Dieting and disordered eating that begin in adolescence often continue into young adulthood.
Disordered eating includes unhealthy and extreme weight-control behaviors, such as fasting or skipping meals and binge eating.
Researchers analyzed data from 1,030 males and 1,257 females who were followed for 10 years beginning in either early adolescence (about 13 years old) or middle adolescence (about 16 years old).
About half of the teen girls and about one-quarter of the teen boys reported dieting during the previous year. Among females in both age groups, the prevalence of dieting remained constant from adolescence through young adulthood. For males, dieting remained constant in the younger age group, but increased among the older age group as they progressed to their mid 20s (rising from 22 percent to 28 percent).
The prevalence of unhealthy weight-control behaviors remained constant among the younger girls during the study period. It decreased as the girls aged, but remained very high (61 percent to 54 percent).
For males in both age groups, the prevalence of unhealthy weight-control behaviors remained constant, the study authors noted.
Extreme weight-control behaviors increased significantly in both female age groups, from 8 percent to 20 percent in the younger group of girls and from 13 percent to 21 percent in the older group.
Among the older males, extreme weight-control behaviors increased from 2 percent to 7 percent, the investigators found.
The findings from the current study argue for early and ongoing efforts aimed at the prevention, early identification and treatment of disordered eating behaviors in young people.
Dietitians and other health care providers should ask patients about their dieting behavior in childhood and through young adulthood.
Given the growing concern about obesity, it is important to let young people know that dieting and disordered eating behaviors can be counterproductive to weight management. Young people concerned about their weight should be provided with support for healthful eating and physical activity behaviors that can be implemented on a long-term basis, and should be steered away from the use of unhealthy weight-control practices.
Showing posts with label Diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diet. Show all posts
18 October 2010
McDonald's Happy Meal shows no Sign of decomposing after Six Months
Daily Mail
Looking almost as fresh as the day it was bought, this McDonald's Happy Meal is in fact a staggering six months old.
Photographed every day for the past half a year by Manhattan artist Sally Davies the kids meal of fries and burger is without a hint of mould or decay.
In a work entitled The Happy Meal Project, Mrs Davies, 54, has charted the seemingly indestructible fast food meals progress as it refuses to yield to the forces of nature.
Sitting on a shelf in her apartment, Sally has watched the Happy Meal with increasing shock and even her dogs have resisted the urge to try and steal a free tasty snack.
'I bought the meal on April 10 of this year and brought it home with the express intention of leaving it out to see how it fared,' she said.
'I chose McDonald's because it was nearest to my house, but the project could have been about any other of the myriad of fast food joints in New York.
'The first thing that struck me on day two of the experiment was that it no longer emitted any smell.
'And then the second point of note was that on the second day, my dogs stopped circling the shelf it was sitting on trying to see what was up there.'
Expecting the food to begin moulding after a few days, Mrs Davies' surprise turned to shock as the fries and burger still had not shown any signs of decomposition after two weeks.
'It was then that I realised that something strange might be going on with this food that I had bought,' she explained.
'The fries shrivelled slightly as did the burger patty, but the overall appearance of the food did not change as the weeks turned to months.
'And now, at six months old, the food is plastic to the touch and has an acrylic sheen to it.
'The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock.'
Even though she is a vegan, Mrs Davies' experiment has brought her amusement rather than fear.
'I don't really see this experiment as scary, I see it almost as an amusement,' she said.
'Although, I would be frightened at seeing this if I was a meat eater. Why hasn't even the bun become speckled with mould? It is odd.'
When asked if their food was not biodegradable, McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud said: 'This is nothing more than an outlandish claim and is completely false.'
It comes after Denver grandmother Joann Bruso left a Happy Meal to decay for a year until March to highlight the nutritional dangers of fast food.
Morgan Spurlock also made the film Super Size Me in 2004 charting the changes to his body eating just fast food for 28 days had.
01 October 2010
Time to Exercise, Eat Right, and Ditch the 'No Time' Excuse
USA Today
When it comes to the excuses people give for not eating healthfully and exercising regularly, best-selling author and motivational speaker Bill Phillips has heard them all.
But the one he hears over and over again is: "I don't have time."
People say they don't have time to exercise. They don't have time to grocery shop and cook healthful meals. They don't have time to eat right. They don't have time to think about their weight.
"It doesn't matter who they are, they are convinced they don't have time," says Phillips, 45, author of the 1999 best-seller Body-for-Life and his new book, titled Transformation.
Phillips has been helping people lose weight and shape up for 20 years.
"What I teach people," he says, "is that one great reason for getting healthy overrides a dozen excuses."
The motivation for giving up your excuses is often right in front of your nose. For many people, it's as obvious as wanting to stay healthy for their spouse, kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews and themselves, Phillips says.
