Fast Food Babies: Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4
Documentary exploring why some parents resort to junk food feeding their babies and follows three families as they desperately try and get back on the right nutritional track.
(Part 1)
Source: Uploaded by stonerbarbiie on Jun 4, 2011 to YouTube
Our junk food addiction is dropping alarmingly down the age ladder, and we are now rearing a generation of fast food babies. This arresting documentary reveals babies and toddlers eating a diet of chips, burgers and kebabs, all washed down with bottles of fizzy cola. It explores the deep-seated reasons why parents resort to junk food feeding and follows three families as they desperately try and get back on the right nutritional track. From gentle food play to dramatic shocks, the parents team up with real experts who mentor them through the latest techniques as they try to wean their children off fast food.
(Part 2)
Source: Uploaded by stonerbarbiie on Jun 7, 2011 to YouTube
(Part 3)
Source: Uploaded by stonerbarbiie on Jun 7, 2011 to YouTube
(Part 4)
Source:Uploaded by ErmmTV on May 19,2011 to YouTube
TEDxSanAntonio – Robert Trevino – Preventing Diabetes Targeting High Risk Children
Uploaded by TEDxTalks on Dec 27, 2010 to YouTube
Speaker: Robert Treviño, M.D.
Title of talk: Preventing Diabetes: Targeting High-Risk Children Living in Poverty
About this talk: Did you know that infant taste buds can be influenced during gestation by the diet of the mother? As a result, children can be programmed to like healthy foods, like broccoli, before they’re even born. Dr. Treviño cites this fact and others to prove that conquering diabetes doesn’t have to be about expensive drugs, but about simple, teachable everyday habits.
About Robert Treviño: A primary care physician, Treviño works in the poor and underserved areas of San Antonio. He is the director of the Social and Health Research Center and the founder of Bienestar — a program which combats early-age obesity and type 2 diabetes using school-based, preventative health programs.
For more information on Treviño: http://www.sahrc.org
How Is Diabetes Treated in Children?
A teenager tests his blood sugar with a glucose meter. Keeping blood sugar close to the normal range can help prevent the complications of diabetes.
On this page
Is your child packing on the pounds?
Becoming a couch potato?
Then he or she may be at risk for getting type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes once occurred mainly in adults who are overweight and over 40, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Today, it is increasingly diagnosed in youths age 10 to 19.
Why is this happening?
Because just like adults, kids are heavier now. An estimated 1 in 6 children and teens is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Along with a family history of diabetes, being overweight and inactive are the main risk factors for type 2 diabetes, says Ilan Irony, M.D., an endocrinologist at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The two main types of diabetes—type 1 and type 2—are treatable, says Irony. “In addition to changes in diet and a healthier lifestyle, treatments can help control blood sugar and prevent or delay long-term complications of diabetes.”
FDA-approved treatments for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are all about keeping the blood sugar (glucose) levels in a normal range.
But there is no one treatment that works for everybody, says Irony. And treatments may need to be changed if side effects of a particular medication are not tolerated. Also, additional medications may need to be added as diabetes gets worse over time.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is most often diagnosed in children starting at age 12 or 13, says Irony. “In children, the disease tends to get worse in puberty when the body produces hormones that make insulin less effective,” he says. Insulin is the hormone that controls blood sugar levels.
“The first line of treatment is a healthy diet and other lifestyle changes,” says Irony. “If a child is overweight or obese, losing weight and increasing physical activity can help lower blood sugar.”
Ask the pediatrician if your child is a healthy weight or needs to lose weight. And children and adolescents should do at least one hour of physical activity each day, according to the federal government’s 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
Type 2 diabetes may be controlled with diet and exercise for a while—sometimes years—says Irony. “But the disease is progressive and medication will be needed later in the majority of patients.”
FDA has approved one glucose-lowering medication—metformin—in pill and liquid form for children. Metformin, used daily, increases the body’s sensitivity to its own insulin so it becomes more active and pushes glucose into the cells. The most common side effects of metformin—upset stomach, nausea and diarrhea—generally go away within a few weeks.
In rare cases, metformin can cause a serious and sometimes fatal side effect called lactic acidosis—a buildup of lactic acid in the blood. This rare condition has occurred mostly in people whose kidneys were not working normally.
FDA has recently approved a number of different drugs for diabetes in adults that are currently being studied for use in children, Irony says.
Injectable insulins—which move glucose from the blood to the body’s cells—are approved for children with diabetes. If the drug metformin alone doesn’t bring the blood sugar down to normal, insulin can be injected and help achieve better control.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes accounts for almost all diabetes in children younger than 10, and it is also on the rise in U.S. children and adolescents. Formerly called juvenile diabetes, type 1 occurs when the body’s immune system destroys the insulin-making cells in the pancreas. Researchers are still investigating the causes of diabetes.
For children with type 1 diabetes, multiple injections of insulin are needed every day to keep the blood sugar in check.
“Treatment is individualized to the child and the spikes of high or low blood sugar need to be minimized,” says Irony. It’s a balancing act to lower the blood sugar but not get it too low, which could make the child feel shaky or pass out, he adds.
Diabetes Devices
Children with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, like adults, must test their blood sugar multiple times a day. FDA regulates medical devices, including portable meters and monitors, used to check blood sugar levels. The agency also regulates devices such as syringes, pens, and pumps used to inject insulin.
Syringes and pens are used manually to inject insulin. Pumps are computerized devices programmed to deliver a continuous flow of insulin, even while you sleep. FDA has approved more than 55 different insulin pumps. A pump system generally consists of
- a pumping mechanism that holds batteries and a cartridge filled with insulin. The pump, which is similar in size to a pager, is worn outside the body on a belt or in a pocket.
- a tube (catheter) that carries insulin from the pump to another tube (cannula) implanted just under the skin, typically in the belly or back.
Pump technology continues to evolve, says Alan Stevens, a mechanical engineer and FDA’s infusion pump team leader. A newer type is the “patch” pump, he says, in which the tubing is contained within a pump directly attached to the body with adhesive. A small, hand-held computer similar to a PDA, which directs the pump, can be carried in a purse or pocket.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes occurs because of defects in the body’s ability to produce or use insulin—a hormone needed to convert food into energy. Insulin is made in the pancreas and is released into the blood to control glucose (sugar) levels and the amount of glucose transported into cells as an energy source. If the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, or if the cells do not respond appropriately to insulin, glucose can’t get into the cells and instead stays in the blood and is passed in the urine. The blood sugar level then gets too high.
High blood sugar can, over time, lead to devastating health problems, including
- heart attack
- stroke
- kidney disease
- nerve damage
- loss of toes or feet
- digestive problems
- blindness
- gum problems and loss of teeth
This article appears on FDA’s Consumer Updates page, which features the latest on all FDA-regulated products.
Oct. 24, 2011
Source:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993
Ph. 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332)
Email FDA
Good News! Childhood Obesity Rates Declining in NYC
Marion Nestle / Food Politics
Dec. 16, 2011
Just in time for the holidays, we get some good news. The New York City Health Department reports that rates of childhood obesity are falling.
If the rates were staying constant, I’d consider it a step forward. But these results show rates going down, even if only by a few percentage points.
The Bloomberg administration says the numbers are a result of its anti-obesity initiatives, some focused especially on children. Health Commissioner Dr. Tom Farley told the New York Times that he attributes
the progress partly to the city’s aggressive advertising campaign against sugary sodas, which he said may have altered what parents were providing to their children. The city has also tried to add healthier options to school lunch menus, enacted strict rules on the calorie and sugar content of snacks and drinks in school vending machines, and even put limits on bake sales, a move that caused some grumbling.
As I explained to Bloomberg News, if this trend continues, it will represent the first truly positive development in years.
It also suggests that the health department’s unusually aggressive efforts to address obesity may be paying off. If so, they should inspire other communities to do the same kinds of things. If nothing else, they raise awareness of the problem and help create an environment more conducive to healthy eating.
