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Retailers that accept food stamps would have to start stocking a wider variety of healthy foods or face the loss of consumers under proposed rules expected to be announced by the Agriculture Department on Tuesday. The rules are designed to ensure that the more than 46 million Americans who use food stamps have better access to healthy foods although they don't dictate what people buy or eat. A person using food stamp dollars could still purchase as much junk food as they wanted, but they would at least have more options in the store to buy fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats...

The Agriculture Department says 524 schools—out of about 100,000—have dropped out of the federally subsidized national school lunch program since the government introduced new standards for healthier foods last year. The new standards have been met with grumbling from school nutrition officials who say they are difficult and expensive to follow, conservatives who say the government shouldn’t be dictating what kids eat and—unsurprisingly—from some children who say the less-greasy food doesn’t taste as good. But USDA says the vast majority of schools are serving healthier food, with some success. Data the department is planning to release Monday shows that 80...

(CNN) -- Would you be more likely to take the stairs if the elevator doors were slower to close? Would you be more likely to eat healthy foods if the unhealthy selections were harder to reach? You might -- and you might not even be aware of it. Humans, as well as other animals, are motivated to conserve energy and have a built-in preference for the shortest or easiest way of doing something over a longer or more difficult way. Our behavior is guided by two systems: a reflective system, in which we act in a conscious way, working toward...

According to a report released Monday by the Archives of Internal Medicine, there is a growing epidemic across developed nations like the United States. The study recommends that one possible sure fire method for slowing the escalation of obesity in America would be to add a “surcharge” ie.added taxes or fees. Ann Arbor, America are you ready to may more in order to eat less? Mitchell H. Katz, MD; Rajiv Bhatia, MD, MPH, author of the study is betting that Americans might be willing to “put their money where their mouth is.” Oh really. Perhaps the notion of paying more...