New study shows high-carb, vegan diet causes major weight loss

HOODIA GORDONII - DIETING - LOSE WEIGHT

Diet effective with no limits on portion size

WASHINGTON -- A low-fat, plant-based diet is more effective at helping women lose weight and improve insulin sensitivity than an omnivorous diet, shows a new study appearing in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine. The study, involving 59 overweight, postmenopausal women, was conducted by Neal D. Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), together with colleagues at Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington University. Half of the study participants followed a vegan diet; the other half followed a control diet based on National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines.

"The study participants following the vegan diet enjoyed unlimited servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other healthful foods that enabled them to lose weight without feeling hungry," says Dr. Barnard, the lead author. "As they began to experience the positive effects, weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity, the women in the intervention group became even more motivated to follow the plant-based eating plan."

Scientific studies show that obesity and overweight are far less prevalent in populations following a plant-based diet. In a recent study of more than 55,000 Swedish women, Tufts University researcher P. Kirstin Newby and her colleagues found that 40 percent of meat-eaters were overweight or obese while only 25 to 29 percent of vegetarians and vegans were. Worldwide, vegetarian populations experience lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening diseases. A new study appearing in September's Journal of Urology shows that a low-fat, primarily vegan diet may slow the progression of prostate cancer.

The simplicity of a vegan diet appeals to people who are busy with work and family, and many familiar recipes are easy to adapt. At least four studies published in peer-reviewed journals show that patients give the low-fat vegetarian diet a high rating in terms of acceptability, and that the transition only takes about three weeks or less.

For a copy of the new paper published in The American Journal of Medicine, please contact Jeanne S. McVey at 202-686-2210, ext. 316, or jeannem@pcrm.org.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical research studies, opposes unethical human experimentation, and promotes alternatives to animal research.

Source EurekAlert

Childhood Obesity Off the Scale in California

overweight - obesity - hoodia is the solution - children - california

A new study says that 28% of the state's children are overweight -- a health crisis poised to explode into higher rates of serious illness.

September 9, 2005

By Carla Rivera
Times Staff Writer


In California, renowned for lean bodies and active lifestyles, childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels, with more than 40% of the schoolchildren in some communities overweight, according to a new study.

Children in Southern California fare particularly badly: Of the state's 10 largest cities, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Anaheim top the scales, with 36%, 35% and 32% of their children overweight, respectively. By comparison, 24% of San Francisco's children are overweight and 26% of San Diego's are.

Statewide, 28% of children are overweight, a 6% increase since 2001, according to the study by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, a nonprofit organization in Davis.

The report, based on public school fitness test scores for fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders, is the first to look at the percentage of overweight children in specific communities.

Those extra pounds are a public health crisis poised to explode into increased rates of debilitating illnesses, the report warns.

"We were shocked by the findings, especially when we looked at specific communities," said Harold Goldstein, the center's executive director. "We see regions with more than one-third of kids overweight.
It really is scary when you look at the long-term costs in human suffering and the economy. Three-quarters of overweight teens will become obese adults. One-third of children born in 2000 can expect to develop diabetes."

The Central Valley town of Wasco has the highest percentage of overweight children: 42%. In nearby Delano, more than 40% are. And 41% of the children in the Los Angeles community of Wilmington are overweight.

In Pacoima, El Monte, Huntington Park and North Hollywood, well more than one-third of schoolchildren are overweight, the study found.

See the full story at Ktla News.

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USA - Nutrition bar with Chia

CHIA - CHIA SEEDS - NUTRITION - HEALTH - OMEGA 3 - CHOLETEROL Saturday, 20 August 2005

Popular Las Vegas Nutrition Bar Company Launches Its All Natural REAL MEAL and SUSTAINED ENERGY B2B Bars Nationwide

LAS VEGAS, NV, (NAMC) - Dendy’s Healthy Lifestyle Products, makers of popular nutrition bars in Las Vegas since January 2000, has developed two new lines of nutrition bars – B2B REAL MEAL and B2B SUSTAINED ENERGY bars. “People are moving back to the basics with their choices for healthy bars and snacks”, says Denise Dinger, lifelong health and fitness practitioner, professional bodybuilder, mother of four, and founder and CEO of Dendy’s Healthy Lifestyle Products.

Both REAL MEAL and SUSTAINED ENERGY BARS provide the perfect balance of protein, complex and simple carbohydrates and fats from healthy sources like almonds, peanuts, and sesame and chia seeds. A key ingredient not found in any other nutrition bar on the market at present is VIRGIN COCONUT OIL, a high energy fuel that provides medium chain triglycerides, a unique type of fat that speeds metabolic rate and cannot itself convert to body fat when consumed. The REAL MEAL B2B bars are coated in a delicious all natural chocolate and contain no trans fats. They come in two varieties; Chocolate Peanut and Chocolate Coconut. The SUSTAINED ENERGY B2B bars are left uncoated, so they transport well in even the most volatile climates. These light textured, crispy bars come in dual varieties as well; Double Chocolate Peanut Crisp and Apple Raisin Crisp.

Originally created as a product to satisfy the needs of natural food stores, the unique attributes and incredible taste of Dendy’s B2B bars recently captured the attention of Kehe Food Distributors, a provider of specialty items, to more than 9,000 grocery stores in 35 states, including Albertson's, Kroger, and H.E.B. Initial orders from Kehe for B2B bars will start September 2005.

“We will expand the company’s line of bars with additional delicious flavors to meet the demands of the active, health minded consumer. Our products will never contain ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, and white sugar, ingredients I’ve seen in other so called natural bars on the market”, said Denise Dinger.

Dendy’s Healthy Lifestyle Products is a producer of all natural nutrition bars and snacks that are distributed to health food stores, select grocery chains, fitness clubs and other fine retail outlets. They can be found on the web at www.dendys.com.

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Maintaining Weight Can Be Harder Than Losing It

WEIGHT CONTROL - WEIGHT MANAGEMENT - HOODIA GORDONII

With all the talk about getting extra weight off your body, there's a lot less being said about how to keep it off -- an elusive concept that is still poorly understood by the average dieter. Yet, if you think about it, weight maintenance is significantly more important and more difficult than losing weight.

"It is ironic that we focus on weight loss, when the real challenge is weight maintenance," says James Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and a founder of the National Weight Control Registry (an ongoing study of more than 4,000 individuals who have lost significant weight and kept it off).

So why don't we pay more attention to the most important aspect of weight control? "Weight maintenance is just not as sexy. No scale moves, no dramatic 'before-and-after' experiences; it's a routine and, as a result, can be boring," says Suzanne Phelan, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I.

So what do you do after the fat is gone?

*Avoid the "fast-metabolism-I-can-eat-whatever-I-want" club

Does this sounds familiar? After losing those pounds you indulge, and the diet you had been on is now ancient history. You need to create practices you can live with -- forever.

*Keep your pants on

Almost all successful weight-loss maintainers have some kind of "5-pound warning system" -- a way of measuring and/or monitoring their weight before it gets out of control. It could be keeping a "thin" pair of pants or a dress they try on periodically.

*Walk

Your body burns fewer calories as you lose weight. Physical activities keep your calorie-burning capacity high. Walking is easy to do and easy to maintain. According to the National Weight Control Registry, 77 percent of successful losers use walking as their primary activity. They do some combination of physical activity for at least one hour each day.

On rainy or cold days, malls can be converted into indoor tracks. Scope out scenic outdoor paths to keep motivated. Also make arrangements to walk with someone -- socializing helps get you there and keeps you busy, so you actually have fun.

*Make it automatic

Successful maintainers have figured out ways to make their behaviors and choices second nature. It's based on the concept of automaticity -- the subconscious ways we perform daily behaviors. The idea is to apply the same principle to your diet. Set yourself up so that you don't have to think about your diet by coming up with very practical, "doable" changes. Then keep doing them until they become as routine as brushing your teeth.

*Keep it consistent

According to research at Brown University Medical School, a major predictor of successful weight maintenance is dietary consistency. Those who maintain the same diet regimen across the week and the year are more likely to maintain their weight loss during the following year than those who diet more strictly on weekdays and/or during nonholiday periods. That means there are no breaks, so make sure you choose your new behaviors carefully.

*It gets easier

According to Phelan, research has shown, "Once you've lost weight and maintained it for more than a few years, weight maintenance gets easier."

