Newsbites: Snacks; Cooking Shows; Peanuts; Fast-Food Ban; Apples

Vice Beating Virtue in the Snack Aisle

Americans are snacking more than ever, and for the first time in years the trend favors “indulgent” over healthier snacks. Data from market-research firm IRI showed sales for indulgent snacks rose 3.1% in 2014 compared to the previous year, while healthier snack choices rose only 2.5%. IRI reported that 59% of consumers say they indulge when they snack, with splurges on fatty, salty and sugary snacks such as jerky, baked goods and the fast-growing category of refrigerated meat and cheese wraps. The firm attributed the trend to efforts by food marketers to make indulgent snacks “more permissible” by making claims about fiber content, energy benefits and “natural” and hormone-free products.

Nearly half of consumers say they prefer snacks that are “natural,” a term with little legal or nutritional meaning (see this issue’s Special Supplement), with sales of “natural” snacks up 12.7%. Organic snacks also gained popularity, along with those certified as not containing genetically modified ingredients (non-GMO). Healthier-seeming snacks such as yogurt and protein bars are also becoming more indulgent, IRI noted, with higher fat content or the addition of chocolate.

Cooking Shows: Recipe for Weight Gain?

Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay may not know best, at least when it comes to your waistline. If you try to emulate your favorite celebrity chefs, according to findings in the journal Appetite, those cooking shows may be making you fat. Cornell University researchers reported that women who get their recipes from TV cooking programs and cooked from scratch weighed an average 11 pounds more than those who watched but didn’t follow up in the kitchen. (Most studies show people who cook from scratch are less likely to be overweight.) Cooking recipes from TV shows was also associated with a higher BMI, 27.48 versus 25.66, among the study’s 501 women, ages 20-35. Cooking from scratch with recipes sourced from print or online, however, was not associated with greater weight or BMI.

The researchers commented, “Watching chefs prepare indulgent dishes on TV, watching a famous host enjoy over-the-top foods with other people all over the country… might suggest a social norm for preparing these types of foods.”

New Peanut’s Profile More Like Olive Oil

Consumers looking for more of the healthy monounsaturated fats found in olive oil may soon be able to reach for a handful of peanuts. USDA and Oklahoma State University scientists have cultivated a new Spanish peanut variety, dubbed “OLé,” that is high in oleic acid, the monounsaturated fat touted in the so-called Mediterranean diet. The new peanut, which will go into commercial production later this year, also has a longer shelf life and is resistant to Sclerotinia blight, a soilborne fungal disease blamed for crop losses of up to 50% in some areas. About half the fat in regular peanuts is monounsaturated, primarily oleic acid; previously developed high-oleic varieties have boosted that to over 80%. (For more on peanuts’ health benefits, see story in this issue.)

Fast-Food Ban Made Little Difference

Banning new fast-food restaurants in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Los Angeles failed to improve residents’ eating habits or keep them from getting fatter, according to new research published in Social Science & Medicine. The ban, which also restricted remodeling of fast-food eateries, was enacted in 2008 in hopes of combating obesity and improving health outcomes among South Los Angeles’ 700,000 residents. But the only subsequent improvement in consumption patterns—a drop in soft-drink intake—was seen as well in areas without the ban. Overweight and obesity rates actually increased more in the regulated neighborhoods, and consumption of fast food rose regardless of the rules. The chief effect of the regulations was to shift retail developments from fast-food franchises to small food and convenience stores. While the ban may have “symbolic value,” researchers concluded, “it has had no measurable impact on improving diets or reducing obesity.”

Apples No Substitute for Health Insurance

An apple a day doesn’t really help keep the doctor away, according to research in a special April Fool’s issue of JAMA Internal Medicine. The light-hearted but genuine study looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on almost 8,400 people. There was no significant difference between non-apple eaters and those eating at least one small apple per day in “keeping the doctor away,” defined as more than one self-reported visit to a physician during the past year. The same was true of overnight hospital stays and visits to a mental health professional, although apple eaters were slightly less likely to need prescription medications.

For a serious look at the health benefits of apples, see our January 2013 issue.

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