"'Virtual' self can help dieting, exercise"

So read the subtitle of a story in today's Palo Alto Weekly. Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab researchers have been studying how people change their real-world behavior by watching virtual representations of themselves (known as avatars). The researchers have found evidence that what one's avatar does in a virtual-reality game or world (like Second Life) can have real health implications in everyday life. For example, watching your virtual self get fat on-screen will help you decide to skip the chocolate bar at snack time.

Bye bye, bad-for-you foods (at least in California)

I've been meaning to post something about California becoming the first state to ban the use of trans fats--which are known to increase the risk of heart disease--by restaurants and other food facilities, but haven't gotten around to it yet. My aplogies doe the delay.  (By the way, New York City has already done adopted a similar ban, as have Philadelphia, Stamford, Conn., and Montgomery County, Md.)

What if where you live doesn't have enough food to feed you?

The New York Times recently published a map that illustrates the potential for such a Malthusian catastrophe.

You can view the map in detail here

Fast food facts on the go

I love it when our local rag, the Palo Alto Daily News, is the the source for one of my posts. And it's even more fun when a headline is brought to my attention by a colleague while we are in downtown Palo Alto's only "dive" bar. (I hope I don't get in trouble for revealing too much!) And best of all, the story is about a company that I recently discovered and about which I have been meaning to write something.

"Getting your fingers on fast-food nutritional details" ran yesterday. As the lead 'graph says: "Calorie-counting fast-food lovers may be heartened to know there's a new source for nutrition information at their fingertips."

Food vs. Fuel Heats Up

The food vs. fuel debate has really flared up in the last few weeks, with food riots in places like Haiti threatening major political disruption. This has been building up rapidly for the last year.

The New York Times reports today:

Read more >

Cheezborger, cheezborger, cheezborger

I can't believe I have not written about this before now. IFTF Research Affiliate Jamais Cascio has analyzed the carbon footprint of the all-American cheeseburger!

Functional foods hit the L.A. scene

Another hip and trendy fad? Celebrity-studded restaurants in Los Angeles are now offering menu choices that specifically claim to boost immunity and offer other health benefits. A New York Times article describes several such restaurants, including Crustacean, a modern Vietnamese place.

More on food safety

It turns out that it has been one year since the outbreak of e. coli from contaminated California-grown spinach led to five deaths nationwide. An article in Friday's USA Today provides an extensive recap of the crisis and its aftermath. Months of investigative efforts by--and cooperation between--FDA and California authorities, and growers, processors, and distributors, eventually narrowed the likely source of the contamination to a 2.8 acre field.

Here's to regulating the food chain!

My blogging has fallen by the wayside lately, not for lack of news items to comment on, but largely due to how busy the Health Horizons Program is these days. Among other things, we are diligently preparing for our Fall Conference on "Open Health," which is scheduled for November 7th and 8th (see announcement, below), and for our special project workshop on The Future of Foodscapes.

Catching up with Google Health and Bees

I've been on vacation, so the Health Horizons blog has been silent for the last several days. During this time, a couple of interesting articles have appeared in the popular press.