On the national level, Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign also has raised awareness. Could it be that we are getting to a tipping point?
It’s pretty clear by now what works. A Cochrane meta-analysis of 55 studies finds strong evidence to support beneficial effects of child obesity prevention programs on BMI, particularly for kids age 6 to 12.
The interventions showing the most promise are just like those in New York City:
- School curriculum that includes healthy eating, physical activity and body image
- School sessions for physical activity throughout the school week
- Improvements in nutritional quality of the food supply in schools
- Environments and cultural practices that support children eating healthier foods and being active throughout each day (see yesterday’s post)
- Support for teachers and other staff to implement health promotion strategies and activities (e.g. professional development, capacity building activities)
- Parent support and home activities that encourage children to be more active, eat more nutritious foods and spend less time in screen based activities
These are showing measurable benefits. Shouldn’t every city start doing them.
Source: Marion Nestle / Food Politics
Bariatric Surgery for Severe Obesity – NIDDK
Bariatric Surgery for Severe Obesity
- Bariatric Surgery for Adults
- Bariatric Surgery for Youth
- The Normal Digestive Process
- Types of Bariatric Surgery
- Medical Costs
- Research
- Resources
- References
Bariatric surgery may be the next step for people who remain severely obese after trying approaches other than surgery‚ especially if they have a disease linked to obesity.
Severe obesity is a chronic condition that is hard to treat with diet and exercise alone. Bariatric surgery is an operation on the stomach and/or intestines that helps patients with extreme obesity to lose weight. This surgery is an option for people who cannot lose weight by other means or who suffer from serious health problems related to obesity. The surgery restricts food intake, which promotes weight loss and reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. Some surgeries also interrupt how food is digested, preventing some calories and nutrients, such as vitamins, from being absorbed. Recent studies suggest that bariatric surgery may even lower death rates for patients with severe obesity. The best results occur when patients follow surgery with healthy eating patterns and regular exercise.
Currently, bariatric surgery may be an option for adults with severe obesity. Body mass index (BMI), a measure of height in relation to weight, is used to define levels of obesity. Clinically severe obesity is a BMI > 40 or a BMI > 35 with a serious health problem linked to obesity. Such health problems could be type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or severe sleep apnea (when breathing stops for short periods during sleep).
Recent Development
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved use of an adjustable gastric band (or AGB) for patients with BMI > 30 who also have at least one condition linked to obesity, such as heart disease or diabetes.
Who is a good adult candidate for surgery?
Having surgery to produce weight loss is a serious decision. Anyone thinking about having this surgery should know what it involves. Answers to the following questions may help patients decide whether weight-loss surgery is right for them.
Is the patient:
- Unlikely to lose weight or keep it off over the long term using other methods?
- Well informed about the surgery and treatment effects?
- Aware of the risks and benefits of surgery?
- Ready to lose weight and improve his or her health?
- Aware of how life may change after the surgery? (For example, patients need to adjust to side effects, such as the need to chew food well and the loss of ability to eat large meals.)
- Aware of the limits on food choices, and occasional failures?
- Committed to lifelong healthy eating and physical activity, medical follow-up, and the need to take extra vitamins and minerals?
There is no sure method, including surgery, to produce and maintain weight loss. Some patients who have bariatric surgery may have weight loss that does not meet their goals. Research also suggests that many patients regain some of the lost weight over time. The amount of weight regain may vary by extent of obesity and type of surgery. Habits such as snacking often on foods high in calories or not exercising can affect the amount of weight loss and weight regain. Problems that may occur with the surgery, like a stretched pouch or separated stitches, may also affect the amount of weight loss.
Success is possible. Patients must commit to changing habits and having medical follow-up for the rest of their lives.
Rates of obesity among youth are high. Bariatric surgery is sometimes used to treat youth with extreme obesity. Although it is becoming clear that teens can lose weight after bariatric surgery, many questions still exist about the long-term effects on teens’ developing bodies and minds.
Who is a good youth candidate for surgery?
Experts in childhood obesity and bariatric surgery suggest that families consider surgery only after youth have tried for at least 6 months to lose weight and have not had success.1 Candidates should meet the following criteria:
- Have extreme obesity (BMI > 40 )
- Be their adult height (usually at age 13 or older for girls and 15 or older for boys)
- Have serious health problems linked to weight, such as type 2 diabetes or sleep apnea, that may improve with bariatric surgery
In addition, health care providers should assess potential patients and their parents to see how emotionally prepared they are for the surgery and the lifestyle changes they will need to make. Health care providers should also refer young patients to special youth bariatric surgery centers that focus on meeting the unique needs of youth.
Mounting evidence suggests that bariatric surgery can favorably change both the weight and health of youth with extreme obesity. Over the years’ gastric bypass surgery has been the main operation used to treat extreme obesity in youth. An estimated 2,700 youth bariatric surgeries were performed between 1996 and 2003.2 A review of short-term data from the largest inpatient database in the United States suggests that these surgeries are at least as safe for youth as adults. As yet, AGB has not been approved for use in the United States for people younger than age 18. However, favorable weight-loss outcomes after AGB for youth have been reported abroad.
Normally, as food moves along the digestive tract, digestive juices and enzymes digest and absorb calories and nutrients. After we chew and swallow our food, it moves down the esophagus to the stomach, where a strong acid continues the digestive process. The stomach can hold about 3 pints of food at one time. When the stomach contents move to the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine), bile and pancreatic juice speed up digestion. Most of the iron and calcium in the food we eat is absorbed there. The other two parts of the nearly 20 feet of small intestine absorb nearly all of the remaining calories and nutrients. The food particles that cannot be digested in the small intestine reside in the large intestine until eliminated.
How does surgery promote weight loss?
Bariatric surgery restricts food intake, which leads to weight loss. Patients who have bariatric surgery must commit to a lifetime of healthy eating and regular exercise. These healthy habits may help patients maintain weight loss after surgery.
The type of surgery that may help an adult or youth depends on a number of factors. Patients should discuss with their health care providers what kind of surgery is suitable for them.
What is the difference between open and laparoscopic surgery?
Bariatric surgery may be performed through “open” approaches, which involve cutting the stomach in the standard manner, or by laparoscopy. With the latter approach, surgeons insert complex instruments through 1/2-inch cuts and guide a small camera that sends images to a monitor. Most bariatric surgery today is laparoscopic because it requires a smaller cut, creates less tissue damage, leads to earlier hospital discharges, and has fewer problems, especially hernias occurring after surgery.
However, not all patients are suitable for laparoscopy. Patients who are considered extremely obese, who have had previous stomach surgery, or who have complex medical problems may require the open approach. Complex medical problems may include having severe heart and lung disease or weighing more than 350 pounds.
What are the surgical options?
There are four types of operations that are commonly offered in the United States: AGB, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), biliopancreatic diversion with a duodenal switch (BPD-DS), and vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). (See Figure 1.) Each surgery has its own benefits and risks. The patient and provider should work together to select the best option by considering the benefits and risks of each type of surgery. Other factors to consider include the patient’s BMI, eating habits, health conditions related to obesity, and previous stomach surgeries.
Figure 1
Diagram of Surgical Options. Image credit: Walter Pories, M.D. FACS.
Adjustable Gastric Band
AGB works mainly by decreasing food intake. Food intake is reduced by placing a small bracelet-like band around the top of the stomach to restrict the size of the opening from the throat to the stomach. The surgeon can then control the size of the opening with a circular balloon inside the band. This balloon can be inflated or deflated with saline solution to meet the needs of the patient.
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass
RYGB restricts food intake. RYGB also decreases how food is absorbed. Food intake is limited by a small pouch that is similar in size to the pouch created with AGB. Also, sending food directly from the pouch into the small intestine affects how the digestive tract absorbs food. The food is absorbed differently because the stomach, duodenum, and upper intestine no longer have contact with food.
