Jack in the Box Yanks Toys from Kids' Meals

 

 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Fast-food chain Jack in the Box has pulled toys from its kids' meals, a spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday.

The move, which managers at Los Angeles outlets said took effect on Thursday, comes as fast-food companies are under pressure to stop using toys to market children's meals that are high in calories, sugar, fat and salt.

Lawmakers in San Francisco and nearby Santa Clara County have passed laws that will require kids' meals to meet certain nutritional standards before they can be sold with toys.

"While we've been aware of efforts to ban the inclusion of toys in kids' meals, that did not drive our decision," Jack in the Box spokesman Brian Luscomb said.

"Our advertising and promotions have focused exclusively on the frequent fast-food customer, not children," added Randy Carmical, also a Jack in the Box spokesman.

Carmical said the San Diego-based company has been more focused on the food in its meals for children, such as grilled cheese sandwiches or grilled chicken strips. The company pulled toys from the meals when it began offering parents the option of substituting sliced apples with caramel sauce as an alternative to French fries, he said.

"We believe that providing these kinds of options is more appealing to a parent than packaging a toy with lower-quality fare," Carmical said.

The Jack in the Box decision won praise from organizations and advocates critical of the fast-food industry.

"It's terrific that Jack in the Box has taken this step," said Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "It's really a monumental step that I hope their competitors will emulate."

CSPI in December sued McDonald's Corp, the world's largest hamburger chain, to stop it from using Happy Meal toys to lure children into its restaurants.

Consumer and health advocates are using the announcement to put pressure on McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell and other fast food chains that still include toys in kids' meals.

Lobbyists for fast-food companies are fighting anti-obesity laws by asking U.S. state legislators to remove restaurant marketing from local governments' regulatory menu.

Toy giveaways make up more than half of the marketing expenditures in the fast-food industry, according to Wootan, with $360 million spent annually to put toys in kids meals.

Jack in the Box has about 2,200 restaurants across the United States, where it is the fifth-largest hamburger chain.

America’s First Lady Teams with Grocers to Provide Access to Healthy Food

 

Some of the biggest names among retail grocers have joined with first lady Michelle Obama in her campaign to provide fresh produce and nutritious foods to America’s “food deserts” in order to allow impoverished areas access to healthy fare, as a part of her signature effort to combat childhood obesity.

A “food desert” is defined by the Department of Agriculture as a Census tract where the lesser amount of 33 percent or 500 people reside more than one mile from a grocery store in an urban area, or at a distance of more than 10 miles in a rural area. Melody Barnes, director of the Domestic Policy Council, noted, “We know from the research that when people live in communities that have greater access to supermarkets, they consume more foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.”

According to Barnes, the campaign will ultimately service about 9.5 million of the 23.5 million Americans(including 6.5 million children) now living in low-income areas that currently have a shortage of grocers who sell foods that are nutritious and affordable.The new stores are expected to create more than 46,000 jobs across the country.

Several of the nation’s blockbuster chains, including Walmart, Walgreens and SuperValu, as well as a number of regional retailers, have committed to bring in excess of 1,500 stores to less fortunate neighborhoods and provide fresh and nutritious and fresh foods poorer communities.

Walmart, the nation’s largest retail grocer, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, expects to have opened between 275 to 300 food desert stores by the year 2016. The company’s expansion is part of its plan to promote eating healthier for lower prices. The savings will apply to such premium products as whole wheat pasta.

In addition, the plan includes support for charities. The well-known retailer has already opened 218 amidst low-income neighborhoods since beginning the project in 2007, according to Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs for the company. 

Walgreens, America’s largest drugstore chain, will be expanding food products in at least 1,000 stores to include fresh produce, pre-packaged salads, sandwiches, and foods that are partially prepared for easy cooking at home.
Company spokesperson, Tiffani Washington says that the Chicago-based retailer has already put their project into motion in their home city, as well as in California at San Francisco locations. CEO Greg Wasson said that greater than 45 percent of existing Walgreen stores are located in areas that don’t have easy access to fresh food.
Retail grocer SuperValu has also committed to building 250 Save-A-Lot stores over the next five years among areas having little to no access to fresh food, and expects the project to generate 6,000 jobs. Chief Executive Craig Herkert said that Supervalu already operates about 400 stores in areas that may be considered food deserts, including five that were recently opened on the south side of Chicago.
In addition, regional supermarkets such as Brown’s Super Stores in Philadelphia, and Calhoun Foods in Alabama and Tennessee plan to expand food products to assist in the joint effort of the campaign to improve access to healthy foods.
Just last month, the first lady assisted the Agriculture Department in revamping the food pyramid into a chart called MyPlate, which left out desserts. During a news conference at the White House, Obama noted, “The commitments that you all are making today have the potential to be a game changer for our kids and for our communities all across this country.”

Diet Soda Linked to Expanding the Waistline Rather Than Trimming It

Findings showed that although the waistlines of all participants expanded to some extent, those who were diet soda drinkers had a waistline increase that was 70 percent higher than those who did not partake of the low-calorie drinks. Adding insult to injury, those who consumed two or more diet sodas daily saw their waistlines expand a a rate that was five times greater than non-drinkers. The results remained true even after the researchers adjusted for other contributing factors such as physical activity levels, age, and diabetes status.

Drinking diet soda in an attempt to shed pounds may pack them on instead. Even worse, the artificial sweeteners they contain may promote the onset of type 2 diabetes. The discouraging news comes from researchers at the University of Texas, San Antonio. The findings of the research were recently presented at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) Scientific Sessions in San Diego, California.

Dr. Helen Hazuda, professor and chief of the Division of Clinical Epidemiology of the Texas University School of Medicine and lead author of the decade-long study, stated, “Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised.” She then added, “They may be free of calories but not of consequences.” Hazuda’s is the fourth large-scale study to indicate that consuming diet soda is detrimental to health.

For their study, Hazuda’s team analyzed composite data from 474 participants of the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging (SALSA), a large, population-based study of the disablement process in both elderly Mexican and European Americans. Participants reported their intake of diet soda at the beginning of the study, and were also measured for height, weight and waist circumference. The study subjects were then tracked in terms of their diet soda intake and body fat for an average of nine and one-half years.

Although the data did not indicate the reason that drinking diet soda promotes weight gain, previous research suggests that because the brain expects calories to be associated with the sweet-tasting drinks, when none are present, the body begins to store more calories as fat.

Researcher, Sharon Fowler noted, “Artificial sweeteners could have the effect of triggering appetite but unlike regular sugars they don’t deliver something that will squelch the appetite.” Therefore, those who need their soda fix may be better served by consuming full-calorie sodas in moderation instead.

Weight Loss Enemy Foods to Avoid: Forever on Your Hips Once Past the Lips

 

A new study from Harvard researchers provides scientific evidence that you are what you eat. In the quest for weight loss, the quality of foods consumed is much more significant than calorie content. Munching chips and sipping soda in front of the TV helps to pack on the pounds, giving real meaning to the term “couch potato.” The full details of the study can be found in the New England Journal of Medicine.

   Although it has long been known that a healthy diet includes fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts and lean proteins, the Harvard research team has successfully determined the pound-packing impact of ingesting culprit foods. At the top of the list of fatty offenders are those tasty potato chips, which lead to more weight gain per serving that any other food in the study, while the best power food for weight loss is yogurt.