*Low-calorie diet

Research from the National Weight Control Registry indicates that successful losers eat a low-calorie, low-fat diet, not a low-carb diet. And last, the research shows that all successful dieters eat breakfast each morning, most likely preventing them from overeating during the rest of the day.

Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch

Doubts over obesity measure

HOODIA GORDONII - OBESITY - OVERWEIGHT - BODY MASS INDEX - BMI - FAT

10.09.05
By Jeremy Laurance

Millions of people who think their weight is normal are fatter than they think, scientists said this week.

But there's some good news: an equal number of people who think they are overweight are actually carrying less fat than they believe.

The standard tool for deciding whether someone is overweight or obese - the body mass index (BMI) - has come under fire from researchers who say it is inaccurate in one out of four cases.

The composite measure of weight and height has been used for decades to demonstrate soaring rates of obesity across the Western world. Almost one in four adults in Britain is obese - with a BMI of over 30 - and two thirds are overweight (BMI 25-30), a threefold increase since 1980.

According to Ministry of Health figures for 2002-03, one in three adult New Zealanders was overweight, and another one in five adults was obese. But research published this week shows that the BMI fails to distinguish lean muscle from fat and therefore fails to identify those people carrying most fat.

Scientists led by Professor Andrew Prentice of the Medical Research Council's International Nutrition Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have pioneered a new method of measuring body fat directly using specially modified scales.

Professor Prentice said: "The problem with BMI is it measures weight not fat. But fat is what matters because it produces molecules in the body that cause high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

"If you look at the weights and heights of American football players, a very large proportion of them would be rated clinically obese on the basis of their BMIs. But it would take a brave doctor to go and tell them so.

"They are clearly not obese - they have got huge lean muscle mass and very little fat and the BMI has got it wrong."

In a study of 2000 school children aged 5 to 18, Professor Prentice and colleagues found that girls had 60 per cent more fat than boys. The average 18-year-old girl had 25 per cent body fat compared with 15 per cent for boys.

The extra fat on girls appears at puberty and is necessary for reproduction and breast feeding, Professor Prentice said. By adulthood, women carry twice the body fat of men, relative to their weight.

Gender-specific growth charts, based on the research, showing expected levels of fat at different ages are being sent to every Primary Care Trust by the Child Growth Foundation charity. Over 30 per cent of children in Britain are considered overweight or obese.

Susan Jebb, head of nutrition and health at the Medical Research Council, said: "Existing BMI charts do not reveal these important gender differences and natural changes during growth and development. Centile charts for fat go beyond BMI to give a more accurate assessment of body composition and hence associated health risks."

The research was presented at an international symposium on body composition studies at the University of Southampton and will be published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Under the new approach, body fat is measured by a special set of scales that sends an electrical pulse through the body which distinguishes lean muscle from fat.

Weighty issues

Working out your body mass index:

* Take your weight in kilograms and divide it by your height (in metres) squared. So, if you're 1.8m tall and weigh 100kg, the calculation is: 100 divided by (1.8 x 1.8). That's 100 divided by 3.24. Answer: 30.8.

* For adults, a BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered "normal". Adults with a BMI of 25-29.9 are considered overweight. Adults with a BMI over 30 are considered obese.

* For adult Maori and Pacific Islanders, the numbers are a little higher; anything above 32 is considered obese.

* Different figures apply for children.

* The BMI has limitations. For example, very muscular people may have a high BMI but only a low percentage of body fat.

Source NZHerald

Consumer Interest in the Health, Wellness, and Sustainability of Our Planet Continues to Gain Momentum

HEALTH - WELLNESS - GREEN GOODS

Harleysville, Pa. (August 2005) The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), the leading provider of strategic consulting, consumer insights and market research services across various health and wellness industries, today expanded on one of the trends it has identified as having a significant impact on the health and wellness marketplace. This trend is the fifth in the series of NMI’s Top Ten Trends of 2005.

Trend #5: Planetary Health and Wellness: Is it Cool to Be Green?
According to NMI’s 2004 Health & Wellness Trends Database™ (HWTD) and 2005 LOHAS Consumer Trends Database™ (LCTD), health and wellness continues to evolve from the traditional definition of personal health and wellness to that of planetary health and wellness. Trends point to increased consumer interest in environmental/green packaged goods, hybrid vehicles, green home building products, and energy-efficient products, among others.

According to NMI Managing Partner Steve French, “Almost one in four American consumers state that when given the choice to buy a product or service, they make decisions with an understanding of the effect the purchase will have on the health and sustainability of the world, its environment and people. This concept exemplifies the LOHAS (Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability) platform that explores a wide range of consumer attitudes, behavior dynamics, and usage patterns across many industries, with a values-based approach to the health and wellness of people, products, and our planet.”

Fifty million consumers (or 23% of general population adults) are considered LOHAS consumers. NMI’s proprietary consumer segmentation model identified four distinct segments of the U.S. population:

• LOHAS: Significantly affected by their concern for the health of their families, the sustainability of the planet, their personal development and the future of society (23% of the general population)
• NOMADICS: Tend to move from place to place with regard to personal ideals, environmental platforms and the overall relevance of sustainability (38% of the general population)
• CENTRISTS: An assemblage who congregate toward the conservative end of the spectrum when it comes to dealing with health and sustainability (27% of the general population)
• INDIFFERENTS: Caught up in the day-to-day challenges, not necessarily looking out for tomorrow (12% of the general population).

The identification and understanding of these consumer segments is vital to many organizations with regard to consumer targeting, marketing strategies, new product development, and a range of other initiatives.

It is clearly evident that LOHAS consumers are deeply committed to their values and, in turn, these values drive interest in many products and industries. For example, 92% of LOHAS consumers care about the use of renewable energy sources (versus only 38% of non-LOHAS consumers), while 80% of LOHAS consumers care about socially responsible business practices (versus 28% of non-LOHAS consumers).
Source NPI Center

Chia News - New omega-3 could reach bread-loving Brits

CHIA - CHIA SEEDS - OMEGA 3 - FATTY ACIDS - CHOLESTEROL

07/04/2004 - A novel source of omega-3 fatty acids, seeds from the South American plant chia, could soon reach the European market after a UK scientific panel concludes the ingredient is safe for consumption.

Recent research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk for heart attacks and heart disease by decreasing blood clotting and inflammatory processes in the body. There is increasing public health support for such findings, with many governments now recommending that people consume at least one to two fish meals each week to reduce the incidence of heart disease, the leading cause of death around the world.

Chia seeds, grown for Northern Irish firm R Craig & Sons in Argentina and Peru, are intended for use in soft grain breads. Fortified bread is considered one of the best means of raising nutrient intake as it is a staple food for several European populations, including the British.

The UK bread and morning goods market is worth over £3 billion and is one of the largest sectors in the country's food industry, boosted by phenomenal growth in the sandwich market over the past 25 years. Total volume is approximately 2.9 million tonnes, and along with Germany, the UK is one of Europe's biggest industrial producers.

White bread, and white breads with added fibre, such as soft-grain, make up more than 70 per cent of UK consumption and are increasingly being marketed as functional foods, through addition of omega-3 fatty acids or soy. Allied Bakeries recently launched a soy-fortified bread for lowering cholesterol.

R Craig suggests that a 5 per cent chia content in bread would provide the recommended daily intake of omega-3, offering a more feasible source for many people than fish or supplements.

The seeds are also high in protein (21 per cent) and a rich source of B vitamins, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc and copper.

Historically, chia seeds have been eaten in South America and were a major food crop of the Aztecs throughout Mexico and Guatemala, but they have not been consumed much in Europe. R Craig applied to the UK’s Food Standards Agency for permission to market the ingredient under the EU’s novel foods regulation and the agency’s Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) said yesterday that it is satisfied with evidence to support safe consumption of chia.

However it did raise concerns about allergenicity as current data is incomplete. While the company proposed to control this risk by using a precautionary statement on food labels, noting that it is not suitable for those suffering from mustard and sesame seed allergies, the committee was concerned that this could unnecessarily restrict the range of products available to allergic consumers.

The ingredient also faces import costs as Chia cannot be cultivated in Europe, requiring sub-tropical conditions to grow. But it is higher in natural antioxidants, such as chlorogenic acid, which have an advantage over alternative alpha-linoleic sources such as flaxseed in terms of stability and flavour quality, noted R Craig's application.

