This week, first lady Michelle Obama launched a nationwide campaign to fight childhood obesity. The initiative will focus on urging kids to get more exercise and eat balanced meals. Mrs. Obama announced the creation of a new website that will serve as a central resource. The site offers tips for parents, and will emphasize physical activity and more healthful foods in schools.

Mrs. Obama commented on the intent of the initiative in a speech at the White House: "This isn't about trying to turn the clock back to when we were kids, or preparing five-course meals from scratch every night. No one has time for that.

"And it's not about being 100 percent perfect 100 percent of the time. Lord knows, I'm not. There's a place for cookies and ice cream, burgers and fries -- that's part of the fun of childhood. ... It's just about balance. It's about small changes that add up -- like walking to school, replacing soda with water or skim milk, trimming those portion sizes a little."

According to federal data, obesity has tripled among American adolescents and doubled among American children since 1980. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 17 percent of children ages 6 to 11 in the U.S. were obese in a study conducted from 2003 to 2006, an increase of 10.5 percent within the past 30 years.

President Obama commented on the implications of childhood obesity for the nation, saying, "[Obesity] is one of the most urgent health issues that we face in this country."

In conjunction with the new campaign, the President signed an executive order directing federal departments to come up with a plan within 90 days on how to make federal nutritional and health data more accessible to the public. The order included the statement: "Without effective intervention, many more children will endure serious illnesses that will put a strain on our healthcare system."

(Source: Bloomberg.com)

Labels: childhood-obesity, nutrition

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Earlier this year, administrators at Harvard University removed nutrition fact cards from campus dining halls based on concerns that the cards might negatively affect students with eating disorders. Crista Martin, a Harvard University Dining Service spokesperson, explained the administration's position that, "for people who have eating disorders or who struggle with issues around the literal value of food, the emphasis on nutrition information does not always lead people to eat in a healthy manner." However, after a group of concerned students protested the decision, saying removing the cards deprived the majority of students with important information, the administration agreed to a compromise. Nutrition information will be available through alternative channels.

(Source: www.thecrimson.com)

Labels: nutrition, harvard

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Many schools across North Carolina are implementing high-tech menu boards in cafeterias. Some of these new menu boards will show key nutritional information for student meals, including calorie and fat content. The boards have created some controversy over whether this information is helpful or potentially harmful to children and youth. Some nutrition experts believe that the menu boards will help children to make healthy eating choices; however, some eating disorders experts feel that emphasizing calories and fat to children, especially teens, may lead to eating disorders. Heidi Limbrunner, a nutrition advocate from the Center for Disordered Eating, believes it is more important to promote eating and exercising for health. She commented:

"The most frequent ages of the onset of eating disorders are between 14 and 18. ... By encouraging kids to count calories, I think it sends a message that you should be dieting ... and dieting is one of the biggest risk factors for eating disorders."

(Source: www.news14.com)

Labels: nutrition, schools

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This week a Texas AgriLife Research scientist discovered that an amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins) may help fight obesity. Arginine, the amino acid in question, was shown to reduce fat mass in obese laboratory rats. Researchers found that supplementing the rats' diet with arginine over a 12-week period decreased the body fat gains of both low-fat fed rats and high-fat fed rats by more than 60 percent.

Arginine naturally occurs in various foods, with particularly high levels in seafood, watermelon juice, nuts, seeds, algae, and meats. The research also indicates that arginine may increase lean tissue growth. Dr. Guoyao Wu, an AgriLife Research animal nutritionist in College Station and Senior Faculty Fellow in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University, commented on the findings:

"Given the current epidemic of obesity in the U.S. and worldwide, our finding is very important. ... This finding could be directly translated into fighting human obesity. ... At this time, arginine has not been incorporated into our food (but could in the future)."(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: nutrition, diet, protein

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Some adults are such picky eaters that they develop some symptoms of eating disorders, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Duke University and University of Pittsburgh are setting up a website to both study and help picky eaters.

Picky eaters often limit themselves to a few foods, which in turn can affect their social and professional lives. Having such limitations is one of the criteria for diagnosing eating disorders. Picky eaters often do not get proper nutrition because they do not eat a variety of foods.

Picky eaters are not necessarily overly thin or obsessed with counting calories, fat grams or carbohydrates, which is often a symptom of anorexia. However, some limit themselves to a certain texture of food; for example, they consume only creamy or crunchy foods. Some limit themselves to just one taste, such as salty or sweet. Many picky eaters claim that they get nauseous when they try a new food.

Some therapists believe that picky eaters may be suffering from a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
 

Labels: nutrition, symptoms, diet

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments