Is fussy eating genetic?
Are your kids picky about their food? Researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill say genes play a key role in food neophobia, or the aversion to trying new foods. The study, reported in the journal Obesity looked at 66 pairs of twins aged four to seven. Genetics explained 72 per cent of the variation in tendency to avoid new foods.
With a big pinch of salt
A global study on sodium intake reveals that 75 per cent of the adult population consumes nearly twice the recommended daily amount of sodium (2,000mg). Intake worldwide averaged nearly 4,000mg a day in 2010, says an American Heart Association Meeting report.
Heart-warning energy advice
Analysis of data from seven studies of healthy patients aged 18 to 45 reveals that energy drinks can disturb the heart's rhythm. Subjects who had just drunk one to three cans of energy drink had a QT interval 10 milliseconds longer than usual. The QT interval is a segment of the heart's rhythm which, if prolonged, can cause irregular heartbeats or sudden cardiac death.