Silver Spring, U.S.A. – We’ve grown up with America’s favorite treat – fast food. From beloved childhood memories to classic Americana, the art of quick and delicious fare represents some of life’s greatest pleasures and often marks milestone moments. .

Destination America invites fans to celebrate gastronomy-to-go as Fast Food Mania makes its world premiere on June 3, 2012, diving into the pop culture world of fast food, digging into its cuisine, featuring its fanatics and exploring all the one-of-a-kind wonders it has to offer. The immersive tour de food will be led by the intrepid fast food aficionado, Jon Hein (“The Howard Stern Show” and “The Fast Food Show” on Sirius/XM) as he dines and decodes the world’s most popular dishes.

The travel-packed and finger-licking series will not only look at awesome eats, but also offer up essential tips for navigating the ever-winding drive troughs and ordering secret menu items, as well as delve into never-before-seen test kitchens of some of America’s favorite chains.

Fast Food Mania also reveals behind-the-scenes stories and little known facts, including answers to trivia questions such as “Who designed the signature red and white KFC bucket?” Bet you didn’t know it was the owner of another popular fast food restaurant – Dave Thomas of Wendy’s — who once operated one of the largest KFC franchises!

“Some of our country’s most fascinating stories are born from the hard work and determination of what were once mom and pop businesses that evolved into great American successes – stories of the underdog selling the hot dog, if you will,” said Marc Etkind, senior vice president of content strategy for Destination America.

“Fast Food Mania celebrates those accomplishments and takes viewers on a nostalgic ride revisiting memorable campaigns, iconic outposts and, of course, tasty menu items – sometimes with a side of fries.”

This season, Fast Food Mania makes stops at beloved eateries such as Sonic, Dunkin Donuts, Dominos, Taco Bell, and the original hot dog stand by the sea, Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, NY. But it’s not just about the legendary brands. Fast food mania also uncover the up-and-coming chains making their mark, as well as hidden gems like Jet BBQ, a historic firehouse turned true drive-thru restaurant in Wichita, KS.

Fast Food Mania is produced by Sharp Entertainment with Matt Sharp serving as executive producer. Bob Larson is executive vice president and Dan Adler is vice president of production at Sharp Entertainment. Alison Mouledoux serves as co-executive producer. For Destination America, Fay Yu is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Marc Etkind is senior vice president, content strategy and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.

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Red Bank, U.S.A. – With more than 60 percent of women in the United States classified as overweight and one-third of those women being obese,[1] a new survey from HealthyWomen (HW) sheds light on women’s understanding of obesity and the options available to regain their health. The survey found that while women are knowledgeable about the heart health impact of obesity, they don’t understand other serious health consequences, namely cancer. When asked about the secondary health conditions associated with obesity, only 49 percent recognized the link between obesity and breast cancer, and 29 percent knew about the link between obesity and uterine cancer.

This lack of knowledge extended to weight-loss strategies as well. When women were asked about obesity-prevention actions available to them, more than half of the respondents (52%) did not know if their health insurance offered support. Only 10 percent believed their plans covered bariatric surgery, and only 6 percent thought their plans included prescription drug reimbursement. While plans vary, many do provide support for a range of weight-loss interventions.

“We were reassured to find that women understand some of the health consequences associated with obesity,” said Beth Battaglino Cahill, RN, executive director of HealthyWomen. “However, the survey does show several gaps in knowledge, which tells us more needs to be done to offer support and access to tools that will help them lead a healthier lifestyle.”

The online survey of nearly 1,500 women was designed to assess their understanding and knowledge of obesity and related health consequences. It also included a self-assessment of their current weight status and their strategies for losing weight. More than three-quarters of respondents identified themselves as either overweight (47%) or obese (25%). Overweight is defined by medical experts as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25, while obesity is associated with a BMI greater than 30.[1]

Asked how much weight they would need to lose to significantly reduce health risks associated with being overweight or obese, 30 percent of respondents said a 10 percent reduction was needed, followed by 28 percent who said a 5 percent reduction was needed. This is evidence that respondents understand that a modest amount of weight loss—5 to 10 percent of body weight—can produce health benefits, such as improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugars.[2]

When it came to employing a weight-loss strategy, the largest group — 41 percent of women – stated that starting or increasing exercise was the one weight-loss strategy that was most effective for them, with 51 percent of respondents engaging in three to seven hours of physical activity a week. Managing caloric intake ranked second in popularity, favored by 25 percent of respondents. Additionally, when asked if a prescription weight-loss option were available as part of a long-term weight-loss plan, more than half of the women said they would be somewhat or very likely to try it (31% and 29%, respectively).

