The timing of solid foods didn’t increase the odds of becoming obese in youngsters who were breast-fed. But among children who were never breast-fed — or who stopped breast-feeding before the age of 4 months — introducing solid foods before 4 months of age was linked to a sixfold increase in the risk of obesity, according to the research, which was published online Feb. 7 and will appear in the March print issue of Pediatrics.

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The World Health Organization says heads of state will use the U.N. General Assembly meeting to talk about limiting the number and type of ads that children are exposed to.

WHO says 43 million preschool children around the world are overweight or obese. Experts talk of a “fat tsunami” that is already causing millions of premature deaths each year.

Bjorn-Inge Larsen of the Norwegian Directorate of Health told reporters Friday that he expects voluntary measures limiting junk food advertising to eventually evolve into laws banning the practice in the same way that has occurred with tobacco.

via The Associated Press: World leaders to discuss junk food ad ban at UN.

Stroke is the nation’s third leading cause of death, killing more than 140,000 Americans annually and temporarily or permanently disabling over half a million when there is a loss of blood flow to the brain.

Researchers say their findings, to be presented Nov. 15 at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago, back up evidence from earlier work at Johns Hopkins linking vitamin D deficiency to higher rates of death, heart disease and peripheral artery disease in adults.

ScienceDaily click link for full article.

The report released today found that children as young as two years old are seeing more advertisements than ever, and that restaurants rarely offer the healthier options for kids meals.

The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity studied marketing efforts of 12 of the nation’s largest fast-food chains, and examined the calories, fat, sugar and sodium in more than 3,000 kids’ meal combinations.

Only 12 of the 3,000 meet the researchers’ nutrition criteria for preschoolers, and just 15 do for older kids.

The study also found that 40 percent of two to 11 year olds ask to go to McDonald’s at least once a week, and 15 percent of preschoolers ask to go every day.

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Recently San Francisco passed a new bill targeting kids meals. Under the new bill meals will have to have fewer than 600 calories, fewer than 640 milligrams of sodium and less than 35 percent of calories from fat (with an exception for some healthy items, like nuts).

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While there have been no reports of injuries, the Pictsweet Co. of Bells, Tennessee, is advising the public not to eat the recalled store-brand vegetables because of the potential for harm.

Consumers should return them to the place of purchase for a full refund, Pictsweet said.

The voluntary recall covers the following items:

– Kroger 12-ounce Green Peas (UPC 11110 89736). Production Codes of 1440BU, 1440BV, 1440BW, and 1600BD.

– Kroger 12-ounce Peas and Carrots (UPC 11110 89741). Production Codes of 1960BD and 1960BE.

– Great Value 12-ounce Steamable Sweet Peas (UPC 78742 08369). Best by dates of July 20, 2012; July 21, 2012.

– Great Value 12-ounce Steamable Mixed Vegetables (UPC 78742 08026). Best by date of July 15, 2012.

Consumers with questions may contact Pictsweet toll-free at 1-800-367-7412, extension 417, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time, Monday through Friday.

From CNN

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson announced Thursday that they are seeking permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the nation’s food stamp program, to add sugary drinks to the list of prohibited goods for city residents receiving assistance.

If approved, it would be the first time an item would be banned from the federal program based solely on nutritional value.

Spending government money on “foods of little or no nutritional value not only contradicts the intent of the program, it also effectively subsidizes a serious public health epidemic,” New York officials wrote in their proposal.

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Of an average 2,200 daily calories, around 800 are attributable to solid fats or added sugars, Jill Reedy, PhD, MPH, RD, and Susan M. Krebs-Smith, PhD, MPH, RD, of the National Cancer Institute, reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

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Sixty-seven percent of people who drank a blueberry smoothie twice a day for six weeks experienced a 10% or greater improvement in their insulin sensitivity, compared with 41% of people in the placebo smoothie group. The study results are published in the October issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

The findings suggest that compounds found in blueberries, which have also been found to improve heart health, may help people with prediabetes by making the body more responsive to insulin. What the biochemical chain reaction or cellular pathways might be remain unclear. But given the challenges of getting people to eat more fruits and vegetables, researchers suggest a smoothie may be a tasty alternative to help people increase their fruit and vegetable intake and boost their health.

U.S. health investigators on Monday detailed a slew of violations that included the presence of manure pits, rodents and dead flies at two Iowa farms implicated in the recent egg recall due to salmonella infection.

At Wright County Egg, infractions included manure piles seeping into hen houses.

"In some cases, the manure piles were four-to-eight feet high," Elder said.

Rodents and wildlife, including wild birds, also had easy access to poultry houses, and investigators observed "dead flies too numerous to count" and dead flies which were "crushed underfoot" when employees traversed the poultry houses, Elder said.

Dead maggots were even observed in the manure at one farm.

Also, "employees failed to change protective clothing when moving from one house to another," Elder said, and they weren’t sanitizing equipment.

Similar violations were logged at Hillandale, with rodents having convenient entryways into the poultry houses. Standing water was found near manure piles and "uncaged hens were tracking manure from the manure pit into the caged areas," Elder said.

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