Some may have medical fears, such as diabetes or heart disease, or they may be approaching a landmark birthday such as their 50th, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian in Chicago and author of The Flexitarian Diet.
The people who are most successful at changing their lives don't want to be the victim of their own excuses anymore and decide to take immediate action — even simple things, such as drinking water instead of regular soda, getting up earlier to walk and using the nutrition information from their favorite restaurants, she says.
Phillips says when you give up your excuses, you take responsibility for your own life. "Most every transformation I've witnessed over the years was preceded by a dramatic increase of self-responsibility." Individuals have to accept the fact that they need to "pilot" their own lives, he says.
Instead of using lack of time as an excuse, people have to schedule the time they need to exercise and cook healthful meals, just as they schedule a doctor's appointment, business meeting or lunch with a friend, he says. "There's always an opportunity to make time."
Blatner says excuses can be overcome by thinking about them in a new way.
For instance, take the excuse that you don't have time to exercise.
Think instead: It's possible to walk 10 minutes several times a day.
Or take the excuse that you don't have time to cook.
Think instead: It doesn't take that much skill, fancy recipes or a lot of time to put together a quick, healthful meal such as barbecue chicken, a whole-grain bun and a simple salad, Blatner says.
"You just have to get back to basics with real food."
But the one he hears over and over again is: "I don't have time."
People say they don't have time to exercise. They don't have time to grocery shop and cook healthful meals. They don't have time to eat right. They don't have time to think about their weight.
"It doesn't matter who they are, they are convinced they don't have time," says Phillips, 45, author of the 1999 best-seller Body-for-Life and his new book, titled Transformation.
Phillips has been helping people lose weight and shape up for 20 years.
"What I teach people," he says, "is that one great reason for getting healthy overrides a dozen excuses."
The motivation for giving up your excuses is often right in front of your nose. For many people, it's as obvious as wanting to stay healthy for their spouse, kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews and themselves, Phillips says.
Some may have medical fears, such as diabetes or heart disease, or they may be approaching a landmark birthday such as their 50th, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian in Chicago and author of The Flexitarian Diet.
The people who are most successful at changing their lives don't want to be the victim of their own excuses anymore and decide to take immediate action — even simple things, such as drinking water instead of regular soda, getting up earlier to walk and using the nutrition information from their favorite restaurants, she says.
Phillips says when you give up your excuses, you take responsibility for your own life. "Most every transformation I've witnessed over the years was preceded by a dramatic increase of self-responsibility." Individuals have to accept the fact that they need to "pilot" their own lives, he says.
Instead of using lack of time as an excuse, people have to schedule the time they need to exercise and cook healthful meals, just as they schedule a doctor's appointment, business meeting or lunch with a friend, he says. "There's always an opportunity to make time."
Blatner says excuses can be overcome by thinking about them in a new way.
For instance, take the excuse that you don't have time to exercise.
Think instead: It's possible to walk 10 minutes several times a day.
Or take the excuse that you don't have time to cook.
Think instead: It doesn't take that much skill, fancy recipes or a lot of time to put together a quick, healthful meal such as barbecue chicken, a whole-grain bun and a simple salad, Blatner says.
"You just have to get back to basics with real food."
03 August 2010
Obesity Rates Keep Rising, Troubling Health Officials
NY Times
Americans are continuing to get fatter and fatter, with obesity rates reaching 30 percent or more in nine states last year, as opposed to only three states in 2007, health officials reported on Tuesday.
The increases mean that 2.4 million more people became obese from 2007 to 2009, bringing the total to 72.5 million, or 26.7 percent of the population. The numbers are part of a continuing and ominous trend.
But the rates are probably underestimates because they are based on a phone survey in which 400,000 participants were asked their weight and height instead of having it measured by someone else, and people have a notorious tendency to describe themselves as taller and lighter than they really are.
“Over the past several decades, obesity has increased faster than anyone could have imagined it would,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued a report on the prevalence of obesity. Obesity rates have doubled in adults and tripled in children in recent decades, Dr. Frieden said.
If the numbers keep going up, he added, “more people will get sick and die from the complications of obesity, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.”
The report estimates the medical costs of obesity to be as high as $147 billion a year, and notes that “past efforts and investments to prevent and control obesity have not been adequate.”
Researchers blame the usual suspects: too little exercise and too much of the wrong kind of food, which means not enough fruits and vegetables and too many high-calorie meals full of sugar and fat, like French fries, soda and other sweet drinks. Children do not get enough exercise during the school day; Dr. Frieden noted that even in gym classes, students are active for only about a third of the time.
A 5-foot-4-inch woman is obese if she weighs 174 pounds, as is a 5-foot-10-inch man who weights 209 or more, according to the disease centers. Both would have a body-mass index, or BMI, of 30; that index is calculated from height and weight, and scores of 30 or over are defined as obese.
