Five cited for no calorie labels

New York City health inspectors issued citations to five restaurants — a Dunkin’ Donuts, a McDonald’s, a Popeye’s, a Sbarro and a TGI Friday’s - on Monday for failing to have calorie counts posted on menus. The citations are actually just warnings, as the city will not be allowed to issue fines to restaurants that violate the calorie-posting rule until July. Not posting counts will not affect whether a restaurant passes its health inspection, even when fines are introduced. One inspector gave three of the citations, but there’s no word on how many calories he consumed in the process…

Decades of studies show obesity/dementia link

Obese adults have a greater likelihood of developing dementia, according to a report from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins. Researchers looked at studies of obesity and dementia conducted over the past two decades and found that obesity increased the risk of dementia by 80 percent on average, compared to people of normal weight. They said treating obesity when patients are still relatively young could reduce this risk…

LAPD put on a diet

The Los Angeles Police Department has hired a dietitian to help existing members of the force and new recruits get to and maintain a healthy weight. Since July, Rana Parker has performed one-on-one nutrition consulting with about 90 recruits, as well as offering a nutrition course for about 500 others and making presentations for 400 officers. Long hours and being constantly on the move are barriers to officers getting a healthy diet, but little changes like laying off the fruit punch and eating breakfast have helped one recruit shrink by four sizes…

Big bottoms may protect against diabetes

People with large behinds don’t always like them, but new research from Harvard Medical School shows that having a large backside may protect against diabetes. The subcutaneous fat, which is what a big booty is made of, improved insulin sensitivity and helped regulate blood sugar in mice that were injected with it. The mice who had the fat injected deep into their bellies also lost weight and shrunk the size of their fat cells, even though there was no change in their diet or exercise levels…

Blocking enzyme helps mice stay slim

Finally, speaking of mice, another study found that blocking one enzyme in the brain of mice made them eat less, lose weight and have better blood sugar control. The enzyme, CaMKK2, is known to play a role in appetite in mice and humans, as it is regulated by the hormone ghrelin, which signals the brain when the stomach is empty. Mice without the enzyme were able to stay slim regardless of whether they ate a low-fat or high-fat diet.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 and is filed under Nibbles: diet news shorts. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.