Discover the Science of Health
A new study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine finds that chocolate consumption is associated with lower body mass index (BMI) [1]. In the news and across the web, reporters are touting this as evidence that eating chocolate lowers BMI.
Image credit: Assorted chocolates via ShutterstockA study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that even moderate alcohol consumption — as little as one-half to one drink per day — increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer by about 15% [1]. Daily consumption of two or more drinks per day (where a “drink” contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol, and results are independent of the type of drink consumed) increases breast cancer risk by 50%. These results suggest a much stronger effect of low to moderate alcohol consumption on lifetime breast cancer risk than previous studies [2-4] have done.
An intensive lifestyle intervention program designed to achieve and maintain weight loss improves diabetes control and cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight and obese individuals with type 2 diabetes, according to four-year results of the Look AHEAD study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results are published in the Sept. 27, 2010, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The Washington Post published a story late last week about obesity in the United States. The story discussed the results of a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Here’s the article’s opening statement:
The obesity epidemic that has been spreading for more than a quarter-century in the United States has leveled off among women and may have hit a plateau for men …
I was surprised that they use the term “spreading”, since the article fails to mention any of the recent research pertaining to the spread of obesity through social networks.
