PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The New York Times can predict your future weight

Future obesity is predicted by today's trending food stories

The New York Times can predict your future weight
2015-07-20
(Press-News.org) What you're reading now secretly tells you whether your country will be skinnier or fatter in three years. After analyzing 50 years of all the food words mentioned in major newspapers like the New York Times and London Times, a new Cornell study shows that the food words trending today in 2015 will predict a country's obesity level in three years - in 2018.

"The more sweet snacks are mentioned and the fewer fruits and vegetables that are mentioned in your newspaper, the fatter your country's population is going to be in 3 years, according to trends we found from the past fifty years," said lead author, Brennan Davis, Associate Professor of Marketing from California State University at San Luis Obispo. "But the less often they're mentioned and the more vegetables are mentioned, the skinnier the public will be."

This study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, analyzed all of the different foods mentioned in stories in the New York Times (and London Times) and statistically correlated them with each country's annual Body Mass Index, or BMI, a measure of obesity. While the number of mentions of sweet snacks were related to higher obesity levels 3 years later, the number of salty snack mentions were unrelated. The number of vegetable and fruit mentions were related to lower levels of obesity three years later.

"Newspaper's are basically crystal balls for obesity," said coauthor, Brian Wansink, Professor and Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and author of the book, Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life. "This is consistent with earlier research showing that positive messages-- 'Eat more vegetables and you'll lose weight,'--resonate better with the general public than negative messages, such as 'eat fewer cookies.'"

Predicting a country's obesity levels in three years might be easily done today using a newspaper. These findings provide public health officials and epidemiologists with new tools to quickly assess the effectiveness of current obesity interventions. If we wish to estimate obesity rates in three years, the best indicator will be what is mentioned in the paper today.

INFORMATION:

The study was self-funded by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
The New York Times can predict your future weight

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Genomic fingerprint may predict aggressive prostate cancer in African-Americans

2015-07-20
(PHILADELPHIA) -- African American men are more likely to develop prostate cancer than European American men, and are also more than twice as likely to die from it. Although there are many reasons that contribute to this health disparity, new research shows that African American men may have a distinctly different type of prostate cancer than European American men, according to new genomic fingerprinting results. "This study, this line of research, is about finding better and more appropriate therapies for African American men," says corresponding author of the study, ...

Drugs in wastewater contaminate drinking water

2015-07-20
Both prescription and illegal drugs that are abused have been found in Canadian surface waters. New research shows that wastewater discharges flowing downstream have the potential to contaminate sources of drinking water with these drugs at relatively low concentrations. The concentrations of cocaine, morphine, and oxycodone did not decline with distance downstream from the wastewater treatment plant discharge, and many of the drugs were not removed effectively by drinking water treatment plants. The research is part of a special section on pharmaceuticals in the journal ...

Technique may reveal the age of moon rocks during spaceflight

2015-07-20
Researchers are developing instruments and methods for measuring the ages of rocks encountered during space missions to the Moon or other planets. Many of the techniques used to date rocks on Earth are not practical in spaceflight, but a technique called laser ablation resonance ionization mass spectrometry can avoid the need for sophisticated sample preparation. A team led by Dr. F. Scott Anderson has now demonstrated that this technique can successfully date an Earth rock--the Duluth Gabbro--that is analogous to the rocks that cover one-third of the lunar nearside. ...

Study sheds light on the ability of different marine species to respond to climate warming

2015-07-20
In Eastern Australia, the ocean has been warming at a rate that's 4-times that of the global average. Many marine species have been appearing further south than they ever have before, while others have stayed put. A new study identifies which characteristics seem to be important for species to shift their ranges so quickly. As expected, swimming ability is important, as fish are stretching their ranges south faster than organisms such as starfish and crustaceans. Researchers also found that animals that already have large range sizes are the most responsive and shift ...

Researchers examine energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in almond production

2015-07-20
California-grown almonds dominate the global market, providing over 80% of the world's commercial almonds. Two new articles published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology examine the environmental impacts of California's almond production, focusing on greenhouse gas emissions and energy. Investigators noted that certain practices reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use substantially, including strategic utilization of co-products and the choice of water source and irrigation technology. Both of these may be influenced by regional variability in resources. "Our ...

How effective is total knee replacement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis?