Making healthy food choices that work with your body will have a greater positive impact overall than will simply eating less. Consuming high-quality foods will also lead to the most successful weight loss long term, as adults gain about one pound per year, on average. Of course, when focusing on weight loss, the daily overall calorie count must be considered because moderation remains key in the weight loss process.

According to lead study author Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “For diet, conventional wisdom often recommends ‘everything in moderation,’ with a focus only on total calories consumed.” He then pointed out, “Our results demonstrate that the quality of the diet — the types of food and beverages that one consumes — is strongly linked to weight gain.”

The study revealed that every extra serving of potato chips consumed within a day, results in a weight-gain of 1.69 pounds every four years. In addition, potatoes in general are foods that fatten whether French fried, mashed, boiled or even baked.

The study found that for each extra serving consumed, an average of 1.28 pounds were gained over a four-year period, while French fries alone were associated with over three pounds of added weight.

Also among the top five offenders were  sugar-sweetened beverages, unprocessed and processed red meat, with all being linked to about one pound of additional weight every four years.

Americans are Snacking Their “Weigh” to Obesity

 

As time goes on, America’s waistline continues to expand. In the age of fast-moving technology, people are moving slower and less often, with far too many becoming couch potatoes munching their way into obesity. Let’s face it. People are eating more, as well as eating more often, and now there’s a study to back it up. The details of the analysis appear in the June issue of the journal PLoS Medicine.

Barry Popkin, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, along with his co-author, have found that it’s the number of snacks and meals that people are eating—not simply portion size of foods consumed each day—that are serving to boost caloric intake to just under 2,400 calories daily. How much is eaten, and how often, contributes to the continuous increase in the American waistline.

The study found that over the past three decades, Americans have increased from partaking of 3.8 snacks and meals daily to an average of 4.9, accounting for an dramatic rise of 29 percent.

In addition, the average portion size has increased by around 12 percent, while in contrast, energy density, which is average number of calories per 1-gram serving of food, has actually declined over the 30-year period, meaning that foods rich in calories have had little to do with the obesity epidemic.

Popkin noted, “The real reason we seem to be eating more is we’re eating often.” He then added, “The frequency of eating is probably, for the average overweight adult, becoming a huge issue.”

Popkin pointed out that a much of the culpability for endless munching can be placed on food advertising as well as other marketing. He says, “It’s all about making people think they want to have something in their hands all the time. It’s there, it’s available all the time, it’s tasty. It’s not very healthy, but it’s tasty. It’s sweet, it’s salty, it’s fatty—it’s all the things we love.”

To arrive at their conclusions, Popkin and his colleague examined data gathered from four nationally representative food surveys conducted between 1977 and 2006 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results coincided with those of a prior study conducted by Popkin and his co-author, which revealed that the time interval between meals and snacks has significantly declined since 1977, in conjunction with a substantial increase in the number of calories consumed.

Popkin noted, “It used to be you’d have three meals a day. And if you snacked, it was unsweetened tea or coffee. Nowadays, everywhere you turn there’s food. If you’re driving, you have a big bag of Doritos next to you while you drive.” Moreover, he pointed out that sugary drinks such as soda, flavored and sweetened coffees, and fruit juices are also major culprits, with several hundred extra calories coming just from drinks.

Although the study findings appear to be in balance with America’s apparent dietary imbalance, the research does have a few shortcomings. The surveys from which the data came did not track the same individuals over time, and there were also variances among questions and methods used. In addition, participants self-reported their food intake for the prior 24 hours, which may have had an effect on accuracy.

According to a 2010 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 25 percent of American adults are obese. As a preventive measure for becoming a part of these alarming statistics (or to remove yourself from them), stand pat with three meals daily, remembering to keep your portions in check. In addition, enjoy some healthy snacks, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoid processed foods.

Weight Loss Maintenance: How it Differs from Dieting

 

Dieting requires tools to expend more calories than you take in. This happens in a variety of ways, but the techniques used to be successful in that phase of weight loss may differ drastically from that in keeping it off. A new study shows that the skill set required for weight loss maintenance is very different from that of the initial weight loss.

The study, published in the recent issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine, reinforces what many diet programs have advocated for years: You cannot just diet, lose weight, and go back to old behavior and habits. That’s a sure way to put the pounds back on. There needs to be a shift in thinking and activities to maintain and preserve that hard-won weight loss.

Lead author Christopher Sciamanna, and colleagues of the study out of Penn State, conducted a telephone survey of 1,165 overweight adults, which consisted of queries on 36 practices when on a weight loss journey and subsequent to their weight loss. The questions included topics such as types of food, motivational factors, following a specific weight loss program, and exercise regimen, among others.

Success was measured in their ability to lose weight—at least 10 percent of their body weight—and the ability to keep that weight off for a year or more post-diet. Those who maintained a diet and exercise program and used motivational practices had the best success in the diet phase; while keeping the weight off required a slightly different skill set.

Keeping the weight off, or losing additional weight, necessitated motivational reminders of why the weight was lost, what it took to get there, and why it is necessary to keep it off, as well as a reward system. While diet and exercise were also important—two factors that both weight loss and weight management had in common—they were less important in the maintenance stage.

Sciamanna said that one of the aims of the research was to show that changes are necessary to diet and behavior to keep weight off. Practices significantly associated with successful maintenance only were:
•    Eat plenty of low-fat sources of protein
•    Follow a consistent exercise routine
•    Reward yourself for sticking to your diet or exercise plan
•    Remind yourself why you need to control your weight

FDA Attempting to Regulate Dietary Supplements

 

The Food and Drug Administration has taken hits over their lack of regulation for dietary supplements, but are taking steps to rein in the booming industry in an attempt to safeguard consumers.

The FDA regulates dietary supplements under a different set of regulations than those covering conventional foods and drug products (prescription and over-the-counter). Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), dietary supplement manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement is safe before it is marketed. The FDA has only been responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market. Generally, manufacturers do not need to register their products with FDA nor get FDA approval before producing or selling dietary supplements.

The brouhaha over Hydroxycut and its adverse health effects is one example of how the regulations fell short. The diet supplement, which listed appetite control, weight loss, and improved energy among its positive effects, came under fire from the FDA after it received reports of adverse health effects, including one death and one person who required a liver transplant. Other problems reported included heart problems and a type of muscle damage that could lead to kidney failure. The FDA finally stepped in and warned consumers to stop using the popular line of weight loss products.

While the dietary supplement industry believes that current regulations are adequate to protect consumers because manufacturers conduct their own safety tests, this is not always the case. Rigorous testing providing safety and effectiveness data, which is required of all drugs, is not conducted in the same way for dietary supplements. And therein lies the problem.

Consumer products researcher, Consumer Reports, has conducted their own studies on protein drinks and issued a warning about the amount of protein and lead contaminants found in these popular beverages. The testing consisted of 15 protein drinks and Consumer Reports found that all the products had at least one sample containing one or more of the following detrimental ingredients: arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. In some cases, the amount of lead in a single daily serving of eight of the products exceeded California Proposition 65 levels, which would require warning labels.

Subsequent to the study, Consumers Reports issued a statement that it “believes that the FDA’s oversight under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act is inadequate to ensure that protein drinks and other dietary supplements are consistently low in heavy metals and other contaminants.  … [More] must be done to ensure that those products are properly evaluated for safety and effectiveness before they are sold to consumers.”

