New Information: Fat Inflation Rocks Nation

THURSDAY, July 7 -- A new report outlining how obesity threatens America's future reveals that obesity rates climbed over the past year in 16 states, and not a single state reported a decline in the proportion of excessively overweight residents.

The report, released Thursday, also found that more than 30 percent of the people in 12 states are obese. Four years ago, only one state could make that claim.  Twenty years ago, "there wasn't a single state that had an obesity rate above 15 percent, and now every state is above that," said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, which compiled the report.

"We have seen a dramatic shift over a generation," he added. "This isn't just about how much people weigh, but it has to do with serious health problems like diabetes and hypertension. These are the things that are driving health care costs."

With the exception of Michigan, the 10 most obese states are in the South. The Northeast and West reported the lowest obesity rates. In addition, in eight states, more than 10 percent of adults suffer from type 2 diabetes, according to the report.

Mississippi, where 34.4 percent of the people are obese, has the highest obesity rate. Other states with obesity rates above 30 percent include: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Thirty-eight other states have obesity rates above 25 percent.

For the second year in a row, obesity rates rose in Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island and Texas.  And, for the third year straight, more residents of Florida, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma and Vermont tipped the scale toward obesity.
Colorado, with an obesity rate of 19.8 percent, is the only state where the rate is less than 20 percent, the investigators found.

Other highlights of the report include:

• The number of adults who do not exercise rose across 14 states.
• Obesity among men is up in nine states, but dropped for women in Nevada.
• Obesity prevalence varies with education and income. The least educated and the poorest had the highest rates of obesity; college graduates had the lowest.

More than one-third of children and adolescents are obese or overweight, with the highest prevalence in the South. However, the new data indicate that obesity among children and adolescents may have leveled off, except among the heaviest boys.
"This generation of kids could have shorter life spans, because people are getting diabetes and hypertension much earlier," Levi said.

The solution is simple, he added: Eat less, exercise more. "We have reconstructed our lives so that we don't build in physical activity. We have neighborhoods and communities that are food deserts, where the only food you can find is unhealthy fast food," he said.

Samantha Heller, a dietitian in Fairfield, Conn., called childhood obesity "a complex, multi-faceted problem that needs to be tackled from many different angles." She said she wished the report offered ways to educate parents and caregivers about healthy eating for children.
Parents and caregivers make approximately 75 percent of the food decisions for children, Heller said, so it is essential that they learn about healthy, affordable foods and meals for children that make sense to them.

"Overall, I am hopeful that the report will help motivate food companies, local and state governments, schools and communities to generate a good head of steam to help stem the tide of childhood obesity," she added.

Obesity expert Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., called the report "a reminder that obesity ranks among the most urgent public health problems of our time. While efforts to reverse obesity trends are proliferating, the tide has not yet turned, and more needs to be done."

The report makes it clear that interventions need to be tailored to diverse settings, Katz added. "I support the view that the root cause of epidemic obesity is everything about modern living, and that it will take the aggregation of a lot of effective programming to change our course," he said.

Levi noted that the federal government was introducing programs to stem the obesity crisis, but "we need to fund these programs adequately," he said.  "We now know the pieces that need to be put into place [to reduce obesity]," he added. "Some of them are about what we as individuals do, but a lot of it is also about what we as a community come together to do," Levi stated.

More information
For more information on obesity, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

American Fast Food (what a stupid way to die)

You can purchase this song "American Fast Food" off the album 'Our Recollections' by Randy Stonehill on iTunes or go to www.randystonehill.com.  All Rights Reserved WMG.

Obesity Reaching Epidemic Proportions

Wall Street Journal reports Colorado is the only state in the union with lower than 20% obesity.

Don't Raise a Junk Food Flunkie

"Junk food diet 'makes children more likely to fail at school'" is the headline in The Daily Telegraph. It reports on a study that showed “even when other factors, such as low income or poor housing were removed, diet significantly affected the children's development". Children who "lived on sweets, crisps and chicken nuggets from an early age were 10% more likely to be failing between the ages of six and ten than their classmates”, the newspaper reports.

The main result of the study was that eating a lot of junk food at age three was associated with slower progress later in primary school. An extra finding highlighted by the researchers was that eating either packed lunches or school meals made no difference to children’s educational attainment. This finding is less reliable because of the small number of children involved.

Where did the story come from?

Dr Leon Feinstein and colleagues from the Institute of Education at the University of London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Bristol carried out this research. Core support for the study was provided by the UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the University of Bristol. It was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

What kind of scientific study was this?

This was an analysis of data from a cohort study. The data came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), an ongoing population-based study designed to investigate the effects of environmental, genetic and other influences on the health and development of children. Complex statistical methods were used to assess the relative importance of diet on school attainment at different ages.

