Healthy Dieting: Beyond Weight Loss

According to this article in the NY Times, a study conducted at the Nuclear Research Center in Dimona, Israel followed the patterns of 322 dieters, both men and women, on three different types of diets- a low-fat diet, a Mediterranean diet; and a low-carb diet based on the Atkins diet plan.

By the end of the two year study low-fat dieters had a net loss of six pounds, and the Mediterranean and low-carb dieters had a net loss of about 10 pounds. Even though weight loss was modest, researchers claimed that there were noticeable improvements in cholesterol and other health indicators. Iris Shai, the study’s lead author mentions:

“This suggests that healthy diet has beneficial effects beyond weight loss.”

Eating a Big Breakfast Helps Weight Loss

BBC News reports that eating a wholesome, hearty breakfast in the morning might actually aid in losing weight. Dr Jakubowicz, from Virginia Commonwealth University, tested 96 obese and physically inactive women, half of who had a low diet and the other half ate a heartier breakfast.

For the first four months, the low-carb dieters appeared to do better , they lost an average of 28 pounds compared to the 23 pounds lost by those eating a big breakfast. However, the results reversed after eight months. The low-carb dieters put on an average of 18 of those pounds back, while the big breakfast eaters continued to lose weight, an average of 16.5 pounds.

A spokesman for the British Nutrition Foundation mentioned:

"This is probably because when we don't have breakfast we're more likely to get hungry before lunch and snack on foods that are high in fat and sugar, such as biscuits, doughnuts or pastries."

Has Child Obesity in the U.S. Reached its Peak?

According to today’s article in BBC News, the results from data compiled from 1999 to 2006 shows that obesity rates remain stable in the U.S. at 16%. Obesity rates have been growing exponentially in the United States in the past three decades.

Health experts claim that public health campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the obesity problem and healthier school meals has directly attributed to the stable rates we now see.

Cynthia Ogden, epidemiologist for the National Center for Health Statistics, mentions:

"It doesn't mean we've solved it, but maybe there is some opportunity for some optimism here."

Studies will continue to monitor this trend as the influence to live a healthier lifestyle goes on.

Insulin Injections Help Decrease Progression in Early Diabetes

According to a Chinese study conducted which is mentioned in this article in BBC News, patients with type 2 diabetes who had an initial course of insulin injections did better than those who only received oral diabetes tablets.

During the trial, one group was administered daily insulin injections for a period of two weeks while the other group only received anti-diabetic tablets. After a year, 45% of those given insulin injections were able to maintain a healthy glucose level, but only 27% of those who took the tablets were able to maintain a healthy glucose level.

Pav Pank, care advisor at Diabetes UK mentions:

"The research shows that considering using insulin early when people are first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes might be an additional way to achieve good diabetes management. Nevertheless decisions about treatment need to be made on an individual basis for each patient."

More research will have to be done though, before any conclusions and practices begin to be advocated.

New Study on Quitting Smoking: Are Social Groups the Key?

There have been many methods of quitting smoking over the years; some examples include the nicotine patch, taking prescription medication, and chewing nicotine gum. Yet, according to this NY Times article the best method might be programs that involve group involvement, since quitting has a ripple effect and causes the entire group to follow.

The study was done by Dr. Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler over a span of 32 years, and throughout those years they followed the patterns of both smokers and non-smokers. The study concluded that people genereally begin and stop smoking in groups.

Duncan Watts, principal research scientist at Yahoo! Research in New York mentions:

“We tend to think of individuals as atomized units, and we think of policies as good or bad for individuals. This reminds us that we are all connected to each other, and when we do something to one person, there are spillover effects.”

Influence seems to be the driving key in the success of smoking cessations. Smokers aren’t stopping one by one; instead they are stopping in groups.

How are you preparing Your Vegetables?

It’s a common fact that we should eat more vegetables, but this latest article in the NY Times explains that how we prepare the vegetables is just as important.

Studies show that a diet rich in vegetables have attributed to decreasing rates in heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. A study down on 198 Germans who adhered to a strict raw food diet showed that even though they had normal levels of Vitaman A and a high level of beta carotene, they fell short on their lycopene levels. There are several techniques that can either stimulate the growth or lessen the amount of vitamins in vegetables. For example, boiling carrots increases the carotenoid levels while boiling broccoli caused a 22 to 34 percent loss of vitamin C.

Read the full article to see how different methods of preparing your vegetables can affect your health.

Leading Study on Healthy Food Snacks in Children

BBC News recently wrote an article on the latest study performed by Cardiff University, in which they measured the amount of healthy food snacks of children from ages 9 to 11 that was consumed in 43 schools. All 23 schools were asked to start selling fruit snacks at a variety of different prices, and to stop selling all sweets. Each school also continued their own existing policies on bringing food into school.

After the children were surveyed on how much fruit they eat, there was a limited increase in the number of fruit snacks children ate with the addition of fruit snacks alone. There were though, a much higher percentage of children who ate fruit snacks in schools that had a “no food” policy, and schools that only allowed children to bring in healthy fruit snacks to school.

Professor Laurence Moore, from the Cardiff Institute mentions:

"Our results suggest that children are more willing to use fruit tuck shops and eat fruit as a snack at school if they and their friends are not allowed to take in unhealthy snacks. This highlights the importance of friends' behaviour and of peer modelling, and of the need for schools to put policies in place to back up health interventions."

This in turn has led to talks of banning unhealthy food snacks in all schools across the UK.