Among other frightening catastrophes that are happening in the world today, the so-called "obesity epidemic" that Europe and the US is on the brink of, is a worrying one, and it appears that governments are working towards cracking down on fat people. However, there is a growing body of scholars and scientists who discredit claims that this is a killer disease that is spreading exponentially.

BMI now Reduced
The Body Mass Index (BMI), which is the calculation of height squared divided by weight squared, is something that many take to be a truthful indication of "good" and "bad" body types. However in 1997 and 1998..

If anyone's ever been food shopping on an empty stomach, then like me they would probably be guilty of buying lots of things that they didn't need, or at least something that looked appealing at the time.
Now research has found that this impulse is due to the secretion of a hormone that not only causes hunger but makes food look more appetising.
 
The Hunger Hormone
Researchers at the University of McGill in Montreal, Canada, have come up with another reason why we cave in to fast food when we're hungry, or why food advertising can be so effective at drawing us in.

When we are hungry, our brains release a..

When it comes to Italian food, not many would doubt that it's one of the world's favourite cuisines. That may be the case, however Italys' residents are having to forgo their pasta dishes and fresh fruit and vegetables in the wake of the food crisis and spiralling prices of staple ingredients.

Pasta too Expensive
With wheat prices rising 130% since March 2007, the average Italians' shopping basket is looking quite different, as sales of pasta have dropped by 2.6% in the last 12 months. The Italian Farmers' Confederation (CIA) reported that basic, low-cost protein sales such as..

The food crisis has well and truly hit, with riots springing up in Haiti, Egypt, Bangladesh and many more countries across the world feeling the pinch of a mass shortage in food.

World Bank gives a helping hand
This week, the World Bank and the UN have both stepped up with promises to help the worldwide farming community. The World Bank is offering a doubling of agricultural loans to African farmers and has pledged to give emergency aid - in the form of millions of dollars - to countries such as Haiti whose residents have descended deeper into poverty since the astronomical rises in staple..

The "most hated man in France" is, for now, not a policitian but a small town baker from Barnsley in England. Having taken advantage of an EU legal loophole, Englishman John Foster is now the official baguette supplier for France's railways, news bringing stinging criticism from the French.

French law stipulates that a baguette cannot be made using fat, which is the very ingredient that makes them last longer, however there are no rules to govern the ingredients when they're made elsewhere in the EU. The French railway increasingly found that French..

The Authors of the new book “The Alternate-Day Diet" have seen fit to write to the Editor at The Independent in London to correct some errors in their original story, we publish below the full contents of their letter as it expalins better the concept behind the suggested diet regime. More information can be found on the Alternate Day Diet website.

Dear Sir,

I am responding to the numerous misquotes and errors in the review by Rachel Shields of our book, “The Alternate-Day Diet". It appears she did not read the book and has an agenda to create controversy rather than evaluate the science fairly. Her most egregious error is that we advocate overeating every other day, or "bingeing" as Ms Shields put it. The most important message of the book is that restraining oneself every other day is psychologically more feasible than restraining oneself every day, which as most dieters will agree, is impossible. Secondly, this method confers huge..

Many dieters think that by bingeing and starving, they are doing themselves a favour by "balancing out" the effects of one on the other. Unfortunately, scientists say that this couldn't be further from the truth and that we are doing more harm to ourselves than once believed.

Stunted growth
Glasgow University conducted experiments into the effects of a binge/starve diet on the life expectancy of stickleback fish, revealing worrying results. It was found that the fish on the extreme diet had only three quarters of the same life..

Antioxidants have been touted as good for everything from skin quality to heart disease, and now research has found that fruits high in antioxidants can reduce the prevalence of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

Apples / Grapes reducing Cholesterol
A study conducted by the University of Montpellier and Victor Ségalen University in Bordeaux linked the consumption of apples and purple grapes with a decrease in measures of atherosclerosis and cholesterol levels in..

Big business appears to be around the corner for those farmers selling raw milk as the organic foodie brigade is craving it by the golden gallon. The popularity of "raw" or unpasteurised milk is on the up, despite governments warning of the potential health risks of being exposed to salmonella and other potentially harmful bacteria.

Vitamins in Milk
The biggest argument for drinking raw milk is that it is higher in vitamins and healthy bacteria. Also, crucially, it still contains all of milk's natural enzymes - the element that makes it digestible for humans. However, the argument that it is dangerous for our..

The glamour may have diminished somewhat from the role of the waiter or waitress, but nowadays fewer and fewer people in western Europe aspire to be part of the front of house staff. In a survey conducted by Square Meal magazine revealed that half of the complaints that they received last year were to do with poor service, a rise of 7% on 2006.

Waiting Tables not Interesting
The status of waiters and maitre d's is in sharp decline and with this, the quality of service is declining too. In recent years, western Europe has seen an influx of job-seekers from eastern Europe who are filling the many..