Biliopancreatic Diversion with a Duodenal Switch
BPD-DS, usually referred to as a “duodenal switch,” is a complex bariatric surgery that includes three features. One feature is to remove a large part of the stomach. This step makes patients feel full sooner when eating than they did before surgery. Feeling full sooner encourages patients to eat less. Another feature is re-routing food away from much of the small intestine to limit how the body absorbs food. The third feature changes how bile and other digestive juices affect the body’s ability to digest food and absorb calories. This step also helps lead to weight loss.
In removing a large part of the stomach, the surgeon creates a more tubular “gastric sleeve” (also known as a VSG, discussed later). The smaller stomach sleeve remains linked to a very short part of the duodenum, which is then directly linked to a lower part of the small intestine. This surgery leaves a small part of the duodenum available to absorb food and some vitamins and minerals.
However, when the patient eats food, it bypasses most of the duodenum. The distance between the stomach and colon becomes much shorter after this operation, thus limiting how food is absorbed. BPD-DS produces significant weight loss. However, a decrease in the amount of food, vitamins, and minerals absorbed creates chances for long-term problems.
Some of these problems are anemia (lower than normal count for red blood cells) or osteoporosis (loss of bone mass that can make bones brittle).
Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
VSG surgery restricts food intake and decreases the amount of food used. Most of the stomach is removed during this surgery, which may decrease ghrelin, a hormone that prompts appetite. Lower amounts of ghrelin may reduce hunger more than other purely restrictive surgeries, such as AGB.
VSG has been performed in the past mainly as the first stage of BPD-DS (discussed earlier) in patients who may be at high risk for problems from more extensive types of surgery. These patients’ high risk levels are due to body weight or medical issues. However, more recent research indicates that some patients who have VSG can lose a lot of weight with VSG alone and avoid a second procedure. Researchers do not yet know how many patients who have VSG alone will need a second stage procedure.
What are the side effects of these surgeries?
Some side effects may include bleeding, infection, leaks from the site where the intestines are sewn together, diarrhea, and blood clots in the legs that can move to the lungs and heart.
Examples of side effects that may occur later include nutrients being poorly absorbed, especially in patients who do not take their prescribed vitamins and minerals. In some cases, if patients do not address this problem promptly, diseases may occur along with permanent damage to the nervous system. These diseases include pellagra (caused by lack of vitamin B3—niacin), beri beri (caused by lack of vitamin B1—thiamine) and kwashiorkor (caused by lack of protein).
Other late problems include strictures (narrowing of the sites where the intestine is joined) and hernias (part of an organ bulging through a weak area of muscle).
Two kinds of hernias may occur after a patient has bariatric surgery. An incisional hernia is a weakness that sticks out from the abdominal wall’s connective tissue and may cause a blockage in the bowel. An internal hernia occurs when the small bowel is displaced into pockets in the lining of the abdomen. These pockets occur when the intestines are sewn together. Internal hernias are thought to be more dangerous than incisional ones and need prompt attention to avoid serious problems.
Some patients may also require emotional support to help them through the changes in body image and personal relationships that occur after the surgery.
Bariatric procedures, on average, cost from $20,000 to $25,000. Medical insurance coverage varies by state and insurance provider. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reduced barriers to obtaining Medicare coverage for obesity treatments. Bariatric surgery may be covered under these conditions:
- If the patient has at least one health problem linked to obesity
- If the procedure is suitable for the patient’s medical condition
- If approved surgeons and facilities are involved
Patients can contact staff at their regional Medicare, Medicaid, or health insurance office to find out if the procedure is covered and to obtain facts about options.
In 2003, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the NIH partnered with researchers to create the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery, or LABS. LABS researchers are experts in bariatric surgery, obesity research, internal medicine, behavioral science, and related fields. Their mission is to plan and conduct studies that will lead to more knowledge about bariatric surgery and its impact on the health and well-being of patients with extreme obesity. More information about LABS is available at http://www.niddklabs.org .
To help determine if bariatric surgery is appropriate for youth, NIH launched Teen-LABS in 2007. From 2007 to 2012, the multicenter study is collecting data from teens who plan to have surgery. The data will help to evaluate bariatric surgery’s benefits and risks. Researchers are collecting data about medical problems related to obesity, other health risk factors, and quality of life from these patients before they have surgery and 2 years after surgery. Researchers will then compare the teen outcomes to data from adults. These websites offer more information about Teen-LABS: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/apr2007/niddk-16.htm and http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/teen-LABS.
The following list of publications, websites, and organizations may be of use for patients or health care providers discussing bariatric surgery.
Additional Reading from the Weight-control Information Network
Active at Any Size. This fact sheet provides ideas and tips on how people considered to be overweight or obese can be physically active. It focuses on overcoming common barriers and setting goals. Available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/active.htm.
Binge Eating Disorder. This fact sheet provides information and resources for patients who may have binge eating disorder. Available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/binge.htm.
Dieting and Gallstones. This fact sheet explains what gallstones are, how they form, and the roles obesity and rapid weight loss play in developing gallstones. Available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/gallstones.htm.
Weight Loss for Life. This booklet describes ways to lose weight and encourages healthy eating habits and regular physical activity. Available at http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/for_life.htm.
Additional Reading for Health Care Providers
Pharmacological and Surgical Treatment of Obesity: Evidence Report/Technology Assessment: Number 103. Shekelle PG, Morton SC, Maglione M, et al. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). AHRQ Publication Number 04–E028–1; 2004. Rockville, MD. This report reviews the scientific evidence on weight-loss drugs and bariatric surgery among children, youth, and adults. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/evidence/pdf/obespharm/obespharm.pdf [PDF - 3,450 Kb].
Additional Resource
American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
100 SW 75th Street
Suite 201
Gainesville, FL 32607
Phone: 352-331–4900
Fax: 352-331–4975
Internet: http://www.asmbs.org/
Weight-control Information Network
1 WIN Way
Bethesda, MD 20892–3665
Phone: 202-828–1025
Toll-free number: 1–877–946–4627
Fax: 202–828–1028
Email: win@info.niddk.nih.gov
Internet: http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
NIH Publication No. 08–4006
March 2009
Updated June 2011
1. Inge TH‚ Krebs NF‚ Garcia VF‚ et al. Bariatric surgery for severely overweight adolescents: concerns and recommendations. Pediatrics. 2004 Jul;114(1):217–23.
2. Wilson ST‚ Thomas HI‚ Randall SB. Bariatric surgery in adolescents: recent national trends in use and in-hospital outcome. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 2007;161(3):217–221.
Toll free: 1–877–946–4627; Fax: 202–828–1028; Email: win@info.niddk.nih.gov
Weight-control Information Network, 1 WIN Way, Bethesda, MD 20892–3665
Last Modified: July 28, 2011
Source:
Living with Type 2 Diabetes: A Teen’s Journey
Source: lillyhealth | Aug 23, 2011 on YouTube
Take a journey through the eyes of a teenager (Carlos) who is learning to manage his type 2 diabetes.
My Life with Type 1 Diabetes
Source: Uploaded by princesslolasluv on Jun 8, 2011 to YouTube
My life as a type 1 diabetic has been an incredible, stressful, inspiring, and empowering journey. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1998, and my dad was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a few years later. These are some snapshots of my life with the disease (as well as my new PINK insulin pump!) and all of the support I get from my friends, family, and God.
A cure would be amazing, but I never regret being diagnosed with it because I know it has made me a much stronger, caring, patient, and determined person. I may have type 1 diabetes, but it doesn’t have me.
