General Mills to cut sugar in kids’ cereal
Wed Dec 9, 11:48 pm ET
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) — Good news for health-conscious parents: General Mills plans to further cut the amount of sugar in the cereals it markets to children under 12.
The Minneapolis-based company, the maker of such cereals as Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs, announced Wednesday that it will reduce the sugar content in 10 of its products to less than 11 grams, following up on product modifications begun two years ago.
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Reuters: What kids drink at 5 could affect weight at 15
By Joene Hendry – Fri Nov 6, 4:24 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Parents may be setting their daughters up for weight problems simply by allowing them to drink two or more sweetened drinks daily while young, study findings hint.
Higher sweetened beverage intake, such as sodas and fruit and sport drinks, at age 5 years was linked to more body fat during the following 10 years, Dr. Laura Fiorito, at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, told Reuters Health in an email.
Higher body fat during the teen years has been tied to long-term overweight and other health problems such as diabetes and later heart disease, Fiorito and colleagues note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Fiorito’s team looked at what 166 non-Hispanic white girls drank between the ages of 5 and 15. They also measured their weight, height, and body fat.
Body fat and weight did not vary depending on how much milk or juice made from 100 percent fruit the girls drank.
By contrast, after allowing for other factors tied to weight and body fat levels, girls who drank two or more sweetened drinks daily had higher percentages of body fat, weighed more, and were more likely to be overweight than girls who drank lesser amounts of such beverages.
For example, of the 5 and 15 year old girls drinking less than one drink, the researchers found about 16 and 19 percent overweight, respectively. Among those drinking 2 or more sweetened drinks, about 39 percent were overweight at 5 years, while and 32 percent were the same when 15 years old.
Therefore, caregivers of young children should substitute sweetened drinks with reduced-fat milk and water, Fiorito and colleagues conclude.
SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, October 2009.
New Food Safety website
By HENRY C. JACKSON, Associated Press Writer Henry C. Jackson, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 9, 1:53 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is rolling out a new Web site designed to streamline food safety information for consumers.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the new Web site — http://www.foodsafety.gov — on Wednesday during the Consumer Federation of America’s food policy conference. The site will put food-related information from all federal agencies in one place, including recall and contamination alerts and tips on how to safely handle food.
The Web site is a joint effort between HHS, the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.
Sebelius says the site would help consumers who have been worried about product recalls.
Fortified Juice Boosts Kids’ Omega-3 Levels
Good news, parents!
A new study suggests that fortified juice could offer an alternative to fish for boosting levels of healthy omega-3 fats in children.
According to a Reuters Health article, “Researchers found that orange juice fortified with the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was able to raise blood levels of DHA in 31, 4- to 12-year-olds who drank the juice for six weeks.”
DHA is believed to play an important role in early brain and eye development. It is mostly found in fatty fish, such as salmon and mackerel. However, children tend to shun fish.
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