Weight Management

If you listen to advocates of the raw food movement, everything is better for you when its not cooked. But theres a whole group of leafy-green vegetables traditionally served cooked-mustard, collard and turnip greens-that, except in the South, most Americans simply skip as they concentrate on fresh salad greens. Cooking helps tame the flavors of some greens, like mustard, that might deter some diners. Cooking can also make chard more palatable, when its leaves and stems are too mature for salads. And of course cooking opens up a whole different menu for spinach and kale.

Since 2007, 16 of the nations leading food and beverage companies have cut 6.4 trillion calories out of the American diet-equivalent to 78 daily calories per person. Thats the conclusion of a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which worked with the companies to help combat childhood obesity.

While US obesity rates remain at historic highs, only Arkansas has seen an increase in the percentage of adults who are obese, while the other 49 states hit pause in a three-decade trend of ever-fatter populations.

Answer : A Nicola McKeown, PhD, director of Tufts Nutritional Epidemiology Program, responds: There is a great deal of testimonial evidence on whats known in the vernacular as wheat belly, but there is a lack of scientific evidence to support the claims...

If you knew it would take two hours of brisk walking to burn off the calories in that quarter-pound double cheeseburger, would you be less likely to order it?

Americans LDL cholesterol levels have stopped

If you think you can avoid unhealthy restaurant fare by skipping nation-wide chain restaurants for smaller local eateries, a new Tufts study has a wake-up call for you.

New government data suggest that while US levels of obesity and overweight remain far too high, the rate of increase may be slowing. About one-third of adults were obese in the latest analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

In another new study on obesity, the toll of excess weight on Americans health and quality of life was reported to have overtaken that of smoking, even though tobacco still poses a greater mortality threat. The analysis of 15 years of public-health data concluded that by 2008, the obese were losing more quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) through disability and limitations on activity. That contrasts with 1993, when the QALYs lost to obesity were far behind the toll of smoking.

Combining diet and exercise is the most effective formula for obese seniors who want to improve physical performance, according to a new year-long study. For older people, the findings suggest, losing weight may be just as important for fighting off frailty as for avoiding obesity-related medical conditions