Drinking This “Popular Poison” is Worse than Smoking
Posted By Dr. Mercola | November 21 2011 | 206,111views | 
Disponible en Español
Story at-a-glance
- The soda industry engages in many of the same marketing tactics as Big Tobacco, including forming “independent” front groups, funding research to discredit links to health problems, and making large donations to health organizations
- Soda is linked to numerous health problems among children and adults, including obesity, liver disease and even violent behavior; frequent soft drink consumption is associated with a 9-15% increase in aggressive behavior, according to new research
- Processed foods and junk foods are heavily marketed to kids and promoted to schools; manufacturers of sugar-laden processed foods pay “rebates” (aka “kickbacks”) to food service companies that serve school districts across the United States
- You can fight back against soda and junk-food giants by purchasing healthy, locally grown organic foods instead of processed foods and beverages
By Dr. Mercola
Soda, which is loaded with sugar primarily in the form of high fructose corn syrup, is a leading contributor to the rising rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases facing Americans.
So when I say that drinking a can of soda is just as bad for you as smoking a cigarette (and maybe even worse) it is not an exaggeration.
Drinking soda is in many ways worse for you than smoking, and it is only because of massive marketing campaigns from the industry that these sugary beverages are deemed acceptable for our most vulnerable members of society – our kids.
In the 21st century there would indeed be an uproar if tobacco companies attempted to target our kids, but the soda companies do it everyday.
It’s time to wake up and face the facts: the soda industry is out for your children, and the message they send is every bit as damaging (and manipulative) as the one spewed by Big Tobacco.
Striking Similarities Between the Soda Industry and Big Tobacco
If I asked you to quickly recall a commercial or slogan from leading soda companies, like Coca-Cola or Pepsi, could you do it?
Chances are you’d have no trouble recalling the friendly polar bear commercials or “the real thing” logo, and if you asked your kids, they’d probably come up with a few too.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for how beverage big-wigs have gotten their products firmly embedded into the homes of millions of Americans and others worldwide. Coca-Cola, for instance, spends close to $3 billion a year on advertising. With that amount of money it’s no wonder the company has managed to hold on to its wholesome reputation.
They, and other beverage giants, are also in the habit of forming strategic alliances with health organizations that make it appear as though they are looking out for your health, which is about as laughable as Big Tobacco sponsoring a marathon. And like Big Tobacco, they also create front groups to fight anti-soda legislation and science.
For instance, as Time magazine reported:
- The American Beverage Association, which represents Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other soft drink producers, has attacked suggestions to tax soda as “discriminatory.” Their organization is touted as a “neutral forum,” but in reality is devoted to discrediting negative press against soft drinks. For instance, in relation to obesity, ABA states, “All of our industry’s beverages can be enjoyed as part of a balanced lifestlye.”
- The soda industry has created the front group Americans Against Food Taxes, which runs anti-tax campaigns. As Kelly Brownell wrote in Time:
“The name of the group implies a patriotic, grass roots movement, not a highly financed entity initiated and organized by industry.”
- Another industry-created front group, Foundation for a Healthy America, recently donated $10 million to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to research and prevent childhood obesity! Diet Coke has also teamed up with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to raise awareness for women’s heart health programs and was the official “Beverage of Choice” for the 2010 winter Olympics.
- The soda industry funds research to discredit links between soda drinking and health problems. Brownwell writes:
“The tobacco industry paid scientists who did research disputing links between smoking and lung cancer, the addictive nature of nicotine, and the dangers of second-hand smoke. The soda industry funds scientists who reliably produce research showing no link between SSB [sugar-sweetened beverage] consumption and health. The tobacco industry bought favor from community and national organizations by giving large donations. In an ironic twist, Coca Cola and PepsiCo are corporate sponsors of the American Dietetic Association.”
The Coca-Cola Company Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness (isn’t that name an oxymoron?) even creates continuing education courses for registered dietitians!
The Top Reason to Give Soda the Boot …
Some of you reading this are undoubtedly thinking, how bad could soda really be? From my perspective, there is absolutely NO REASON you or your kids should ever drink soda. If you were stranded in the middle of a desert with no other fluid available, then maybe, but other than that … none, nada, zip, zero. No excuses.
From a health perspective, drinking Coke or any soft drink is a disaster. Just one extra can of soda per day can add as much as 15 pounds to your weight over the course of a single year, not to mention increase your risk of diabetes by 85 percent. The primary reason why soda is so dangerous to your health?
Fructose.
The fructose content of the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) used in many popular soda brands has been sorely underestimated. Around 100 years ago the average American consumed a mere 15 grams of fructose a day, primarily in the form of fruit. One hundred years later, one fourth of Americans are consuming more than 135 grams per day, largely in the form of soda.
Fructose at 15 grams a day is harmless (unless you suffer from high uric acid levels). However, at nearly 10 times that amount it becomes a major cause of obesity and nearly all chronic degenerative diseases. Instead of consisting of 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, many soda brands, including Coke, Pepsi and Sprite, contain as much as 65 percent fructose, nearly 20 percent higher than originally believed.
According to one study, the mean fructose content of all 23 sodas tested was 59 percent — higher than claimed by the industry. When you consider that Americans drink an average of 53 to 57 gallons of soda per year (depending on the source of your statistics), this difference in actual fructose content could make a huge difference in your health.
The Down and Dirty About Fructose
The American Beverage Association and other front groups will try to persuade you that fructose in high fructose corn syrup is no worse for you than sugar, but this is not true. ABA also claims there is “no association between high fructose corn syrup and obesity,” but a long lineup of scientific studies suggest otherwise.
For example:
- Dr. David Ludwig of Boston Children’s Hospital did a study of the effects of sugar-sweetened drinks on obesity in children. He found that for each additional serving of a sugar-sweetened drink, both body mass index and odds of obesity increased.
- The Fizzy Drink Study in Christchurch, England explored the effects on obesity when soda machines were removed from schools for one year. In the schools where the machines were removed, obesity stayed constant. In the schools where soda machines remained, obesity rates continued to rise.
- In a 2009 study, 16 volunteers were fed a controlled diet including high levels of fructose. Ten weeks later, the volunteers had produced new fat cells around their hearts, livers and other digestive organs. They also showed signs of food-processing abnormalities linked to diabetes and heart disease. A second group of volunteers who were fed a similar diet, but with glucose replacing fructose, did not have these problems.
Fructose is also a likely culprit behind the millions of U.S. children struggling with non-alcoholic liver disease, which is caused by a build-up of fat within liver cells. Fructose is very hard on your liver, in much the same way as drinking alcohol.
- Liver burden number one: After eating fructose, 100 percent of the metabolic burden rests on your liver—ONLY your liver can break it down. This is much different than consuming glucose, in which your liver has to break down only 20 percent, and the remaining 80 percent is immediately metabolized and used by the rest of the cells in your body.
- Liver burden number two: Fructose is converted into fat that gets stored in your liver and other tissues as body fat. Part of what makes fructose so bad for your health is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar. For example, if you eat 120 calories of fructose, 40 calories are stored as fat. But if you eat the same amount of glucose, less than one calorie gets stored as fat. Consuming fructose is essentially consuming fat!
Fructose metabolism is very similar to the way alcohol is metabolized, which has a multitude of toxic metabolites that, if consumed in excess, can lead to non-alcoholic liver disease. For a complete discussion of fructose metabolism, see my comprehensive article about this.
Diet Soda is NOT a Safe Alternative to Regular Soda
If you think you’re better off drinking diet soda, think again. In fact, if I had to choose between the two, I’d take regular soda over diet. Instead of fructose, diet soda contains artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame or sucralose (Splenda). With all the research now available on aspartame and its various ingredients, it’s hard to believe such a chemical would even be allowed into the food supply, but it is, and it’s been silently wreaking havoc with people’s health for the past 30 years.
Just to refresh your memory, aspartame has been linked to the following health concerns, and Splenda is associated with many similar problems:
Lymphomas, leukemias, and brain cancer
AsthmaNeurological symptoms including headaches, depressed and anxious mood, seizures, memory loss, hallucinations, and dizziness
Visual changesWeakness and fatigue
Joint painSleep disorders
Weight gain and diabetesAbdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
Rashes and hives
Does Soda Actually Cause Violence?
