A high-fiber diet reduces the severity of allergic airway disease, including decreased lung inflammation, in mice according to a study published online in Nature Medicine. These findings highlight how diet can influence immune cell development and disease outside of the gut.

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – African American women who follow the same diet as white women and exercise just as much tend to lose less weight because they burn fewer calories, a new study suggests. “Many large and well done studies have demonstrated that African American women tend to lose fewer pounds than their Caucasian counterparts,” Dr. Ann Smith Barnes told Reuters Health by email. Smith Barnes studies obesity at Baylor College of Medicine and is the medical director of Weight Management Services and Disease Prevention for the Harris Health System of Houston. Scientists haven’t been sure what explains those differences in weight loss.

Most Americans know about MyPyramid – the triangle depicting how many servings of each food group you should eat in a day – but who knows about MyPlate – the circle showing what a healthy meal looks like? MyPlate was created in 2011 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help American consumers put the Dietary Guidelines into practice.

By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Young teens who binge eat and those who are fearful of weight gain may be more likely to become overweight later in adolescence, according to a new study from the United Kingdom. Researchers looked for early symptoms of eating disorders among more than 7,000 13-year-olds and found certain symptoms predicted which children would have weight problems at age 15. Both boys and girls who severely restricted their eating at 13 had lower BMIs when they were two years older. “The most important message is that even at this young age, a high percentage of boys and girls have worrying eating disorders symptoms,” Dr. Nadia Micali told Reuters Health in an email.

By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Young teens who binge eat and those who are fearful of weight gain may be more likely to become overweight later in adolescence, according to a new study from the United Kingdom. Researchers looked for early symptoms of eating disorders among more than 7,000 13-year-olds and found certain symptoms predicted which children would have weight problems at age 15. Both boys and girls who severely restricted their eating at 13 had lower BMIs when they were two years older. “The most important message is that even at this young age, a high percentage of boys and girls have worrying eating disorders symptoms,” Dr. Nadia Micali told Reuters Health in an email.

Social cues affect choices we make on a daily basis, from how we dress to what kind of car we drive. But now, research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that what other people eat influences our own food choices.

Nearly 1,500 donors have pledged more than $62,000 to help pay for surgery for a 12-year-old Texas girl diagnosed as morbidly obese due to a brain disease that is causing her to gain about two pounds a week. Alexis Shapiro suffered damage to her pituitary gland, which helps regulate weight, as a result of the brain disease. Her extreme excess of body fat is clinically defined as morbid obesity. She cannot do the things she used to love,” Jennifer Shapiro, her mother, said on the fundraising site GoFundMe.

Using 2008 global cancer rates from the World Health Organization, a new international study has found that certain lifestyle factors – specifically smoking and eating diets high in animal products – have the strongest association with cancer rates.Publishing their findings in the journal Nutrients, the researchers say the results could impact international food policies.