A recent study looked at how the development of Wal-Mart Supercenters has impacted obesity.  The authors theorized that lower prices for packaged and processed foods would lead to a higher quantity of such foods demanded and consumed.

The researchers determined that, in fact, the presence of a supercenter in a geographical area increased the rate of obesity by 2.3%. 

According to the study, from the Journal of Urban Economics:

“These results imply that the proliferation of Walmart Supercenters explains 10.5% of the rise in obesity since the late 1980s”.

A recent study looked at how the development of Wal-Mart Supercenters has impacted obesity.  The authors theorized that lower prices for packaged and processed foods would lead to a higher quantity of such foods demanded and consumed.

The researchers determined that, in fact, the presence of a supercenter in a geographical area increased the rate of obesity by 2.3%. 

According to the study, from the Journal of Urban Economics:

“These results imply that the proliferation of Walmart Supercenters explains 10.5% of the rise in obesity since the late 1980s”.

There are new laundry detergents that can wash most clothes in cold water – but many people are sticking to hot water, even though it wastes energy.  In North America and Europe, the idea that all clothes can be washed in cold water is relatively new, although it is routine in Japan.

About 75 percent of the energy use and greenhouse-gas emissions from washing a load of laundry come from heating the water.

According to the New York Times:

“Tide Coldwater was introduced in 2005. Several competitors followed with their own cold-water formulas, including Purex from Henkel, Wisk from Sun Products and Biokleen from a small company by the same name … Consumer Reports ranked Tide Coldwater among its top detergents last year”.

Bruce Butterfield, the research director at the National Gardening Association, says that vegetable gardening is increasingly popular across the U.S.  The trend is being driven both by rising food prices and health-conscious consumers.

Garden-store retailers have reported increased sales, and more part-time gardeners are bringing their produce to farmers’ markets.

The New York Times reports:

“Sarah G. Fannin, an agriculture educator who works with the University of Kentucky’s cooperative extension service to take research to people in the county, said calls for gardening assistance had doubled in the past three years, many from young people. Gardening classes have been full, she said, as has a class on canning taught by a colleague.”