It’s a well-known fact that poor diet, particularly one high in sugar, exacts a toll on your emotional health.
For example, one recent study published in the journal Psychology Today found a strong link between high sugar consumption and the risk of both depression and schizophrenia. It’s also a well-known fact that chronic inflammation plays a major role in heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer. So consuming excessive amounts of sugary beverages can truly set off an avalanche of negative health events — both mental and physical.
A diet high in sugar, fructose and sweetened beverages like soda also causes excessive insulin release, which can lead to falling blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia, in turn, causes your brain to secrete glutamate in levels that can cause agitation, depression, anger, anxiety and panic attacks.
One 1985 study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology found that reducing sugar intake had a positive impact on emotions. And another, the Los Angeles Probation Department Diet-Behavior Program: An Empirical Analysis of Six Institutional Settings, published in 1983, documented the results when juvenile delinquents were given a reduced-sugar diet. They saw a 44 percent reduction in the incidence of antisocial behavior during the subsequent 3 months, after the implementation of the revised diet.
So can drinking soda affect your child’s behavior?
Yes, it can.
A new study further supported this point, and revealed that frequent soft drink consumption was associated with a 9-15% point increase in the probability of engaging in aggressive actions, even after controlling for gender, age, race, body mass index, typical sleep patterns, tobacco use, alcohol use and having family dinners.
“There was a significant and strong association between soft drinks and violence. There may be a direct cause-and-effect relationship, perhaps due to the sugar or caffeine content of soft drinks, or there may be other factors, unaccounted for in our analyses, that cause both high soft drink consumption and aggression.”
The effect is not a new finding, as in 1979 the now notorious “Twinkie Defense” was used in a murder trial for the first time.
“In a notorious 1979 San Francisco murder trial, lawyers blamed the killer’s actions on his recent switch from a health-food diet to one filled with Coca-Cola and other junk food. Their argument worked. Instead of a homicide ruling, the defendant was convicted of a lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. The legal strategy became known as the “Twinkie Defense,” and the precedent raised a number of questions that persist, despite years of research on the subject.”
Processed Food “Rebates” Dominate School Cafeterias
Soda manufacturers are not the only ones scheming for a permanent share of your child’s diet. In an article published on La Vida Locavore, Ed Bruske revealed, possibly for the first time, that manufacturers of sugar-laden processed foods pay “rebates” (aka “kickbacks”) to food service companies that serve school districts across the United States.
Bruske obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act that revealed more than 100 companies paid rebates to Chartwells, a food service management company hired by D.C. Public Schools. As you might suspect, the “rebates” present a conflict of interest that could prompt Chartwells to order food for your children based on the amount of rebate it will receive, versus the food’s nutritional value.
The end result?
School lunches that contain heavily processed foods like muffins, pizza, tator tots and flavored milk in lieu of fresh produce.
According to Bruske:
“Manufacturers pay rebates based on large volume purchases — literally, cash for placing an order. Rebates are said to be worth billions of dollars to the nation’s food industry, although manufacturers as well as the food service companies who feed millions of the nation’s school children every day — Chartwells, Sodexo and Aramark — treat them as a closely-guarded secret.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that food service companies engaged in “cost reimbursable” contracts with schools credit any rebates they receive to their school clients. For more than a year, attorneys for D.C. Public Schools refused to make public an itemized list of rebates collected by Chartwells, claiming the information constituted “trade secrets.” The schools were overruled by Mayor Vincent Gray’s legal counsel after I filed an administrative appeal.
John Carroll, an assistant New York State attorney general investigating rebating practices there, has said rebates pose “an inherent conflict of interest” in school feeding programs because they favor highly processed industrial foods. In cases where schools pay a food service company a flat rate to provide meals, the companies are not required to disclose the rebates they collect. In those cases, Carroll recently told a U.S. Senate Panel, rebates tend to drive up the cost of food, cheating children out of nutrition they might otherwise have on their lunch trays.
Carroll also described cases where rebates discouraged the use of local farm products in school meals. Produce vendors can’t afford to pay a rebate for local apples. But in at least one case, a produce distributor raised the prices of his goods so that he could pay a rebate to a food service company. A Homeland Security sub-committee in the U.S. Senate is investigating possible rebate fraud in contracts across the entire federal government.”
The top contributors to Chatwells’ rebate dollars included Performance Food Group, which paid more than $400,000 over the last three years, followed by General Mills, Kraft Foods, Country Pure Foods and Jenny-O Turkey. Other companies who made the list include:
ConAgra
Otis Spunkmeyer
Kellog’s
Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, 7-Up
FritoLay
Tyson
Nestle
Cargill Meat Solutions
Campbell’s Foodservice
Raising a Life-Long Healthy Eater
Food and beverage companies spend $2 billion a year promoting unhealthy foods to kids, and while ultimately it’s the parents’ responsibility to feed their children healthy foods, junk food ads make this much more difficult than it should be. As a result, the state of most kids’ diets in the United States is not easy to swallow.
As The Interagency Working Group on Foods Marketed to Children (IWG) reported:
- Nearly 40% of children’s diets come from added sugars and unhealthy fats
- Only 21% of youth age 6-19 eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day
This is a veritable recipe for disease, and is a primary reason why today’s kids are arguably less healthy than many prior generations. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure — these are diseases that once appeared only in middle-age and beyond, but are now impacting children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that by 2050, one in three U.S. adults will have diabetes — one of them could be your child if you do not take steps to cancel out the messages junk-food marketers are sending and instead teach them healthy eating habits.
Make no mistake, the advertisers are doing all they can to lure your child in, just as Big Tobacco did generations ago.
So you need to first educate yourself about proper nutrition and the dangers of junk food and processed foods in order to change the food culture of your entire family. To give your child the best start at life, and help instill healthy habits that will last a lifetime, you must lead by example. Children will simply not know which foods are healthy unless you, as a parent, teach it to them first.
My nutrition plan offers a step-by-step guide to feed your family right, and I encourage you to read through it now to learn how to make healthy eating decisions for you and your children.
If you want to get involved on a larger scale, the Prevention Institute’s “We’re Not Buying It” campaign is petitioning President Obama to put voluntary, science-based nutrition guidelines into place for companies that market foods to kids. You can sign this petition now. I also urge you to go a step further and stop supporting the companies that are marketing junk foods and beverages to your children today.
Ideally, you and your family will want to vote with your pocketbook and avoid processed food and sugary sodas while instead choosing unprocessed raw, organic and/or locally grown foods as much as possible. These are the foods your child will thrive on, and it’s important they learn what real, healthy food is right from the get-go.
This way, when they become tweens and teenagers, they may eat junk food here and there at a friend’s house, but they will return to real food as the foundation of their diet — and that habit will continue on with them for a lifetime.
Source: Dr. Mercola, Organic Consumers Association (OCA)
The unmasking of a school lunch hero: Mrs.Q speaks
14 Oct 2011 8:00 AM
Sarah Wu, aka Mrs. Q.
Photo: Jill Brazel
Some of you may already know of Mrs. Q, the teacher who blogged anonymously about her adventures eating lunch in the cafeteria of the public school where she worked every day in 2010. Her daily posts included pictures of each day’s meal (pizza, chicken nuggets, pasta with meat sauce, etc.) and brief descriptions of how they tasted and made her feel. This simple formula gained Mrs. Q a huge following of teachers, parents, students, and citizens interested in changing the food system (improving school lunch, many reformers say, could be a step toward combating childhood obesity).
Now that her book, Fed Up with Lunch, has been released, the world can finally know Mrs. Q. as Sarah Wu, a speech pathologist working in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) whose first career, in a weirdly ironic twist, was at Kraft Foods (“I knew that it was not right for me at all,” she said).
