Researchers Call for Regulations on Sugar

Sugar is toxic and should be designated as a controlled substance, according to an editorial published in the journal Nature by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco. The researchers argued that sugar consumption can be reduced using strategies that have reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption, including taxing sugary foods and regulating sales.

"This paper adds yet more evidence that sugar consumption is a real public health problem," according to Kelly Brownell, PhD, Director of the Rudd Center. "In addition to the metabolic problems it creates, the body does not recognize calories very well when they are delivered in liquids, and far too many calories are in liquids because of soda and other sugared beverages. Research has also suggested that sugar activates the same brain reward pathways activated by highly addictive substances of abuse. There is abundant reason, therefore, to create policies, such as a tax on sugared beverages, to help decrease sugar consumption."

Yale Peabody Museum Hosts Exhibition on ‘Big Food'

Visitors to the newest exhibition at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History will have an opportunity to investigate humans' origins as hunter-gatherers, explore an interactive timeline on the history of food, and identify popular processed foods by only their ingredients.

Big Food: Health, Culture and the Evolution of Eating opens on February 11 and will be displayed through December 2. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Yale Peabody Museum, Yale's Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE), and the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.

The opening celebration, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 11, will feature family-oriented activities and displays by local food- and health-related organizations to promote healthy life choices, physical fitness, and food system sustainability.

Big Food explores the neuroscience of appetite, genetics of obesity, and how food and energy are stored in the body. It examines behavioral choice in nutrition and exercise and the influence of social, environmental, and cultural settings. The exhibition investigates societal pressures such as the progressive growth of portion sizes; tackles media influences on food preferences; and considers serious health consequences that have increased the burden of chronic diseases.

Kick the Can - Giving the Boot to Sugary Drinks

KickTheCan.info, a home base for beverage advocacy campaigns, was recently launched by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. The website offers multiple ways to get involved, including playing the Kick the Can game and signing the petition calling on the beverage industry to stop their harmful marketing practices.

Employment Opportunities at the Rudd Center

If you would like to work toward improving the world's diet and preventing obesity, read about the open positions at the Rudd Center: Director of Advocacy Resources and Research Associate (Part-Time).