The US Food and Drug Administration announced late October 2000, that a new health claim on diets high in potassium would be allowed. The claim states that "Diets containing foods that are good sources of potassium and are low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke." The claim will be allowed on foods containing at least 350mg potassium and 140mg or less of sodium. In addition, foods qualifying for the claim need to be low in fat (less than 3g per 100g), have less than 1g of saturated fat and 20mg or less of cholesterol per 100g. One of the first food products expected to carry the claim is citrus juice.

Both Hong Kong and Taiwan have announced their intentions to implement a labelling system for foods produced through biotechnology within the next few years. This move comes in response to regulations being developed in Australia, Korea and Japan. The cost to the consumer of imposing labelling requirements and the mechanism by which they will be implemented and enforced are still under discussion.

Findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology have reported that women who repeatedly gained and lost weight (referred to as "yo-yo dieters") had significantly lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, than women who maintained their weight did. Low levels of HDL cholesterol increase the risk of coronary heart disease. The fatter the women were, the greater the effect.

The researchers said that while obese women should try to reduce their weight to decrease the risk of obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, women who are not obese should aim to maintain their weight. Another finding from the study was that "yo-yo dieters" also tended to have a higher body mass index (BMI) than women who maintained their weight. Further studies are needed to determine if constant unsuccessful dieting resulting in weight fluctuations can increase an individual's tendency to accumulate body fat.

While malnutrition in children remains a key public health problem in Vietnam with 36 percent of the country's children malnourished, a growing number of children are now showing signs of the opposite condition. Fat children are no longer a rarity in Vietnam, particularly in the larger cities. A study by the Ho Chi Minh Centre of Nutrition in late 2000, reported that 12.5 per cent of primary school students were overweight while 2.2 percent of children under five years of age were too fat. The problem is thought to lie in a sedentary lifestyle. Most of the children are driven to school and half of those surveyed did no exercise. The study coordinators called for improvements in both eating habits and physical activity.