like any fitness program, it works only if you pay attention to it. A new study on New York City's effort to encourage healthy eating by posting calorie counts on menus shows that it worked for about one in six customers - or those who paid heed to them. Those who ignored the numbers or didn't see them ordered whatever they wanted, regardless of how fattening it was. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-nyc-fast-food-menu-calorie.html Health Wed, 27 Jul 2011 03:00:31 EST news230954413 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new study by Yale University suggests that people's state of mind may influence how physically satisfied they feel after a meal and how likely they are to still feel hungry and consume additional food. The study, which could have implications in the fight against obesity, appears online in the journal Health Psychology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-mind.html Health Wed, 25 May 2011 05:36:51 EST news225520551