Americans Are Eating Fewer Calories, So Why Are We Still Obese?

Americans Are Eating Fewer Calories, So Why Are We Still Obese? - The good news: we’re eating fewer calories. The bad news: that’s not translating into lower obesity rates.

Two federal studies on the amount of calories Americans eat show that we are eating less than we did about a decade ago, and that we’re also limiting the amount of fast food we consume.

Richard Clark / Getty Images/Vetta

Between 2007 to 2010, about 11.3% of daily calories came from from fast food, down from 12.8% reported between 2003 to 2006, according to data collected by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fast food consumption decreased with age, with adults aged 60 and older eating the least of this type of food. For younger adults, non-Hispanic black adults reporting eating the most fast food, with more than one-fifth of their daily calories coming from fast food chains.

Not surprisingly, those who took in the most calories from fast food favorites also weighed the most. “The good news from this study is that as we get older, perhaps we do get wiser and eat less fast food,” Samantha Heller, a clinical nutritionist at the NYU Center for Musculoskeletal Care in New York City told HealthDay. ”However, a take-home message is that the study suggests that the more fast food you eat, the fatter you get.”

The second study, also conducted by the CDC, looked at American kids aged 2 to 19 and found that boys were eating fewer calories, dropping from an average of 2,258 calories a day in 1999-2000 to approximately 2,100 calories in 2009-2010. The trend also applied to girls, who ate 76 fewer calories on average in the same time period. Most of this decline came in the form of carbohydrates; children continued to eat about the same amount of fats while increasing the protein they consumed.

“The children had a decrease in carbohydrates, and one of the carbohydrates is added sugars,” says CDC researcher Cynthia L. Ogden, who oversaw the research. ”There is evidence showing that added sugars have decreased in general, and that these things are related to obesity. I think it will be interesting to continue to watch these trends and see what happens nationally.” Ogden says a major source of added sugar in diets comes from sugar-sweetened beverages, and as research shows limiting this sweet drinks can curb weight gain, parents may be curbing the amount of sweetened sodas children drink.

But if Americans are eating less fast food overall, why are obesity rates still so high? As encouraging as the calorie data are, the decreases aren’t significant enough to make a dent in upward trend of obesity. “To reverse the current prevalence of obesity, these numbers have to be a lot bigger,” Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University told the New York Times. “But they are trending in the right direction, and that’s good news.”

It may depend on how you look at the data. According to Ogden, while obesity rates may be high, the latest statistics show they may be stable, and not continuing to climb upward. “The rate of obesity has been flat recently in both children and in adults and some studies have come out recently that have found a decrease in obesity or childhood obesity in some cities. Still, a third of U.S. adults are obese and 17% of children are obese, but given this relatively stability, I think that these two studies show very interesting results,” says Ogden.

“I think [these findings] are a great start. I am happy to see there is a slight decrease. It still shows that for as much effort that has been put into messaging and positive nutrition promotion, we still have a lot of work to do. There are a lot of people who still need to be touched,” says Laura Jeffers, a registered dietitian at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Refining that message may require delving deeper in what Americans are eating, and addressing the balance between the amount of calories that we eat and the amount we burn off daily through physical activity. Jeffers speculates that even though fast food consumption is down, Americans may be eating unhealthy calories elsewhere. “I think that overall, people are not consuming the majority of their meals at fast food. Even-though maybe fast food has decreased, the majority of calorie consumption is not from the fast food restaurants. Looking at portion sizes and what people are getting in the home and the nutrition and health from those foods, should be another focus as to why the obesity rate is continuing to climb,” she says.

And while eating less is a good way to start addressing the obesity epidemic, it may be that slimming the national waistline means we also have to boost the amount of exercise we get every day. ( healthland.time.com )

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Obesity Likely to Shorten Life by Nearly 10 Years for Americans

Obesity Likely to Shorten Life by Nearly 10 Years for Americans - Research Published in the Journal, Obesity, Confirms Obesity-Mortality Tie -- Being obese is likely to shorten life by nearly 10 years for America's young and middle-aged adults, according to research published in the medical journal, Obesity. 

The article, "Obesity and Early Mortality in the U.S.," by James A. Greenberg, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, shows mortality is likely to occur 9.44 years earlier for study participants who were obese. Further, Greenberg's study also made estimates for overweight

"While obesity is a serious health problem, there are few reliable measures of its health hazards in the U.S.," said Greenberg. "My objective was to estimate how much earlier mortality is likely to occur for Americans who are overweight or obese, with the end goal of improving awareness of the impact that excess weight has on longevity."