Wu’s unlikely rise to food-movement stardom (she’s been featured on The View and Good Morning America) began when she simply forgot her lunch one day and ended up buying one from the school cafeteria. Wu still works for CPS, although she has voluntarily transferred from the school where she ate for a year (for “self-preservation”). Just in time to wrap up National School Lunch Week, we recently had a chance to chat with her about what this project means, for her and for school food everywhere.
Q. How did you decide to commit to this challenge, and why did you take this anonymous, Morgan Spurlock-esque immersion approach?
A. At that point [the beginning of 2010], I had worked for CPS for three years. I’d noticed the food, but I think at the time I was just concerned about doing a great job as a speech therapist. I had a little boy who was just turning one, and starting to eat real food at home, and I was really starting to consider, well, what is it that I’m putting on the table? I had always figured that I was a healthy cook; we didn’t eat fast food. I would never let my son eat what they served me that day, and I was just heartbroken that my students were going home to potentially not very good food, and a lot of them live in poverty — it was pretty disheartening to see that.
I think I ended up making more of a dent by doing what I did, instead of trying to do advocacy at the local level. My objective was to put those lunches out there because I was affected by them. But I didn’t want to be the kind of person [who is] labeled as a rabble-rouser. I’m not like that.
Q. For people who may have already followed your blog, what more does the book offer?
A. As an anonymous blogger, there’s tons that I wasn’t able to say. I didn’t tell anyone that I’d worked at Kraft, which I think adds an interesting dimension. I didn’t tell anybody what the school district was; I didn’t get into a lot of detail, even though I blogged every day. So the book really is a journey; it’s the story of me going along my little way, and everything that I learned about the food system, and ingredients, and health and wellness topics in general. I talk about recess, because the school I was at last year had no recess. People in power making stupid choices on behalf of kids, that’s really the problem.
Q. What’s been the most surprising thing throughout this whole experience?
A. What’s been the most surprising is the reception from my coworkers. They want to talk to me about these issues. For example, a coworker of mine came up to me and said, “I’m so proud of you, the food they’re feeding the kids is crap and we need to change it.” He would never have started that conversation with me [before]. That’s been most surprising, that people were not angry about what I did. I felt a lot of inner turmoil, because I was struggling with the fact that I want to be a great speech pathologist, I want to be a good employee, I take pride in my work, and I didn’t want to jeopardize that. And I didn’t want to be labeled as this bitch. So I totally miscalculated their response.
Q. For parents who are aware of or concerned about their kids’ school lunches, but aren’t sure where to start in terms of making changes, what’s your advice?
A. I’ve changed my son’s daycare food slightly by just asking the right questions. It’s either parent-teacher night, or report card pickup day (which is what they do in Chicago Public Schools) — that’s when you want to ask those questions. Explore the school — find the lunchroom manager, find the gym teacher, and people who are invested in health and wellness. Chat them up, start asking those questions, talk to the principal, and be nice about it. [Kindness] goes a lot farther than if you come down hard.
Q. Have your blog and book had any effect on Chicago Public Schools?
A. CPS issued a statement last week saying they are adhering to USDA standards and they have been improving. And they’re right — I [ate school lunch] for a calendar year, January to December, so I saw two different school years. There was improvement; there were more fresh veggies and fruit. I don’t want to take credit for it because everyone’s thinking about this right now. It’s amazing.
Q. So how did eating this food every day make you feel? Did it have any effect on your health?
A. I started eating school lunches and it just completely wreaked havoc on my body. I was so grateful to have summer break for recuperation. In June I went to the doctor and got diagnosed with mild asthma, which was odd, and I got a prescription for an inhaler. But I also lost 20 points on my cholesterol, and I think it’s because [I was] eating better than I’ve ever eaten in my life outside of school lunch.
I had suffered from irritable bowel syndrome for many years, and I felt like I sort of had it under control, so I didn’t really think about the fact that if you eat school lunch it’s going to aggravate everything. I thought, it’s just food, and I think that’s how a lot of parents think — who cares, it’s no big deal. But really what I learned is: Food is everything! It’s our whole life.
Q. You seem to have gained a particular affection for school lunch ladies (or men, as the case may be). What’s that about?
A. The person who feeds you creates a relationship with you, you know? It’s not just a transaction, it’s that human contact. When I feed my son, it’s not just putting food in front of him, there’s love involved, and that’s exactly what happens with lunch ladies. It’s not easy working in the lunchroom — it’s hot, you burn yourself all the time, they’re tired, but they’re there for the kids. Lots of times lunch ladies have other roles in the school. The lunch lady at [the school where I ate for a year] mentored some of the difficult children who were having tough times behaviorally. She reached out to them. That’s something I don’t think people realize.
Q. So now that your book is out, after the publicity dies down, what’s next?
A. Oh my gosh. I don’t have a clue. I just enjoy my work. I guess I’m open to possibilities. I didn’t do this because I hated my job, I did this because I love my job. So if everything’s the same, that’s okay.
Claire Thompson is an editorial intern at Grist. She just graduated from Northwestern University and is happy to be back in her hometown of Seattle, proving that her journalism degree is not worthless.
Source: Organic Consumers Association (OCA) / Grist
Energy Shots: what will marketers dream up next? by Marion Nestle
- This article is reprinted from Marion Nestle’s blog, “Food Politics”
Food Politics
by Marion Nestle
Sep-25-2011
A few months ago, the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics published a position paper on sports and energy drinks in the diets of children and adolescents.
The committee distinguished sports from energy drinks:
Sports drinks: beverages that may contain carbohydrates, minerals, electrolytes, and flavoring and are intended to replenish water and electrolytes lost through sweating during exercise.
Energy drinks: also contain substances that act as nonnutritive stimulants, such as caffeine, guarana, taurine, ginseng, l-carnitine, creatine, and/or glucuronolactone, with purported ergogenic or performance-enhancing effects.
The operative word is “purported.” The committee’s tough conclusion:
The use of sports drinks in place of water on the sports field or in the school lunchroom is generally unnecessary.
Stimulant-containing energy drinks have no place in the diets of children or adolescents.
For the record, PepsiCo spent $113 million to market Gatorade in 2010 (says Advertising Age).
The committee was concerned about the effects of high-dose caffeine on kids. Although its report did not distinguish energy drinks from energy shots, its conclusion undoubtedly applies to those too. Energy shots are more concentrated versions of energy drinks.
This is a big issue because pediatricians are concerned about the marketing of all of these caffeine-laden drinks to kids. Marketers, the Nutrition Committee says, are pushing energy drinks to kids as low-calorie “healthier” alternatives.
BeverageDaily.com asked Red Bull, the leading energy shot seller, about its marketing practices. The company denies marketing its shots to kids.
We do not market our product to children and other caffeine sensitive people…The authors of this report seem to be unaware that the American Beverage Association (ABA) and also the European Beverage Association (UNESDA) have already agreed codes of practice for the marketing and labelling of energy drinks.
Maybe, but energy shots are the new hot product, so hot that FoodNavigator-USA.com has just devoted a special report to them. Sales are booming. The only concern? Can they continue? Or, will they be replaced by the even hotter new thing: energy strips?