In response to recent pressures, the FDA has today issued a draft of a guidance document for the dietary supplements industry stipulating that manufacturers must notify the agency in advance when adding a “new ingredient” with an unknown safety profile to their products. The manufacturers must also provide evidence that the ingredient is safe for consumers. They consider this “an important preventive control to ensure that consumers are not exposed to unnecessary public health risks from new ingredients with unknown safety profiles.”

The term "new dietary ingredient" means a dietary ingredient that was not marketed in the United States in a dietary supplement before October 15, 1994. There is no authoritative list of dietary ingredients that were marketed in dietary supplements before October 15, 1994. Therefore, manufacturers and distributors (you) are responsible for determining if an ingredient is a "new dietary ingredient" and, if not, for documenting that a dietary supplement that contained the dietary ingredient was marketed before October 15, 1994.

While this is a step forward in ensuring public safety, many believe that more rigorous testing should be required of dietary supplements, and that approval for new products should undergo review prior to landing on store shelves for public availability.

Have you had a problem with a dietary supplement? Reported it to the FDA? We’d love to hear about your experience and the response received from the FDA.

Waistlines Across America Continue to Grow

Obesity rates continue to increase across America, with almost one-third of Americans now living with a body mass index (BMI) of over 30. The Southern part of the U.S. is weighing in with the highest obesity rates, with Mississippi taking top honors, and Oklahoma, Alabama and Tennessee seeing rapidly rising numbers.

The annual “F as in Fat" report from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation paints a bleak picture on the expanding girth across our great land. Over the past 15 years, seven states have doubled their rate of obesity and 10 states have doubled their rate of diabetes.

In the last year alone, 16 states had an increase in obesity and only one—Colorado—had an obesity rate below 20 percent…barely. In 2006, Colorado showed a 16.9 percent rate, so even America’s healthiest state is losing the battle.

"Today, the state with the lowest adult obesity rate would have had the highest rate in 1995," said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health. In 1980, only 15 percent of the entire U.S. population was obese.

Not one state showed a decline in the last year, either remaining steady or loosening that belt one more notch.

Much of the report agrees with one recently conducted by Dr. Earl S. Ford and colleagues from the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. In that study, the researchers looked at data on nearly 23,000 people aged 20 and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1999-2008. In 1999-2000, the researchers found, 27 percent of men were obese. By 2007-2008, that percentage had risen to 32 percent. The number of obese women inched up from 33 percent to 35 percent over the same time period.

As American’s waistlines continue to grow, so does concern for higher health care costs. With the continued growth in obesity and health problems associated with the condition, the U.S. could be facing even greater issues than once expected with our health care system. Currently, the U.S. spends billions of dollars each year on obesity-related health issues, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and type II diabetes and these costs continue to rise. Work-related losses and premature death push the costs even higher.

Eating Disorders Increase Risk of Death

 

People who suffer from anorexia, bulimia, as well as unspecified eating disorders, have a higher rate of death than those without the disease, according to newly published research out of Loughborough University in the U.K.

Researchers poured over three dozen studies conducted between 1966 and 2010. The studies followed over 17,000 individuals with eating disorders and found that individuals who had suffered from anorexia, bulimia,or other eating disorders had a higher rate of death than their healthy eating counterparts. Individuals with anorexia nervosa were 5 times more likely to die, with 1 in 5 anorexia-related deaths due to suicide. Bulimics, and those with unspecified eating disorders, were twice as likely to die.

People with anorexia have a distorted body image that causes them to see themselves as overweight even when they’re dangerously thin. Often refusing to eat, exercising compulsively, and developing unusual habits such as refusing to eat in front of others, they lose large amounts of weight and may even starve to death.

Physical problems associated with anorexia nervosa include damage to the heart and other vital organs, low blood pressure, slowed heartbeat, constipation, abdominal pain, loss of muscle mass, hair loss,sensitivity to the cold, and fine body hair growth.

While eating disorders may start with preoccupations with food and weight, they are most often about much more than food. People with eating disorders often use food and the control of food in an attempt to compensate for feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem overwhelming. Treatment should include a multi-dimensional approach, to heal both the body and the mind, working on behavior modification and lifestyle changes. Deep-rooted behavioral issues are also often a cause of eating disorders, and should be addressed to accomplish full recovery.

Hospitalizations for eating disorders jumped by 119 percent between 1999 and 2006 for kids younger than 12 and severe cases of both anorexia and bulimia have risen, as has “partial syndrome” eating disorders(where some, but not all, of the symptoms occur).

Researchers in this U.K. study could find no singular cause to account for the increase in deaths among those with eating disorders, but the effects of the disease on major organs are thought to be a contributing factor.

Kids LiveWell: Offering Healthy Menu Options at Chain Restaurants

 

Chain restaurants across the nation have banded together to unveil a new initiative that lays the groundwork for providing and promoting healthy menu options for children. The National Restaurant Association, which represents more than 380,000 businesses—from restaurants and suppliers to educators and non-profits—rolled out the “Kids LiveWell” program today,showcasing their commitment to offering families healthy options when dining out.

Kids LiveWell menu choices will be available at more than 15,000 participating restaurant locations nationwide. The menu items will focus on increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and low-fat dairy, and limiting unhealthy fats, sugars and sodium.

Criteria for inclusion in the Kids LiveWell program includes meals that meet the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines. Additionally, they need to provide the following:

• Offer at least one full children’s meal (an entrée, side and beverage) that is 600 calories or less; contains two or more servings of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and/or low-fat dairy; and limits sodium, fats and sugar
• Offer at least one other individual item that has 200 calories or less, with limits on fats, sugars and sodium, and contains a serving of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein or low-fat dairy
• Display or make available upon request the nutrition profile of the healthful menu options; and
• Promote/identify the healthful menu options.

Among the restaurants participating in the program are popular favorites: Au Bon Pain, Burger King, Chevys Fresh Mex, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Corner Bakery Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Denny’s, El Pollo Loco, IHOP, Joe’s Crab Shack, Outback Steakhouse, and Sizzler.

Sample menu items include: Silver Diner Kid’s Turkey Sliders (seen in image above), that includes two small turkey patties with cheese on an oatmeal whole grain bun with fresh fruit and a glass of milk; Chili’s offers a grilled chicken sandwich with bowl of mandarin orange slices; Joe’s Crab Shack serves up an old-fashioned mini steam pot filled with several snow crab legs, shrimp, and corn on the cob.

It is admirable that restaurants are taking the extra step to offer healthy food to diners. To make this effort worth it, parents must choose these healthier options for their children. To find out if a restaurant near you is participating in the Kids LiveWell program

Daily Diet: Blind Study Puts Premade Diet Meals to the Test

 

Now more than ever, people across the globe are focused on healthy eating, nutrition and diet fads. With obesity on the rise, the focus on these topics are more important than ever, and it can be difficult and time-consuming to cull through all the recipes, nutrition advice, and diets—both fad and tried-and-true.

Diet programs such as Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers and The Cookie Diet, and books like, The 'Prevention' Loss Weight Guidebook and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Losing Weight, all provide contradicting information about what an ideal diet is, thus making it difficult for us to pick the diet that works with our lifestyle, health goals and budget.