The nine states with obesity rates of 30 percent or more are Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia. The highest rate, 34.4 percent, was in Mississippi.
People over 50 had higher rates of obesity than those who were younger. The aging of the population may account for some of the general increase in obesity, but not all of it, said Dr. Heidi Blanck, chief of the disease centers’ obesity branch of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity.
Non-Hispanic black women had the highest obesity rate, 41.9 percent. Over all, blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to be obese, and the more education people had, the less likely they were to be heavy.
Only Colorado and Washington, D.C., had obesity rates under 20 percent. Researchers are not sure why. Dr. William Dietz, director of the nutrition, physical activity and obesity division, said that Colorado had spent money from a state lottery on biking and walking trails and that many people were using them. The state seems to have “a culture of physical activity,” he said.
Dr. Dietz said the relatively low prevalence of obesity in Washington was harder to explain, particularly because the area has a large black population.
He said one explanation may be that many residents ride the subway; studies have shown that compared with people who drive, those who use public transportation tend to be thinner because it involves more walking. In addition, Dr. Dietz said, there is evidence of above-average fruit and vegetable consumption, and higher rates of breast-feeding, both of which are linked to lower rates of obesity.
The increases mean that 2.4 million more people became obese from 2007 to 2009, bringing the total to 72.5 million, or 26.7 percent of the population. The numbers are part of a continuing and ominous trend.
But the rates are probably underestimates because they are based on a phone survey in which 400,000 participants were asked their weight and height instead of having it measured by someone else, and people have a notorious tendency to describe themselves as taller and lighter than they really are.
“Over the past several decades, obesity has increased faster than anyone could have imagined it would,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issued a report on the prevalence of obesity. Obesity rates have doubled in adults and tripled in children in recent decades, Dr. Frieden said.
If the numbers keep going up, he added, “more people will get sick and die from the complications of obesity, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.”
The report estimates the medical costs of obesity to be as high as $147 billion a year, and notes that “past efforts and investments to prevent and control obesity have not been adequate.”
Researchers blame the usual suspects: too little exercise and too much of the wrong kind of food, which means not enough fruits and vegetables and too many high-calorie meals full of sugar and fat, like French fries, soda and other sweet drinks. Children do not get enough exercise during the school day; Dr. Frieden noted that even in gym classes, students are active for only about a third of the time.
A 5-foot-4-inch woman is obese if she weighs 174 pounds, as is a 5-foot-10-inch man who weights 209 or more, according to the disease centers. Both would have a body-mass index, or BMI, of 30; that index is calculated from height and weight, and scores of 30 or over are defined as obese.
The nine states with obesity rates of 30 percent or more are Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia. The highest rate, 34.4 percent, was in Mississippi.
People over 50 had higher rates of obesity than those who were younger. The aging of the population may account for some of the general increase in obesity, but not all of it, said Dr. Heidi Blanck, chief of the disease centers’ obesity branch of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity.
Non-Hispanic black women had the highest obesity rate, 41.9 percent. Over all, blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to be obese, and the more education people had, the less likely they were to be heavy.
Only Colorado and Washington, D.C., had obesity rates under 20 percent. Researchers are not sure why. Dr. William Dietz, director of the nutrition, physical activity and obesity division, said that Colorado had spent money from a state lottery on biking and walking trails and that many people were using them. The state seems to have “a culture of physical activity,” he said.
Dr. Dietz said the relatively low prevalence of obesity in Washington was harder to explain, particularly because the area has a large black population.
He said one explanation may be that many residents ride the subway; studies have shown that compared with people who drive, those who use public transportation tend to be thinner because it involves more walking. In addition, Dr. Dietz said, there is evidence of above-average fruit and vegetable consumption, and higher rates of breast-feeding, both of which are linked to lower rates of obesity.
27 May 2010
Food Industry Makes Strides in Ousting Trans Fats
U.S. News & World Report
In its move to oust trans fat from food products, the food industry is substituting the bad with better-for-you fats, a new report published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests. That's good news, since some experts had worried the industry would just replace one unhealthy substance with another: saturated fat.
Researchers analyzed 83 reformulated products from grocery stores and restaurants and found that most had no more saturated fat than before—save for some baked goods they examined, HealthDay reports.
In April, U.S. News contributor Katherine Hobson wrote about the latest research on what types of fats are fine to eat. All fats are not alike in their effects on blood cholesterol levels, which can affect heart disease risk. Saturated fat, for example, generally increases levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, Hobson wrote. Trading saturated fats for polyunsaturated fats—the omega-3 fatty acids found in certain fish and the omega-6 fatty acids in vegetable oils such as safflower and soybean oils—does seem to offer a heart benefit.
Researchers analyzed 83 reformulated products from grocery stores and restaurants and found that most had no more saturated fat than before—save for some baked goods they examined, HealthDay reports.
