| ■ Food Additive MSG Increases Risk of Overweight | 2008.08.19 |
| People who eat foods with monosodium glutamate (MSG) are more likely to be overweight, according to American and Chinese researchers who studied more than 750 people, ages 40 to 59, in three rural villages in China. About 82 percent of the study participants used MSG in their home food preparation. One-third of those who used the most MSG were nearly three time more likely to be overweight than people who didn't use MSG, United Press International reported. "We saw this risk even when we controlled for physical activity, total calorie intake and other possible explanations for the difference in body mass," Dr. Ka He, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, said in a news release. "The positive associations between MSG intake and overweight were consistent with data from animal studies," said He, UPI reported.The study was published in the journal Obesity. |