It’s apparent that any weight loss organization or company believes their recommendations are superior to the others, and will promote themselves in the best light possible, so what better way to know the real truth than reviews from real life people who can give an honest opinion about the effectiveness and pros and cons of these fad diets

HealthNews editors independently review various diet trends and provide in-depth reviews and information to help aid in choosing the right diet for your particular needs. Low carb diets are one of the most popular trends however, many people mistake the diet for being carb-free, when in fact, the diet allows for specific types of starch-resistant carbs, such as sweet potatoes and bananas.

Diet plan reviews not only help when deciding on the best course of action to take while dieting, it also helps to decrease the odds that the diet will be misunderstood and misused.

A good diet review will provide the user within formation on the history, basic steps, what type of foods that will be eaten,accessibility and the cost. The HealthNews review of the Fresh Diet, a meal delivery program, not only provides information about that diet specifically but it also compares it to similar plans, thus, giving the reader knowledge about options that may be more appropriate for them.

NextAdvisor.com conducted a study to determine which diet food delivery service provides the most generally appealing foods. Over a three-week time period, male and female tasters of various ages were given anonymous samples from seven companies’ “standard” meal plans. The testers then rated each meal on a scale from 1 to 10 based on taste and appearance. Each plan ran between 1200-1350 calories per day and were heated in the microwave and prepared based on the instructions for each meal.

The seven companies involved in the study were, Jenny Craig, Bistro MD, Diet-to-Go, The Biggest Loser, Nutrisystem, eDiets and Medifast. Costs per day for the food delivery programs ranged from $7.14 to $28.94/day. Four of the seven programs also had a fitness component. (Full report from NextAdvisor can be found here.)

After the study was completed, points were tallied and it was revealed that the Jenny Craig program received the highest reviews with 5 out of 5 stars for breakfast and dinner food, and 4.5 stars for lunch food. In fact one diner noted that “It didn’t seem like diet food.” High praise indeed.

The company with the lowest rating was MediFast which received only 2 out of 5 stars for breakfast foods, 2.5 stars for lunch food and 3 stars for dinner foods.

Having a review of various food delivery programs such as the one provided by NextAdvisor is essential before investing time and money into a program that may not be a fit.

If home-cooked meals and fresh foods are favored over pre-made delivery meals, HealthNews columnist Susan Brady’s article on the “Top 10 Weight Loss Cookbooks,” narrows down thousands of options when choosing a book to help with healthy meal preparation.

HealthNews Salutes: MAYA Food Oasis

 

It is difficult enough for many people living in underprivileged communities to find healthy, accessible and affordable food for their families and it would be going out on a major limb to expect unprocessed, fresh produce. Thanks to MAYA, an SMS-based “virtual grocery marketplace,” obtaining healthy foods and developing better eating habits has become much easier.

Although the abundance of unhealthy food is often to blame for our nation’s obesity problem, it should also be recognized that the lack of accessibility to healthy food may equally be to blame. The MAYA Food Oasis’s mission is to recognize the importance of fresh produce and the impact it can have on societies who are suffering from health issues. “We apply human-centered design techniques to kick-start innovation and solve the business challenges of a connected world.”

Obtaining healthy, unprocessed fruits and vegetables in underprivileged communities may be hindered due to lack of transportation, communication and education however, according to the MAYA Food Oasis official website, “While smart phones and internet access are not universal in low-income populations, SMS-enabled cellphones are commonplace.”

Using simple, text-message ordering, individual consumers can connect with producers in their area.” After the order is placed it is delivered to a local church, daycare or employment center. After delivery the customer is notified and is able to pick up their order at the designated delivery center. MAYA is also implementing a social network system which will enable customers to discuss health and wellness topics.

Not only is the consumer able to benefit from the MAYA Food Oasis program by having access to fresh produce,the supplier also benefits by reducing overhead, gaining a wider customer base and by having an advantage over other physical stores in their area.

The Bigger the Fork, the Smaller the Waistline

 

Although the preconceived notion is to think in terms of reduced food portions on small plates when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, sometimes bigger really is better, especially when it comes to the of fork you choose to eat with.

According to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, people who used an oversized fork to take bigger bites when eating out actually ate less than those who consumed their meal using a fork that was smaller than normal. The findings of the analysis were recently published in the online edition of the Journal of ConsumerResearch.

For the research team to arrive at their findings, it was a case of “buon appetito” and we’ll do the rest, with the help of a local Italian restaurant. Over a two-day period, during which two lunches and two dinners were served as part of the analysis, the researchers selected tables at random to receive either forks that were 20 percent larger than those normally used by the restaurant, or forks that were 20 percent smaller than were normally used.

Each plate of food served was weighed both prior to being carried to the table, and upon its return to the kitchen, which allowed the amount of food eaten by each person to be calculated. The surprising results revealed that those patrons who were given larger forks ate less overall, leaving more food on their plates by the end of their meal than did those using the smaller forks. This left University of Utah researchers Arul Mishra, Himanshu Mishra, and Tamara M. Masters with the task of explaining why those who received bigger bites of food actually consumed less than did those who ate smaller bites.

Their conclusions? First, the diners are visually aware of whether they are making progress in diminishing the amount of food seen on their plates in their effort to achieve satiation of their hunger. The use of a smaller fork gives the appearance that less progress has been made in achieving their goal, while the use of a larger fork provides for the appearance of a more adequate amount of food having been consumed from the plate.

In addition, those who eat with smaller forks feel the need to further their efforts in achieving hunger satisfaction by eating more forkfuls of food, which results in their actual consumption of more than an adequate amount of food.

In a news release, the researchers explained, “The fork provided the diners with a means to observe their goal progress. The physiological feedback of feeling full, or the satiation signal, comes with a time lag. In its absence, diners focus on the visual cue of whether they are making any dent on the food on their plate to assess goal progress.”

 After reaching their conclusions, the research team tested them by varying the portions of food served to the restaurant patrons. They discovered that among diners who were served larger portions, those using smaller forks ate significantly more than those using larger forks. However, when served smaller portions, the of the fork used by the diners had no affect the amount of food they consumed.

The study authors acknowledged that their findings only hold true for people who are eating out. The results are not necessarily applicable to people eating at home because their goals for satisfying hunger may differ from those of restaurant patrons.
The researchers also advised that to avoid overeating, people need to learn how to better recognize and understand their own personal hunger cues, and determine how much food they actually need to eat. Then, use your best judgment and buon appetito!

Top 5 Tips for Shopping Your Local Farmers Market

In a perfect world, we would raise our own food. Chickens running free in the backyard yielding beautiful speckled eggs with creamy yellow yolks, corn stalks towering over the carrot tops and lettuce rows. Reality is much different however, with apartments and condos meaning no available yard, work schedules and children’s activities meaning limited amounts of time at home, and then there are those who have no desire to get dirt under their nails. It’s a shame, really, because not only is homegrown food better for you, it is satisfying that the food you serve is the food you grew yourself, much like your ancestors did.

      The next best thing is to find a farmer’s market, farm stand, CSA, or greengrocer that you can trust for your fruit, vegetables, and herbs (and sometimes even eggs and freshly butchered meat products). You will know if it is organic or not, whether it comes from 4 miles, 4 states, or 4 countries away. There is a likelihood that these vendors have produce that has been picked at the height of its ripeness, instead of a week before to allow for transport.

Farmer’s markets are available in most communities across the nation, springing up in parking lots, downtown plazas, and even taking over whole city blocks. If you are fortunate, you will have several to choose from on different days of the week. For you newbies out there, here are 5 things you need to know before heading out with your reusable grocery bag, courtesy of Amelia Winslow of Eating Made Easy, a website that offers food solutions for your busy life.

