Newsbites: Sugary Beverage Tax; U.S. Meat Consumption; Shelf Life of Cut Produce
Consumption Changes After Sugary Beverage Tax
Does taxing sugary beverages really help cut consumption? A preliminary study of a tax of one cent per ounce enacted in Berkeley, Calif., in March 2015 suggests the answer is yes. Berkeley was the first US jurisdiction to pass such a levy, which adds to the cost of sugary sodas, juices, energy drinks and coffee concoctions. Researchers compared trends in purchases by low-income Berkeley residents four months after the tax was implemented to consumption in neighboring Oakland and San Francisco, which have no such tax. In Berkeley, consumption of sugary drinks dropped 21% after the tax was imposed, even as the other cities saw a 4% increase. Berkeley consumers also drank 63% more water, according to results published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Kidneys May Also Benefit from Anti-Hypertension Diet
A diet proven to protect against high blood pressure could also lower your risk of chronic kidney disease, according to a new observational study. Researchers looked at adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) plan among nearly 16,000 middle-aged adults followed for more than 20 years. Those whose diets least resembled DASH recommendations were 16% more likely to develop chronic kidney disease than those eating most like the DASH plan.
DASH recommends eating more nuts and legumes, low-fat dairy, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, along with consuming less red and processed meat, fewer sugary drinks and less saturated fat and sodium. (For details on DASH, see <www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/dash>.) The study, published in the American Journal of Kidney Disease, also found that people with the highest intake of nuts and legumes were at 9% lower risk of kidney disease. On the other hand, participants who ate the most red and processed meats were at 22% greater risk. Hypertension has been linked to kidney disease, the researchers noted; a DASH-style pattern might also be protective by reducing the acidic load of the diet.
More Time Between Ordering and Eating, Better Food Choices
The longer the time between ordering food and expecting to eat it, the healthier that food tends to be. That’s the finding of a trio of Carnegie Mellon University studies published in the Journal of Marketing Research. The first two experiments compared how early participants ordered lunch with what they ordered. The earlier people placed their orders—from five hours in advance to 31 minutes, in one test—the fewer calories in their meals. Could it just be that people were more hungry closer to lunch? Researchers tested that with 200 university students, who were also asked how hungry they were when ordering. Regardless of hunger, those who ordered before class rather than after averaged 100 fewer calories and were more likely to pick bottled water than soda.
“In the case of food, we care about what’s happening right now—like how tasty it is—but discount the long-term costs of a healthy meal,” commented lead author Eric M. VanEpps. When ordering a meal in advance, however, “you’re more evenly weighing the short-term and the long-term costs and benefits. You still care about the taste but you’re more able to exert self control.”
Reversing Trend, US Meat Eating Jumps
So much for the notion that Americans had hit “peak meat” and are beginning to eat less. After US meat consumption dropped in 2014, led by lower intake of red meat, some industry observers speculated that our taste for meat had topped out. But new data collected by Rabobank, a food and agriculture research firm, suggests otherwise: Last year, US per capita meat consumption actually rose at a higher rate than any other year over the past four decades. Americans averaged 193 pounds of meat per person, 3.7 pounds per week.
Some observers, however, noted that the increase was largely driven by consumption of chicken, which got a boost from an oversupply that pushed down prices. Americans ate nearly twice as much chicken—89 pounds apiece—as beef (54 pounds) and pork (50 pounds). So it could be that we’re shopping for bargains rather than becoming more carnivorous.
Prolonging Shelf Life of Cut Produce
Plant geneticists at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service may have found ways to prolong the shelf life of fresh-cut peppers and lettuces in supermarkets. One group of researchers looked at 50 pepper types to identify varieties of each less prone to fluid leakage after cutting. The results provide opportunities for plant breeders, via traditional breeding, to incorporate attributes that contribute to fresh-cut quality.
Other ARS scientists reported finding several genetic markers that will allow lettuce breeders to prolong the shelf life of salad-cut lettuce. Lettuce with a gene that results in rapid decay becomes unusable in one to two weeks; in contrast, lettuce with a slow decay gene lasted one month or longer.
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