In April, U.S. News contributor Katherine Hobson wrote about the latest research on what types of fats are fine to eat. All fats are not alike in their effects on blood cholesterol levels, which can affect heart disease risk. Saturated fat, for example, generally increases levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, Hobson wrote. Trading saturated fats for polyunsaturated fats—the omega-3 fatty acids found in certain fish and the omega-6 fatty acids in vegetable oils such as safflower and soybean oils—does seem to offer a heart benefit.
27 April 2010
Bad Habits can Kill You
Smoking, drinking, poor diet, and a sedentary lifestyle can age you 12 years
CHICAGO (AP) — Four common bad habits combined — smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet — can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests.
The findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000 British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Overall, 314 people studied had all four unhealthy behaviors. Among them, 91 died during the study, or 29%. Among the 387 healthiest people with none of the four habits, only 32 died, or about 8%.
The risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per week; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.
These habits combined substantially increased the risk of death and made people who engaged in them seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest group, said lead researcher Elisabeth Kvaavik of the University of Oslo.
The study appears in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.
The healthiest group included never-smokers and those who had quit; teetotalers, women who had fewer than two drinks daily and men who had fewer than three; those who got at least two hours of physical activity weekly; and those who ate fruits and vegetables at least three times daily.
"You don't need to be extreme" to be in the healthy category, Kvaavik said. "These behaviors add up, so together it's quite good. It should be possible for most people to manage to do it."
For example, one carrot, one apple and a glass of orange juice would suffice for the fruit and vegetable cutoffs in the study, Kvaavik said, noting that the amounts are pretty modest and less strict than many guidelines.
The U.S. government generally recommends at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level; and about 2 1/2 hours of exercise weekly.
Study participants were 4,886 British adults aged 18 and older, or 44 years old on average. They were randomly selected from participants in a separate nationwide British health survey. Study subjects were asked about various lifestyle habits only once, a potential limitation, but Kvaavik said those habits tend to be fairly stable in adulthood.
Death certificates were checked for the next 20 years. The most common causes of death included heart disease and cancer, both related to unhealthy lifestyles.
Kvaavik said her results are applicable to other westernized nations including the United States.
June Stevens, a University of North Carolina public health researcher, said the results are in line with previous studies that examined the combined effects of health-related habits on longevity.
The findings don't mean that everyone who maintains a healthy lifestyle will live longer than those who don't, but it will increase the odds, Stevens said.
The findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000 British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Overall, 314 people studied had all four unhealthy behaviors. Among them, 91 died during the study, or 29%. Among the 387 healthiest people with none of the four habits, only 32 died, or about 8%.
The risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per week; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.
These habits combined substantially increased the risk of death and made people who engaged in them seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest group, said lead researcher Elisabeth Kvaavik of the University of Oslo.
The study appears in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.
The healthiest group included never-smokers and those who had quit; teetotalers, women who had fewer than two drinks daily and men who had fewer than three; those who got at least two hours of physical activity weekly; and those who ate fruits and vegetables at least three times daily.
"You don't need to be extreme" to be in the healthy category, Kvaavik said. "These behaviors add up, so together it's quite good. It should be possible for most people to manage to do it."
For example, one carrot, one apple and a glass of orange juice would suffice for the fruit and vegetable cutoffs in the study, Kvaavik said, noting that the amounts are pretty modest and less strict than many guidelines.
The U.S. government generally recommends at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level; and about 2 1/2 hours of exercise weekly.
Study participants were 4,886 British adults aged 18 and older, or 44 years old on average. They were randomly selected from participants in a separate nationwide British health survey. Study subjects were asked about various lifestyle habits only once, a potential limitation, but Kvaavik said those habits tend to be fairly stable in adulthood.
Death certificates were checked for the next 20 years. The most common causes of death included heart disease and cancer, both related to unhealthy lifestyles.
Kvaavik said her results are applicable to other westernized nations including the United States.
June Stevens, a University of North Carolina public health researcher, said the results are in line with previous studies that examined the combined effects of health-related habits on longevity.
The findings don't mean that everyone who maintains a healthy lifestyle will live longer than those who don't, but it will increase the odds, Stevens said.
13 April 2010
Diets May Determing Dementia Risk
BBC News
The foods we choose to eat may determine our risk of dementia, mounting evidence suggests.
Latest work in Archives of Neurology shows sticking to a diet rich in nuts, fish and vegetables significantly cuts the chance of developing Alzheimer's.
A "Mediterranean diet" containing plenty of fresh produce and less high-fat dairy and red meat has long been thought to improve general health.
Experts believe it is a combination of nutrients in foods that is important.
But they stressed that diet was not the sole cause or solution where dementia is concerned.