Using data from 37,632 participants in three National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), Greenberg calculated the relative risk of death from all causes and number of years of life lost. All estimates were adjusted for demographic and lifestyle factors. The study also explored the effects of pre-existing illness, smoking, and older age on the number of years lost. The sample population is nationally representative of the United States.

Greenberg's findings confirm a large body of research that shows excess weight and obesity leads to higher morbidity and earlier death. Another recent large study, "Body-mass index and mortality among 1.46 million white adults," by Amy Berrington de Gonzalez et al. in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirms these findings.

"Experts agree the relationship between obesity and mortality is a complicated one," said Harvey Grill, PhD, President of The Obesity Society (TOS). "However, it's clear from a vast body of research that obesity and mortality are associated, and that a higher BMI is tied to earlier death as well as higher rates of disease, many of which are serious."

Less clear is the effect of individual factors and the length of follow-up of participants in studies on obesity and mortality. TOS encourages continued work by researchers to identify ways to improve the investigation into the relationship between obesity and mortality. ( PR Newswire )

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Can You Smell Obesity?

Can You Smell Obesity? - According to the latest research, it may be on your breath. It turns out that obesity may be detectable as a gas, thanks to organisms that inhabit our gut. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers extend our knowledge about the hidden universe of the microbes that live within us to show that obesity is associated with certain populations of microbes that give off a distinctive gas.

To be more specific, obesity may smell a lot like…methane, which is to say, like not much at all, since methane in its naturally-occurring state is actually odorless. In the study. Dr. Ruchi Mathur, director of diabetes in the department of medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and her colleagues analyzed the breath of 792 men and women of various ages. Mathur focused on detecting methane in the breath, since animal studies found that the presence of a certain family of organisms called archaea, which are older than bacteria and colonize the gut, was linked with weight gain and conveniently released small amounts of methane gas. Mathur also knew from her own work analyzing the gas makeup of the breath from bariatric surgery patients that those releasing higher levels of methane in their breath tended to have a body mass index (BMI) nearly 7 points higher on average than those with lower levels.

And sure enough, Mathur found that among the nearly 800 participants she tested, those with higher levels of methane (3 or more parts per million over 90 minutes) and hydrogen gases (20 or more parts per million) in their breath also tended to be heavier, with a BMI about 2.4 points greater than those with normal levels of the gases and about six percent more body fat on average.

“Our hope is that this is one piece of the complex puzzle that is obesity,” says Mathur, “and that by identifying people who are obese because they have this microorganism, we can manipulate and work with the gut microbiome to lead to benefits in weight loss in that subgroup.”

The culprit, she believes, is a member of archaea known as Methanobrevibacter smithii, which is present in the intestinal tract of about 70% of people, but elevated in about 30%. It’s that smaller group of individuals who might be genetically predisposed to harboring levels of M. smithii that might put them at higher risk of developing obesity. M. smithii harvests hydrogen molecules from neighboring microbes in the gut, which it then transforms into methane gas. The more it scavenges hydrogen from its environment, the more other microbes produce. But all of that activity is focused on extracting energy and nutrients from food, so along with the hydrogen gas, the microbes are also packing in more calories for the host, which can lead to weight gain. It’s also possible, says Mathur, that the release of methane slows the transit of digested food through the intestinal tract, and that could increase the time for additional calories from digested food to be absorbed and added to the body’s tally.

In order for M. smithii to thrive, it needs the hydrogen from surrounding microbes, and that may be why people with higher levels of both hydrogen and methane gases in their breath were heavier than those with elevated levels of methane or hydrogen alone.

So how does this help control the obesity epidemic? For those whose weight gain may be due in part to the activity of M. smithii, controlling the organisms with antibiotics or other medications could slow down the rate at which they pack on the pounds, and these individuals could easily be identified with a relatively simple breath test.

Mathur and her colleagues are also working with the American Diabetes Association to test a group of people with prediabetes who are overweight or obese and have elevated levels of methane in their breath. The researchers will test the participants’ glucose tolerance, the time it takes for digested food to transit through the intestinal tract, and the amount of calories in the patients’ stool. Then they volunteers will be given an antibiotic to essentially wipe out the population of M. smithii and the same parameters will be measured again, to see if eliminating the microbes will help change the patient’s weight profile and alter their trajectory toward diabetes.

