Very low food security is a risk factor for advanced fibrosis, along with high body mass index, high A1C levels and female gender, researchers reported at the International Liver Congress 2018. Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to have low food security, which was also more common among the uninsured and those with an education level below secondary school.

Registered dietitian Brigitte Zeitlin says a couple of hours during the weekend is all she needs to do meal prep for the week, but her goal is to reduce the time spent cooking on weekdays, not eliminate it. Zeitlin says she takes stock of the foods she has on hand, shops with a grocery list and prepares just enough to be able to make quick meals during the week.

The US Department of Agriculture cafeteria in Washington, D.C., was renovated in 2013 with the goal of providing healthy fare, and it also offers free nutrition counseling by registered dietitian Evangelina DiSpirito every Wednesday. DiSpirito says when people ask her to evaluate their plates of food, her advice usually is to include more fruits and vegetables.

Researchers used a cohort of 179 women with overweight or obesity, ages 18 to 45, and found that those who participated in a lifestyle intervention embedded in a home visitation program lost an average of 0.7 kg at 12 months, compared with women in the usual care group who gained an average of 2.1 kg. The findings in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that those in the intervention group were also more likely to achieve 5% weight loss than the usual care group.

A study that tracked colon cancer patients over seven years found those who ate a healthy diet and exercised were 42% less likely to die during that period than those who had a less healthy lifestyle. "Having a healthy body weight, being physically active, and eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains after a diagnosis of stage 3 colon cancer was associated with a longer survival," researchers write in JAMA Oncology.

Data collected since Philadelphia enacted a tax on soda, energy drinks and other sweetened beverages showed city residents are about 40% less likely than those in neighboring cities to have a soda every day and 58% more likely to have bottled water, researchers reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Residents also are 64% less likely to have an energy drink every day.

Third-grade students who participated in yoga and mindfulness activities at school for eight weeks showed reduced signs of stress and anxiety, compared with those who received standard care, according to a study in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management. The activities included breathing exercises and guided relaxation.

Researchers linked every short-term increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter in fine air particulate matter PM2.5 to a 15% to 23% higher likelihood of acute lower respiratory infections in children and adults. The findings in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine were based on data involving 146,397 individuals with respiratory infections, 77% of whom were youths younger than 2.

Student meals in the Poudre School District in Colorado have gotten healthier and more sophisticated since commercial steamers and ovens replaced deep fryers in 2009. Elementary schools have a raw vegetable and fruit buffet, lunches are more customizable, many foods are sourced locally, and registered dietitian Becky Wiggins works with students who require special diets.

It's the perfect topping for yogurt and hot cereal. Sweet Cayenne

Registration is open for the Certificate of Training in Childhood and Adolescent Weight Management Program, May 31 to June 2 in Portland, Ore. The registration deadline is May 14.

"The Meaning of Health" video features students in a medical nutrition therapy class at the University of Georgia's College of Family and Consumer Sciences. According to Academy member Emma M. Laing, Ph.D., RDN, LD, clinical associate professor of dietetics in the department of food and nutrition, "This project is inspiring because it highlights how the meaning of health is different for current dietetics students and future RDNs." Watch the full video.