Todays Newsbites

Dagwood Bumstead, the comic-strip character famed for his sandwiches, might want to check his blood pressure. A new analysis of national dietary data by USDA researchers reports that sandwiches account for one-fifth of average sodium intake, a key contributor to hypertension

Products containing coconut, coconut oil and coconut milk are popping up everywhere, with marketers touting coconut as the latest superfood. But a recent warning letter from the US Food and Drug Administration cautions coconut boosters not to overreach. The FDA warned that coconut products cant be labeled as healthy if they contain more than 1 gram of saturated fat or more than 15% of calories come from saturated fat. Some have claimed that the saturated fat in coconut is different because its mostly lauric acid, which a few small studies suggest is metabolized differently than other saturated fats. But the FDA isnt buying that argument, noting that coconut products might contain as much as 16 grams of saturated fat per serving.

The obesity epidemic may be leveling off, but more Americans are carrying fat around the middle-the most dangerous kind of obesity. A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, published in JAMA, says the rate of adult abdominal obesity has shot up from 46% in 1999-2000 to 54%. Abdominal obesity is defined as a waist size of more than 35 inches for women and 40 inches or more for men. During the 12-year span of the study, womens average waist size expanded two inches to 38 inches and men added an inch, to 40 inches.

The Environmental Working Group has waded into the healthy-food rankings game with a smartphone app and database of 80,000 foods, 5,000 ingredients and 1,500 brands. The new Food Scores guide combines nutrition data with ingredient concerns and processing issues to score foods 1 to 10, with 1 being the top cleaner, greener and healthier ranking.

Results from the Minnesota Heart Survey, spanning nearly 30 years and encompassing 12,526 participants, show some progress in healthier fat consumption-but still a long way to go. Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the study reported that consumption of trans fat and saturated fat has dropped. Overall trans fat intake fell about a third, but is still about double the target of less than 1% of calories set by the Heart Association in 2006. Saturated-fat intake fell from 13.7% of total calories to 11.4% for men and from 13.5% to 11.4% for women. Thats still above the 10% maximum recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and far more than the Heart Associations 5%-6% goal.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the rapid rise in US diabetes rates may be flattening out, possibly due to a similar slowing in increases in obesity. Published in JAMA, the report looked at data on more than 660,000 adults from the National Health Interview Survey. Although incidence of new diagnoses of diabetes had shot up from 3.2 per 1,000 people in 1990 to 8.8 in 2008, that rate actually dropped to 7.1 in 2012. Overall prevalence of diabetes, which rose sharply from 3.5 per 100 Americans to 7.9 from 1990 to 2008, increased only slightly to 8.3 by 2012.

If youre worried about calories when eating out at a chain restaurant, ask whats new. A recent analysis of nearly 20,000 menu items from 66 of the largest US chain eateries found that newer choices tended to contain fewer calories than the chains old standbys. That could be a reflection, researchers speculated, of restaurant companies concerns over federal rules requiring them to disclose calorie counts on menus. On average, new menu items such as wraps, salads and grilled chicken contained nearly 60 fewer calories-a 12% difference. Overall calories didnt change, however, nor did the calories in companies core products, such as the hamburgers at burger chains or pizzas at pizza restaurants.

Science may have debunked the low-fat fad, but most Americans still havent gotten the word. A Gallup poll reports that nearly twice as many of us are trying to avoid fat in our diets (56%) as those seeking to cut down on carbohydrates (29%). Among the 29% who say they are trying to lose weight, 73% are actively avoiding fats compared to 44% cutting down on carbs. Thats despite recent headlines reporting that low-carb diets are more effective than low-fat plans for weight loss.

Sorry, Porky, your time at the top is almost over: Within the next five years, the worlds most popular meat will become poultry. According to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, the slow growth rate of pork will lead to it being overtaken by chicken, turkey and other poultry products by 2020. Poultry is expected to take over in almost every region and country, including both developed and developing nations. By 2023, poultry is projected to account for half of the additional overall meat consumption. In the US, beef and pork consumption are expected to stay flat or decline slightly, while poultry will more than make up for the combined trend.

Americans are eating a slightly healthier diet than a decade ago, but low-income adults are falling behind in diet quality, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Using a Healthy Eating Index they devised, Harvard School of Public Health researchers compared eating habits from 1999-2000 and 2009-2010. Data came from national nutrition and health surveys, plus government estimates on trans fat intake.