Archive for the ‘Nutrition and Fitness’ Category

The University of Minnesota Food Policy Research Center has released an issue brief analyzing the science behind the  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP is a federal food program designed to reduce food insecurity and help low-income people buy nutritious foods. About one in every seven Americans utilize SNAP. Authors of the brief are Timothy [...]

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University of Minnesota School of Public Health researchers have found that young people who prefer organic, local, and sustainable foods are more likely to make healthier food choices.  The researchers found the relation applies to young people broadly, regardless of socioeconomic or demographic status. The study is led by Jennifer E. Pelletier, M.P.H., who partnered [...]

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As emphasis on muscularity has increased in recent decades, researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health have found muscle-enhancing behaviors are now common for both boys and girls, and rates are higher than reported previously. In particular, they found adolescents in high school, teens of Asian background, students in overweight/obese BMI categories, [...]

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Schools across the country are swapping out soda for sports drinks in vending machines, thinking they’re making a more nutritional choice for students. But most sports drinks sold in the United States contain higher amounts of sugar than other beverages, adding calories to diets and contributing to the national obesity epidemic. In addition, research shows many [...]

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A University of Minnesota School of Public Health analysis has found that, overall, the frequency of family meals has remained fairly constant over the past 10 years.  Yet research has also found families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are spending less time at the table as a family. According to researchers, the shift is problematic, given [...]

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But be careful when drawing conclusions, U of M expert says The Lancet published a study in mid-July estimating as many as 5.3 million deaths around the world were caused by physical inactivity in 2008. By comparison, the study’s researchers estimate 5 million people worldwide die as result of smoking each year. But can the two [...]

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A strawberry—sun-ripened and field picked— flavored Molly Turnquist’s future. “Sweet, tart, and floral, I remember thinking,” she says. “I wanted everyone to taste how good a fresh strawberry can be.” That experience is the reason Turnquist earned a degree in dietetics and nutrition from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., then entered the Public Health Nutrition program [...]

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The simple fact is that everyone eats. The more complicated reality is that what we is eat is shaped by political, technical, environmental, economic, and cultural forces we can’t control or sometimes even understand. A new USDA-funded initiative at the University of Minnesota is one of five centers nationwide that will contribute novel perspectives on [...]

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On June 21, the U.S. Senate passed the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, better known as the Farm Bill. In the process, it trimmed nearly $24 billion off the $500 billion (over five years) legislation. The bill has several more hurdles to clear—including the House—before Congress may or may not sign it [...]

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University of Minnesota researchers have examined the eating habits of residents in Singapore and found that a Western diet heavy in fast food increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

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