Recession thwarts healthy efforts (UK)

"A quarter of people are putting healthier eating on the back burner in the wake of the financial crisis, a report by a consumer watchdog reveals. Which? found 24% of UK adults feel healthier eating is now less important, with 56% saying price has overtaken as a priority when choosing food. And the poll of 2,102 showed 76% think the government needs to take action to make choosing healthier options easier. Meanwhile other work shows more plan to quit smoking during the credit crunch. The charity No Smoking Day day found more than one in three of the nine million smokers in the UK are thinking about or planning to cut down or quit as a direct result of the economic downturn. After health, the most commonly-mentioned reason for wanting to give up smoking is financial, followed by family pressure and the effect on children." - BBC

March is Nutrition Month® across Canada

March is Nutrition Month® across Canada. In celebration of healthy eating, dietitians across Canada unite to organize events and communications to reinforce the importance of nutrition in achieving health and wellbeing. Nutrition Month® celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006. Since the early 1980's, the Campaign has grown and is now one of the most recognized social marketing campaigns in Canada. Nutrition Month® stimulates nutrition activities in communities across Canada, and shows you where to find dietitians, your best source of reliable nutrition information.

GoTrybe.com launched in Indiana to promote children's health

The Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the Indiana State Department of Health and INShape Indiana have partnered with GoTrybe.com to provide Indiana kids and teens with a unique source of fitness, nutrition and best of all, fun. Young Hoosiers can enjoy FREE memberships to the interactive program through April 30, 2009 by visiting www.GoTrybeIN.com. A 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed 75 percent of Hoosier high school students did not engage in daily exercise and less than 20 percent ate the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. To counter the health deficit that many children are experiencing, GoTrybe.com has developed a modern approach to promoting health education. Using its Active Screen Time(TM) technology, GoTrybe allows its members to interact and compete with each other while participating in age-appropriate fitness videos, nutrition information and motivational content. - redOrbit

Maine, USA, to consider putting calories on chain restaurant menus and menu boards

Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree introduced a bill on February 24, 2009 to require menu labeling at chain restaurants. Below is a statement by CSPI Nutrition Policy Director Margo G. Wootan.:

"I hope this year Maine will join New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, OR, and the state of California in passing menu labeling for chain restaurants. If McDonald's, Subway, and Applebee's can provide New Yorkers with nutrition information, shouldn't they do the same for Mainers? People should be provided the nutritional price for what they're ordering as well as the financial price. Otherwise how can they know that a bagel with cream cheese has more calories than two jelly donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts? Menu labeling is a popular, low-cost way to help make a dent in the obesity epidemic and save valuable health dollars in these tough economic times. It now seems hard to believe that not long ago Nutrition Facts labels weren't required on food packages in the grocery store. Similarly, a few years from now, it will be hard to imagine that standardized nutrition information was absent from chain restaurant menus." - CSPI Newsroom

Take a look at the sunny side of egg yolk

"It may be time to rethink the egg-white omelet. Popular on breakfast menus with dieters and cholesterol watchers, they're often prepared with chopped spinach and tomatoes and arrive with whole-grain toast. By forgoing the traditional three-egg western omelet stuffed with ham and cheese, you're definitely choosing a breakfast lower in total calories, fat and cholesterol when you go with the egg-whites-and-veggies-only choice. But that doesn't mean saying no to yolks is always the healthiest thing to do, because when you throw out the yolk you're missing out on some pretty powerful nutrients. While the white of a large egg is virtually fat-free and a bit higher in protein than the yolk (3.6 grams compared to 2.7 grams protein), the yellow center is where nutrients, including vitamins, minerals and other compounds, are stored" - Cox