The participants were pregnant women who lived in the former Avon health authority in south-west England and were expected to give birth between April 1 1991 and December 31 1992. Of all the potential mothers in this area, the researchers recruited a group of 14,541 pregnant women and their 13,988 children who were alive at 12 months old. The mothers completed questionnaires during pregnancy and when the children were various ages. Children’s educational attainment at 6–7 years and 10–11 years old was assessed by obtaining the Key Stage 1 (KS1) results for reading, writing and maths and Key Stage 2 (KS2) results for English, maths and science from the relevant education authorities. Key Stages are national standards for what children should be taught at particular ages, children’s levels of attainment of the set curricula are assessed at each age or Key Stage.

Information about the children’s diet was collected from mothers or main female carers using a food frequency questionnaire, which asked about their child’s consumption of food and drink at about three years, about four years and about seven years old. The researchers identified three different patterns in the children’s diets: “junk food”, containing high-fat processed foods (sausages and burgers), snack foods high in fat and/or sugar (such as crisps, sweets, chocolate, ice lollies and ice creams), fizzy drinks and takeaway meals; ‘‘health conscious’’, comprising vegetarian foods, nuts, salad, rice, pasta, fruit, cheese, fish, cereal, water and fruit juice; and ‘‘traditional’’, typically meat and cooked vegetables.

"Early eating patterns have implications for attainment that appear to persist over time, regardless of subsequent changes in diet"

Leon Feinstein, lead author

In the questionnaire about the seven-year-old children, the mothers also reported whether their child ate meals served at school or packed lunches provided from home, and how often they did this. Frequency was recorded as: rarely, once in two weeks, once a week, two to four times a week or five days a week. Details of socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle factors were also collected.

Of the 13,988 children in the original set of data, dietary information at all three ages was only available for 7,703 children and, of these children, only some had information on both KS2 and KS1 scores. The final study sample therefore consisted of 5,741 children with complete information on food frequencies and both school attainment scores results (41% of the original sample of 13,998 children).

What were the results of the study? 

The data collected in the questionnaire about seven-year-old children showed that 29% ate school dinners five days a week and nearly half (46%) ate packed lunches five days a week.

The researchers found that higher ‘‘junk food’’ dietary pattern scores at three, four and seven were associated with lower average KS2 results. In contrast, a positive association was shown for the ‘‘health conscious’’ dietary pattern and KS2 results. The ‘‘traditional’’ dietary pattern showed no association with KS2 results. When potential confounding factors were taken into account, a weak association remained between “junk food” at age three and lower attainment.

There was no evidence that eating packed lunches or eating school meals affected children’s attainment, once the impact of junk food dietary pattern at age three was accounted for in the model.

What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?

The researchers conclude that “early eating patterns have implications for educational attainment that appear to persist over time, regardless of subsequent changes in diet.”  Translation:  Start your child eating and drinking healthy food, water and milk when they're infants and your child will benefit throughout life.

Luna and Lara

"Mom I'm FAT!"

Nobody needs to tell your dear child that he or she is overweight.  They already know, and they are already trying to process it any way they can.  Unfortunately, without your help, the way they process it could lead to further problems like secret eating and low self esteem.  So go ahead and talk about it.  More importantly, LISTEN about it.

We went through many of the same things.  There’s nothing new under the sun.  Being picked last for teams, being teased at school, struggling in sports, being ridiculed or having difficulty fitting into clothes are just a few of the pains overweight children may have to endure. 

You are the absolute best person to talk to your child about his or her weight because nobody loves your child more.  Therefore, nobody else can empathize as you can.  These frustrations and pains need to be expressed by your child and then validated by you.  Don’t shrink back; it’s the right thing to do.  Encourage.  Listen.  Validate.  Empathize.  RELATE.  Be available.

Unconditional love and acceptance are the life-blood of a child who struggles with weight problems.  You are the primary source of this love, so pour it on with reckless abandon.

Don’t do anything too harsh or rash like super strict diets…they will backfire.  Rather, make small adjustments here and there to put the right things to eat and drink in front of your child.  The last thing you should do is to highlight the fact your child is overweight by over-reacting with harsh diets.  That could spell rejection to them, which is the opposite of unconditional love.

Kids come in all shapes and sizes, and genetic pre-disposition can be a hard taskmaster.  That’s why good habits and small steady adjustments are the best defense against the propensity for your child to be overweight.

Luna and Lara speak about water a lot, for obvious reasons.  However, we are not concerned about kids drinking more water because we’re in the water business.  We’re in the water business because we’re concerned about kids drinking more water.  That disclaimer said, ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO DRINK MORE WATER!  It will greatly aid metabolism, it will help them to process their meals, and it will “fill the gap” with something healthy and life-giving rather than something fattening like sugary soda, sweets or even juice.

Your example is the absolute best thing you can offer your child.  If you want him or her to develop good eating and drinking habits, exhibit good eating and drinking habits.  Show more than tell.