She is also studying a group of children to see how early M. smithii buildup occurs, and how soon in development it starts to set up a pattern of weight gain that might then be interrupted by changing the composition of the gut microbial world. “From an evolutionary perspective, our relationship with the microorganisms that live in us has basically been symbiotic, and we have evolved together,” she says. “We’ve had that relationship for millenia, but it is just now being explored and discovered in more detail.” And, when it comes to controlling the obesity epidemic, could lead to the (sweet?) smell of success. ( Time.com )

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Doctors Detect Obesity Bug on Breath

Doctors Detect Obesity Bug on Breath - Obesity has its obvious manifestations; it's a disease that is difficult to conceal. And now, doctors say they can even smell it on your breath.

Doctors from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles say certain gas-emitting microbes living in the human gut might determine one's propensity for packing on too many pounds; and the presence of methane and hydrogen on one's breath from these microbes is closely related to excess body weight and body fat.

These doctors concede that overeating and a lack of activity are the primary causes of obesity. Yet other factors — namely, the abundance or reduction of certain microbes that line the intestines, detectable on the breath — also may contribute to excessive weight gain.

Their work will appear online March 28 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Hungry microbes

The concept that gut microbes are linked to obesity is not new. Dozens of papers have been written on the topic in the last few years alone. Scientists don't understand, however, which microbes are the chief culprits.

Doctors led by Ruchi Mathur, director of the Cedars-Sinai Diabetes Outpatient Treatment and Education Center, focused on a methane-producing microbe called Methanobrevibacter smithii. The theory is that M. smithii eats the hydrogen produced by other microorganisms in the gut. Lower hydrogen levels, in turn, increase fermentation in the gut, allowing the body to absorb more nutrients and more energy, or calories, from food.

"Usually, the microorganisms living in the digestive tract benefit us by helping convert food into energy," said Mathur. "However, when this particular organism, M. smithii, becomes overabundant, it may alter this balance in a way that causes someone to be more likely to gain weight."

Mathur's previous study on rats, published last year, seemed to indicate that M. smithii promoted weight gain. An abundance of M. smithii could leave detectable levels of methane on the breath of obese human subjects as smoking-gun evidence of this microbe's role in obesity, Mathur said.

Breath test

So, Mathur's group analyzed the breath of 792 people. They found that the subjects either had normal breath content, higher concentrations of methane, higher levels of hydrogen, or higher levels of both gases. Those who tested positive for high concentrations of both gases had significantly higher body mass indexes and higher percentages of body fat.

But the presence of hydrogen with methane on the breath of obese subjects may indicate that more than the methane-producing M. smithii is to blame. Or, at a minimum, the picture is complex.

Indeed, French researchers publishing a study in June 2012 in the International Journal of Obesity found that the gut microbe Lactobacillus reuteri was most associated with obese subjects in conjunction with lower, not higher, levels of M. smithii. An earlier study by some of these same French researchers, published in the journal PLOS ONE in 2009, found excess M. smithii associated with anorexia.

Mathur's group also could not ascertain cause and effect: Is obesity caused by a certain imbalance of microbes, or does a diet associated with obesity — for example, highly processed foods rich in calories and low in nutrients — change the gut microbe flora in such a way that promotes obesity. That is, the obesity bug is not something one catches randomly like the flu. The microbes most recently associated with obesity are in all human guts, along with trillions of other microbes.

What is increasingly clear, however, is that some people put on weight more easily than others. Is this entirely genetics, or gut microbes, or both? Further studies of the gut microbe flora may lead to new insights … and therapies. ( LiveScience.com )

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Photo of Infant Left Alone in Locked Car Goes Uber Viral

Photo of Infant Left Alone in Locked Car Goes Uber Viral - There is no perfect way to be a parent, and everyone's rules are not the same for fostering a child. That being said, when a parent does something that seems wrong to the vast majority of people, that parent's possible error in judgment takes the spotlight -- and the primary concern is the safety and well-being of the child.

A photograph taken in New Zealand is causing quite an uproar around the world. The photo at the center of the controversy is of an infant asleep in a car seat locked alone inside a car. A note, seemingly written from the baby's perspective, is attached to the chest and reads, "my mums in doing the shopping, call her if I need anything." There is a phone number written at the end.

A couple who saw the baby in the car talked to the New Zealand Herald. "We waited there for a little bit, wondering if the mum was just going to be two seconds and come back," the man said. "And my wife said, 'I'm not going in without someone being here with the baby.'" The couple also noted that the baby did look well taken care of and that they know how difficult it can be to get an infant to go to sleep.

Someone did eventually call the mom, and the picture was uploaded to Facebook, where it quickly went viral due to people's outrage.

