Sunday, July 14, 2002

Liquid Candy Pop - The New Tobacco? Childhood Obesity by L. Lee Coyne Ph.D. Search This Site: Any word All of the words Exact phrase When are we going to take action? The World Health Organization has, over the last 5 years, repeatedly raised the alarm over the rising incidence of obesity and the associated health risks created by this voluminous (pun intended) problem. The incidence of obesity is doubling every 5 years. Even worse is the estimate that up to 20% of school age children are obese - not just over weight. We blame poor physical activity habits, excess television viewing, too much web surfing, too many video games and junk food addictions along with other poor nutritional habits. All factors play a role. It is called a lifestyle that supports obesity. To change, lifestyles must change. Obesity represents the storage of excess calories. Excess calories are stored as fat when the food we eat rapidly changes to sugar (or is already sugar), which increases the insulin production by the pancreas. Insulin is the storage hormone and while insulin is elevated the body will not and can not metabolize fat. A recent study published in The Lancet medical journal targets “Liquid Candy” (sugared drinks) as the major culprit in these insulin/obesity wars. The study, conducted on 548 11 – 12 year olds over a 2 year period in schools across Massachusetts found that each sugared drink (included Hawaiian punch, lemonade, Kool-Aid, sweetened ice tea, soft drinks and flavored waters) increased the BMI (body mass index) by 0.18. If they increased their daily soft drink intake, each extra soda made them 60 % more likely to become obese. Fifty-seven per cent increased their intake during the study with a quarter of them drinking 2 or more cans each day. On a daily basis, the average teenager is getting 15 – 20 teaspoons (225 – 300 calories) of added sugar from sugared drinks and this consumption has doubled over the last decade. Although “Liquid Candy” is not the only culprit it is a big one but through life style choices / changes it is a factor that is within our control. 9:24:36 AM    comment []

Is the so called "fat gene" a programming error? High Carb Post Natal Feeding = A Tendency to Fat and Diabetes (In Rats) Offspring of those affected have a low threshold for diabetes If this process can be shown to occur in humans (why not) then we do indeed have an epidemic that is communicable. If your mother and father are obese and have developed diabetes - you are likely to follow. 8:34:42 AM    comment []

Are we like Rats? The Choice Factor It seems that if rats are given the choice between carbo and protein, they will chose the carbo and die. If they are given a very wide choice (like a modern supermarket) they will eat themselves silly Are we like rats?   8:29:47 AM    comment []

Are the "Fat" Habits set early in life? Why are our children part of a fat epidemic? Growing up in England after the war, I learned to crave fried food. If it wasn't fried it wasn't food! I also learned to love the texture of fat - lots of butter, cream and cheese. I even have dreams of eating dripping on toast! My point is that I wonder if the habits for eating are set early in life? I see Mums with food trolleys full of pop, juice, white bread and "Candy" cereals all the time. Most of the small children I know are addicted to sugar - it was rationed when I was a boy. I am going on about this because most of what I see (such as the article attached) about childhood obesity talks about, taking more excercise, going on diets or taking medication. There are some comments about eating better but they seem restrained for some reason. Most health organizations in particular make the big play on exercise. If only we all took more exercise (change the 21st century lifestyle) we would be ok. But my bet is that family habits of eating maybe give us the best shot at understandiing why we have this obesity epidemic. I suspect that our preferences for food is created early in life in the context of how our family eat. So if I am surrounded by sugar and simple carbos - that is what I will become programmed to want. I certainly find reducing my desire for fat and dairy exceptionally challenging. If early family context is an important factor, then we have to start looking at why we buy the food that is most unhealthy. For years we have been told that the enemy is "fat" everyting is low fat. The result - more people than ever are obese. Is not the bigger problem sugar and all simple carbos? A huge shift in diet has been the prevalence of simple sugars and carbos in all our diets. This is especially true for children who are bomaberded with ads and messages advocating food products that contain high levels of sugar or carbo. Why do we underplay this factor???? 8:23:31 AM    comment []