Eating For Health

Looking to lose weight before summer?   So many people focus on cutting back starches to lose weight when cutting back on added sugars may be more beneficial.   People are more willing to cut back on the slice of bread but not the sugared soda.   As stated by Laura Schmidt, professor of Health Policy at UC San Francisco, “Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick.” Is Sugar Making Us Sick? Recent research shows that cutting back on added sugars is a good way for obese kids to lose weight.   (The Berkeley Wellness Letter highlighted this study in “Yes, it’s the sugar”, March 2016.)   Cutting back on nutritious foods needed for growth is not a good idea when a child is trying to slim down. But added sugars add calories and not nutrients needed for growth and development. What did the research find about added sugars? Two universities, University of San Francisco and Touro University of California studied 43 obese kids ranging i...

Interesting news this week for those interested in losing or maintaining their weight. A surprising study out of Scotland about the benefits of sunlight on our health.          Sunlight and Childhood Obesity and Diabetes – Scottish researchers reported that sunlight can be important in preventing diabetes and helping to avoid childhood obesity.   We all know spending time outside is healthy for exercise, fresh air and to get our vitamin D. a.        Sunlight and weight:   But now they have a new finding about sun.   “A natural gas, nitric oxide, is released by our skin after exposure to sunlight.”   ( Sunlight key to fighting childhood obesity and diabetes ).   This helps us control our metabolism and slow weight gain.   b.         Sunlight and diabetes – because one gains less weight, one is less likely to get diabetes.   Exposure to sunlight also ...

Some schools are becoming very proactive in controlling the junk food being offered within the school.   Some states now have laws controlling what food children will be able to buy at school.   These laws focus on limiting sodas high in sugar, and other so-called “junk food” sold in vending machines or served at snack bars.      Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity expert at Harvard University is quoted as saying, “What are the downsides of improving the food environment for children today?   You can’t get much worse than it already is.”    Junk Food Laws What effect did controlling junk food in schools have on children’s health?             o    Less weight gain – children in grades 5-8 gained less weight o    Overweight/obese children in 5 th grade were more likely to become normal weight children by 8 th grade The study reporting these promising results was in...

Introduction:   In the nutrition class I teach, students are asked to respond to some questions concerning childhood obesity.   One of those students, Sarah J. Miller, has been asked to be a guest author on this blog site.   The questions on childhood obesity and her responses are below. 1.  Do you think childhood obesity is a problem?  I believe that childhood obesity is a daunting problem that faces the U.S. today. It is a known fact that twice as many children are obese as they were thirty years ago. Our society has changed such as to encourage our children to stay inside and inactive, away from danger and firmly within the clutches of the mass media. A half an hour with Cartoon Network, Disney, or Nickelodeon will tell you that many of the advertisements being directed at our children today are for food products that are not in the least bit healthy.  And since more kids are staying inside with the television these days, advertisers are having an ...