1.     Stick with what you know. If you’re new to the market or to cooking, skip the exotic fruits & veggies and go for produce you’re familiar with.  You’ll be much less overwhelmed if you focus on carrots and tomatoes rather than kholrabi & ramps (yes, those are real vegetables).

2.     Limit the number of items you buy. It’s easy to go nuts when you see all this beautiful produce, but overbuying will lead to wasted food, wasted time thinking about what to do with the food, and of course wasted money.  Instead, stick to 2-3 veggies and 2-3 fruits per week, plus one kind of fresh herb and one kind of citrus fruit to use for dressings and sauces.

3.     Do some meal planning before you go. This isn’t always possible, but when you remember or have time, plan a couple of meals before you shop, so you can buy the specific produce you need to make those meals.  I usually buy a few veggies I can use for salads and hot meals, plus a few veggies and fruits for snacking.

4.     Prep produce when you get home. If you can’t do it right when you get home, plan a time within a day or so when you can wash and chop lettuce (here’s how I do it), wash and cut veggies for snacking, and wash some fruit (most fruits are better prepped right before eating, but you can always wash cherries & grapes, wash and slice strawberries, melons, & oranges).  Having a fridge full of ready-to-go veggies and fruits makes it much more likely that you’ll reach for these healthy items when you’re hungry for a snack or ready to make a meal.

5.     Keep it simple. No need to reach into the depths of your recipe collection or biggest cookbook to figure out what to make for dinner.  During summer especially, produce is so good that it’s best eaten in it’s simplest form.  Salads can simply be a platter of tomato chunks drizzled with olive oil or a bowl of sliced cucumbers with salt, lime juice, and hot sauce.  Snacks can be melon wedges, snap peas with hummus, or berries topped with yogurt.  For a main dish, toss pasta with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes (like in this recipe), or lightly saute greens to serve with fried eggs (like this).  The great thing about summer is that good food is plentiful, and the time and effort needed to make something tasty is minimal.

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Weight Loss Surgery May Cure Diabetes in Many Cases

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Most obese people with diabetes will be cured of the blood sugar disease after undergoing weight loss surgery, a new review of earlier studies suggests.

In a report published in the Archives of Surgery, researchers say eight out of ten patients could stop taking their diabetes medications following a gastric bypass operation.

"Surgery ought to be considered front line therapy for diabetes among obese people," said Dr. Jon Gould, who heads the weight loss surgery program at the University of Wisconsin and was not involved in the review.

The researchers combed through the data of nine studies of diabetics who had either gastric bypass or another form of weight loss surgery called gastric banding.

In gastric bypass, food is diverted around the stomach into a small pouch, reducing the amount of food a person can eat and hindering its absorption.

Gastric banding slips a ring over the top of the stomach to limit how much a person eats.

In 2009, more than 220,000 Americans had some type of weight loss surgery, at a price of about $20,000 per patient, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Eight of the nine studies included between 23 and 177 patients, while one study tracked the outcomes of 82,000 patients. Each study followed the patients for at least 12 months after their weight loss surgery.

Among diabetics who had gastric bypass—the gold standard weight loss surgery in the U.S.—83 percent wound up free of diabetes medications, some within days of the procedure.

Sixty-two percent of diabetics who had the gastric banding procedure could stop taking diabetes medication while maintaining good control of their blood sugar.

Dr. Rick Meijer at the Institute for Cardiovascular Research at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and the lead author of the new report said those outcomes exceed what can be achieved with conventional methods of diabetes treatment.

"In standard practice, only a very minor group of individuals with an iron-will can lose enough weight to be cured from type 2 diabetes mellitus," Meijer wrote in an email to Reuters Health. "The rest of patients have a chronic disease with the need of daily medication-regimens."

Can Obesity Increase the Risk of Breast Cancer?

Although smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol increase the risks of developing cancer, being overweight increases the risks of developing breast cancer, particularly in women who are beyond menopause. New research shows a correlation between breast cancer in postmenopausal women and high sex hormone levels such as testosterone and estrogen.

According to the study at the University of Oxford, commissioned by Cancer Research UK, obesity is becoming the biggest driving force behind the most common form of breast cancer, beating out cigarettes and alcohol as a leading cause of death for women beyond menopausal age.

According to the researchers who conducted the study, “Although the breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women is known to be associated with levels of sex hormones such as estrogens, the factors that determine the levels of these hormones are not well understood. While obesity is thought to increase the risk of cancer through its association with high levels of estrogen, it is unclear how other risk factors affect sex hormone levels.”

The researchers preformed an analysis that combined the results of thirteen previously completed studies of 6,000 women who did not have breast cancer to see how their hormone levels were related to age, alcohol and cigarette use, and weight.

The BBC study, which was published in the British Journal of Cancer, concluded that “Compared to slim women, the hormone levels, chiefly the estrogen hormones, were higher in overweight women.” The study also found that women who drink two or more alcoholic drinks a day, or who smoked 15 or more cigarettes a day, had higher hormone levels.

Although the findings give weight to the importance of maintaining a healthy weight, it should be noted that because the factors were analyzed at only a single point in time, the study does not take into account how factors such as lifestyle changes and health issues are related to each other. For example, the study cannot prove whether or not the rise in a woman’s hormone levels causes weight gain, or if a woman’s weight gain causes a rise in hormone levels.

The study did not analyze data on women with cancer, instead it focused on whether obesity and lifestyles were related to hormone levels which can increase cancer risk.

McDonald’s to Include Extra Side of Healthy in Happy Meals

 

Fast food restaurants have been feeling the pressure about the overall quality and health quotient of their menu items. Children’s meal packs, like McDonald’s Happy Meal, have been hit especially hard, given the meteoric rise of childhood obesity. San Francisco went so far as to propose and pass a ban on traditional Happy Meals, reasoning that the free giveaways lure children in to buy unhealthy food.

McDonald’s has heard the activists knocking (nay, pounding) on the door, and in an effort to comply with stricter regulations in jurisdictions across the country, and to help America’s youth, it is offering up a healthier Happy Meal, averaging 20 percent less calories with healthier ingredients.

Starting in September, with a graduated rollout across the country, every Happy Meal will be served with a vegetable or fruit, which will rotate given the season and availability of produce. Options will include apples, carrots, pineapple, mandarin oranges and raisins. Served along with this new component will be a reduced portion of French fries, burger or chicken nuggets, and beverage. Health activists have long rallied against the addition of fries in the meal, but consumers have said otherwise.

"People come to McDonald's and, first of all, they want the choice and the control to be theirs, but their expectation of a Happy Meal does include a fry," said Jan Fields, president of McDonald's USA. "When we did it without fries, there was a huge disappointment factor."

To satisfy consumers, McDonald’s chose to keep the fries in the meal, but reduce the portion from 2.4 ounces down to 1.1 ounces. Low-fat milk and fat-free chocolate milk will be the two options offered as beverage, with the consumer having ask specifically for soda with a Happy Meal.

These moves are admirable on the part of McDonald’s, but will children eat the extra side of healthy? McDonald’s has been pushing—through advertisements—their apple dippers with caramel sauce in lieu of fries, but despite widespread knowledge of the choice, only 11 percent of children (and/or their parents) order this healthier option.

Certainly the option will be there to order a lower-calorie, healthier option Happy Meal, but time will tell whether parents and kids are getting the message.

