Check out On the Future of Food. Prince Charles has taken up the challenge of promoting a saner, healthier food system to improve public health and protect our fragile planet. You can read a primer on Prince Charles' advocacy on behalf of food system reform here, at Civil Eats. 

Would you like fewer fries with that?

by Sarah Kliff for The Washington Post online 

A team of behavioral economics researchers find something surprising in this month’s “Health Affairs”: When fast-food patrons are offered a suggestion to downsize their portions, they actually do it.

Only 1 percent of customers spontaneously requested downsizing of a high-calorie, high-starch side dish in the baseline periods, when no explicit downsizing offer was made. Thirty-three percent of customers accepted the downsizing offer. As noted above, there was no significant difference in acceptance rates with and without the nominal discount. Customers who downsized did not compensate by choosing higher-calorie entrées, nor did they proceed to order lower-calorie entrees. Therefore, downsizing led to the purchase of significantly fewer mean overall calories.

Also notable: The presence of calorie labels did not seem to impact diners’ decisions to downsize, nor did it matter if a 25-cent discount was offered for the small portion of food.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - new reports on elementary school food and physical activity environments

Elementary Schools Are Making Some Progress in Efforts to Prevent Obesity, But Still Have Work To Do

New Research Examines Nutrition and Physical Activity in Nation’s Elementary Schools Two new studies from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Bridging the Gap program offer important insight about policies and practices that can help children eat healthy foods and be active at school. 

Nearly Half of Nation’s Youngest Students Can Buy Junk Foods at School
Problem most severe in the South, where obesity rates are highest.

Cookies, cakes and other junk foods were available to nearly half of U.S. elementary school students in vending machines, à la carte lines and school stores during the 2009–10 school year, according to a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Unhealthy snack foods were strikingly more prevalent in schools in the South, where obesity rates are the highest in the nation.

• Read the study.
• Read the press release.

Elementary Schools Improving Some Nutrition Practices, Making No Progress on Physical ActivityMajor new report finds that elementary schools are making some improvements to school meals and allowing sales of only healthy beverages on campus.

Since the 2006–07 school year, more elementary schools are offering whole grains and low-fat milks for lunch, but schools have not cut back on foods that are high in fat, sugar and/or sodium, such as pizza and deep-fried potatoes. There also is an emerging trend among elementary schools to allow only healthy beverages, such as water, 100 percent juice and low-fat milks, to be sold outside of school meals. Schools have reported virtually no changes to physical education, recess or after-school programs that encourage physical activity. 

• Read the report.

Food Day

Center for Science in the Public Interest released a report on Food Day 2011 activities today. The report captures stories and photographs from how communities across the country marked Food Day. Take a look!