Health: Food News.

Heavy Drinkers

Drinking a lot on occasion causes more fat to accumulate around the midsection than drinking a little every day -- and one's choice of alcohol can influence the waistline as well. In a study of more than 2,300 men and women, the people who regularly drank small amounts of alcohol had the smallest waists, while those who drank three or four servings at a time had the largest waists. Wine drinkers tended to have the least abdominal fat, while hard-liquor drinkers had the most. The results underscore "the importance of how people drink in addition to how much," says University of Buffalo researcher Joan Dorn. The study also found that wine drinkers take better care of themselves than beer or hard-alcohol drinkers do, by eating more fruits and vegetables, for example. That might indicate that it isn't just the type of alcohol that determines the waistline, but also the habits of the person who tends to prefer it.

Salad Power

Having a salad at the start of a meal can make people eat less than they would otherwise -- but the salad's size and content are crucial. Nutritionist Barbara Rolls at Pennsylvania State University studied 42 women over several weeks, variously serving them six types of salads that differed in the amount of calories and fat. The participants ate 12 percent fewer calories of a pasta lunch when they first had three cups of a 100-calorie, low-fat salad, which contained romaine and iceberg lettuce with ...