Good combinations
Dr Yian Gu and colleagues at Columbia University Medical Centre in the US studied the diets of 2,148 retirement-age adults living in New York.
Over the four years of the study, 253 of these older adults developed Alzheimer's disease.
When the researchers scrutinised the diets of all of the individuals in the study, a pattern emerged.
Adults whose diets included more salad dressing, nuts, fish, poultry, fruits and green leafy vegetables, and less high-fat dairy, red meat and butter, were far less likely to develop dementia.
But it is the varying levels of specific nutrients that these food combinations offer that is important, say the researchers.
Diets rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, vitamin E and folate but low in saturated fat and vitamin B12 appear to be best.
Experts have long suspected that nutrients might modify dementia risk.
Folate reduces circulating levels of the blood amino acid homocysteine which has been linked to Alzheimer's.
Similarly, vitamin E might be protective via its strong antioxidant effect, while monosaturated and saturated fatty acids could increase dementia risk by encouraging blood clot formation, say the researchers.
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "Understanding the connection between diet and dementia risk may help prevent the development of diseases like Alzheimer's for some people.
"Adapting our lifestyles as we get older - by exercising regularly, watching what we eat and maintaining an active social life - can reduce dementia risk.
"Unfortunately, no diet or lifestyle factor can eliminate dementia risk entirely."
With 35 million people worldwide living with dementia, she said it was important to focus efforts on research to develop new treatments.
A "Mediterranean diet" containing plenty of fresh produce and less high-fat dairy and red meat has long been thought to improve general health.
Experts believe it is a combination of nutrients in foods that is important.
But they stressed that diet was not the sole cause or solution where dementia is concerned.
Good combinations
Dr Yian Gu and colleagues at Columbia University Medical Centre in the US studied the diets of 2,148 retirement-age adults living in New York.
Over the four years of the study, 253 of these older adults developed Alzheimer's disease.
When the researchers scrutinised the diets of all of the individuals in the study, a pattern emerged.
Adults whose diets included more salad dressing, nuts, fish, poultry, fruits and green leafy vegetables, and less high-fat dairy, red meat and butter, were far less likely to develop dementia.
But it is the varying levels of specific nutrients that these food combinations offer that is important, say the researchers.
Diets rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, vitamin E and folate but low in saturated fat and vitamin B12 appear to be best.
Experts have long suspected that nutrients might modify dementia risk.
Folate reduces circulating levels of the blood amino acid homocysteine which has been linked to Alzheimer's.
Similarly, vitamin E might be protective via its strong antioxidant effect, while monosaturated and saturated fatty acids could increase dementia risk by encouraging blood clot formation, say the researchers.
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "Understanding the connection between diet and dementia risk may help prevent the development of diseases like Alzheimer's for some people.
"Adapting our lifestyles as we get older - by exercising regularly, watching what we eat and maintaining an active social life - can reduce dementia risk.
"Unfortunately, no diet or lifestyle factor can eliminate dementia risk entirely."
With 35 million people worldwide living with dementia, she said it was important to focus efforts on research to develop new treatments.
21 January 2010
Study Shows Benefits of Cutting Salt Intake
The Wall Street Journal
A national program to reduce dietary salt could prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks, strokes and deaths and trim as much as $24 billion from the U.S. health-care tab, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study, a computer simulation, suggests the impact would be similar to prevention strategies such as quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol or modest weight-loss.
The study, a computer simulation, suggests the impact would be similar to prevention strategies such as quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol or modest weight-loss.
But significant cuts in salt from the diet could be challenging for individuals without action from food manufacturers. Some 75% of dietary salt intake comes from processed foods, according to the researchers.
Their findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that lowering dietary salt could be an effective weapon against high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. "The time is right now to consider efforts to…achieve population wide reduction in salt" intake, says Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, first author of the study and an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Last week, the New York City Health Department said it would encourage packaged food makers and restaurants to cut salt by 25% over five years. Many food manufacturers have long sold "low sodium" versions of products, but generally they haven't been popular with consumers. Some companies have recently begun cutting sodium content without highlighting it on product labels.
Morton Satin, technical director of the Salt Institute, a nonprofit group of salt producers, says few data exist linking salt intake and disease. He is skeptical that reducing salt will yield important health benefits.
Americans consume far more than the recommended daily salt intake. The average adult male consumes more than 10 grams of salt a day, according to the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. On Wednesday, the American Heart Association published new guidelines calling for all Americans to reduce their daily intake of sodium—a key component of salt—to 1,500 milligrams, equivalent to 3.8 grams of salt. Previously, that was the recommended limit for higher risk individuals; the regular limit had been 2,300 milligrams of sodium, or 5.8 grams of salt.
A typical sandwich, with two slices of bread and meat or peanut butter, has about half the daily recommended amount of salt, Dr. Bibbins-Domingo says.