A study in Canada on 20 type 2 diabetes subjects found that a chia supplement significantly lowered systolic blood pressure and altered coagulation factors.

Comments on the initial opinion are needed by 20 April before the dossier is made available to member states. The ingredient could be approved after the 60-day comment period. Objections however will be referred to the European Food Safety Authority for further assessment.

Source Nutraingredients.com

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Chia news - Feed supplements boost omega-3 fats in milk

CHIA - CHIA SEEDS - CHOLESTEROL - FATTY ACIDS - OMEGA 3

05/02/2004 - The omega-3 content of milk can be increased by feeding cows with fish oil, say Australian researchers reporting the results of a new study.

The novel method of fortification did not affect the taste or smell of the milk, they add.

The study, published in a recent issue of the British Journal of Nutrition(2004, vol 91, no 2, pp 271-278(8), is the latest research to demonstrate increasing attention being made to livestock supplementation in order to improve human health.

Researchers in Spain are also working to boost levels of the omega-6 fatty acid, CLA, in lamb through changes to the animal’s diet.

The team from the university of Sydney divided 14 cows in early lactation into two groups. While in individual stalls after each morning milking, one group was offered a mixture of rumen-protected tuna oil and soya in a supplement and the second group acted as control. Both groups grazed together on a spring pasture after supplementation.

Milk from the supplement group saw concentrations of EPA and DHA rise from undetectable levels to 6·9g and 10·1g per kg of milk fat respectively. Total omega-3 PUFA concentration in milk fat was increased three- to fourfold by tuna-oil supplementation (8·4 to 32·0 g/kg milk fat).

Meanwhile there were no significant effects on milk production, milk protein or milk fat in the supplemented group. The concentration of total saturated fatty acids in milk fat was significantly reduced (568 v 520g/kg total fatty acids) and there was a 17 per cent reduction in the atherosclerotic index of milk after tuna-oil supplementation.

The researchers asked 61 untrained consumer panellists to assess milk from both groups of cows for taste and smell and concluded that there was no change to the sensory characteristics of milk.

Demand for omega-3 fatty acids has surged in recent months on the back of increasing scientific evidence for its health benefits. Studies show that intake of these fats can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and related cardiovascular events. Omega-3 fatty acids also play an important role in mental health – they are increasingly added to infant formula to promote brain development – and evidence suggests that they could reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

However omega-3s are produced in biggest quantities from fish oil and this tends to present taste and formulation issues when adding to foods. Companies are increasingly looking at alternatives to fish oil, such as the vegetarian options offered by Martek and Nutrinova derived from microalgae. Irish firm R Craig & Sons Ltd has recently filed a novel foods application for use of ground Chia seed, a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, in bread.

UK supplement company Cultech has developed an emulsified fish oil powder, produced using a freeze-drying process, that it claims offers greater stability and longer shelf-life over oils. The product can also be added to a wider range of applications and early tests suggest the DHA and EPA in the powder could be more bioavailable than in the original oil form.

Source Nutraingredients.com

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Chia News - Endurance ingredient for bread

CHIA - CHIA SEEDS - OMEGA 3 - SALVIA HISPANICA - CHOLESTEROL - NOVEL FOOD - FUNCTIONAL FOOD

Endurance ingredient for bread

07/07/2003 - Once valued so highly that it was used as a currency, an ancient seed of South America rich in omega-3 fatty acids could soon be a novel food in Europe.

Used for centuries by the Aztecs and native Indians of Mexico, chia (Salvia hispanica L ) is a summer annual herbaceous plant belonging to the mint family that has been rarely used in Europe.

The seeds of the plant – targeted for use in bread - provide a source of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid.

Author William Anderson writes that Aztec warriors subsisted on the chia seed during their conquests – for endurance. If you try mixing a spoonful of chia in a glass of water and leaving it for about 30 minutes, when you return the glass will appear to contain neither seeds nor water but an almost solid gelatin. This gel-forming reaction is due to the soluble fibre in the chia.

Researchers believe this same gel-forming phenomenon takes place in the stomach when food containing these gummy fibres, known as mucilages, are eaten.

The gel that is formed in the stomach creates a physical barrier between carbohydrates and the digestive enzymes that break them down, thereby slowing the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar.

For Anderson, chia seeds are the ‘definitive hydrophilic colloid for the 21st century diet'.

As a source of protein, chia is digested and absorbed easily. In addition, the seeds are a signficant source of the essential omega-3 fatty acid – demanded by the body to help emulsify and absorb fat-soluble vitamins A,D, E, and K. The seeds are rich in unsaturated fatty acid linoleic – important for respiration of vital organs - which the body cannot manufacture.

Today, chia seeds are being grown in Argentina and Peru, but can not be cultivated in Europe because the plant needs sub-tropical conditions to grow.

Before any new food product can be introduced on the European market it must be subjected to a thorough assessment - carried out under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 258/97 concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients.

Source Nutraigredients.com

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Noni 18 oz

NONI FRUIT - NONI JUICES - MORINDA CITRIFOLIA - HAWAII - TAHITI

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Healthy eating, exercise key to keeping brain fit, say scientists

By Dominique Patton

08/09/2005 - Regular exercise and a diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3s may help the elderly stave off memory loss, said Irish scientists yesterday.

Over the last decade, it has become clear that just as changes in diet and exercise will improve physical fitness, the ‘ageing' brain also benefits from simple changes in environment and lifestyle.

And as people live longer, protecting against the decline in mental function is becoming increasingly important, Professor Ian Robertson, director of the Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, told those attending the British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Dublin.

"The biggest threat to being able to function well and properly is our brains," he told journalists.

"There is very strong evidence, particularly in the over-50s, that the degree to which you maintain your mental faculties depends on a handful of quite simple environmental factors," added Professor Robertson.

Aerobic fitness is one of the best ways of boosting activity and structure of brain cells, he said, citing a training programme that showed over 60s had an improved mental ability after only four months, while people who continued such a programme for three years avoided the drop in mental sharpness experienced by people not exercising.

Avoiding high stress levels and continuing a rich, social life are also important, as is healthy diet, said Professor Robertson, citing the role of antioxidants in protecting the brain from ageing.

A fellow Trinity professor, Marina Lynch, further emphasised the role of the diet, pointing to new research into fish oils.

A Scottish study published last year found that cognitive function at age 64 was better in a subgroup of persons who received a fish oil supplement compared with a subgroup which received no supplement.

"Studies have identified the anti-inflammatory properties as well as the restorative qualities of omega-3," she said.

Lynch said the biggest surprise of the latest discovery was that omega-3 appeared not only to replace anti-inflammatories that dwindle with age but also to stem a corresponding rise in chemicals that cause the cell inflammation in the first place.

"These effects seem to cobble together to restore the ability of people to maintain memory as they grow older," added Professor Lynch.

The proportion of the population aged 65 and over has been increasing rapidly in recent decades. In 2000 16 per cent of the population was over 65; it is estimated that this will increase to 24.89 per cent by 2050, said the researcher.

 

Source Nutringredients Europe

Weight loss maintenance is important

By Charles Stuart Platkin, For The Globe Gazette

With all the talk about getting extra weight off your body, there’s a lot less being said about how to keep it off — an elusive concept that is still poorly understood by the average dieter. Yet, if you think about it, weight maintenance is significantly more important and more difficult than losing weight.

“It is ironic that we focus on weight loss when the real challenge is weight maintenance,” says James Hill, Ph.D., the director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and one of the founders of the National Weight Control Registry (an ongoing study of more than 4,000 individuals who have lost significant weight and kept it off).

So why don’t we pay more attention to the most important aspect of weight control? “Weight maintenance is just not as sexy. No scale moves, no dramatic ‘before-and-after’ experiences; it’s a routine and, as a result, can be boring,” says Suzanne Phelan, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I.

 

IT’S NOT THAT DIFFICULT

“There are fewer strategies that work for weight maintenance,” says Phelan. The good news is that it’s not as difficult as you might think to maintain the loss. The concept that only 2 percent can actually maintain their weight loss is based on only one or two studies that are decades old. “The fact is that about 20 percent of people in the general population are successful at long-term weight maintenance.”

