Food Cops’ Obesity Message is Off-Key (Tuesday, 10/13/2009)
Ever wonder why more people don’t take the stairs—especially when so many people are trying to lose weight? An enterprising group in Sweden (an initiative of Volkswagon) had a theory that if activity is more fun, more people will do it and change their behavior for the better. The group turned a set of stairs into a giant piano, with each step representing a key. And according to their analysis, 66 percent more people took the stairs after the change. read more here »

Doubling Down on L.A. Zoning Bans (Monday, 10/12/2009)
We told you last week about a study from the California-based RAND Corporation which found that the fast food zoning ban in South Los Angeles was based on questionable premises. The July 2008 ban, which prohibited new fast food outlets from opening for a year, was derived from the idea that overweight Angelenos needed government intervention to help them stop ordering from the dollar menu. The RAND study’s authors instead argue that menu labeling is “likely to have a bigger impact on overweight and obesity.” (Perhaps they’d like to revise their suggestion given the new research finding that New York City’s labeling law doesn’t work.) Today, the Los Angeles Times reports that local activists (including a City Council member), not... read more here »

Labeling a Failure (Friday, 10/9/2009)
Dare we say “Told you so”? Because that’s the sentiment we have after a comprehensive study released this week shows that calorie labeling in New York City did not result in people eating fewer calories. (In fact, New Yorkers eating out actually consumed slightly more calories after the labeling went into effect.) read more here »