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At a meeting on Saturday of “leaders, ministers, experts and non-governmental organizations from nearly 100 countries,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for greater urgency in the fight against hunger, Agence France-Presse reports. According to Ban, 2009 has seen an increase in malnutrition rates around the world (9/26).

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday “unveiled … a food security initiative launched by the Obama administration to combat hunger worldwide,” the Associated Press reports.

Research published ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reports that children of working mothers are likely to lead unhealthier lifestyles than those whose mothers do not work. The study suggests they are more sedentary and are more likely to be driven to school. The research was based on more than 12,500 five year old singleton children who were part of the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

Cancer patients have unique nutritional needs, and a person’s appetite may change daily based on the type of treatment they are receiving. Although nutrition is critical to getting well from cancer, eating is often one of the hardest things cancer patients have to face due to treatment side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, mouth sores, swallowing problems, and unexpected weight loss.

A new Iowa State University study found that a family, school and community intervention program helps children live healthier lives and could be a new tool in the fight against the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic.

Aspartame is 150 times sweeter than sugar and is found in thousands of products, including sodas (fizzy drinks), yogurts, chewing gum, cereal bars and diet foods. The University of Hull, England, has been commissioned by The Food Standards Agency (FSA), UK, to assess whether aspartame causes symptoms in individuals who feel they are sensitive to it. Competent British and European agencies say that aspartame is safe to consume.

Teenagers’ attitudes to diet and weight are shaped by their social class, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Policymakers have long insisted on the importance of understanding young people’s health and eating habits but this is the first study to show how everyday practices and perceptions of different social classes contribute to variation in the diet, weight and health of teenagers.

It’s been cultivated for at least 7,000 years and spread from South America to grow on every continent except Antarctica. Now the humble potato has had its genome sequenced. “The potato is the most important vegetable worldwide,” said Robin Buell, an MSU associate professor of plant biology. She was part of the consortium that released the first draft sequence of the potato genome.

Vitamin D deficiency in premenopausal women may increase the risk of developing systolic hypertension 15 years later, according to research reported at the American Heart Association’s 63rd High Blood Pressure Research Conference. Researchers examined women enrolled in the Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study and analyzed data from 559 Caucasian women living in Tecumseh, Mich.