To support women with their weight-loss goals, HealthyWomen provides an array of resources that can help women tackle their toughest weight-loss issues at www.HealthyWomen.org/obesity. This month HealthyWomen will launch its new Online Community, providing women a venue to connect with medical experts on a variety of health topics, including weight loss, fitness and nutrition, as well as to share success stories and get support from other women just like them.

[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Overweight, obesity and weight loss” Fact Sheet. Available at: http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/overweight-weight-loss.cfm#a. Accessed: April 23, 2012.

[2] NIH Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. “Fact About Healthy Weight” Fact Sheet. Available at:http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/obesity/aim_kit/healthy_wt_facts.htm. Accessed: April 27, 2012

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Higher food costs and rising gas prices could prove to be damaging to the nation’s food banks and their ability to provide adequate emergency food to the nearly 49 million Americans who are currently living at risk of hunger, Feeding America, the network of the nation’s largest food banks announced.

Although recent reports indicate that the economy is beginning to improve and that the unemployment rate is also beginning to shrink, Feeding America’s food banks continue to face significant struggles as America recovers from the worst economic recession in decades.

The Feeding America network of more than 200 food banks and 61,000 local partners are feeding 37 million Americans a year, including nearly 14 million children and 3 million seniors. But with rising operating costs and decreasing supply, a number of factors are contributing to a “perfect storm” of challenges that threaten to leave food banks unable to meet the need in their communities.

Gas prices increased 26% in 2011, adding tremendous costs to transporting food. Increased fuel costs particularly affect rural areas, where populations are less dense. Many food banks support emergency feeding across a vast service area.
Food inflation is also hitting food banks hard. Grocery prices increased an average rate of 6% in the last half of 2011, and food banks have been hard pressed to make up the difference.

Feeding America Food banks have seen significant increases in the price of household staples like milk, which increased in price by nine percent in 2011, and peanut butter, which costs 38% more now than it did a year ago. Rising food prices also mean that healthy, nutritious food becomes further out of reach for many of the clients served by Feeding America, further increasing their reliance on food banks
“A major concern for us is the significant decline in USDA commodities provided to our food banks.

These commodities generally account for about a quarter of the 3 billion pounds of food our food banks distribute each year. This is highly-valued, nutritious food – fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy product. We saw a reduction of about 30 percent last year, and are already experiencing more reductions this year,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America.

Donations of food from food manufacturers also declined by about 15% last year, due to increased manufacturing efficiencies.

“We are also deeply concerned about the potential for cuts to Federal hunger-relief programs like SNAP (food stamps) as Congress looks for ways to reduce the deficit. More than 40 million Americans, including many of our clients, rely on SNAP. We understand that there must be reductions in government spending, but cutting anti-hunger programs is penny-wise and a pound foolish,” Escarra said.

“Federal nutrition programs meet an urgent and immediate need. They also reap long term benefits by eliminating the health, educational, and workforce productivity costs associated with hunger and poor nutrition,” Escarra said. “Feeding America urges Congress to maintain robust funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program, Commodity Supplemental Nutrition Program and SNAP.”

Image Courtesy of   lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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March is National Nutrition Month, bringing healthful eating and positive nutritional choices to the forefront for Americans. With nutrition top-of-mind, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reminds you about a simple tool to help you make informed food decisions!  It’s called the Nutrition Facts Label, and you can find it on all packaged foods and beverages.

The Nutrition Facts Label lets you know exactly what you’re eating and serves as your guide for comparing foods and making choices that can affect your long-term health.

Start Today…And Use It Forever!

You’re likely hearing a lot about nutrition during the month of March. But while the Nutrition Facts Label is a tool you can start using right now … the best news is that you can continue to use it every time you shop for food. The Nutrition Facts Label serves as your guide in several ways.  And once you get started, you’ll see how easy “label reading” really is.

The Nutrition Facts Label shows the calories per serving. Keep in mind that 100 calories in a serving of food is moderate, and 400 calories is high.  The label also lists the number of servings per container.  It’s quite common for a package of food to contain more than one serving – so that means that if you eat two servings (or more) of that food, you are getting two (or more) times the number of calories and nutrients that are listed on the label.

