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HEALTH & SCIENCE
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Beware restaurant, frozen meal calorie counts: US study WASHINGTON: Weight-watchers who swear by the calorie counts that many restaurants in the United States display on their menus, take heed: the numbers don’t always tell the truth. Researchers at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy found that around half the dishes served in popular US restaurants delivered more calories than stated on the menu, with some packing double the stated energy value. And the researchers found discrepancies in the portion sizes the restaurants said they were serving and the actual size of the meal that showed up on the diner’s
plate, said the study published in the January edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The researchers analyzed the calorie content of 18 side dishes and main courses from five popular sit-down restaurant chains-Applebee’s, Denny’s, Olive Garden, P F Chang’s and Ruby Tuesday-and 11 sides and main courses from fast food restaurants Domino’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Wendy’s. Ten frozen meals bought at supermarkets were also analyzed. On average, restaurant foods were found to contain 18 percent more calories than what was stated on the menu, and
frozen meals averaged eight percent more calories than stated on their packaging. “Those don’t sound like huge numbers but that really adds up over time,” said Susan Roberts, the study’s lead author. “It’s the difference between maintaining your weight and gaining 10 pounds,” she told AFP. Some of the restaurant items contained more than twice the calories listed on the menu, including P F Chang’s Sichuan-style asparagus. It delivered 558 calories for a 348-gram serving rather than the 260 calories listed on the menu, according to the testing done by the Tufts researchers.
Frozen dinners fared somewhat better, but even there, three meals-including from Weight Watchers and Lean Cuisine-delivered around a quarter more calories than stated on the packet. Restaurant side orders were among the biggest villains, often bringing more calories to the plate, and eventually the waist, than the main food item of a meal. To illustrate the gravity of the problem, imagine ordering a veggie-cheese omelet at Denny’s with a side of dry toast. The omelet is listed as being a 340-gram serving with 394 calories, but the dish analyzed in the lab by the Tufts team weighed in at 270 grams and 419 calories.
The seemingly innocuous side dish of dry toast was listed as weighing 28 grams and containing 97 calories. But the dry toast analyzed by the Tufts team was two-and-a-half times heavier, at 72 grams, and packed 283 calories. “If you’re getting 200 calories more, that’s the difference between weight loss and no weight loss,” Roberts said. Roberts was inspired to do the study after writing a book called “The ‘I’ Diet,” which took the results of volumes of research she had done during decades as a nutrition scientist and crafted them into a weight-loss program. “In the process of doing the book I
decided to test the scientific menus on myself. I have two menu tracks: one, you cook everything yourself at home, and I did great on that. Lost lots of weight, it was easy. “Then I switched over to the supermarket track-no cooking, just pick up the stuff in the supermarket or, if you go out, eat certain meals. Weight loss completely stopped. “I came into the lab one day and said, ‘Something’s not right. I don’t believe the numbers in these foods.’” A second study is being set up to delve more deeply into the truth behind the calorie-counts. — AFP
Two versions of the plan will now have to be reconciled
Obama promises changes in US health care this year WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama promised yesterday that Americans will see the effects of health reform this year, saying Congress is “on the verge” of approving the overhaul the nation’s
health care system. “Now, it’ll take a few years to fully implement these reforms in a responsible way,” Obama said in his weekly radio address.
WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama makes a statement to reporters about green jobs and manufacturing, Friday, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. President Barack Obama, eager to sign a health care overhaul bill into law, is highlighting some of the changes that would come in the first year and would forever ban “the worst practices of the insurance industry.” — AP
Air Canada ordered to offer nut-free seats OTTAWA: Canada’s transportation regulator has ordered Air Canada to accommodate passengers with severe nut allergies by seating them in new nut-free zones on aircraft. “The agency has determined that a buffer zone, including an announcement within that zone, is the appropriate accommodation for persons with disabilities due to their allergy to peanuts or nuts,” the Canadian Transportation Agency said in its ruling. The agency had received two complaints from passengers with nut allergies since 2006. One of the complainants had hidden in the airplane washroom for 40 minutes while nutty snacks were served to other passengers on a flight from Frankfurt to Toronto. In another case, a traveler was removed and was rebooked on another flight two and a half hours later in which “all nuts were removed.” Other passengers
on the second flight were also asked not to bring nuts onboard. In its ruling, the federal regulator noted that the nut allergies in these cases were so extreme that nuts did not have to be ingested. Rather, the mere presence of nuts in the immediate environment was “enough to cause concern.” The three-member panel deemed these allergies to be tantamount to an impairment or disability, which airlines must accommodate. Air Canada argued it should be up to the passengers to take precautions against exposure to nuts. It does not serve peanuts on flights, but does serve smokehouse almonds, cashews and other snacks which may contain nuts. “If a passenger is allergic or sensitive to products that may be found in the aircraft cabin, it is the passenger’s responsibility to bring the proper medication and to have the proper protection,”
Air Canada said in its submission. But allergy specialists said peanut proteins have been found in commercial airline air filters, demonstrating they may become aerosolized in flight and
remain suspended in aircraft cabins. The regulator said that creating a nut-free buffer zone is the best solution, and gave Air Canada 30 days to come up with a recommended size of the buffer. — AFP