Atkins Diet Plan

The Atkins Diet Plan gained popularity in 1972 with the publication of Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution. Dr. Atkins, the founder and former Executive Medical Director of The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, was one of the first vocal proponents of a low-carbohydrate diet. Long a voice for nutritional medicine, that first book has spawned newly revised versions as well as diet variations such as the South Beach Diet.

The diet’s popularity has waxed and waned over the last several decades and has come under fire from certain parts of the established medical and nutrition communities, due to its higher intake of cholesterol and calories from fat. But is has proven fairly effective for those that have followed the diet faithfully.

Basic Diet Tenets/Nutritional Philosophy

This Atkins Diet weight loss (and weight maintenance) program is based on the theory that your body needs more protein and less carbs. It is rooted in the science of eating fewer refined carbohydrates and refined sugars – what we refer to as ‘bad carbs.’”

The Atkins Diet Revolution gives you the tools to change your eating habits, adopting a permanent lifestyle change that helps you lose and maintain your weight without having to count calories (although you will have to learn to gauge carb counts). Dr. Atkins believed that you would feel better, look better, and be re-energized by following the basic tenets of the diet.

There are 4 stages of the Atkins Diet Plan:

• Induction: lasting for 2 or more weeks, very restrictive


• Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL): lasting until your weight loss goal is within 5-10 pounds


• Pre-Maintenance: occurs during the last 5-10 pounds of weight loss


• Lifetime Maintenance: once desired weight is achieved

While the program is somewhat restrictive in the initial stages, this allows your body to slowly ramp up and adjust to a new way of eating. The food you eat allows your body to target fat stores to be used for energy, rather than carbohydrates. Carbs turn to glucose to fuel your body. If you restrict your intake of carbs, the body will look elsewhere for that fuel, which means that energy will instead come from the fat stores in your body.

While you don’t count calories on Atkins, you also don’t eat unlimited amounts of calories either. There still needs to be some control, as the whole idea of taking in as many calories as you expend still holds true. You are just going to get those calories from different sources. The difficulty here is finding and adjusting to those foods. This includes the time it may take for shopping and preparation, as well as providing variety so you don’t get stuck eating eggs every morning for breakfast.

Unlike Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, there is no storefront or office, no counselors, no meetings. There is a comprehensive website, which allows you to join for free and receive their newsletter, use their forums, and get support from the Atkins Community.

Exercise/Fitness Component

While there is no specific exercise regimen or fitness component, Dr. Atkins believed that exercise, as well as nutritional supplements, were vital to the success of the diet. Exercise is critical to your overall health and well being, and if you read any of the books on the diet, this will be reinforced. But it is up to you to find what works. The books and site do not tell you what to do or how to do it.

Food

The primary source of your food will be the grocery store. Atkins does have some snack foods (Atkins Day Break Bars, Atkins Advantage Bars,  Atkins Endulge Bars),  nutritional drinks (Atkins Advantage Shakes), and two low-carb cooking products (Atkins All-purpose Baking Mix, Penne Pasta), most of which are available at your local grocery and through the website.

The official Atkins book and website all have food guidance areas, as well as recipes. You can also easily find cookbooks at the library and bookstore and recipes online in various places. It is not difficult to follow or find products you can eat, and due to mandatory labeling of food, you can easily determine carb counts of food items.

All this means that your monthly grocery bill will not skyrocket due to expensive meal plans or frozen dinners, although it may increase somewhat due to the higher intake of higher valued protein items. Most of the dishes you prepare can be eaten by the whole family, so no additional or separate meal necessary. Eating out is not terribly difficult. Restaurants are happy to replace starches with veggies, and even fast food outlets like In ‘n’ Out make protein-style burgers, wrapped in lettuce.

Ease of Use

Once you read about the diet and understand the phase you are about to undertake, the diet is easy to follow. You rarely feel hungry. The downsides:

• You have to cook your own meals, rather than buy commercially prepared diet foods, but there are shortcuts which can be easily found. 


• Learning to count carbs

Cost (per month)

Membership: No cost
Food: slight increase
Other: book, cookbook

As with any diet program, do your research first. Go to the library, search the internet, and above all, consult your doctor about any diet regimen that you are contemplating.

Daily Diet: Increase in Incidence of Celiac Disease

Apparently you are never too old to be diagnosed with celiac disease, and new findings challenge the notion that it is something that you develop in childhood. A study published in the latest issue of the Annals of Medicine has found not only an increased incidence of the disease, but that the incidence (or risk) of celiac disease rises with age.

Researchers found that the incidence of celiac disease has doubled in the United States every 15 years since 1974. The number of individuals with celiac disease blood markers rose from 1 in 501 in 1974 to 1 in 219 in 1989, and then to 1 in every 133 people in 2003. Results also confirmed previous research that elderly people are twice as likely to develop the disease compared to the general population.

Celiac disease is an inherited digestive system disorder caused by an intolerance to gluten that affects the digestive process of the small intestine. Once thought to be a rare condition, research shows that it affects about 3 million people. The disease often goes undiagnosed because there are as many as 300 different symptoms, many of them subtle and seemingly unrelated. In fact, it is sometimes confused with irritable bowel syndrome, iron-deficiency anemia, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, intestinal infections, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

When a person who has celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, their immune system responds by attacking the small intestine, destroying the intestinal villi, thus inhibiting the absorption of vital nutrients into the body. Left untreated, the disease may increase the risk of many other conditions, including hepatitis, thyroiditis, lymphoma, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Although genetic markers for celiac disease have been identified, the actual trigger that causes an individual to lose gluten tolerance is unknown. Study leader Alessio Fasano, M.D., director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research, said, “Even if you have these genetic markers, it's not your destiny to develop an autoimmune disease. Our study shows that environmental factors cause an individual's immune system to lose tolerance to gluten, given the fact that genetics was not a factor in our study since we followed the same individuals over time.”

The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet. But despite the fact that manufacturers are required to label food that contains gluten, adhering to a gluten-free diet can be tricky business. In addition to the obvious places gluten can be found in a normal diet, such as breads, cereals and pasta, there are many hidden sources of gluten. Everyday products such as medicines, vitamins and even lip balms contain gluten, as does thickening agents, emulsifiers, fillers, flavor enhancers, and food stabilizers.

Long-Term Weight Loss May Be Harmful to Health

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Long-term weight loss may release into the blood industrial pollutants linked to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers said on Tuesday.

These compounds are normally stored in fatty tissues, but when fat breaks down during weight loss, they get into the blood stream, said lead researcher Duk-Hee Lee at the Kyungpook National University in Daegu in South Korea.

"We are living under the strong dogma that weight loss is always beneficial, but weight gain is always harmful...but we think that increased (pollutant) levels (in the blood) due to weight loss can affect human health in a variety of ways," she wrote in an email to Reuters.

Lee and an international team of colleagues studied 1,099 participants in the United States and concentrations of seven such compounds in their blood, they said in a paper published in the International Journal of Obesity.

"Once released into the bloodstream, these pollutants are able to reach vital organs," the researchers said in a statement.

Those who lost most weight over 10 years had the highest concentrations of the compounds, called persistent organic pollutants (POPs), compared to those who gained or maintained a steady weight.

"There is emerging evidence that POPs ... are not safe. POPs (are) linked to type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, periodontal disease," Lee said.

