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Low carbohydrate diets are often driven by beliefs that are influenced by internet resources, and do not represent a one-size-fits all approach to dieting. In a new study led by the University of Glasgow and published today in Nature Scientific Reports , researchers have provided further insights into the motivations for following low carb diets and the experiences of current and past dieters.

Households eat more healthily when retailers display clear nutritional information on own-brand food products, say researchers. Nutritional information displayed prominently on food products which give consumers information on salt, sugar and calorie content play a significant role in nudging people towards better dietary choices, according to new research.

Researchers have found that a common plant owes the dazzling blue colour of its fruit to fat in its cellular structure, the first time this type of colour production has been observed in nature. I first noticed these bright blue fruits when I was visiting family in Florence. I thought the colour was really interesting, but it was unclear what was causing it Silvia Vignolini The plant, Viburnum tinus , is an evergreen shrub widespread across the UK and the rest of Europe, which produces metallic blue fruits that are rich in fat.

Scientists have completed large-scale tests on a new type of five-minute urine test that measures the health of a person's diet. The test also produces an individual's unique urine 'fingerprint'.

Scientists from the UK, Europe and the USA, including experts from the University of Birmingham, have published a vitamin D consensus paper warning against high doses of vitamin D supplementation. According to the study, there is currently insufficient scientific evidence to show vitamin D can be beneficial in preventing or treating Covid-19.

High wind speeds can significantly reduce the efficiency of a honey bee's search for food, according to a new research paper published this week. Experts at the University of Sussex found that the foraging rate of honey bees significantly decreased in higher wind speeds due to increased hesitancy to take off.

Researchers at the University of Oxford and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered a new gene that improves the yield and fertilizer use efficiency of rice. The worldwide late-20 th century 'Green Revolution' saw dramatic year-by-year increases in global grain yields of rice and other cereals.

International food supply patterns are supporting healthier diets in parts of the world, but causing malnutrition and obesity elsewhere. Research carried out by the University of Kent and Imperial College London has revealed diets are changing in complex ways worldwide. Advances in science and technology, together with growing incomes, have allowed many nations to have access to a diversity of foods.

Professor Martin Yeomans ' research is helping food producers address the growing problem of obesity. In the latest episode of Impacted , the University of Sussex podcast series about research for real change, Yeomans explains how sharing his research on satiety with industry helps manufacturers create new food products that satisfy consumers and reduce the risk of overeating.

What better accompaniment to festive feasting and your impending food coma than a roundup of tasty stories from 2019? Sit back as Imperial serves up some festive food for thought, featuring unusual stuffing, strange pudding, dried cricket snacks, and food sensors. After all, 'tis the season to be jolly and enjoy all the treats Christmas has to offer! Grub's up In the 1800s, lobsters were considered the food of slaves and prisoners; a poor person's food.

More than one in three lowand middle-income countries are facing high levels of obesity and under-nourishment, according to a report involving UCL researchers. The report, published today in The Lancet,  says a new approach is needed to help reduce the 'double burden' of undernutrition and obesity at the same time, as the issues become increasingly connected due to rapid changes in countries' food systems.

Labelling food and drink with the amount and type of exercise needed to burn off its calorie content may be a more effective way of encouraging people to make 'healthier' dietary choices, shows research carried out in collaboration with the University of Birmingham.

Researchers at Oxford University, together with and international colleagues, have discovered jet stream patterns that could affect up to a quarter of global food production. In a new study published today , scientists show how specific wave patterns in the jet stream strongly increase the chance of co-occurring heatwaves in major food producing regions of Northern America, Western Europe and Asia.

Over 30 million Chinese children, aged between seven and 18, are overweight or obese - placing them at greater risk of an early death and this number is set to rise to 50 million by 2030, caused in part by the role grandparents play in childcare. Researchers at the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol worked with Guangzhou Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, enlisting 1,641 six-year-old children across 40 primary schools in Guangzhou to evaluate the effectiveness of the CHIRPY DRAGON programme in tackling childhood obesity.

Educating parents and grandparents - as well as improving physical activity and the food provided at school - could hold the key to solving China's obesity pandemic, according to one of the largest trials of childhood obesity prevention in the world. Over 30 million Chinese children, aged between seven and 18, are overweight or obese - placing them at greater risk of an early death and this number is set to rise to 50 million by 2030, caused in part by the role grandparents play in childcare.

People eat more with friends and family than when dining alone - a possible throwback to our early ancestors' approach to survival, according to a new study. Previous studies found that those eating with others ate up to 48 per cent more food than solo diners and women with obesity eating socially consumed up to 29 per cent more than when eating alone.

Plants can tell the time, and this affects their responses to certain herbicides used in agriculture according to new research led by the University of Bristol. The study, in collaboration with Syngenta, found that plant circadian rhythms regulate the sensitivity of plants to a widely used herbicide according to the time of day.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham are searching for volunteers to take part in a new study to see whether eating a Mediterranean-style diet and being more physically active could improve brain function and reduce dementia risk. A Mediterraneanstyle diet is rich in fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes, wholegrain cereals, fish and olive oil with limited intake of dairy foods, red meat and confectionary, such as sweet pastries.

Obesity is increasing more rapidly in the world's rural areas than in cities, according to a new study of global trends in body-mass index (BMI). The research analysed the height and weight data of more than 112 million adults across urban and rural areas of 200 countries and territories between 1985 and 2017.

More needs to be done to tackle modern slavery in supply chains in Brazil - one of the world's biggest suppliers of beef and an important source of timber. Whilst some businesses in Brazil are already putting measures in place to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains, there is a lack of consistency in approach, action is voluntary, and initiatives are frequently limited to specific communities or locations, according to new research.