The Nutrition Facts Label is also your tool to track nutrients. The Percent Daily Value (shown as %DV) gives you a framework for deciding if a food is high or low in a particular nutrient.

This is helpful for nutrients you are trying to get more of (such as calcium and Vitamins A and C), as well as for the ones you are trying to get less of (like sodium, total fat and cholesterol).  The %DV recommendations are based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet, and each listed nutrient is based on 100% of the recommended amounts for that nutrient. There is an easy rule of thumb to follow when comparing nutrients: 5% DV or less of a particular nutrient means the food is low in that nutrient, and 20% DV or more means it’s high!

Start using the Nutrition Facts Label today and you’ll be in the know about the foods you are choosing. Identify serving size, check calories per serving, and monitor nutrients – especially the ones you are trying to get less of, like sodium, total fat and cholesterol. That’s how you can compare foods and make the nutritional choices that are best for you and your family.

For more information about the Nutrition Facts Label and to obtain materials visit:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm266853.htm
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm094536.htm
http://www.fda.gov/nutritioneducation

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Dean Foods Company commends the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for recognizing the importance of dairy in the revised nutrition standards for school lunches, announced during a ceremony with First Lady Michelle Obama, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, at Parkland Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recognized milk products as a key contributor of three of the four “shortfall nutrients” in the U.S. diet – calcium, potassium and vitamin D – and recommended adults and children increase consumption of fat-free and low-fat dairy products.

Parkland Elementary serves milk made by the Dean Foods Shenandoah’s Pride brand, including white milk, and fat-free TruMoo chocolate milk. Launched last year, TruMoo fat-free chocolate milk contains just 40 more calories than plain white milk per serving and is made without high fructose corn syrup. With only 130 calories per serving and 10 grams of added sugar, TruMoo delivers the same nine essential nutrients as white milk in a fat-free formula that conforms to the new USDA guidelines.

“Shenandoah’s Pride has been a strong partner with our school customers in developing a better-for-you chocolate milk formula with a taste kids love and the nutrition they need,” said Bill Hogan, Shenandoah’s Pride general manager.

In 2011, Fairfax County Public Schools in the Washington, D.C., suburbs gained national attention by reversing a chocolate milk ban to partner with Shenandoah’s Pride to bring a reformulated chocolate milk back into the cafeteria. The milk piloted with Fairfax schools became what is known today as TruMoo.

After successful regional retail and school pilots in the Northeast and Pacific Coast regions, virtually all of the flavored milk across Dean Foods’ family of regional brands converted to TruMoo in August 2011, making it one of the largest milk brands in the country by sales and by volume.

Tens of thousands of schools across the country converted to fat-free TruMoo at the start of the school year, meeting proposed USDA nutrition standards for school meals ahead of the finalized rules announced today.

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The National Restaurant Association has applauded the Mississippi Hospitality & Restaurant Association (MHRA) on the successful launch of its “Eat Healthy Mississippi” campaign, an initiative to ensure consumers have access to an increasing array of healthful – and locally grown – options, as well as nutrition information to make more informed choices when dining out.

“…The announcement by the Mississippi Hospitality & Restaurant Association is a great example of forward thinking around our healthy living challenges,” said Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. “The ‘Eat Healthy Mississippi’ campaign will provide diners with easy-to-access information in participating independent and chain restaurants alike.

The program is especially exciting because restaurants may also offer items from the National Restaurant Association’s new Kids LiveWell program, which provides healthful meal items for children, with a particular focus on increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and low-fat dairy.”

Through MHRA’s strategic partnership with National Restaurant Association partner Healthy Dining, participating Eat Healthy Mississippi restaurants will have access to Healthy Dining’s expert nutrition services, including consultation on finding menu items that meet nutrition criteria.

Restaurants that join the Eat Healthy Mississippi program will have the benefit of having several menu items analyzed and approved by Healthy Dining’s dietitians, and their restaurant and healthier choices will be featured on HealthyDiningFinder.com.

MHRA Executive Director Mike Cashion announced the program at a State Capitol press conference in Jackson, Miss., today with Governor Phil Bryant, Department of Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith and Healthy Dining President Anita Jones-Mueller.