2015-07-20
Studies that have assessed the effects of total knee replacement on quality of life are scarce and have been almost exclusively limited to patients with osteoarthritis, even though rheumatoid arthritis is the most common inflammatory arthritis for which the surgery is indicated. In a new study that assessed the effects of total knee replacement in rheumatoid arthritis patients versus osteoarthritis patients, researchers found that the surgery is highly effective in reducing knee pain and also provides benefits in other subjective quality of life indices in patients with ...

Stanford scientists see iron-containing inflammatory cells in Alzheimer's brains

2015-07-20
Examining post-mortem tissue from the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease, Stanford University School of Medicine investigators identified what appear to be iron-containing microglia -- specialized scavenger cells that sometimes become inflammatory -- in a particular part of the hippocampus, a key brain structure whose integrity is critical to memory formation. In post-mortem brain tissue from people not diagnosed with Alzheimer's, neither the iron deposits nor the scavenger cells engulfing them were present in that brain region. The findings, recounted in a ...

What is a good looking penis?

2015-07-20
In a new study, women considered the position and shape of the urethral opening to be the least important aspects of a penis' appearance. They also perceived the genitals of men who underwent surgery to treat distal hypospadias--a congenital condition in which the opening of the urethra is on the underside of the penis--to be as normal-looking as nonaffected, circumcised genitals. "The information may help prevent the development of shame or impaired genital perceptions about penile appearance," said Dr. Norma Ruppen, lead author of The Journal of Sexual Medicine study. INFORMATION: ...

Alcohol consumption linked to lower disability in patients with chronic pain

2015-07-20
In a study of 2239 individuals with chronic widespread pain, the key feature of fibromyalgia, those who regularly consumed alcohol had lower levels of disability than those who never or rarely drank. Those who drank 21 to 35 units of alcohol per week were 67% less likely than never drinkers to experience disability. (One unit of alcohol is a half pint of average strength beer/lager, one small glass of wine, or one single measure of spirits.). "Although we cannot say that alcohol consumption causes less disability among people with chronic widespread pain, the observed ...

Michelangelo likely used mathematics when painting the creation of Adam

2015-07-20
New research provides mathematical evidence that Michelangelo used the Golden Ratio of 1.6 when painting The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The Golden Ratio is found when you divide a line into two parts so that the longer part divided by the smaller part is equal to the whole length divided by the longer part. The Golden Ratio has been linked with greater structural efficiency and has puzzled scientists for centuries due to its frequent occurrence in nature--for example in snail shells and flower petals. The Golden Ratio can also be found in a ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

A new perspective in bone metabolism: Targeting the lysosome–iron–mitochondria axis for osteoclast regulation

Few military spouses use formal support services during, after deployment

Breakthrough in the hunt for light dark matter: QROCODILE project reveals world-leading constraints

2D x-ray imaging technique reveals hidden processes in CO2 electrolyzers

Rational high entropy doping strategy via modular in-situ/post solvothermal doping integration for microwave absorption

Circular Economy has been officially included in the ESCI

Recent advances in exciton-polariton in perovskite

Efficacy and safety of GLP-1 RAs in children and adolescents with obesity or type 2 diabetes

Over-the-counter sales of overdose reversal drug naloxone decline after initial surge

Global trends and disparities in social isolation

Country of birth, race, ethnicity, and prenatal depression

Kissick Family Foundation, Milken Institute announce $2 million in funding for frontotemporal dementia research and new call for proposals

Mayo Clinic study reveals hidden causes of heart attacks in younger adults, especially women

Target: BP initiative helps more than 10M adults with hypertension

New initiative launched to improve care for people with certain types of heart failure

You’ve never seen corn like this before

Mediterranean diet could reduce gum disease

Mount Sinai launches cardiac catheterization artificial intelligence research lab

Why AI is never going to run the world

Stress in the strands: Hair offers clues to children’s mental health

UCLA distinguished professor, CVD researcher to receive 2025 Basic Research Prize

UT San Antonio School of Public Health: The People’s School

‘Preventable deaths will continue’ without action to make NHS more accessible for autistic people, say experts

Scientists shoot lasers into brain cells to uncover how illusions work

Your ecosystem engineer was a dinosaur

New digital cognitive test for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease

Parents of children with health conditions less confident about a positive school year

New guideline standardizes consent for research participants in Canada

Research as reconciliation: Oil sands and health

AI risks overwriting history and the skills of historians have never been more important, leading academic outlines in new paper

[Press-News.org] The New York Times can predict your future weight
Future obesity is predicted by today's trending food stories