“But what every American should know is that once I sign health insurance reform into law, there are dozens of protections and benefits that will take effect this year.” The US House of Representatives and Senate both passed sweeping health reform proposals last year, but their bills differ significantly. Both measures aim to extend health care coverage to more than 30 million out of the 36 million Americans that lack it, end abusive health insurance company practices, and curb soaring costs that take giant bites out of family and government budgets. But the Senate stripped out a government-backed “public option” plan to compete with private insurers in order to win over the backing of a handful of centrist Democrats without whom the bill would not have secured the 60 votes needed to pass in the 100-seat body. The two versions of the plan will now have to be reconciled before final approval. There are still disputes over how to pay for the plan, and whether the overhaul should create a national “exchange” where Americans could buy coverage, or set up exchanges on a state-by-state basis. But Obama expressed confidence that lawmakers were “on the verge of passing health insurance reform that will finally offer Americans the security of knowing they’ll have quality, affordable health care whether they lose their job, change jobs, move, or get sick.” He said that after he signed the proposal into law, uninsured Americans with a pre-existing illness or condition will be able to purchase coverage they can afford. Children with pre-existing conditions, the president added, will no longer be refused coverage, and small business owners who can’t afford to cover their employees will be immediately offered tax credits to purchase coverage. According to Obama, insurance companies will be required to offer free preventive care to their customers. “All told, these changes represent the most sweeping reforms and toughest restrictions on insurance companies that this country has ever known,” the president concluded. “That’s how we’ll make 2010 a healthier and more secure year for every American - for those who have health insurance, and those who don’t.” — AFP
ARLINGTON: A student receives an H1N1 vaccination at Carlin Springs Elementary School Friday in Arlington, Virginia. US Health and Human Services Sec. Kathleen Sebelius attended the event marking the second round of H1N1 vaccinations for children 9 years of age and younger. — AFP
New genetic mutations linked to kidney cancer LONDON: The more scientists look, the more complex cancer seems to become. British scientists said they had found a batch of new gene mutations linked to kidney cancer, suggesting even this apparently “straightforward” cancer type can be divided into subtypes requiring tailored treatment. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the most common type of kidney cancer, stands out from other cancers because it is remarkably consistent and the majority of cases are known to be driven by mutations in a single gene, called VHL. Yet when researchers conducted a large DNA sequencing study of more than 3,500 genes from around 100 tumour samples, they found evidence that additional mutations in other genes were also driving cells to become cancerous. Three of the genes were involved in modifying proteins called histones, which help package DNA into chromosomes and are critical to the functioning of cells, they reported in the journal Nature. “Even in this clearest of cases, we see evidence for substantial genetic heterogeneity,” said Andy Futreal, co-leader of the Cancer
Genome Project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge. While none of the new mutations accounted for more than 5 percent of cancer cases, the discovery should ultimately help in diagnosis and better selection of treatments for patients. The latest findings underline the case for personalised medicine, or tailoring drugs to the genetic make-up of individual patients. Scientists at the Sanger Institute last month also produced genetic “maps” identifying thousands of genetic mutations behind melanoma skin cancer and lung cancer. Several personalised drugs are already used in cancer, including Roche’s Herceptin for breast cancer and AstraZeneca’s Iressa for lung cancer. For drugmakers, tailored medicine is both an opportunity and a challenge as sub-dividing tumours by their molecular type shrinks the market for individual therapies. Kidney cancer kills more than 100,000 people worldwide each year. Recent new drugs against the disease include Pfizer’s Sutent and Bayer’s Nexavar, which block cell proliferation and starve tumours of blood supply. — Reuters
US court rules in favor of octuplets mom Suleman SANTA ANA: A California appeals court ruled in favor of octuplets mother Nadya Suleman Friday, denying a call for an independent guardian to monitor her children’s finances. The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana called the petition an “unprecedented, meritless effort by a stranger” and directed an Orange County probate court to vacate its order for an investigation into the family’s finances. Paul Petersen, an advocate for children in the entertainment industry, argued that Suleman’s children were vulnerable and that an independent guardian should be appointed to look after their financial inter-
ests. The appeals court said the probate judge erred because Petersen failed to show that Suleman was engaging in financial misconduct. Suleman gave birth to octuplets on Jan. 26, 2009. The medical curiosity of their delivery turned to public outrage when it was learned that the single, unemployed mother had been caring for her six other children with the help of food stamps and Social Security disability payments for three of the youngsters. Suleman said previously that some of the disability money was spent on in vitro fertilizations, which was used for all 14 of her children. — AP
BOCA RATON: Christie Gonzalez carries a Green sea turtle wrapped in a towel as it is treated for “cold stun” at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center yesterday in Boca Raton, Florida. With a South Florida forecast of cold weather in the next few days the nature center is bracing for more turtles to be victims of the cold spell. If the green turtle bodies fall below 60 degree temperature they become immobilized and tend to float to the waters surface where they could end up with pneumonia or be unable to defend themselves against predators. — AFP