So what do you do after the fat is gone? You need to learn the techniques that other successful weight-loss maintainers follow.

 

AVOID THE “FAST-METABOLISM-I-CAN-EAT-WHATEVER-I-WANT” CLUB

Does this sounds familiar? After losing those pounds you suddenly feel that, magically, your body has changed, making you a charter member of the exclusive “fast-metabolism-I-can-eat-whatever-I want” club. Weight control is a forever process so you need to create practices you can live with — forever.

 

KEEP YOUR PANTS ON

Almost all successful weight-loss maintainers have some kind of “5-pound warning system” — a way of measuring and/or monitoring their weight before it gets out of control. It could be something as simple as keeping a “thin” pair of pants or a dress they try on periodically instead of getting on the scale, but they all have some way of knowing if they are slipping and a backup plan they can put into action.

 

WALK

Your body burns fewer calories as you lose weight. Walking or other physical activities keep your calorie-burning capacity high. According to the National Weight Control Registry, 77 percent of successful losers use walking as their primary means of physical activity. They do some combination of physical activity for at least one hour per day.

Look for parks, paths and trails in your area. Even your neighborhood sidewalks can be perfect, and on rainy or cold days, malls can be converted into indoor tracks. Scope out scenic paths to keep motivated. Also make arrangements to walk with friends, family or co-workers — socializing helps get you there and keeps you busy with gossip, so you actually have fun.

 

MAKE IT AUTOMATIC

Successful maintainers have figured out ways to make their behaviors and choices second nature. It’s based on the concept of automaticity — the subconscious ways we perform daily behaviors. Activities like setting your alarm clock at night, putting on your shoes before leaving the house and remembering how to drive to work do not require much thought. The idea is to apply the same principle to your diet. Set yourself up so that you don’t have to think about your diet by coming up with very practical, “doable” changes.

KEEP IT CONSISTENT

According to research at Brown University Medical School, a major predictor of successful weight maintenance is dietary consistency. This means that those who maintain the same diet regimen across the week and year are more likely to maintain their weight loss over the following year than those who diet more strictly on weekdays and/or during non-holiday periods.

 

EASIER OVER TIME

According to Phelan, research has shown, “Once you’ve lost weight and maintained it for more than a few years, weight maintenance gets easier over time.”

 

LOW-CALORIE DIET

Research from the National Weight Control Registry indicates that successful losers eat a low-calorie, low-fat diet, not a low-carb diet. And lastly, the research shows that all successful dieters eat breakfast each morning.

Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate. Write to info@thedietdetective.com

Source GlobalGazette

 

The United States of Obesity

september 8, 2005

Courtesy of Supermarket Guru

A new study conducted by a group called Trust for Americas Health (TFAH), which describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority, says that 24.5 percent of American adults can be classified as obese which means having a body mass index higher than 30.

The 10 states with the highest obesity rates are Alabama (28.9 percent), West Virginia (27.6 percent), Louisiana (27 percent), Tennessee (27.2 percent), Texas (25.8 percent), Michigan (25.4 percent), Kentucky (25.8 percent), Indiana (25.5 percent), South Carolina (25.1 percent) and, ranking as the most obese state in the nation, Mississippi, with 29.5 percent of its population classified as obese. The study noted that the propensity for girth is more pronounced in the southern US.

"We have a crisis of poor nutrition and physical inactivity in the U.S. and it's time we dealt with it," said Shelley A. Hearne, executive director of the trust.

The least obese states were reported to be Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Montana. (Hawaii was not ranked in the study.)

Only one state Oregon did not show an increase in obesity rates over the past year.
TFAH also said that its study showed that more than 52 percent of adults in each and every state of the union are either obese or overweight.

While the federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) does not rank the states the same way as TFAH, the CDC does report that two decades ago there was not a single state where more than a fifth of the population was obese and now more than 40 states have reached and exceeded that obesity level.

The CDC also is questioning the TFAH studys methodology, saying that the samples varied from state to state, and that many states use differing measurements in determining obesity rates.
The TFAH study also showed a mixed bag in how the various states are trying to educate their children in order to reverse this trend.

For example, only six states have set nutritional standards tougher than those established by the US department of Agriculture three of them in the past year. Two of them, though Kentucky and South Carolina made the list of ten most obese states. So the evidence would suggest that legislators and citizens there are trying to do something about it.

However, more than 20 states in the past year have introduced legislation that would have addressed the school lunch/nutrition issue -- and none of those bills have been passed. Only four states Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee and West Virginia -- screen children to see if their body mass index exceeds acceptable levels. And only 23 of the 50 states have received funding from the CDC with which they can develop anti-obesity initiatives (though, to be fair, 39 states applied for funding which ran out).

See the full story at Ediets.com.

Obesity and overweight increasing throughout Europe, all ages

07 September 2005

By Gina Dellios.

Overweight and overt obesity are increasing in both sexes and at all ages in nearly all European countries, as the WHO-MONICA study and other WHO recent estimates have shown. The problem especially affects women and children of the Mediterranean and of Central and Eastern Europe.

Reasons for this growing problem are the steady increase of total caloric intake over the last decades and the absence of sufficient daily physical exercise. The resulting energy unbalance inevitably leads to obesity. In Southern Europe the departure from traditional Mediterranean diets toward manufactured foods over the years may be contributing to the trend. In particular, the high marketing pressure to consume foods high in total fat, refined sugar and salt makes children especially vulnerable, as a recent report of the European Heart Network, the Federation of Heart Foundations, recently pointed out.

As part of the general trend in the population, cardiac patients are also currently more obese than before, as the ESC Euroaspire and other surveys have showed, carrying a greater difficulty for patients and doctors to control risk factors and symptoms and a greater probability of adverse disease outcomes. Obese persons are also more likely to suffer from heart failure.

Scientific evidence of the health consequences of mass obesity is growing year after year. These are multiple, but most importantly due to their frequency and consequences are raised blood pressure, insulin resistance and increased blood glucose, high non-HDL cholesterol and tryglicerides. The cluster of these abnormalities, with other risk factors, form what is called the metabolic syndrome , which often is a preliminary step for overt type2 diabetes. In women, additionally, obesity has adverse effects in sexual hormones and pregnancy outcomes and carries a greater risk for breast cancer.

Increasing numbers of children in Europe are suffering the classic health problems often associated with adult and older life due to overweight and obesity. The International Obesity Task Force estimates that the numbers of children already affected by frank type 2 diabetes are 210,000.

Preliminary estimates of the numbers at risk for obesity associated disease among EU children

-- Hypertension 520,000
-- High triglycerides 830,000
-- High cholesterol 900,000
-- High LDL cholesterol 900,000
-- Low HDL cholesterol 710,000
-- Impaired glucose tolerance 90,000
-- Type 2 Diabetes 210,000
-- Steatohepatitis 225.000
-- International Obesity TaskForce 2005

Last but not least, obesity is not evenly distributed in society and it greatly affects the less socio-economically favoured. As a matter of fact, the gap in obesity between the high and the less educated has grown in recent years.

The consequences resulting from this modern epidemic represent an enormous burden upon European health services, although fortunately not to the magnitude of that in the US. Resources are urgently needed to research and undertake the most effective public health measures to prevent the situation from getting much worse, including resolute action to protect children. This means vigorously pursuing the WHO global and European strategies to achieve real improvements in diet and physical activity and combatting those changes in the social environment that are conducive to poor diets with too much fat and sugar and little opportunity to be active. As IOTF has pointed out: "This is more than just a warning signal - it is the red light: We can no longer afford to delay the introduction of strong prevention strategies throughout Europe."

Source: Medical News Today

Obesity key predictor for birth defects

September 06, 2005

By Karen Birchard

BARCELONA Spanish researchers suggest doctors tell women that obesity during pregnancy can affect the baby's development in utero.

A study of more than 2,000 children of women with gestational diabetes found the mother's obesity—not the diabetes—was the main predicting factor for cardiac malformations and renal and urinary tract defects.

Doctors have known for more than 40 years that children of women with diabetes before pregnancy have a higher possibility for congenital malformations—primarily related to the mother's degree of hyperglycemia during the period in which the embryo's organs are forming. Women with gestational diabetes have a lesser risk for malformations.

However, a research team from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona has found the risk of birth defects are more closely related to a woman's level of obesity, rather than to the severity of her diabetes.

