Results tagged “obesity”

How close are you to obesity? If you're a teenager, the answer is in the geography:

Teens who attend classes within one-tenth of a mile of a fast-food outlet are more likely to be obese than peers whose campuses are located farther from the lure of quarter-pound burgers, fries and shakes.

So go "the findings of a recent study by researchers from UC Berkeley and Columbia University seeking a link between obesity and the easy availability of fast food," according to the LA Times.

This year, with the official start of the holiday season tragically mired in a financial fiasco, the fires and soaring temperatures feeling more Summer than Fall, and Prop 8’s passage reminding us all we’ve still a long way to go, it’s enough to think drowning your sorrows in gravy and cheese balls is the answer to all of life’s problems. So, as tempting as it is to stress eat (think Jack Donaghy of "30 Rock") and entirely abandon 2008’s diet and exercise resolutions, a recent and highly publicized article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is reminding us yet again that it’s crucial to be smart about food choices. With the belly fat-wielding juggernaut of Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah, and the Holiday Party on the horizon, we here at the ScientIST bring you a helping of science and common sense to successfully navigate the next few months. Your waistline can thank us later.

While some may still be dismissive of the current craze against high fructose corn syrup, chalking it up as just another food anti-fad (much like the hysteria about carbs in the 90's and saturated fat in the 80's), it can't be denied that the American diet is disproportionately full of processed sugars. An article in the NY Times today discusses just how much of our diet is filled up with added sugars and processed vegetable fats -- and even more frightening, how much more we're eating overall than we were forty years ago. (Yes, there's an awesome visual aid in the article!)

An LA City Council committee has made a unanimous decision to ban new fast-food restaurants in South LA for one year; the decision goes to the full council and the mayor this week. Spearheaded by Councilwoman Jan Perry, the ban would "prevent fast-food chains from opening new restaurants in a 32-square-mile area, including West Adams, Baldwin Village and Leimert Park. The moratorium would be in effect for one year, with the possibility of two six-month extensions."

La America Tropical, the once-controversial, then painted over mural is coming back to Olvera Street thanks to the city and The Getty: The mural, one of three done during Siquieros' six-month stay in Los Angeles, depicts an Indian being crucified on a double cross topped by an American eagle. The piece, depicting the struggle against imperialism, was considered so controversial at the time that it was painted over shortly after it was finished. Here...