It is illegal in New Zealand for a parent or guardian to leave a child under 14 years of age alone for an unreasonable time or in unreasonable conditions. However, police are not looking for the mother, because no one has filed a formal complaint. Justin Rakena, senior sergeant for Porirua Police, said, "If they do call us, we'll be acting on it." ( Trending Now )

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Sweet health

Sweet health - Unlike the empty calories we get from every gleaming, heaped spoon of super-refined sugar, jaggery used in traditional Indian cooking is considered a healthier alternative and a superior, more wholesome food

Thoughts of sugar bring only one image to mind—the crystal white granules that flow freely from the spoon, ready to be sprinkled into a morning cuppa or evening tea. But traditionally, sugar in India was never so spotless or gleaming white; it was never ridden with chemicals, bleached and processed. Extracted primarily from natural ingredients like sugar cane (and occasionally from palm and date palm), these natural sugars were called jaggery (‘gur' in North India) and ‘vellum' in Tamil Nadu). Coloured a milky brown, it was used generously in desserts and beverages. There was no guilt while eating jaggery, because in addition to its sweetness, there was another gift it gave us—it nourished the body with plenty of micronutrients and minerals.

Sweet benefits

“A good quality of jaggery has a light colour, flavour, hardness and good keeping quality,” says Rohini Saran, clinical dietician and consultant in nutrition research with the NIPCCD (National Institute for Public Cooperation and Child Development). “Jaggery is also a good source of iron and cost effective as well. When we eat sugar, extra heat is utilized by the body during digestion. We also use up our calcium and potassium reserves during this process. Jaggery on the other hand is easily digested and assimilated. Jaggary is not refined, does not involve much processing and hence nutrients are preserved to some extent. It also provides body and colour to a dish.”

Micronutrients & Minerals

A staple part of many Indian desserts and gravies, jaggery has always been an important ingredient in traditional Indian cooking. It embellishes foods in many avatars—you'll find it ground into payasam, puffed rice balls and sweetened pongal. Experts believe that the presence of micronutrients makes jaggery a wholesome addition to your diet. “It has many benefits, ranging from its negligible sodium content to the presence of many minerals,” says Saran.

“It is an ideal choice for active people and athletes because it provides slow, sustained energy (unlike processed sugar which gives you a high spurt of energy soon after you eat it, only to leave you feeling tired and drained in a little while).

The mineral content of jaggery is impressive— it has magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorous, iron and copper and is rich in Vitamins B1, B2 and vitamin C,” says Sridevi Balaji, consultant dietician and specialist in sports nutrition. “One of the biggest benefits, stemming from its rich potassium content is that it helps maintain the acid balance in the body by reducing accumulation of acids and acetones.”

If you feel the burn during or after every meal, then eating a small amount of jaggery daily will help. “This property of jaggery aids in digestion after a heavy meal or even otherwise,” says Balaji. “High potassium content also reduces the incidence of hypertension. Its antioxidant property prevents harmful free radicals (substances that develop in our bodies as a by product of our metabolic processes and which are said to cause rapid aging) from affecting the body's cells.”

Protection against pollutants

According to a study conducted by A.P.Sahu and A.K.Saxena (Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow), jaggery was found to provide protection for workers in a smoky and dusty environment. As pollution is rampant in cities and even small towns these days, jaggery assumes importance in our diets as an effective remedy. Its anti asthmatic properties, the study found, also eases breathing difficulties. This is good news for people who are sensitive or allergic to pollutants, but are constantly exposed to it.

Natural Cure

Herbal medicine has long since stumbled upon the curative effects of jaggery. Used to soothe severe cough and cold, ayurveda recommends it to bring out phlegm. Sometimes, it's added to honey and dried ginger powder, other popular natural remedies for cough. “It's also heralded as a good remedy for joint and rheumatic problems,” says Balaji.

To make jaggery a regular part of your diet, replace the sugar in your foods with the same amount of powdered jaggery. “Beverages like coffee and tea taste better with jaggery and it can be added as a sweetener that would replace sugar. It can be added to porridges for adults and children,” says Balaji.

As far as calorific count is concerned, the calories in sugar are the same as in jaggery, so if you're diabetic or dieting, you still need to keep a close watch on your intake. Excessive amounts of potassium can also cause kidney problems, so monitor judiciously for best results. ( thehindu.com )

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Can More Sleep Make Athletes Better?

Can More Sleep Make Athletes Better? - All athletes, both pro and weekend, look for that training edge that will boost their strength, improve their accuracy or extend their endurance. In their search for the perfect ergogenic aid, they may be overlooking an obvious (and free) strategy: get more sleep. One scientist, Stanford’s Cheri Mah, has been on a multiyear crusade to test, prove and publicize the athletic benefits of additional hours of slumber.

