| NY calorie rule applies to cocktails
Put down that margarita, and back away from the bar. A new city regulation that requires chain restaurants to display calorie information also covers cocktails, sodas and other beverages that appear on menus. "Drinks are almost the forgotten calories," said Cathy Nonas, director of physical activity and nutrition programs for the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "It's almost a side thought to the meal." The city Board of Health voted unanimously last month to approve the regulation, a new version of a law that had been struck down by a judge last year. The law, scheduled to go into effect on March 31, applies to restaurants with more than 15 outlets across the country. That includes fast-food places such as McDonald's and sit-down chains such as Olive Garden and T.G.I.
Bills in Olympia tied to menu labeling
A state Senate committee is scheduled to hear a trio of bills Thursday that could impact the number of Washington restaurants required to share nutrition information with customers, or delay the program's Aug. 1 start date. Last summer, King County's health board voted to require all chain eateries with 10 or more outlets nationwide to specify the amount of calories, carbohydrates, fats and sodium within each item that stays on the menu for 60 days. By Aug. 1, affected restaurants must list the information in menus or on the menu board. Many restaurants object to the requirement, calling it cumbersome and expensive. Health groups, including the American Heart Association, support it as a means of battling the obesity epidemic, since folks eat out more frequently.
Stroke Increase And Obesity Linked Among Middle-Aged Women
Middle-aged women's waists aren't the only thing that increased in the last decade. So did their chance of stroke. In a new study reported at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2008, rising obesity rates have been linked to more strokes among women aged 35 to 54.
A previous analysis of stroke prevalence rates in the United States from 1999 to 2004 revealed that women in their midlife years were more than twice as likely as men of similar age to report having had a stroke, said Amytis Towfighi, M.D., an assistant professor in the Neurology Department at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Ca.
To determine if this was a new phenomenon and to explore the potential contributions of vascular risk factors to stroke prevalence rates, researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Surveys 1988 - 1994 (NHANES III) and 1999 - 2004.
Study Spotlights 'Exercise-Friendly' Day-Care Centers
"Childhood obesity is an epidemic that threatens the future health of our nation. We know that about 57 percent of all 3- to 5-year-olds in the United States attend child-care centers, so it's important to understand what factors will encourage them to be more active, and, hopefully, less likely to become obese," study co-author Dianne Ward said in a statement. Ward is director of the intervention and policy division in the nutrition department at University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill School of Public Health. In their study, Ward's team evaluated the physical activity levels of children at 20 child-care centers in North Carolina. They found that children did more moderate and vigorous physical activity if the child-care center: had more portable play equipment, such as balls, jump ropes, hula hoops and riding toys; offered more opportunities for indoor and outdoor active play; and provided physical activity training and education for staff and students.
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