The team looked at the relationship between blood sugar levels and BMI in mothers and birth defects in 2,060 children born to women with gestational diabetes. The mother's obesity appeared to be the main predicting factor for heart defects in the unborn child, and the only factor that predicted whether the baby was likely to be born with kidney and urinary tract problems.

 The researchers, writing in the European journal Diabetologia, suggest previous studies have not shown obesity can increase the risk of heart defects in the children of women with diabetes because the obesity factor was not studied specifically.

Source: Medical Post

Children using community health centers are more likely to be overweight

September 6 , 2005.
By Dr. Stettler

Children who use community health centers may be at a particularly high risk of being obese, according to a new study. This association between obesity and the type of health delivery system used was present regardless of race, ethnicity or geographic characteristics.

Researchers studied nearly 2,500 children aged two to 11, in medically underserved areas of the mid-Atlantic states, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico. These medically underserved areas, mainly inner-city and rural sites, often have limited access to healthy foods and to opportunities for physical activity, noted the study leader, Nicolas Stettler, M.D., M.S.C.E., a pediatric nutrition specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Those centers may offer opportune sites for health interventions: "Because community health centers are experienced in prevention and serve more than 4.7 million children in the U.S., they may be a particularly promising point of access and setting for pediatric obesity prevention," added Dr. Stettler. The study appears in the September issue of Pediatrics.

The team analyzed charts for 2,474 children using 30 community health centers in 2001. Defining overweight as a body mass index of greater than the 95th percentile of a reference population, the researchers found a higher prevalence of overweight children in 27 of the 30 centers, in comparison to children in the general population.

In the younger children, the prevalence of overweight was 22 percent compared to 10 percent in a nationally representative sample (the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey). In the older children the prevalence was 24 percent, compared to 16 percent in the national sample. The researchers found no significant differences in prevalence between ethnic groups in this sample, in contrast to what is observed in the general population. In addition, there were no differences in prevalence among children using community health centers in urban or rural areas.

There were also no significant differences in obesity prevalence between boys and girls.

The higher prevalence of overweight was particularly large in younger children in this sample, said Dr. Stettler, suggesting that obesity has an earlier onset in these children compared to the rest of the country. Regional differences may explain the differences, although smaller studies have found higher prevalence of childhood overweight in the community health setting in various regions of the country.

Further studies may clarify whether the findings in this research team's mid-Atlantic sample may apply to other regions of the United States.

"This sample was based on consultations at primary care clinics rather than being population based, which could also partially explain the high prevalence of overweight in the sample, because obese children are more likely to have chronic conditions, such as asthma, that require more frequent healthcare visits," said Dr. Stettler. "It is likely however, that the high prevalence of overweight in this study is also related to characteristics of medically underserved areas, particularly access to care."

More than 4.7 million children are patients at these centers, which are located in inner-city and rural areas and may be at increased risk for obesity, because medically underserved communities are also often areas in which access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities are limited, creating a particularly "obesogenic" environment.

"Identifying this high-risk population based on use of community health centers may be useful for directing services, training and research resources to this population," said Dr. Stettler, adding that community health centers may be well positioned to deliver long-term treatments for pediatric obesity. "Such centers often provide continuity of care to patients over time, and their financial security is less dependent on the vagaries of private insurers."

The obesity epidemic continues to increase nationwide in both the pediatric and adult populations. It is important to target methods of prevention in order to alleviate the serious side effects that are often related to overweight and obesity, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and sleep apnea.

This study was funded in part by the Health Resources and Services Administration and Office of Public Health and Science, Penn-Cheney EXPORT Center of Excellence Inner City Health and the Nutrition Center of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Stettler is supported in part by National Institutes of Health grant K23 RR16073.

Dr. Stettler's co-investigators were: Michael R. Elliott, Ph.D., and Michael J. Kallan, M.S., both of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Steven B. Auerbach, M.D., M.P.H., of the Health Resources and Services Administration, New York City; and Shiriki Kumanyika, Ph.D, M.P.H., also of Penn's Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

Source: Eurekalert

Melinda Messenger Urges Parents to Bust Bad Breakfast Habits

London, Monday 5 September 2005

- Kellogg's National Breakfast Week 2005

- As the New School Year Begins, 3-Million Kids Across the UK - That's One in Five - are Starting School on an Empty Tummy as They Currently Skip Breakfast

57% of UK parents skip breakfast(1), unaware that they are increasing the chances of their kids missing out on key nutrients and being overweight.

This worrying figure, from research published today to mark the start of Kellogg's National Breakfast Week (5-11 September), highlights that kids are unlikely to be receiving the healthy eating messages or reinforcement that is necessary to ensure they establish healthy eating habits for life. Parents are unaware that if a 12 year old skips breakfast he will have the reaction time of a 70 year old in the classroom(a)

With one in four boys and one in four girls now overweight or obese(2), the UK's breakfast-skipping parents are raising kids that are more likely to skip breakfast too and, as a consequence, are more at risk of becoming overweight and obese than their breakfast-eating peers.

Mum of three Melinda Messenger, who is lending her support to Kellogg's National Breakfast Week this year, recognises the importance of her eating habits on her children, "I eat breakfast every day, and although I often worry about whether my kids are eating a healthy, balanced diet, I do try to get everyone to sit down at the table to eat. This is really important for us; it lets us spend some quality time together in the morning and it reassures me that they've had a healthy start to the day. Sometimes it's only a snatched ten minutes, but that's better than nothing - it only takes a few minutes to eat a bowl of cereal after all!"

Other key findings from Kellogg's research highlight that:

- 9 out of 10 children cite their parents as their most important source of believable information on food and healthy eating(3). The fact that such a high percentage of Mums skip breakfast (54%)(1) - as any nutritionist will tell you, it's the most important meal of the day - means children are following suit so that 1 in 5 (that's 3 million kids(4)) currently misses out on this essential morning meal.

- Mums, as one of the biggest influences on their children's eating habits, can play a key role as 'breakfast hero', helping kids to avoid starting the day without breakfast. It's a role worth taking, especially considering that almost half (47%) of Mums worry that their children aren't eating a healthy, balanced diet(1). Missing out on breakfast means kids are more likely to eat indulgent snacks mid-morning, are less likely to have a healthy diet overall and are more likely to be overweight(5).

Nutritionists recommend that breakfast account for around a quarter of our daily nutritional intake, allowing us to take on board essential vitamins and minerals, plus other important nutrients such as carbohydrate and protein, after hours of sleep.

Nearly a third (30%(1)) of Mums blame lack of time as the reason why they skip breakfast - and inadvertently send out the wrong messages to their kids. But, there are some simple solutions that Mums can put into practice to take the lead and win the breakfast battle - every morning!

Child psychologist, Dr Pat Spungin comments: "Mums, and parents in general, need to let their children see that they are eating breakfast and that it's a normal and essential part of the daily routine. Of course, it's often a rush to get everyone washed, dressed and breakfasted, so having a few tricks up your sleeve to help all go smoothly will be of benefit.

If lack of time for you and your kids is the issue, try packing school bags, packed lunches and setting out school clothes the night before - and of course, set the alarm 10-15 minutes earlier than usual. That way, important things like sitting down to eat breakfast aren't left to the last minute or forgotten altogether.

Also, try to involve children in breakfast - allow them to make their own choice of cereal or other breakfast foods, from a selection you've already made."

Dr Pat Spungin concludes: "With lack of time most often blamed for skipping breakfast, Mums can consider alternative solutions, such as allowing children to eat their morning meal at breakfast clubs - these are now increasingly offered at school. There's no hard and fast rule that breakfast must be eaten in the home and it's better that children eat breakfast at school, if that's the speedier solution for you and your family, than they miss out altogether. The benefits to their overall health will be just the same."

Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball, Health & Wellbeing Manager for Kellogg's, says, "Parents' eating habits and breakfast behaviours are vital when it comes to influencing children's own habits and attitudes to food. Get it right, by instilling good eating practices early on, and it will set children up well for when the responsibility becomes their own."

