Split decision

Obesity experts say the lousy economy threatens to worsen people's waistlines because bad-for-you food happens to be the cheapest. But there are healthy cheap eats, and new research aims to show how to eke out the most nutrition out of every buck.

"We wanted to make sure every calorie counted," says Dr Adam Drewnowski, who directs the University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition and is pushing for the federal government to put more affordability into the calculation when it issues new dietary guidelines next year.

No, his plan is not a plea to live on salads. After all, salad greens can cost four times as much as green beans and not last nearly as long.