In the computer simulation, which included data from the U.S. Census, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other national studies, Dr. Bibbins-Domingo and her colleagues estimated the effect of lowering salt in the daily American diet by a small amount—up to three grams a day—in adults age 35 and older.
Based on other research, they assumed a three-gram reduction in salt would lower systolic blood pressure by 3.6 to 5.6 millimeters of mercury; a one-gram reduction would reduce the level by 1.2 to 1.9 millimeters. (Systolic is the higher number in a blood-pressure reading. People whose level is 140/90 or more are considered to have high blood pressure.) Such modest blood-pressure reductions are associated, in other studies, with significant lowering of risk of death, heart attack and stroke.
In the current study, researchers found that lowering salt intake by three grams a day would cut new cases of heart disease annually by a third—an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 cases per year—heart attacks by 54,000 to 99,000 cases and strokes by 32,000 to 66,000 cases. It would reduce about 100,000 deaths a year in the U.S.
Based on a cost of $1 a person for salt-reduction strategies projected by the World Health Organization, researchers estimated a U.S. program could save from $10 billion to $24 billion in annual health costs. Such projections can be imprecise because they are based on assumptions that may differ from disease that would develop in real life.
But even if these numbers are off, the results still indicate that sodium reduction is important, said Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association and medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute in Dallas. "We can go beyond saying that too much salt is a bad thing," said Dr. Yancy. "We can say, yes, too much sodium is related to disease. By reducing sodium we can reduce disease."
Their findings add to a growing body of research suggesting that lowering dietary salt could be an effective weapon against high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. "The time is right now to consider efforts to…achieve population wide reduction in salt" intake, says Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, first author of the study and an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Last week, the New York City Health Department said it would encourage packaged food makers and restaurants to cut salt by 25% over five years. Many food manufacturers have long sold "low sodium" versions of products, but generally they haven't been popular with consumers. Some companies have recently begun cutting sodium content without highlighting it on product labels.
Morton Satin, technical director of the Salt Institute, a nonprofit group of salt producers, says few data exist linking salt intake and disease. He is skeptical that reducing salt will yield important health benefits.
Americans consume far more than the recommended daily salt intake. The average adult male consumes more than 10 grams of salt a day, according to the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. On Wednesday, the American Heart Association published new guidelines calling for all Americans to reduce their daily intake of sodium—a key component of salt—to 1,500 milligrams, equivalent to 3.8 grams of salt. Previously, that was the recommended limit for higher risk individuals; the regular limit had been 2,300 milligrams of sodium, or 5.8 grams of salt.
A typical sandwich, with two slices of bread and meat or peanut butter, has about half the daily recommended amount of salt, Dr. Bibbins-Domingo says.
In the computer simulation, which included data from the U.S. Census, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other national studies, Dr. Bibbins-Domingo and her colleagues estimated the effect of lowering salt in the daily American diet by a small amount—up to three grams a day—in adults age 35 and older.
Based on other research, they assumed a three-gram reduction in salt would lower systolic blood pressure by 3.6 to 5.6 millimeters of mercury; a one-gram reduction would reduce the level by 1.2 to 1.9 millimeters. (Systolic is the higher number in a blood-pressure reading. People whose level is 140/90 or more are considered to have high blood pressure.) Such modest blood-pressure reductions are associated, in other studies, with significant lowering of risk of death, heart attack and stroke.
In the current study, researchers found that lowering salt intake by three grams a day would cut new cases of heart disease annually by a third—an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 cases per year—heart attacks by 54,000 to 99,000 cases and strokes by 32,000 to 66,000 cases. It would reduce about 100,000 deaths a year in the U.S.
Based on a cost of $1 a person for salt-reduction strategies projected by the World Health Organization, researchers estimated a U.S. program could save from $10 billion to $24 billion in annual health costs. Such projections can be imprecise because they are based on assumptions that may differ from disease that would develop in real life.
But even if these numbers are off, the results still indicate that sodium reduction is important, said Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association and medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute in Dallas. "We can go beyond saying that too much salt is a bad thing," said Dr. Yancy. "We can say, yes, too much sodium is related to disease. By reducing sodium we can reduce disease."
11 January 2010
Mayor Bloomberg Urges New Yorkers To Shake The Salt
ABC News
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who is known to shake salt on his pizza — is focusing on sodium as the next unhealthy enemy in his crusade to coax people into eating better.
Bloomberg's health department has already banned trans fats in restaurant meals and forced chain eateries to post calorie counts on menus. On Monday, the city set guidelines recommending maximum amounts of salt for a variety of restaurant and store-bought foods, with the goal of cutting salt levels in food by a quarter overall in five years.
"I use a lot of salt," Bloomberg admitted Monday. Despite any personal eating habits he may have, the mayor is fixated on nutrition as a public health concern.