References

(a) Reading University 2004

(1) Omnimas Breakfast Study (fieldwork: 5-9 Aug and 12-16 Aug 2005) conducted by TNS and surveying a nationally representative sample of 1000+ parents of 0-18 year olds

(2) Health Survey for England (2002)

(3) Kellogg's Family Health Study, 2005

(4) Office of National Statistics

(5) Rampersaud GC et al (2005) Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight and academic performance in children and adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc 105: 743-760

Notes to editors

Kellogg's National Breakfast Week runs from 5 - 11 September and 2005 marks its 12th year. Each year the focus is to ensure consumers know how important breakfast is as a contribution to a healthy, balanced diet. Kellogg's National Breakfast Week 2005 forms the second part of the 2005 campaign to build on the key findings from the Kellogg's Family Health Study (KFHS). Findings from the Kellogg's Family Health Study have shown that parents are the biggest influence on children when it comes to healthy eating habits and Mum's behaviour towards food and eating habits are strongly mirrored by their children.

More information on the Kellogg's Family Health Study can be found at www.kelloggs.co.uk or at www.kelloggshealthzone.co.uk.

A high resolution photograph is available to the media free of charge via ISDN from Newscast (http://www.newscast.co.uk or tel +44-(0)207-608-1000).

Fast Facts About Breakfast

According to the Office for National Statistics...

- One in five kids currently skips breakfast - that's 3 million kids each day

- 1 in 4 adults currently skips breakfast - that's 11.25m adults each day

According to the Future Foundation Report (The Future of Breakfast 2004)...

- Breakfast is the most rushed meal of the day, the cheapest meal of the day (46pence) but it should make up a quarter of your daily nutrient intake

- Only one third of parents are with their kids when they consume breakfast

- Britain is the worst in the International League for kids eating breakfast

- Children eat breakfast less as they get older

According to the Kellogg's Family Health Study 2005...

- 90% of children say their parents are the most important source of believable information when it comes to food and healthy eating

- Kids who don't eat breakfast are more likely to snack on high sugar/fat foods

According to research conducted by Reading University in 2003...

- If a 12 year old skips breakfast he will have the reaction time of a 70 year old in the classroom

According to the University of Cardiff research, 2005...

- New research from Cardiff University shows that children who eat a cereal like Kellogg's Corn Flakes for breakfast are mentally better prepared for school than those that skip the first meal of the day - 9% better in fact.

(Smith, A (2005). An investigation of the effects of Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Rice Krispies Multi-Grain on well-being, mood and cognitive function. Cardiff University. Internal Report)

According to The Obesity Statistics from the BMA...

- In the UK there are approximately one million obese people who are less than 16 years of age

- In 2002, in the UK 22% of boys and 28% of girls aged 2-15 were either overweight or obese

According to recent National Diet and Nutrition Surveys...

- On average children, young people and adults are eating just less than a bowl of breakfast cereal each day

- This provides 6% energy, 6% total sugar, 8% sodium and 10% fibre intake among children and young people, and 4% energy, 5% total sugar, 5% sodium and 12% fibre intake among adults

- In terms of vitamins and minerals, breakfast cereals provide: 21% thiamin (B1) and Riboflavin (B2), 16% niacin, 18% vitamin B6, 22% folate and vitamin D and 21% iron intake among children and young people

- In terms of vitamins and minerals, breakfast cereals provide: 14% thiamin (B1), 15% Riboflavin (B2), 10% niacin, 13% vitamin B6, 15% folate, 13% vitamin D and 20% iron intake among adults

According to recent review...

- Vital nutrients missed if breakfast is skipped are not made up for during the rest of the day.

Source: PR Newswire

Obesity: complications in kids

Globally, more than 22 million children younger than five are currently suffering from obesity, according to Dr Ilse Kerr, who recently spoke at a workshop on obesity.

By Dr Ingrid van Heerden, DietDoc

In school-going children, this figure increases to 155 million. It is also estimated that by the year 2020, half the girls and a third of all boys in the world will be overweight.

These statistics are most disturbing and, translated into everyday life, they imply that if you have two children, one of them is destined to be overweight or obese.

Risk factors
Risk factors that predispose children to overweight or obesity are high birth weight (in excess of 4 kg) and parental obesity.

Children with one or more parents or siblings that are overweight are at much greater risk than children in families that are not obese. Dr Kerr pointed out that this burden of risk is a combination of genetics and environmental factors.

If your parents are overweight, then you may have a genetic disposition to obesity. On the other hand, families with obese members may be inclined to overeat and to have the attitude that food is a source of love and comfort, thus encouraging children to overindulge.

Metabolic complications
Children who are overweight or obese may develop just as many complications as obese adults. We tend to think that children will grow out of their puppy fat and that this will not have any negative consequences on their future lives, but research shows that this is not true.

More than 60% of obese children between the ages of five and 10 years already have at least one risk factor for developing coronary heart disease, while 25% have two or more risk factors.

Forty-five percent of all newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics are children. In the past, type 1 or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus was the most common type of diabetes in children. This is no longer the case. With the exponential increase in obesity, even young children are being diagnosed with type 2, or what used to be called "age-onset", diabetes.

Most people would not believe that children can develop gallstones (also a disease that was always classified as a disease of the over-40s), but more and more obese children are being treated for gallstones.

Poor prognosis
The prognosis for children with obesity is also not good. It has been calculated that if an individual is obese before the age of eight years, the chances are good that he or she will have a BMI of 41 (gross obesity) as an adult.

And if 50% of children are overweight or obese by 2020, then 50% of the adults they will develop into will be grossly obese.

Who should be treated?
Dr Kerr stated that all children between the ages of two and six years whose weight exceeds the so-called 95th percentile for age should be intensively treated.

In addition, all children with a BMI exceeding the 95th percentile should also be treated, because by the age of six there are only two years left before these children reach the dangerous age of eight, which will doom them to gross adult obesity.

Treatment
Treatment of the obese or overweight child should consist of a multi-pronged attack:

• Control of the child's environment – the entire family should eat low-fat, healthy food and no high-energy foods or beverages should be available in the home or at school. This is one of the most difficult aspects of treatment, especially in what dieticians call 'food-dysfunctional families'. No child will lose weight in a family that has cupboards full of junk food, or where the children are given pocket money to buy as much food as they want at the school tuck shop, or where take-aways are staple fare.
• Monitoring of the child's behaviour – this is also difficult and parents may come up against a lot of opposition, particularly in the form of peer pressure.
• Rewarding successful changes in behaviour – children who achieve even modest goals of weight loss or increasing their activity levels should be given as much encouragement as possible (of course not in the form of sweet treats, but perhaps rather by taking them for an outing, or buying them new clothes or toys).
• Increasing physical activity – this is probably the single most important factor that can aid weight loss in children. Encourage your child to be more active, not to sit in front of the TV or computer for days on end, take her for walks so that she can exercise in safety. Get those kids moving.
• An early intervention, like breastfeeding, may play a more important role than was previously suspected. Breastfed children are less inclined to become overweight than bottle-fed babies, so there is one great gift all mothers can give their children and that is to breastfeed them as long as possible – at least for the first six months of the child's life.
• Pharmacological interventions – this is an aspect of treatment that is still not fully researched. Most of the weight-loss medications that can be used in adults (Xenical, Reductil etc.) have not been extensively tested in youngsters. The rule is that only teenagers with a BMI exceeding 40 and who have stopped growing, should be considered for pharmacological interventions in obesity.

If you have a child that is struggling with overweight or obesity, the first step should be to consult a clinical dietician, so that the child can be assessed, a diet can be worked out for him or her (one that assists with weight loss but still permits normal growth), and the child's progress can be monitored.

The dietician will also suggest solutions to help your child become physically active. As a parent, you need to do your bit by preparing the child's diet, keeping high-energy foods out of the house, monitoring her progress and encouraging her every step of the way.

Source: Health 24

Girls '60% fatter than boys' at 18

13:54pm 5th September 2005

Girls are naturally 60% fatter than boys by the age of 18, researchers have said.

A two-year study of almost 2,000 children aged 5-18 used a technique to measure both total body mass and body fat to see how fat levels changed as youngsters got older.

The researchers found that on average by the age of 18, 15.4% of boys' body mass was fat compared with 24.6% in girls.

They said that as children grew up girls continued to gain fat after puberty while boys gained more muscle and lean tissue.

It is hoped the new body fat reference curves, developed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology, will help give more accurate indications of obesity than body mass index (BMI) which looks at weight compared to height.