The researchers factored in age, gender and race to explain the differences in concentrations of these pollutants but weight history remained a statistically significant factor.

More studies were needed to establish if such harm outweighed the benefits to be gained from weight loss, Lee said.

SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/pyx89n International Journal of Obesity, online September 7, 2010.

Obesity Surgery Tied to Lower Diabetes Risk in Pregnancy

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Severely obese women who undergo weight-loss surgery may have a decreased risk of developing diabetes during future pregnancies, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 700 women who had undergone obesity surgery, those who'd had the procedure before becoming pregnant were 77 percent less likely to develop pregnancy-related diabetes than those who'd had a pregnancy before their surgery. They also had a lower rate of cesarean section.

The findings, published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, add to evidence of the potential health benefits of weight-loss surgery.

Research has shown that the surgery, which restricts the amount of food a person can eat, can spur substantial weight loss and help control obesity-related conditions like type 2 diabetes.

Studies have come to conflicting conclusions, however, regarding the effects on gestational diabetes, a form of the disorder that arises during pregnancy.

While gestational diabetes usually resolves after childbirth, during pregnancy it may cause the fetus to grow abnormally large, which can make a C-section or forceps necessary and raise the risk of postpartum bleeding. Women who develop gestational diabetes are also at increased risk of type 2 diabetes later in life.

For the new study, Dr. Anne E. Burke and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore reviewed insurance records of 23,594 U.S. women who had undergone obesity surgery between 2002 and 2006.

Of those women, 346 had given birth during that same time period, but before having the surgery; another 354 had given birth after the surgery—typically about 20 months later.

Most had undergone gastric bypass, in which the upper portion of the stomach is stapled off to create a small pouch that restricts the amount of food a person can eat at one time. The surgeon also creates a bypass around the rest of the stomach and a portion of the small intestine, which limits the body's absorption of food.

A minority—42 women overall—had undergone gastric banding, where an adjustable band is used to create the pouch at the upper part of the stomach.

Burke's team found that among women who had delivered before weight-loss surgery, 27 percent developed gestational diabetes during the pregnancy. That compared with eight percent of those who'd delivered after their surgery.

Similarly, the rate of C-section was lower in the latter group: 28 percent versus 43 percent.

The researchers then factored in two other variables: the women's age and whether they had ever had a C-section in the past, which raises the odds of having one in subsequent pregnancies. With those factors considered, obesity surgery was linked to a 77 percent reduction in the risk of gestational diabetes and a 52 percent decrease in the odds of C-section.

The findings "add to a growing body of evidence in favor of a protective effect" of weight-loss surgery against gestational diabetes and C-section, Burke told Reuters Health.

However, she added, "I do not think this is saying that obese women need to delay pregnancy until after having this surgery."

For one, only certain, severely obese women would be candidates for the procedure. Moreover, Burke pointed out, women should first try to shed weight through diet and exercise before turning to surgery.

The study has limitations, the researchers acknowledge. Chief among them is the fact that it was a review of insurance records, rather than a controlled study where women were recruited and then followed over time to compare the pregnancy outcomes of those who had obesity surgery with those who did not.

According to Burke, it would be difficult, for both practical and ethical reasons, to conduct a randomized, clinical trial -- in which women would be randomly assigned to have weight-loss surgery either before or after a pregnancy.

But, she noted, it would be more feasible to do a study where women were followed over time to look at the pregnancy outcomes of women who chose to have weight-loss surgery and those who did not.

In general, weight-loss surgery may be an option for people with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher, which puts them in the category of severe obesity. It may also be an option for people who are less severely obese but have chronic medical conditions like type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure.

The risks include short-term complications from surgery, like serious bleeding, infection and blood clots; longer-term risks include vitamin and mineral deficiencies and hernia development. And an estimated 10 percent of patients have an unsatisfactory weight loss or eventually regain much of the weight they had shed.

An estimated 220,000 Americans underwent some form of weight-loss surgery, most often gastric bypass, in 2009, according to the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery.

On average, the procedures cost about $20,000 to $25,000. Whether surgery is a cost-effective way to prevent gestational diabetes is a question for future research, according to Burke's team.

A study published last month found that weight-loss surgery may curb the costs of managing type 2 diabetes.

The study, which examined insurance claims of more than 2,200 weight-loss surgery patients, found that among those with diabetes before the surgery, only 15 percent were still taking diabetes medications two years after the procedure. (See Reuters Health story of August 16, 2010.)

Diabetic patients' yearly healthcare costs averaged nearly $6,400 in the two years before surgery; the typical cost of the surgery plus hospitalization was almost $30,000.

The researchers concluded that because the weight loss won by surgery can be maintained for years, the procedure could be cost-saving in the long run for people with type 2 diabetes.

SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/kub83p Journal of the American College of Surgeons, August 2010.

The Clean Diet: Newest Celebrity Fad?

It’s no secret that celebrities feel the pressure to look beautiful, to be thin and smart and the best at what they do. Many mere mortals share that trait, and both groups often jump in headfirst to diets and weight loss programs outside the standard norm. It’s considered newsworthy to highlight the latest fast and diet trend, particularly in products that lack any celebrity endorsement.

While Jenny Craig has its Valerie Bertinelli, Nutrisystem has Marie Osmond, and Jennifer Hudson is touting Weight Watchers, there are hundreds of diet systems that lack star power, and will work all the angles to garner publicity. Two weeks ago Master Cleanse jumped on the bandwagon when Demi Moore mentioned trying the liquid-only detxing cleanse. (Trying being the operative word as she admittedly lasted less than a week on the program.) This week it’s the Clean diet that is making news, again with Ms. Moore providing the buzz. (Although in all fairness Gwyneth Paltrow has endorsed this product in the past and Debra Messing and Mariska Hargitay have used the program.)

Clean: Remove, Restore, Rejuvenate is the brainchild of Dr. Alejandro Junger, a New York City cardiologist and practitioner of integrative medicine. This 21-day detox program is designed to remove toxic chemicals that have invaded the body. According to Clean literature, “As the toxicity of modern life increases and disrupts our systems on a daily basis, bombarding us through our standard American diet and chemical-filled environments, our ability to handle the load hasn’t accelerated at the same rapid pace.” Hence, the Clean detox system to the rescue.

The Clean program has a cost of $350, which includes everything you need for the three-week program except for your daily lunch meal. The kit includes brown-rice based shake powders that contain “nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients,” fiber powder, probiotics, herbal antimicrobials (used to treat gut bacteria), and an herbal supplement.

Ordering the Clean kit allows you to join the Clean community online where there are educational videos and forums. During the 21-day program you use the products to make one shake in the morning and one shake in the evening. You also take supplements that are supplied. You get one meal per day, best eaten at mid-day. In addition to eating these three meals, there are specific guidelines for the detox program:

Follow the Elimination Diet guidelines for everything you consume. [There are specific foods you need to remove from your daily diet during this time.]

Leave a twelve-hour window between the last meal of one day and the first meal of the next. Try not to snack in between. [Water is suggested to reduce hunger pangs.]

Make sure you have a bowel movement before the end of the day. If this doesn’t happen spontaneously, make it happen with laxatives or castor oil.

Drink enough pure water to cause you to pee often. If more than one hour has gone by without peeing, you are not drinking enough.

Move. Walk. Take the stairs. Jump. Incorporate more movement into your day, as often and for as long as you possibly can. Park your car two blocks away from your destination. Get off the subway or the bus a stop before you should and walk the rest of the way.