"We're trying to extend the lives and improve the lives of people who live in this city," he said.
Unlike the city's trans fat ban and calorie count rule, the salt initiative is voluntary.
The recommendations posted on the city health department's Web site call for substantial reductions in the salt content of many products, from a 20 percent drop in peanut butter to a 40 percent decline in canned vegetables.
The targets include a 40 percent reduction in breakfast cereals and flavored snack chips, and a 25 percent reduction for cold cuts, processed cheese and salsa.
Not even the mayor's favorite foods — popcorn and hot dogs — were spared: The city wants food manufacturers to work on reducing salt by 30 percent in popcorn and 20 percent in wieners.
Health officials say Americans now eat about twice the amount of salt they should. Too much sodium contributes to high blood pressure, which can cause heart attack and stroke.
New York City's program is modeled in part after a similar initiative in Britain that has been under way since 2003.
Seventeen national health organizations and 25 other city or state health agencies have endorsed New York City's effort, called the National Salt Reduction Initiative.
Food industry representatives reacted cautiously to the program Monday
"It's something I'm sure our members will be taking under consideration," said Nevin Montgomery, president and chief executive of the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association.
The guidelines suggest that manufacturers lower salt content gradually over several years so consumers won't notice, and they aren't asking for big changes in every category.
For example, under the city's standards, by 2014 no restaurant hamburger should contain more than 1,200 milligrams of salt. Nearly every burger sold by McDonald's already meets that guideline, although there are exceptions like the double quarter pounder with cheese, which has 1,380 milligrams of salt.
ConAgra Foods Inc., which makes products including Chef Boyardee canned pasta meals, Healthy Choice frozen dinners and Swiss Miss hot chocolate, has pledged a 20 percent reduction of salt in its consumer food products by 2015, in part because of consumer demand. The company, based in Omaha, Neb., said its initiative would eliminate about 10 million pounds of salt per year from the American diet.
Even though there will be no penalties for companies that ignore the guidelines, health officials say they think some manufacturers may be motivated to make changes.
"They all fully recognize that sodium is a major health problem that they need to address," said the city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley.
Bloomberg's health department has already banned trans fats in restaurant meals and forced chain eateries to post calorie counts on menus. On Monday, the city set guidelines recommending maximum amounts of salt for a variety of restaurant and store-bought foods, with the goal of cutting salt levels in food by a quarter overall in five years.
"I use a lot of salt," Bloomberg admitted Monday. Despite any personal eating habits he may have, the mayor is fixated on nutrition as a public health concern.
"We're trying to extend the lives and improve the lives of people who live in this city," he said.
Unlike the city's trans fat ban and calorie count rule, the salt initiative is voluntary.
The recommendations posted on the city health department's Web site call for substantial reductions in the salt content of many products, from a 20 percent drop in peanut butter to a 40 percent decline in canned vegetables.
The targets include a 40 percent reduction in breakfast cereals and flavored snack chips, and a 25 percent reduction for cold cuts, processed cheese and salsa.
Not even the mayor's favorite foods — popcorn and hot dogs — were spared: The city wants food manufacturers to work on reducing salt by 30 percent in popcorn and 20 percent in wieners.
Health officials say Americans now eat about twice the amount of salt they should. Too much sodium contributes to high blood pressure, which can cause heart attack and stroke.
New York City's program is modeled in part after a similar initiative in Britain that has been under way since 2003.
Seventeen national health organizations and 25 other city or state health agencies have endorsed New York City's effort, called the National Salt Reduction Initiative.
Food industry representatives reacted cautiously to the program Monday
"It's something I'm sure our members will be taking under consideration," said Nevin Montgomery, president and chief executive of the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association.
The guidelines suggest that manufacturers lower salt content gradually over several years so consumers won't notice, and they aren't asking for big changes in every category.
For example, under the city's standards, by 2014 no restaurant hamburger should contain more than 1,200 milligrams of salt. Nearly every burger sold by McDonald's already meets that guideline, although there are exceptions like the double quarter pounder with cheese, which has 1,380 milligrams of salt.
ConAgra Foods Inc., which makes products including Chef Boyardee canned pasta meals, Healthy Choice frozen dinners and Swiss Miss hot chocolate, has pledged a 20 percent reduction of salt in its consumer food products by 2015, in part because of consumer demand. The company, based in Omaha, Neb., said its initiative would eliminate about 10 million pounds of salt per year from the American diet.
Even though there will be no penalties for companies that ignore the guidelines, health officials say they think some manufacturers may be motivated to make changes.
"They all fully recognize that sodium is a major health problem that they need to address," said the city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley.
27 October 2009
The Science Of Junk Food
from Tonic.com
It’s a nutrition study that totally puts the crack in pork cracklings.