Energy shots special edition: Flash in the pan or the runaway success story of the decade? Cynics said they would never catch on. Who would cough up $2.99 for a mouthful of caffeine, taurine and vitamins when you can enjoy a coffee and a snack – or a whole can of your favourite energy drink – for the same price?.. Read
Energy shot market still has significant growth potential, say researchers: While it might not be able to sustain its early “meteoric” growth rates, the energy shots market still has significant growth potential and can potentially target a far wider audience than energy drinks, market researchers have predicted… Read
5-hour Energy increases grip on energy shots market: 5-hour Energy’s grip on the US energy shot market has tightened further in the past year, with the brand now accounting for nine out of every $10 spent in the burgeoning category… Read
Hain Celestial scores industry first with refrigerated energy shot: Hain Celestial will break new ground in the burgeoning shots market this fall with the launch of the first refrigerated energy shot… Read
Does the energy shot market have room for a new player? A David vs Goliath battle is set to be waged in the US energy shots sector as two ex-Marines seek to carve out a niche in a market so competitive that even Red Bull has thrown in the towel and made a sharp exit… Read
5-Hour Energy ramps up from seven to nine million bottles a week: 5-Hour Energy is now selling nine million bottles of its energy shots a week compared with seven million last year, a 28% rise in volume, the firm has revealed… Read
Monster Energy maker: Continued growth of energy drinks ‘remarkable’: The US energy drinks sector is continuing to generate “quite remarkable” growth despite the depressing economic climate and high gas prices, according to the owner of Monster Energy drinks and Worx Energy shots… Read
Red Bull cans energy shots and Cola in US (but not Europe): Global energy drink leader Red Bull has taken a rare step back by withdrawing Red Bull Cola and Red Bull Energy Shots from the US market – but says it has no plans to withdraw the products from the other 20 markets where they are sold… Read
Entrepreneur: Energy strips could be worth $1bn in 3-5 years: The entrepreneur behind Sheets Energy Strips – novel dissolvable strips delivering an instant hit of caffeine and B vitamins – says the category could be worth $1bn in the next three-to-five years… Read
These products are about making a fortune selling potentially harmful beverages under the guide of “healthy” to anyone wanting a quick caffeine fix.
They are about marketing, not health.
Water anyone?
Source: Marion Nestle – “Food Politics”
Causes of Childhood Obesity and Diabetes
By Max Buddenbrock
Based on childhood obesity statistics, the First Lady has very high concerns for childhood obesity in America. If you read the newspapers, you may have seen the headline “Michelle Obama Says: Childhood Obesity a National Security Threat.” This has led to much concern for childhood obesity prevention.
Childhood obesity causes might surprise you, for there are many reasons that children are in need of weight loss. One of the childhood obesity facts that might not be apparent to many is that it is the number one health crisis among children. The childhood obesity statistics clearly show that a majority of young people weigh 20% or more than normal for their height.
Childhood Obesity Facts
1. Parental neglect is a contributing factor to childhood obesity. Neglect in this case can be in the form of not watching what a child eats or constantly supplying the wrong types of food. Another way that parents neglect their children is by allowing them to sit too much and not exercise.
2. Too many televisions in the house are another contributor to childhood obesity statistics. Every family member seems to have a television so they all can watch exactly what they want every waking hour of the day. Childhood obesity causes stem from inactivity and overeating, and they are both encouraged by watching television.
3. Fast foods should rank at the top of childhood obesity causes. It has long been known that sugars and fats are packed into the chicken, burgers, soft drinks, and fries that are so readily available in fast food restaurants. What Can Be Done Toward Weight Loss in Children?
Childhood obesity facts point directly to the lifestyles all parents not only lead but allow their children to lead, too. If America is to do anything about weight loss in children, it must begin at the parental level.
When babies are fat, no one is concerned about their weight loss because it is considered healthy for babies to be chubby. The problem arises because parents never consider children to be anything but babies until they have already developed bad habits. One childhood obesity fact that is abundantly clear is that parents do not know how to say “no” to many of the things that lead to childhood obesity statistics.
The school system has become a heavy contributor to childhood obesity causes. They may offer some healthy food choices, but children aren’t going to opt for those when they can have pizza, burgers, sugar filled sodas, and fries. Considering the opportunities children have for bad foods, it is no wonder they reach maturity without understanding about proper nutrition.
Promoting Healthier Lifestyle Habits
Eating healthier and exercising more are the prime contributors to weight loss for both children and their parents. Children learn what they live, so the earlier parents start teaching kids about proper nutrition and exercise, the more likely they will be to carry those habits on into adulthood and lead healthier lives.
Max Buddenbrock – About the Author:
Mini Pharmacy is a family-owned-and-operated diabetic testing supplies business providing convenient home delivery prescription services with free shipping within the U.S. Mini Pharmacy is determined to help you easily and effectively manage your diabetes. We serve everyone who requires testing supplies by providing top-quality, brand-name diabetic and medical testing supplies and over-the-counter pharmacy items.
Mini Pharmacy
http://diabetic-supplies-online.com
2425 Porter St.
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Toll-Free: (888) 545-6464
Toll-Free Fax: (800) 280
Source: Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/causes-of-childhood-obesity-and-diabetes-5232467.html#ixzz1ZheSfvFi
Children of the Corn Syrup: lecture by Dr. Stephen W. Ponder
Source: Uploaded by delmarcollege on Jun 24, 2009 to YouTube
Dr. Stephen W. Ponder , MD, FAAP, CDE is the director of the Childrens Diabetes and Endocrine Center of South Texas at Driscoll Children‘s Hospital. Dr. Ponder delivered his presentation on children and obesity, “Children of the Corn Syrup,” as part of the Friday Science Lecture Series at Del Mar College on March 7, 2008
Edible Schoolyard
Source: Uploaded by FoodFightTheDoc on Mar 31, 2010 to YouTube
This clip tells the story of the Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California. The program was started by Alice Waters in 1994 and continues to be one of the most successful schoolyard garden programs in the US.
Better Management Of Diabetes With Diabetesdek
By: Adam s casper
If you have a child or teen that faces problems managing and coping with diabetes the latest edition of the easy to read and informative Pediatric DiabetesDek is now available. It contains useful and up-to-date information about better managing life with diabetes.
The Pediatric DiabetesDek contains reliable and practical how to information about coping with the challenges of living a life affected by type 1 diabetes. The Pediatric DiabetesDek helps families that have a child or teen with type 1 diabetes better understand their special needs. It facilitates standing up to the stress and challenges of such situations.
The Pediatric DiabetesDek contains valuable information that helps family members control the diabetes of their loved one. It is not uncommon for diabetics to suffer from conditions such as ketoacidosis or hypoglycemia. The information available helps you better deal with such potential emergencies.
The Pediatric DiabetesDek provides in-depth information about the various types of diabetes such as type 1, type 2, monogenic, and gestational diabetes. It also tells you how they are connected and why it is important to have all the data possible about such conditions.
You can share correct information with a friend or a family member about the importance of maintaining the right levels of blood glucose and how exercising regularly and eating the right type of food can help them mitigate the risks associated with pediatric diabetes.
The Pediatric DiabetesDek explains in great detail and in lucid language, the various crucial aspects of diabetes management. It describes in detail the role of insulin in diabetes management and other important aspects of using insulin such as an insulin regime, the dosage that needs to be administered for effective treatment as well as the different types of insulin available for treatment of various types of diabetes.
The Pediatric DiabetesDek will also point out some proper foods to eat and the appropriate serving sizes. This useful information will help you help your loved ones manage their weight.
Diabetes is a health condition that requires intense care and proper health management on all fronts. The information provided in the Pediatric DiabetesDek describes how you can provide children and teens with much of the care they need. It helps address crucial issues such as managing depression, and long term health concerns such as stroke and heart related diseases.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Welcome to InfoDek, A Professional pediatric diabetes guide for your family to manage and control diabetes in children and teens. DiabetesDek publications are pocket sized booklets that contains useful advice and information regarding diabetes.
5 Easy Weight Loss Tips For Kids (UK)
By Andrewd
Kids are often loved when they are chubby and rotund, instead of being skinny and small. But it is this mindset that puts kids ate the risk of obesity and overweight issues. Why would you condone a kids binge eating and snacking on unhealthy food like chips and fires, when it is the toddlers who fall prey to obesity most often? Well, to ease your worries if you have a kid who is fat, we have some easy weight loss tips for you to follow through on.
If you were worried that weight loss in UK was only dependent on exercise and safe slimming pills & natural slimming pills had no impact whatsoever on health, these tips might just change your mind. For the better or for the worse, is for you to decide!