Professor Andrew Prentice, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that currently around 25% of children could be misclassified as either overweight or of normal weight because BMI did not differentiate between fat and muscle.

The latest study, which is set to be published in the International Journal of Obesity, uses the terms "overfat" and "underfat" to highlight this difference.

Professor Prentice said, as it stood, a very fit and muscular youngster could be classified as obese, because BMI did not take into account the difference between fat and muscle. It would also be possible that someone who did not look particularly fat could be carrying excess fat and very little muscle, which BMI would not be able to detect.

"BMI has served us particularly well and has been enormously helpful in raising awareness of the obesity epidemic hitting our country. But we want to say we can go beyond that.

"BMI measures weight, it does not measure body fat and it is the body fat that is causing bio-activity, causing tissue damage and raising blood pressure and the risk of diabetes," Professor Prentice said.

Source: Daily Mail

Consumer Alert on Hoodia Gordonii

Hoodia Gordonii is a relatively new product into the weight loss markets into America and European countries. This powerful appetite suppressant is increasingly being sold mostly in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain, among other markets.

However, hoodia commercial cultivation in South Africa is becoming in short supply due to the continuous growing demand for hoodia diet pills.Therefore, some counterfeited products are flourishing into the market, made with other hoodia varieties (not hoodia gordonii) coming from Mexico and China.

Besides it, the real benefit to be obtained by the final customer is confusing, because of the qualities of hoodia being used in different formulations, be as 100% hoodia gordonii powder or 20:1 hoodia gordonii extract. Even more, the quantity of hoodia used, creates different pricing ranges, generating a misunderstanding on what you are receiving for the price to be paid, and finally, if all that will help reduce your weight.

Usually, most people interested in hoodia ask us about what kind of hoodia is being used for the products sold.

As we have repeatedly explained, there are many confusing offers into the market today. And not all the hoodia products offered are real hoodia gordonii!!

Some products of cheaper value are other hoodia varieties. Other products were found with minimum percentages of Hoodia gordonii, and in other cases, hoodia was not included into the formulation.

So in all cases, our recommendation is: try to look for the certificate of analysis of hoodia gordonii used and check the company background who is offering you the hoodia diet pills.

Some tips before to buy:

1. Verify if product being offered is real Hoodia Gordonii.


2. Check if Hoodia comes from from South Africa.


3. Look at the Lab assay and certificate of analysis from the supplier.


4. Get informed on the quantity of real hoodia on each pill.


5. Verify the seller´s reputation and the customer service is offering.

InfoHoodia is offering information sourced from Hoodia Latina and other reliable sources on Hoodia Gordonii and also noni juices and aloe vera, two other products which makes a perfect synergy with Hoodia for the health, beauty and weight loss objetives.

by Viviana Aida, Sales Manager at Hoodia Latina

Buy Hoodia Gordonii Diet Pills at Hoodia Latina

Katrina victims - Supplements

More supplements needed for Katrina victims

By Jess Halliday
9/6/2005 - Last week the industry swung into action to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but more can yet be done to help stave off malnutrition and disease amongst survivors, and help businesses affected by the disaster. “Within 12 hours after the news on Hurricane Katrina broke, companies were calling us offering to help,” said Howard Schiffer, president of the Vitamin Angel Alliance, which is consolidating vitamin products and working closely with relief organizations, churches and emergency personnel to deliver them to the refugees.
Even so, Schiffer told NutraIngredients-USA.com that donations are running slower than they did during the week following the tsunami which devastated parts of Asia last December, despite the disaster hitting American on home soil.
He was not yet able to provide a count on the supplements received so far but expects to release more details on the industry's efforts later this week.
Those companies that have stepped forward include NOW Foods, Nutri-Force Nutrition, Pharmachem Laboratories, Hero Nutritionals, Rainbow Light Nutrient Systems, Healthy Horizons, Mason Vitamins and Pro Health. But many other key industry players have yet to make donations or pledges.
The most useful products in this situation are multiple vitamins for adults and chewable vitamins for children, as well as financial contributions towards the logistics of delivering products to those who need them most.
Although the initial danger of the hurricane itself is over, those who have spent days in unsanitary conditions or have been forced to leave their homes face longer-term consequences, including the possibility of malnutrition and infection.
Vitamin Angels' warehouse is located about an hour and a half from the Astrodome, and supplements started reaching FEMA Specialty Needs Centers in Louisiana last week.
“Right now we're assessing needs as they come in,” said Schiffer. “As always Vitamin Angels is trying to reach the people that no one else is covering. In Central Louisiana there are over 30,000 refugees that are being housed in small towns in every available space from school gyms to churches. We will be trucking supplements into Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.”
The National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) is helping the industry to look after its own with the creation of the NNFA Retailer Relief Fund. Channeled through the Natural Products Foundation in order to be tax deductible, 100 percent of donations will go to the relief agencies or retail stores.
If those making donations prefer for them to be used to help affected individuals, they can be designated for the American Red Cross or Salvation Army's hurricane relief funds.
“We want to do everything we can to help the victims who have suffered from the devastation of Katrina, whether they're everyday citizens or fellow natural products businesses,” said David Seckman, executive director and CEO.
Contributions to the NNFA Retailer Relief Fund will go directly toward helping NNFA member retailers who sustained damage due to Hurricane Katrina. The regional and national offices are identifying retailers that need assistance, but because power and telephone lines are down in many areas they are experiencing some difficulties.
Ingredients supplier BASF Corporation announced yesterday that it is donating $1 million in aid to the relief efforts. It is also providing short-term financial aid for the immediate needs of BASF employees seriously impacted by Hurricane Katrina, and allowing employees in the affected states to volunteer to help those in need on company time.
One business that has signaled its operations are unaffected by the disaster is ingredient supplier The Wright Group, whose facility is over a hundred miles northwest of New Orleans.
”Although Wright has backup manufacturing facilities in place in the event of emergency, our facility did not experience any manufacturing delays or shutdowns related to the storm,” said Sam Wright, president and CEO.
Retailers affected by the hurricane, or anyone that knows of affected retailers, are encouraged to get in touch with the NNFA's Carylene Reed (800 828-7250 for Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia) or Dale Power-Wells (517 575-0119 for Louisiana).
Donations can be sent to Natural Products Foundation, c/o NNFA, 2112 E. Fourth St., Suite 200, Santa Ana, CA 92705, Attn: Retailer Relief. Tel: (202) 223-0101.
Source Nutraingredients.com

Hoodia in Botswana

Arid Botswana could be sitting on gold mine 05 September, 2005
GABORONE - Perhaps the wheel of fortune is turning for people living in arid parts of this country. In the eyes of some, they are probably sitting on a gold mine.
Hoodia, a plant that for thousands of years was used by the Basarwa to stave off hunger, would reduce poverty in remote areas if it were to be cultivated in Botswana.
This is according to Frank Barsch, a senior conservation ecologist with the Agriculture Resource Board of the Ministry of Environment Wildlife and Tourism.
Barsch says Hoodia, seboka or sekgophana in the vernacular languages can be grown from seeds, which are relatively easy to find in southern Africa and needs a little amount of water - which makes it an ideal crop for Botswana.
The prices paid for the drug are relatively high and promises economical cultivation, Barsch told participants at a National Workshop on Youth and Environment recently.
The leafless, spiky succulent plant caught the attention of the local media two years ago when there were reports that some people in the Kweneng District were harvesting it and selling it to a US-based company.
It was later realised that the real and not the indigenous cactus was being harvested. A year later Veld Products Regulations were issued.
Hoodia grows naturally and scientists believe that the molecule in the plant fools the body and makes one believe she or he has just eaten.
According to on-line media accounts, this was brought to light by a group of South African scientists after studying Hoodia Gordonii plant in 1996. Their research showed that the animals eating the plant lost weight but managed to survive well.
Prior to that in the late 1930s, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San of the Kgalagadi Desert noted that the nomadic people sucked on the Hoodia plant as a hunger suppressant and thirst quencher.
After chewing or munching on the plants stem, they would go for two to three days without feeling hungry, the research indicated.
The exciting news is that Phytopharm, a pharmaceutical US drugs company wants to make use of the plant, which can grow up to six feet tall.
The company wants to get as much Hoodia as possible from southern Africa because studies done so far by scientists has shown that a pill cannot be manufactured from the plant. It has to be taken in its natural form.
Phytopharm had initially teamed up with Pfizer, the company, which makes Viagra, but later pulled out when it realised that making the pill out of an active ingredient was beyond reach.
In December last year Phytopharm teamed up with Unilever Company and the latter is to include the wonder plant in its diet food product line in three years time if things go their way. South Africa has jumped aboard.
Farmers who have been licensed by the South Africa Nature Conservation officials are growing Hoodia Gordonii.
After harvesting, the plant is processed under that countrys pharmaceuticals control regulations and exported with all the legal paper work that should accompany a protected species.
And to ensure the survival of the plant, these growers are the only people allowed to cultivate and export it.
Of interest is the issue of rights. Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA) - an organisation established in 1996 by the San living in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe - contested and won a case against multinational pharmaceuticals companies seeking to develop a drug from South African Hoodia.
As such, the San are the owners of the traditional rights to the plant and would receive a portion from every Hoodia purchased in South Africa.
At the time of going to press, BOPA was yet to establish how Botswanas Hoodia would be affected and also to get to know if there are any plans to cultivate the plant locally.
Responding to a BOPA questionnaire in 2003, Tutu Tsiang at the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism indicated that Hoodia has been listed in the Southern African Red Plant Data list as an extinct plant.
This means that Hoodia species will need protection by formulation of specific regulations, she said.
Last year, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) listed Hoodia in its Appendix II so as to regulate global trade in the species at the behest of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
This was approved at a UN conference after a proposal by African countries to control trade in the plant which besides acting as an appetite suppressant, is also believed to be able to treat indigestion, hypertension and stomach ache. BOPA  
Source: Daily News, Botswana