Resist the urge to set a timetable for weight loss.  In fact, weight loss is not the issue at all…good habits are.  Rather than a timetable, make a LIFE change.  Over time, you will begin to see the benefits not only in your child’s weight but in their overall good health.  The good news is, kids learn fast.  It may not seem like it, but it’s true.   

Go for “possible”, not for “perfect”. 

Pick Five:  Choose five realistic goals, such as substituting fatty foods for healthy ones; serving water instead of soda; buy flavoured water instead of juice (shameless but true); buy complex carbohydrates instead of simple ones.

Finally, be patient.  Be patient.  Be patient.  And above all, pour on the unconditional love and affirmation…it’s better to have a slightly overweight child who knows they are loved than a skinny one who doesn’t.

Luna and Lara

Your skin is a water reservoir. Tank up!

W-O-W 7: Water helps give you a healthy mouth and skin

Wiseup-On-Water!  Having a dry mouth is one of the early signs of dehydration.18 Mild dehydration may be a risk factor for dental disease because it impairs saliva production. Saliva is essential for good oral health because:

• it neutralizes the acid created by the bacteria which cause tooth decay

• lubricates oral membranes

• contains minerals that enable tooth repair, and

• contains antibacterial agents that inhibit the growth of oral bacteria and help

prevent gum disease.45

Being well hydrated keeps skin looking healthy as well. The skin acts as a water reservoir and participates in fluid regulation for the whole body.46Mild dehydration causes skin to appear flushed, dry and loose.18,47

So stay topped up on water for a healthier mouth and skin!

Luna and Lara 

18 Kleiner SM. Water: An essential but overlooked nutrient.

Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1999:99:201-7

http://foodinschools.datacenta.uk.net/home.asp?idTopic=0&id

Page=1

45 Smith AJ and Shaw L. Mild dehydration: a risk factor for

dental disease? European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

2003;57(Suppl 2):S75-80

46 Eisenbeiss C, Welzel J, Eichler W and Klotz K. Influence of

body water distribution on skin thickness: measurements

using high-frequency ultrasound. British Journal of

Dermatology 2001;144:947-951

47 Principles of Human Nutrition. Ed M Eastwood. Chapter 8:

Water, electrolytes, minerals and trace elements. London:

Chapman & Hall 1997

Water lowers risk of chronic disease

W-O-W Part Six:  Help protect your child against the risk of chronic disease

Wiseup-On-Water!  Drinking enough water can help to protect the body against certain chronic diseases. Individuals who maintain good hydration levels have been shown to have a reduced risk of developing the following diseases:

• breast,37 colorectal,38 urinary tract cancer.39,40

• cardiovascular disease41

• gallstones 42

• kidney and bladder stones 43,44

Whether you give your child our Irish spring water, or pure water from elsewhere, please seriously consider the direct relationship between sufficient water intake and increased risk of these chronic diseases. 

Here's to happier, healthier kids!

Luna and Lara

37 Stookey JD, Belderson PE, Russell JM, Barker ME.

Correspondence re: J. Shannon et al. Relationship of food

groups and water intake to colon cancer risk. Cancer

Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 1997;6:657-658

38 Shannon J, White E, Shattuck AL, Potter JD. Relationship of

food groups and water intake to colon cancer risk. Cancer

Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prev. 1996;5:495-502

39 Bitterman WA, Farhadian H, Abu S-C, Lerner D, Amoun H,

Krapf D, Makov UK. Environmental and nutritional factors

significantly associated with cancer of the urinary tract

among different ethnic groups. Urologic Clinics of North

America 1991;18:501-8

40 Wilkens LR, Kadir MM, Kolonel LN, Nomura AM, Hankin JH.

Risk factors for lower urinary tract cancer: the role of total

fluid consumption, nitrites and nitrosamines, and selected

foods. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

1996;5:161-166

41 Chan J, Knutsen SF, Blix GG, Lee JW, Fraser GE. Water, other

fluids, and fatal coronary heart disease. American Journal of

Epidemiology 2002;155:827-33

42 Math MV, Rampal PM, Faure XR and Delmont JP. Gallbladder

emptying after drinking water and its possible role in

prevention of gallstone formation. Singapore Medical Journal

1986;27:531-2

43 Curhan GC, Willett WC, Rimm EB and Stampfer MJ. A

prospective study of dietary calcium and other nutrients and

the risk of symptomatic kidney stones. New England Journal

of Medicine 1993;328:833-38

44 Siener R and Hesse A. Fluid intake and epidemiology of

urolithiasis. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

2003;57(Suppl 2):S47-S51

You Are What You DRINK!

It's widely known that you are what you eat.  But let's not forget you are what you DRINK as well!  A  recent KidsHealth Article says that "For kids of all ages, water and milk are the best choices, so let them flow. Not only is water calorie-free, but drinking it teaches kids to accept a low-flavor, no-sugar beverage as a thirst-quencher."

So let the water flow!

Your Friends,

Luna and Lara