Getting to the Bottom of Obesity

We're used to seeing study after study touting the advantages of some diet or another -- low-carb, Mediterranean, the Zone -- at this point we've resigned to taking each new development with a proverbial grain of salt.

But a few billionaires are out to change that. The Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI), backed by the John and Laura Arnold Foundation, will study how food really affects fat, cholesterol, and hormones. Nutrition studies are expensive, so cost-cutting measures, like asking participants to self-report their daily food intake, often lead to inaccurate results. The NuSI intends to get the most precise results possible, leading to real change in national obesity and diabetic levels. We'll be eagerly anticipating their results.

Billionaires Fund a "Manhattan Project" For Nutrition and Obesity from The Salt