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Reduced calorie intake has been shown to improve health and lifespan in laboratory animals, and recent research shows these benefits may extend to humans as well. Researchers show that moderate calorie restriction in people reduces the production of a protein called SPARC, which then reins in harmful inflammation and improves health in the aged. The study, led by Vishwa Deep Dixit, follows a study published earlier this year that identified key health benefits of moderate calorie reduction in humans. Dixit further analyzed data from a clinical trial funded by the NIH. In the trial, known as Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term...

While 1,500 calories may be a good guideline for many people, be sure to calculate your exact needs to optimize your weight loss journey The number of calories you need depends on many factors, including physical activity, gender, age, weight loss goals and overall health. It’s important to estimate how many calories your body requires to both maintain and lose weight when determining your needs. To calculate your overall calories needs, it’s necessary to calculate the total number of calories you typically burn in a day, which is known as your total daily energy expenditure. While weight loss is much...

The Food and Drug Administration is going to try its hand at shaming consumers into making healthier choices when they go out to eat. Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, the FDA announced a controversial and expansive rule that will require certain establishments with 20 or more locations -- including chain restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, and movie theaters -- to post calorie information on their menus and menu boards. A separate rule was also issued requiring operators of 20 or more vending machines to post calorie information. Section 4205 of the Affordable Care Act, a provision included in the law...

New York Fast Food Calorie Information Law Has Little Effect (New York, NY) -- A New York City law that mandated calorie information be displayed in fast food restaurants has had little effect. A New York University study found the labels don't really influence food choice. Researchers say ten-percent of those polled before the law went into effect noticed calorie labeling in restaurants. While awareness surged to about half after the signs went up, only about a quarter of those who saw the signs said it mattered to them. The reason for the policy was that if you had more...

A requirement tucked into the nation's massive health care bill will make calorie counts impossible for thousands of restaurants to hide and difficult for consumers to ignore. More than 200,000 fast food and other chain restaurants will have to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards and even drive-throughs. The new law, which applies to any restaurant with 20 or more locations, directs the Food and Drug Administration to create a new national standard for menu labeling, superseding a growing number of state and city laws. President Barack Obama was expected to sign the health care legislation Tuesday. The idea...

Democrats want you to know that your McDonald's Angus Burger meal has about 1,500 calories -- before you buy and burp. Buried deep in the House health care bill is a provision, likely to raise nanny-state hackles, requiring fast-food chains and vending machine owners to notify customers of calorie counts -- by conspicuously posting nutritional information on menus or machines.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Well, at least the salsa is low-cal. The West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor league baseball team, will be offering up major league cholesterol, carbohydrates and calories in an enormous hamburger being added to the menu this year at the Fifth Third Ballpark. The 4-pound, $20 burger features five beef patties, five slices of cheese, nearly a cup of chili and liberal doses of salsa and corn chips, all on an 8-inch sesame-seed bun. That's a lot of dough!

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that about two-thirds of American adults are obese or overweight, and nearly one-third of our children are heavier than their recommended weight. A recent report by the World Health Organization indicates that each year more than 33 million people worldwide die prematurely due to noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Closer to home, experts at the Center for Science in the Public Interest estimate that 400,000 Americans die annually from obesity-related illnesses. For years we have heard why our waistlines are expanding, straining our hearts, minds and bodies:...

Earlier this year the Food and Drug Administration's Obesity Working Group issued its "Calories Count" report urging the FDA to work with restaurants to disclose the number of calories in the products they sell," according to an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal. "But that's not good enough for some grinches in Congress. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D) and Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D) plan to re-introduce bills requiring chain restaurants with more than 20 outlets to list calorie counts either on menu boards or printed menus." In "Government Gets Fat Fighting Obesity," Cato policy analyst Radley Balko writes: "The...

A Monster Thickburger bought by a reporter Monday at a St. Louis Hardee's was presented appealingly enough, wrapped neatly in light paper and standing a whopping 2 1/2 inches tall inside a box. But the double-pattied behemoth, bought as part of combo with French fries and a drink, stretched the mouth and stomach, too much for the reporter to absorb in one sitting.

"Lammentations of a Dieter" Posted by Doc Farmer < http://www.chronwatch.com/site_search.asp?auth=90 > Saturday, May 24, 2003 I've made no secret of the fact that I'm fat, bald, and ugly. For those who think I'm putting myself down, though, I'm not. There's a difference between that and simple honesty of self. If I can't be honest with myself, how can I be expected to be honest with anybody else? That said, though, I don't like being fat. Bald is okay, mind you (thank God for the Gillette Mach 3) and ugly keeps me from being mistaken for a Hollywood type. But fat...