Todays Newsbites

For the first time since 1994, the rate of cigarette smoking among US adults actually rose a little. Health officials hope the increase-from 19.8% to almost 21%-is just a blip, but expressed disappointment that weve hit a wall in reducing adult smoking, as one anti-smoking activist put it. The news was released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which conducted in-person interviews of nearly 22,000 US adults in 2008. In a separate state-by-state survey, the CDC said West Virginia and Indiana have the highest smoking rates, about 26%, while Utah is home to by far the fewest smokers, only 9%.

On the bright side, another CDC report has found that the prevalence of US adults with high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol dropped by about one-third from 1999-2000 to 2005-2006. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on a sampling of 7,044 participants age 20 or older, CDC scientists calculated that the percentage of those with high LDL levels declined from 31.5% to 21.2%. The prevalence varied substantially by risk category, with those at highest risk due to cardiovascular conditions or diabetes declining from 69.4% with high LDL to 58.9%.

People on certain medications that interact with grapefruit juice may someday be able to enjoy the tart beverage again-thanks to a fungus. Studies by USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have shown that the fungus- Aspergillus niger-can either bind or break down the compounds in grapefruit, called furanocomarins (FCs), that affect medications. FCs inhibit the enzymatic activity responsible for metabolizing certain prescribed medications, allowing more of the medication to enter the bloodstream.

Slowing down your eating not only gives you a chance to actually taste your food, it may give your body time to signal, Enough! Greek researchers report that gobbling food appears to short-circuit the release of appetite-regulating hormones, promoting overeating. They conducted a crossover study with 17 healthy men,

Can active video games such as those played with the motion-controlled Nintendo Wii give you enough of a workout to count toward the goal of 30 minutes of daily exercise? A new study (funded by Nintendo) offers a cautious yes, demonstrating that playing games included in the Wii Sports and Wii Fit packages can be the equivalent of walking on a treadmill at three miles an hour or faster. Thats the threshold for moderate-intensity activity, about 3 metabolic equivalents (METS), a measure of energy expenditure.

Changes may be coming to the familiar Nutrition Facts panel on food packages. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just completed a public-comment period on a proposed study to test labeling changes with a randomly selected group of 3,600 consumers.

Darker-roasted peanuts pack a greater antioxidant punch, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in North Carolina. The researchers measured antioxidant levels in peanuts roasted at 362 degrees from zero to 77 minutes. Longer, darker roasting was consistently associated with higher levels of both water- and oil-soluble antioxidants, which scientists attributed to greater concentrations of phenolic compounds and/or browning reaction products.

Turning off the TV might help you lose weight-but only a little, reports the first study to measure the effects of a TV reduction intervention in adults. Researchers spent three weeks observing the viewing habits of 36 volunteers, all overweight or obese. Then 20 randomly selected participants had their TVs fitted with a device that shut off the screen after theyd reached a weekly limit of half their previous viewing time. The other 16 served as a control group, watching all the TV they wanted.

The American Dietetic Association says a nutritious diet, not pills, is the best way to promote health and reduce the risk of disease. In a new position statement, the dieticians group stated, The best nutrition-based strategy for promoting optimal health and reducing the risk of chronic disease is to wisely choose a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods.

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).