Rest. Get enough sleep. And breathe deeply all day long.

There is little scientific evidence or research studies behind the Clean program. It is based on Dr. Jung’s own experience and experimentation. It does, however, seem to have caught the eye of Hollywood and will no doubt be more visible in the future, meaning more “regular folks” will attempt to use the program.

As with any diet program, do your research first. Go to the library, search the internet, and above all, consult your doctor about any diet regimen that you are contemplating.

Top 10 Most Popular Weight Loss Diets

Obesity is a costly issue, but weight loss can be just as expensive. Trying diet after diet after diet not only takes money out of your pocket, it can lead to frustration, binge eating, and depression. It’s important to find a diet that is not only proven, but one that fits your needs, budget, and lifestyle. To find the right one takes more than a friend’s reference; it takes some investigation and planning.

With that in mind, along with the hundreds of diets that have been developed over the past few decades, there are a number of diets that consistently land in the Top 10, according to a variety of ranking systems. The ones included in this list are certainly not inclusive but are meant to give consumers an idea of what works for the majority of people. Each one should still be examined for the appropriateness as it pertains to each individual.

1. Jenny Craig


2. Mediterranean Diet


3. Zone Diet


4. Weight Watchers


5. Volumetrics


6. Flat Belly Diet


7. NutriSystem


8. South Beach Diet


9. Atkins Diet


10. Sugar Busters Diet

Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, and the Zone Diet all require the purchase of food from the companies themselves to assure caloric intake and portion control. All of the plans can be expensive, though if substituted for a lifestyle that used to include dining out and fast food meals, it may not be that much of a financial burden. All three do have the benefit of teaching portion control for those who use the diets for awhile and venture out on their own, but staying on the plans allows the added benefit of meeting with counselors, having calories counted by the company tracking food intake, and keeping to a strict regimen.

Weight Watchers is also a popular diet that promotes its own meals for purchase, but more emphasis is put on the points system of counting calories. Customers pay for meetings, but the knowledge gained about spacing out meals and watching the nutritional intake involved is a tool that can be used well beyond the time spent as an official member.

Several diets focus on the abdominal region, which is one of the most problematic for many seeking weight loss advice. Stomach fat is the easiest to gain and toughest to lose, making diets like the Flat Belly Diet and Abs Diet popular. The first is geared toward females and concentrates on eating monounsaturated fatty acid-based foods with few calories per meal but meals every four hours. The latter—Abs Diet—focuses mainly on ab-centered exercises mixed with a diet similar to the other with more frequent but smaller meals.

The South Beach and Atkins diet plans have increased in popularity in the last decade due to results that show consumers lose initial weight quite quickly. That happens, though, due to the strict nature of the diets and the focus on proteins.

The Mediterranean Diet, Volumetrics, and Sugar Busters Diet each take unique approaches to their diet suggestions, which work only if the consumer has a penchant for that particular lifestyle change. The Mediterranean, for example, concentrates on cheap and easy meals with an emphasis on vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish, poultry, dairy, and olive oil. Volumetrics focuses on fiber-heavy foods and a watchful eye on various vitamins and minerals, and it eliminates all packaged foods and sugar/fat-based items. Sugar Busters reduces carbohydrates in the diets with the exclusion of potatoes, white bread, and sugar.

Most weight loss programs incorporate or encourage exercise, some have monthly fees or mandatory food-purchase requirements. HealthNews editors have reviewed many of the aforementioned diets, along with many others, to help make your research just a little bit easier. So, if you are in the market for a weight loss plan, take the time to check each out and find out which is right for you.

How to Gain Weight Eating Healthy Foods

It may feel pretty lonely out there when everyone you know is trying to shed pounds and you are trying to put some on. However, your goals are exactly the same as those trying to lose some weight: To eat a healthy diet, and reach a normal body weight. It’s just as much of a challenge for the overweight person to lose pounds, as it is for you to gain them.

The good news is that it’s possible for all of you to sit at the same table, with the same menu, enjoy each other’s company, and reach your goals. You will be choosing a few things that they may be avoiding, but generally, eating healthy to gain weight involves eating the same variety of foods as your friends.

Whether you are underweight because of a recent illness, an eating disorder, or simply because your sense of taste declined as you grew older, the way to increase your weight is to increase the calories in your diet. To do this in a healthy way, you will not want to just add more junk foods to your diet. Junk foods don’t offer much nutritionally, and are loaded with unhealthy saturated fats and sugar.

Eating fish, nuts, and even seeds, routinely throughout the week will provide you with needed healthy fat and calories. Because red meat has a high saturated fat content, meals of this type would best be limited to one or two times a week.

Black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, dried peas, and soy beans are all good sources of protein and calories. A delightful snack is easy to make by placing beans and cheese on a tortilla; roll it up, and microwave until it’s hot, enjoy.

Powdered milk added to soups, sauces, and smoothies, is a relatively effortless way to get bonus calories and protein.

Olive oil is a healthy diet choice because this monounsaturated fat will add calories to your diet, and help keep your cardiovascular system in good shape. For healthy salad dressings and mayonnaise, choose those made with canola or safflower oil.

The carbohydrates found in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, infuse energy and nutrients into your daily diet. The USDA recommends that our daily diet include lots of grains and cereals; and that at least three servings a day are from whole gain breads, cereals, or and pastas. Whole grain carbohydrates provide calories, fiber, nutrients, and some protein in a healthy diet.

More Time Needs to Be Spent on Exercising to Lose Weight

With more and more developing nations adopting the Western lifestyle, they are also exposing themselves to the plight of that lifestyle—namely obesity. Obesity-related ailments including diabetes, stroke, gallbladder, and heart disease are responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. The Surgeon General reports that about one-third or over 68 million Americans age 20 and older are overweight, while another 64 million are classed as obese.

Current data, showing that over one-third of American women are now considered obese, has given cause for a new study led by John Jakicic, chairman of the Department of Health and Physical Activity at the University of Pittsburgh. It appears that the American Heart Association's current guidelines of at least 30 minutes of moderately intense activity five days a week (150 minutes per week) falls short-by almost half-of what the new study recommends. After following 200 women considered being overweight or obese for a two-year period, Jakicic's team found that in order to take of weight and keep it off that the study group needed to exercise about 275 minutes a week, which translates to 55 minutes, five times a week or 40 minutes a day.

For the study, the women were divided into four groups, each with a different calorie intake restriction between 1,200 and 1,500 per day, and each group was assigned moderate to vigorous physical activity with varying levels of duration requiring a calorie burn of 1,000 to 2,000 per week. After six months, all of the women had lost weight; averaging between 8 and 10 percent of their starting weight-but only 47 women were able to sustain that weight loss at the two-year mark. These women exercised the most, burnt the most calories, and reported eating less food in general and decreasing dietary fat. The lead author of the study, John Jakicic, stated that people need to exercise more to keep losing weight, especially if they are already obese or overweight.

The study was supported by grant funds from the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and reported in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

It is hard for many people to find time for this kind of exercise with today's hectic life style, but there are ways to add more activity to your day that doesn't require much extra time. Try walking or biking to work, take the stairs, do leg lifts while sitting at your desk, wear wrist or leg weights during exercise or all day, be creative and make-up some of your own. Anything that keeps you moving helps to burn calories, and that is what it takes to get the weight off and keep it off.