In her most recent research, Mah, a researcher at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory, tested college football players on the Stanford University team to see if more pillow time would improve their performance. They were asked to maintain their current sleep patterns for the first two weeks of the season (most getting less than 8 hours per night). Baseline times for the 20-yard shuttle run and the 40-yard dash were taken, along with scores for the Profile of Mood States (POMS) to monitor changes in mood, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to measure just what it sounds like, sleepiness.

Then, with some accommodations to their daily schedule, they were asked to sleep as much as possible, with a minimum of ten hours per night, for the next eight weeks. After retesting, Mah found some pretty significant changes.

The shuttle sprint times went from an average of 4.71 seconds to 4.61 seconds while the 40-yard dash also improved an average of .10 seconds, from 4.99 to 4.89. While it may seem small, these are actually impressive reductions over just two months. As expected, the sleepiness and fatigue levels of the players also went down significantly.

"Sleep duration may be an important consideration for an athlete's daily training regimen," Mah said. "Furthermore, sleep extension also may contribute to minimizing the effects of accumulated sleep deprivation and thus could be a beneficial strategy for optimal performance."

The research was presented at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

For the last several years, Mah has applied her theory to several Stanford sports teams. Last year, she showed that more sleep helped the women’s tennis team sprint faster and be more accurate in their serves. In 2008, Stanford swimmers were quicker in the water, quicker off the starting block and quicker in their turns after more time in bed. Men’s basketball players became faster and more accurate shooters after they were tested in 2007.

"Traditionally, elite athletes dedicate numerous hours to daily practice, strength training, and conditioning as well as work closely with nutritionists in hopes of optimizing their athletic performance," said Mah. "However, very little, if any, attention is focused on an athlete's sleeping patterns and habits.

Her mission is to convince coaches that something as simple as shut-eye can provide a genuine competitive edge. Of course, convincing student-athletes to stay in bed another few hours in the morning shouldn’t be an issue. ( lifeslittlemysteries.com)

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Time to get your child into healthy habits

Time to get your child into healthy habits - Children all over the world are starting to feel nervous about the return to school after a lovely long summer at home. Many children feel under pressure to perform well at school and many parents naturally want their children to do well in a competitive world.

The school summer holiday provides children with a wonderful release from routine and academic pressure to do well. The start of the new school year is a good time to get children into a new healthy routine. Children need a balanced life to do well in school. Healthy foods and adequate exercise help them to maintain good health and do their very best at school. Many schools do not offer enough exercise to keep your child healthy.

Start following these three simple healthy habits now to instil healthy behaviour throughout the coming school year.

Back to school breakfast

Studies have shown that children who eat a healthy breakfast are able to concentrate and perform better in school.

Parents can act as healthy role models by eating breakfast with them. To do this you will have to make time by packing bags, preparing uniform and getting lunch boxes organized the night before to ensure there is enough time to eat breakfast.

Here are some healthy breakfast tips for your child:

• Layer low fat yogurt with berries and top with granola.
• Whole-grain cereals, with milk. Top with fresh or dried fruit.
• Whole grain toast with honey or mashed banana.
• Boiled egg and toast.
• Have a special breakfast on Fridays featuring smoothies, pancakes, waffles, or croissants as a treat for eating healthy on weekdays.

Lunch boxes

Making up children’s lunch boxes is time consuming and it is very tempting to buy in ready-packed single portions that can be quick and easy to send the children off to school happy. But you have to be very careful. Drinks can be labelled good for you because they contain Vitamin C — yet they are also full of colorants and artificial orange flavoring. Buy freshly squeezed juice and add a little water. Always provide a bottle of cold water.

It is not necessary to buy small supermarket ready-wrapped lunch box snacks: Even if you are busy you can quickly prepare a happy lunch box. Children like small bite size portions so make a wholemeal bread sandwich and cut it into 8 bite size pieces; put a few grapes or berries in a bowl — cucumber and carrot sticks with a little dip are fun. And most children enjoy cherry tomatoes. t is important to also include a small treat in the lunch box. It is good for children’s teeth if they finish lunch French style with a small piece of cheese. Crisps or chips should be end-of-week treats or allow just a very few each day: Not a whole packet.

Exercise and activity

Try to encourage your child to do something active each day, such as a hobby, play a game or be involved in sport.

To increase your child’s level of activity, try to:

• Discuss a limit on the amount of time spent watching television or computer.
• Do something physical and active together.
• Go and watch your child play sports.
• Encourage daily activity, such as using the stairs. ( arabnews.com )

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