As ScienceNews reports, a neuroscience study reveals why our sense of self-control may get tossed out the window when the salty, fatty snacks are close at hand. An investigation into the linkage between nutrition and the brain indicates that brain circuitry is actually rewired as a result of consuming certain junk foods, closely mirroring the changes in the brain that stem from heroin use.
Study co-author Paul Johnson of the Scripps Research Institute in Florida observes of his team’s findings that “[t]his is the most complete evidence to date that suggests obesity and drug addiction have common neurobiological underpinnings.”
According to ScienceNews, the study began with Johnson and team returning from the grocery store loaded with such fare as snack cakes, bacon, sausage and other tasty-but-ghastly treats. Half of the team’s test rats were fed appropriately portioned nutritious food, and the other half were given all-you-can-eat buffet privileges at the junk food cafe set up for the study.
Those in the latter group were observed to lose any sense of moderation, going back for more on a routine basis, taking in double the caloric intake of their healthy diet peers, and rapidly developing obesity.
The gluttonous behavior resulted from changes that occurred in the brain. Johnson and team discovered that the junk food diet activated the pleasure and reward functions in the brain, and altered them permanently. Precisely in the same manner observed in those addicted to drugs such as opiates, more and more of the substance — in this case, junk food — was required to activate the reward response in the brain.
As ScienceNews reports, a neuroscience study reveals why our sense of self-control may get tossed out the window when the salty, fatty snacks are close at hand. An investigation into the linkage between nutrition and the brain indicates that brain circuitry is actually rewired as a result of consuming certain junk foods, closely mirroring the changes in the brain that stem from heroin use.
Study co-author Paul Johnson of the Scripps Research Institute in Florida observes of his team’s findings that “[t]his is the most complete evidence to date that suggests obesity and drug addiction have common neurobiological underpinnings.”
According to ScienceNews, the study began with Johnson and team returning from the grocery store loaded with such fare as snack cakes, bacon, sausage and other tasty-but-ghastly treats. Half of the team’s test rats were fed appropriately portioned nutritious food, and the other half were given all-you-can-eat buffet privileges at the junk food cafe set up for the study.
Those in the latter group were observed to lose any sense of moderation, going back for more on a routine basis, taking in double the caloric intake of their healthy diet peers, and rapidly developing obesity.
The gluttonous behavior resulted from changes that occurred in the brain. Johnson and team discovered that the junk food diet activated the pleasure and reward functions in the brain, and altered them permanently. Precisely in the same manner observed in those addicted to drugs such as opiates, more and more of the substance — in this case, junk food — was required to activate the reward response in the brain.
24 October 2009
'Smart Choices' Program Suspended
from Chicago Tribune
Three days after federal regulators unveiled plans to crack down on potentially misleading food labels, a major nutrition labeling initiative by some of the country's largest packaged food makers announced Friday that it would voluntarily "postpone active operations."
Still, the "Smart Choices" nutrition label from several major food makers -- including Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. -- won't likely disappear any time soon.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will review the front labels of food packages bearing symbols or language that suggest the product is healthier than actually merited by its ingredients.
The FDA didn't single out Smart Choices, but FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg noted during a call with journalists that some products bearing the logo "are almost 50 percent sugar."
Smart Choices was unveiled a year ago and launched in supermarkets in August. The idea: affix to packages an easy-to-read label with a green check mark accompanied by the term "Smart Choices," an indication that the product is essentially in line with what the government deems a healthy diet.
On Friday, the Smart Choices program said it is not encouraging wider use of its logo by new or current members. But a spokeswoman for the group said that most member firms will continue using the Smart Choices mark on products upon which it already appears.
That's what Kraft plans to do, said spokeswoman Susan Davison. "At this point, we don't have any plans to change (Smart Choices) packaging," she said.
When Smart Choices was announced last year, its backers said it was meant to bring some standardization to the thicket of competing health claims in groceries.
Still, the "Smart Choices" nutrition label from several major food makers -- including Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. -- won't likely disappear any time soon.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will review the front labels of food packages bearing symbols or language that suggest the product is healthier than actually merited by its ingredients.
The FDA didn't single out Smart Choices, but FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg noted during a call with journalists that some products bearing the logo "are almost 50 percent sugar."
Smart Choices was unveiled a year ago and launched in supermarkets in August. The idea: affix to packages an easy-to-read label with a green check mark accompanied by the term "Smart Choices," an indication that the product is essentially in line with what the government deems a healthy diet.
On Friday, the Smart Choices program said it is not encouraging wider use of its logo by new or current members. But a spokeswoman for the group said that most member firms will continue using the Smart Choices mark on products upon which it already appears.
That's what Kraft plans to do, said spokeswoman Susan Davison. "At this point, we don't have any plans to change (Smart Choices) packaging," she said.
When Smart Choices was announced last year, its backers said it was meant to bring some standardization to the thicket of competing health claims in groceries.
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