The Hot List: 5 Things That We’re Talking About This Week

Here’s what’s happening in the headlines this week. Let us know your thoughts by tweeting to us at @OxygenMagazine, commenting here, or following us on Facebook.

“The Biggest Loser” Outrage. When “The Biggest Loser” winner Rachel Frederickson stepped onstage last night viewers were stunned by her 155-pound weight loss. In 14 weeks Frederickson lost 60% of her original body weight, dropping from a size 20 to a size 2. At 5 feet 4 inches and 105 pounds, that puts her BMI at 17.5, which is underweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We asked you on Facebook what you thought, and your comments spurred a conversation about the new definitions of strength and health. We plan to continue that conversation in an upcoming issue of Oxygen and we hope you’ll weigh in.

Olympic Fever. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi officially kick off on Friday, and can’t wait to watch Oxygen cover model and two-time Olympian Elena Hight go for the gold. In the meantime, we found The Washington Post‘s map of where the U.S. Olympic athletes live interesting. The U.S. will have the largest delegation of athletes at the Games this year. Will you be watching?

CVS Quits Tobacco.CVS announced that they will stop selling tobacco by October 1, 2014, because it doesn’t align with their goal of wellness. “We really thought about this decision as it relates to the future as a health company — it’s good for customers and our company, in the long run,” says Helena Foulkes, president of CVS pharmacy. Experts predict that other companies will follow CVS’ lead.

Subway Puts What In Their Bread? Today, Subway said it is removing a chemical used in yoga mats and shoe soles from the bread of it its popular sandwiches after a food blogger got more than 50,000 signatures in a petition drive. Apparently, Subway has been using azodiacarbonamide, a plastic-based additive that puts air in yoga mats—and has the same effect on bread. The World Health Organization has linked this chemical additive to respiratory issues, allergies and asthma. The Food and Drug Administration considers azodiacarbonamide safe when used as an “aging or bleaching” ingredient in cereal flour if it does not exceed 45 parts per million. It is also approved for use as a “dough conditioner” in the same proportions.

I’ll Have A Venti, Please: I admit it, some of us here in the Oxygen offices are addicted to Starbucks, but after seeing this list of the Unhealthiest Hot Starbucks Drinks, we may need to rethink our choices. Some of these are obvious (anything with Brûlée in the name just sounds fattening) but the Green Tea Soy Latte surprised us. We generally equate “Green Tea” and “Soy” with “healthy” but a closer look reveals this drink contains as much sugar as 34 Pixie Stix. If you occasionally indulge, avoid syrups, nix the whipped cream and abstain from whole milk.