1. Send The Kids to The Playground: Kids these days seem to be glued to the TV, computers or their PlayStation & Xbox. No matter how much fun this might seem to be (even to you, as an adult yeah gaming is addictive!), it damages the prospects of good physical health by a sledgehammer. Send them kids to play outside. This will not only help kids achieve weight loss, UK physicians believe it will also improve their horrendous social skills so rampant today.
2. Healthy Eating Should Run in the Family: Remember, your kids are not going to eat a lettuce dish unless you are eating it too and in ample amounts that make the kids feel they are better off than the adults! Healthy eating should be a part of the family plan for effective weight loss in UK & beyond and it serves all purposes involved.
3. Mind that Dinner: A lot of parents feel that since their kids could not lunch properly at school, they should force-feed the toddlers triple the amount that a healthy dinner should be restricted to. Dinners should be light, especially as most kids go to sleep right after, without any trace of physical activity at all.
4. Ensure the Kids Have Healthy, Full Meals: Lunchboxes should not be made into dripping chunks of fat and calories just to get the kids to eat up. Compensate the green lunch with healthy food, and throw in a candy bar or a similar goodie to freshen up the eating schedule for the toddlers. Weight loss will come up as a natural result from such steps.
5. Make Weight Loss Tips Fun for Them: Remember, your kid is not a 30-year old parent like you and would be bored quickly if you use the same weight loss tips every day. Make weight loss fun for them incorporating weight reduction strategies into games and fun activities. You will slim down the kids and will also win new fans of you in them!
The best weight loss in UK is with the help of safe slimming pills as well as novel techniques to execute flawless weight loss. But for kids, you need to be extra careful. Not only does the flab-fighting be safe, but it also needs to be fun for the kids too!
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
When Your Child is Diagnosed with Diabetes: PARENT’s QUESTIONS
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When Your Child Is Diagnosed with DIABETES: PARENTS’ QUESTIONS for the Health Care Team
Parents of children with diabetes often have concerns about the disease, its impact on their family, and how to keep their children safe and healthy. Use these questions to talk with your child’s health care team and learn about your child’s diabetes care needs… at diagnosis and later on as well.
What are the different types of diabetes?
- Which type of diabetes does our child have?
- Will it ever go away?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
What does this mean for other members of our family?
- Does it mean our other children will get diabetes too?
- What about other family members?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
What are my child’s treatment goals?
- How can we help our child meet these goals?
- How often will our child need to visit you each year?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
(See Treatment Goals and Family Support)4 Steps to Control Your Diabetes. For Life
NDEP Teen page
(See Tip Sheets for Kids with Type 2 Diabetes)
What other health care team members can help care for our child’s diabetes?
- How do we contact them?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Visiting the Health Care Team)
How can we work together as a family to help our child?
- How can we help our child check blood glucose, take insulin, eat healthy foods, be more active, and learn about diabetes?
- Who can help us work together as a family?
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Helping Children Manage Diabetes)
What emotional issues might our child and family face?
- Will diabetes affect the way our child behaves?
- When do we start letting our child manage his/her own diabetes care?
- Who can help us cope with these issues?
Tips for Teens with type 2 Diabetes: Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Diabetes
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Transition to Independence )
Learn about age-related issues and diabetes on the American Diabetes Association website
Learn about reactions to being diagnosed with diabetes on the American Diabetes Association website
Should we tell friends and family about our child’s diabetes?
Who can help us if we don’t have medical insurance?
Insure Kids Now! A national initiative to linking families to low-cost insurance programs
What resources are there to help our child in school?
Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel
Overview of Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (See Diabetes at School)
What research is going on?
Three large nation-wide studies are under way.
The TODAY study wants to find the best ways to care for type 2 diabetes in children and teens and has begun in 13 medical sites. To find out if you can join go to www.TODAYstudy.org.
Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet is a group of studies looking at ways to prevent or to treat type 1 diabetes early. To find out if you can join go to www.diabetestrialnet.org/public.html or call1- 800- HALT- DM1(1-800-425-8361).
The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study will help us learn about how type 1 and type 2 diabetes differ, what medical problems arise, the health care children receive, and how diabetes shapes their daily lives. www.searchfordiabetes.org
A lot of other research is going on. To find studies in your area, talk to your health care team and visit the JDRF and ADA (links below).
Additional Resources for Parents and Children
National Diabetes Education Program
www.ndep.nih.gov or call 1-800-438-5383
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF)
www.jdrf.org or call 1-800-223-1138
Children with Diabetes
www.childrenwithdiabetes.com
American Diabetes Association (ADA)
www.diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383)
- In This Section
- Source :
YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW For more information, contact The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): NIDDKinquiries@nih.gov Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) July 7th, 2011 Obesity is getting bigger in the United States Two-thirds of all adults and about a third of all children and teenagers in the United States are overweight or obese according to a report release Thursday by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). According to “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011,” adult obesity increased in 16 states during the past year and rates soared to 30% or more in these 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. Four years ago, only one state – Mississippi – had an adult obesity rate of more than 30%. No state showed a decrease in it obesity rate in Thursday’s report. Nine of the 10 states with the highest adult obesity numbers are in the South. Mississippi, for the seventh year in a row, had the highest adult obesity rate at 34.4%. Colorado, at 19.8%, had the lowest, and in fact is the only state in the country with an adult obesity rate under 20%. Twenty years ago no rate was above 15%. The report found rates grew fastest in Alabama, Tennessee and Oklahoma and slowest in Colorado, Connecticut and the District of Columbia. “There was a clear tipping point in our national weight gain over the last twenty years,” said Jeff Levi, Executive director of TFAH. “And we can’t afford to ignore the impact obesity has on our health and corresponding health care spending.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the medical costs associated with obesity are staggering– totaling about $147 billion in 2008. More than 80% of people in this country with type-2 diabetes are overweight and new diagnoses doubled in 10 years, according to Thursday’s report. Overweight and obese people are at risk of developing high blood pressure and high cholesterol, risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke. They may also be at greater risk of colon, kidney and esophageal cancer. African Americans, Latinos, those with low incomes and less education had the highest overall rates, topping 30 to 40% in many states. The report found about 33% of adults who made less than $15,000 a year or did not graduate from high school were obese. The researchers found that a lack of access to fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthful foods in some neighborhoods and a dearth of safe community areas for families to walk and for children to play all factor into the obesity epidemic. But there’s more to it. “Portion sizes in restaurants are much larger than they have been, soft drinks at convenience stores are much larger than they have been,” said Dr. James Marks, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “When people have a larger size they will eat more. Snacking has gone up more and more. All of these things contribute.” “We’ve built inactivity into our lifestyles. We’ve designed communities around cars,” said Levi. “Kids are watching TV and sitting around computers. We’ve found plenty of ways to entertain ourselves that don’t include activity.” “The information in this report should spur us all – individuals and policymakers alike – to redouble our efforts to reverse this debilitating and costly epidemic,” said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Changing policies is an important way to provide children and families with vital resources and opportunities to make healthier choices easier in their day-to day-lives.” Recommendations include making sure all food and drinks sold in schools meet the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans, increasing access to quality and affordable foods, expanding the amount and intensity of physical activity in schools and in out-of-school programs, increasing physical activity by providing communities safe places to walk, bike and play, introducing pricing incentives to help people buy healthier foods and regulating how and where unhealthy foods are marketed to children. Marks says what’s particularly tragic is the increase in type 2 diabetes among younger adults and kids. “Since the 1970s, the rate of obesity has tripled or quadrupled in children,” said Marks. “We’ve got an even larger problem coming in our children.” Source: Saundra Young – CNN Medical Senior Producer Source: snshn29366 on YouTube, Dec. 1, 2010 YESTERDAY TODAY
TOMORROW
For more information, contact The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK): NIDDKinquiries@nih.gov
Source: 
Type 2 Diabetes: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases www.niddk.nih.gov
Obesity is Getting Bigger in the United States
Girl Diagnosed Her Own Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases www.niddk.nih.gov
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