Ahoy Aloe!

Aloe Vera’s finding way into cosmetics, drinks, gels... its therapeutic uses & medical properties are being rediscovered all over again.

By Parul

BEAUTY to health, this wonder plant promises it all! And those who’ve experienced the therapeutic, healing and even cosmetic properties of aloe vera can’t stop raving about the plant, which is commonly grown here as a houseplant and does wonderfully well in these conditions. The aloe plant is best known for its healing aloe vera gel - a thin, clear, jelly-like substance that can be squeezed or scraped from the inner part of the fleshy leaf. And this gel had been used for various purposes — soothing remedy for minor burns and wounds, cracking of skin, warts, ease itching.... ‘‘The plant’s uses are manifold and our ancient Ayurveda texts describe the plant’s potent healing powers in detail,’’ smiles Dr Madan Gulati, deputy director, Ayurveda. Precisely why, aloe vera’s finding its way into both cosmetics and pharmaceutical companies are including it in products — creams, capsules, gel...And so gracing the shelves are all-purpose creams, cleansing milk, skin toners, moisturizers, sunscreens, shampoos...all with aloe vera. According to Dr Madan, it rejuvenates the skin with its moisturising property. ‘‘Yes it’s very effective for skin problems and can get a shine on your face,’’ nods dermatologist and cosmetologist, Dr Maleeka Sachdev, who admits she’s a great fan of aloe vera products and uses aloe vera shampoo regularly. ‘‘Now, both cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies are using aloe vera in products. Its healing powers are amazing and creams containing aloe vera work well for those with pigmentation and also help in lightening scars, as well as nourishing the skin,’’ explains Sachdeva. But the doctor advises that you test it on a small patch of skin to check if you’re allergic to it. Dr Paramjeet Malhotra, dermatologist at Fortis agrees that aloe vera’s moisturising properties are proven and that’s why many creams and shampoos these days contain aloe vera. Dr Gulati agrees that the plant’s great for the skin, but prefers to talk more about its medicinal and healing properties. ‘‘In my opinion, it’s the best medicine for detoxification. It many be bitter in taste, but its after-taste is sweet,’’ asserts Gulati, who adds that it can aid digestion, improve eyesight and immunity, works well for those with gynae problems. As for the dose, he recommends that people go to a qualified doctor. As for those who use aloe vera for warts, pimples, his advise is to dilute the pulp and then apply it. ‘‘Docs at the Ayurvedic Dispensary in Sector 24 will be able to give proper guidance,’’ adds Gulati. Ask Dr SS Goindi, a renowned naturopath about the plants effects on the body and he agrees the plant is effective in liver ailments, skin problems, and some blood-related problems. ‘‘But only if we don’t forget that everything works only if we have a balanced and nourishing diet,’’ he says. We agree. Source: Chandigarh newsline

Real Work Comes After Weight Loss

Sunday, September 4, 2005
Real work comes after weight loss
By CHARLES STUART PLATKIN
With all the talk about getting extra weight off your body, there's a lot less being said about how to keep it off — an elusive concept still poorly understood by the average dieter. Yet, if you think about it, weight maintenance is significantly more important and more difficult than losing weight.
"It is ironic that we focus on weight loss, when the real challenge is weight maintenance," said James Hill, the director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and one of the founders of the National Weight Control Registry (an ongoing study of more than 4,000 individuals who have lost significant weight and kept it off).
So why don't we pay more attention to the most important aspect of weight control?
"Weight maintenance is just not as sexy. No scale moves, no dramatic 'before-and-after' experiences; it's a routine and, as a result, can be boring," said Suzanne Phelan, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I.
It's not that difficult
"There are fewer strategies that work for weight maintenance," Phelan said. The good news is that it's not as difficult as you might think to maintain the loss. The concept that only 2 percent can actually maintain their weight loss is based on only one or two studies that are decades old. "The fact is that about 20 percent of people in the general population are successful at long-term weight maintenance."
So what do you do after the fat is gone? You need to learn the techniques that other successful weight-loss maintainers follow.
Avoid this club
After losing those pounds you suddenly feel that, magically, your body has changed, making you a charter member of the exclusive "fast-metabolism-I-can-eat-whatever-I want" club. You indulge, and the diet you had been on is now ancient history because all along you knew you could never live on that diet for the rest of your life. Weight control is a forever process, so you need to create practices you can live with — forever.
A warning system
Almost all successful weight-loss maintainers have some kind of "5-pound warning system" — a way of measuring and/or monitoring their weight before it gets out of control. It could be something as simple as keeping a "thin" pair of pants or a dress they try on periodically instead of getting on the scale, but they all have some way of knowing if they are slipping and a backup plan they can put into action.
Walk
Your body burns fewer calories as you lose weight. Walking or other physical activities, keep your calorie-burning capacity high. Walking is easy to do and easy to maintain no matter where you are. According to the National Weight Control Registry, 77 percent of successful losers use walking as their primary means of physical activity. They do some combination of physical activity for at least one hour per day.
Look for parks, paths and trails in your area. Even your neighborhood sidewalks can be perfect, and on rainy or cold days, malls can be converted into indoor tracks. Scope out scenic paths to keep motivated. Also make arrangements to walk with friends, family or co-workers — socializing helps get you there and keeps you busy with gossip, so you actually have fun.
Make it automatic
Successful maintainers have figured out ways to make their behaviors and choices second nature. It's based on the concept of automaticity — the subconscious ways we perform daily behaviors. Activities like setting your alarm clock at night, putting on your shoes before leaving the house and remembering how to drive to work do not require much thought. The idea is to apply the same principle to your diet. Set yourself up so that you don't have to think about your diet by coming up with very practical, doable changes. Then keep doing them until they become like brushing your teeth.
Keep it consistent
According to research at Brown University Medical School, a major predictor of successful weight maintenance is dietary consistency. This means that those who maintain the same diet regimen across the week and year are more likely to maintain their weight loss over the following year than those who diet more strictly on weekdays and/or during non-holiday periods. That means there are no breaks, so make sure you choose your new behaviors carefully.
Easier over time
According to Phelan, research has shown, "Once you've lost weight and maintained it for more than a few years, weight maintenance gets easier over time."
Low-calorie diet
Research from the National Weight Control Registry indicates that successful losers eat a low-calorie, low-fat diet, not a low-carb diet. And last, the research shows that all successful dieters eat breakfast each morning, most likely preventing them from overeating during the rest of the day.
Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate, author of the best seller "Breaking the Pattern" (Plume, 2005) and "Breaking the FAT Pattern" (Plume, 2006) and founder of Integrated Wellness Solutions. Write to info@thedietdetective.com
Source Poughkeepsiejournal.com