Nutrition – particularly kids’ nutrition – and local sourcing top the list of menu trends in 2012, according to the National Restaurant Association’s What’s Hot in 2012 survey

of nearly 1,800 professional chefs, all members of the American Culinary Federation. This focus on fresh, healthful meals reflects the restaurant industry’s commitment to promote healthy lifestyles.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) new Nutritional Standards for School Meals help ensure the nation’s school children have access to lunches and breakfasts that meet federal dietary guidance for good nutrition.

The standards will encourage students to meet federal recommendations for dairy consumption by requiring that either fat-free flavored milk or low-fat or fat-free white milk be offered with each school meal. As the number one food source of three of the four nutrients[i] the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans identified as lacking in children’s diets (vitamin D, calcium and potassium), milk plays an important role in delivering critical nutrients.

“On average, by the time they are 4 years old, children fall below the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommended dairy intake. By requiring that schools offer low-fat or fat-free milk with every meal, these standards can help children come closer to meeting their nutrient needs,” said Jean H. Ragalie, R.D., President of National Dairy Council.

“Building nutrient-rich school meals is an important step toward helping students develop healthy eating patterns at an early age, and we commend the USDA for making important updates to school nutrition standards at a time when providing children access to proper nutrition has never been more important.”

While the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends increasing intake of low fat and fat free milk, especially among children, the new school meal standards include a provision that all flavored milk offered in school be fat-free. Working together, dairy farmers, milk processors and schools have proactively reformulated milk and milk products to meet children’s taste and nutrient needs.

Since 2006, added sugars in chocolate milk offered in schools have been reduced by an estimated 38 percent, though flavored milk contributes just 3 percent of the added sugars and 2 percent of calories to children’s diets on average. This school year, an estimated 95 percent of flavored milk served in schools is 150 calories or less – with an average of 134 – just 31 calories more than white milk.

The updated nutrition standards reflect a school meal environment that goes beyond lunch. More students are taking advantage of school breakfast programs, and eating breakfast can enhance schoolchildren’s diets by contributing essential nutrients. Additionally, some studies show its intake may provide additional benefits toward academic achievement.

Nutrient-rich foods, such as low-fat and fat-free milk, cheese and yogurt are important options for school menus to help students fuel their day in a nutritious way. Providing children access to proper nutrition and nutrition education in schools has been a priority for National Dairy Council for nearly a century.

In response to the growing obesity epidemic and the majority of American students not meeting physical activity recommendations, National Dairy Council and the National Football League, in cooperation with the USDA, launched a unique in-school nutrition and physical activity program called Fuel Up to Play 60.

The program encourages consumption of low-fat and fat-free milk and milk products, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and achieving at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. With a massive reach of more than 70,000 schools, Fuel Up to Play 60 is helping empower students to play a leadership role in shaping the nutrition and physical activity opportunities in school for themselves and their peers.

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In January 2012, Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) and Obesity PPM will launch a long-term online educational initiative to increase understanding of the complexity of obesity and its many causes. The disease of obesity impacts individuals physically, emotionally, economically and socially.

This initiative will look at various factors, both controllable and uncontrollable, impacting individuals affected by obesity. Running throughout 2012 and 2013, the initiative will take a three-pronged approach: a 14-part series of publicly available webinars, articles addressing aspects of Obesity PPM’s Twelve Pillars model, and social media enriching the dialogue about each event topic. The first live online event will take place in late January 2012.

The Twelve Pillars model describes the relationships between the two categories of factors that impact obesity: individual factors and population-level factors. The six individual factors are cognition, addiction, nutrition, endocrinology and metabolism, exercise and activity level, and sleep, stress and immunity.

The six population level factors are the education system and parenting, workplace and business culture, community and lifestyle planning, food policy, production and delivery, healthcare policy and delivery, and financial instruments and funding.

Following the introductory event in January, each webinar will address one of the twelve factors from the individual and population levels and its relationship to the broader context of obesity, with the final event addressing the relationship between obesity, genetics, and the environmental triggering of gene expression.

The webinars will feature guest speakers, or panels of speakers, providing the latest unbiased, up-to-date information on these topics. By delivering these educational events at no cost to a broad audience, the OAC and Obesity PPM will advance their shared mission to reduce weight bias, social stigma, and discrimination. The content will be appropriate for all audiences seeking a broader understanding of obesity.

Further, by presenting multiple perspectives on controversial topics, the OAC and Obesity PPM will bring to light the extent of scientific, clinical and social work that must be done to both develop effective obesity prevention strategies and improve access to treatment for those affected by obesity.

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