Tempting times for children

Wed. Nov 19, 2008

Keeping the excitement and joy of the holidays alive while restricting your diet to combat a weight problem, diabetes, high blood pressure, or a host of other conditions treated with diet, can be difficult -especially if you are a child.

Parents have a key role to play in helping their children cope with the temptations of too many treats, skipped meals, and loafing around. University of Rochester Medical Center eating disorders and childhood obesity experts, alike, say we should be careful not to lose our healthy eating habits during the holiday season.

"Focus on being with family, friends and loved ones, rather than 'what's to eat, '" says Richard E. Kreipe, M.D., a professor of the pediatrics Golisano Children's Hospital and an eating disorders expert. Model healthy eating and promote family activities to ensure a happy and healthy holiday environment for kids and their families.

Model Healthy Eating

Healthy eating is a lifestyle. "Kids who are taught from a young age to eat well and note their hunger level are much more prepared to make healthy choices later in life," says Stephen R. Cook, M.D., M.P.H. Bring the kids into the kitchen while preparing healthy holiday meals. By watching adults prepare foods, kids can get some tips on healthy eating and engage in a family activity.

At the dinner table, adults should encourage small portions of a variety of foods and lots of fruits and vegetables. "Encourage water as the beverage of choice between meals," said Kreipe. Milk is another nutrient-rich beverage.

Express Excitement

It is important not to overemphasize healthy habits. Pressuring kids to eat things they do not like and prohibiting certain foods can be frustrating and stressful to kids. "Talk with children ahead of time about taking small portions, eating single-servings and sharing desserts," advised Cook.

"The single most important thing that parents can do is lead by example," stresses Kreipe. "Listen twice as much as you talk and don't talk about food in the same breath as calories, guilt, or 'paying the price.'" Turn healthy eating into a positive experience by showing excitement about trying a variety of healthy foods in small portions.

Be Active

Cold weather doesn't have to limit activity during holiday seasons. There is plenty that families can do to get off the couch and enjoy one another's company. "Going for a nice brisk walk, especially after eating a heavy meal, can be refreshing and relaxing," Kreipe says.

"Play family games together, play music and dance," encouraged Cook. "Engaging in activities that don't center on food invites everyone to participate. Plus, it is a healthier alternative to watching the game with a bowl of chips." Make the holidays about more than just eating and gift-giving. Get creative and carve out fun activities to do with the entire family for a fulfilling and memorable holiday season.

SOURCE: University of Rochester Medical Center

Keeping it lite these holidays

Tue. Nov 18, 2008

Holiday food. You dig in, savoring every bite. Now the meal is over and you are going through that terrible cycle of holiday remorse. Sure, it's great to be able to indulge in some festive food favorites, but there is always that guilt afterward.

Wahida Karmally, Dr.P.H., R.D., C.D.E., a registered dietitian on the Nutrition Advisory Committee at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, says you can avoid this psychological turmoil by adopting a more sensible approach to holiday eating and exercise. "You will not gain weight from one meal by itself. Consistency is the key; if you eat healthful meals during the months before the holidays, a splurge or two can be fit in."

"Don't deny yourself the occasional treat. What people need to realize is that everybody can eat something of everything it's just a question of how much," she adds.

The following is the holiday feast survival guide a road map of sorts to keep you and your diet from straying too far this year.

• Plan ahead. Remember the "calorie bank" concept. Save calories the week before to give yourself more calories to eat during the holidays.
• Never go to a party hungry. Snack on fruit, non-fat yogurt or vegetables before you leave for the party. You will be less tempted to overindulge while you're there.
• Take control of your environment whenever possible. Never engage in conversation while sitting next to a platter of your favorite cookies.
• Bring a low-fat dish to the party. Share with other guests.
• Fill your plate with vegetables and lean protein foods then add small "tastes" of high-fat dishes.
• Eat slowly and savor every bite. It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to signal to your brain that you are full.
• Decide in advance how you will handle gifts of cookies and candy. Don't leave them out in the open so that you will be tempted to binge. Keep one or two and give the rest away.
• Limit alcohol consumption. Not only does alcohol contain many calories, but it can also stimulate your appetite and reduce your willpower. Try a wine spritzer, or, better yet, avoid alcohol completely and drink seltzer or mineral water with a twist of lime, or a non-alcoholic tomato juice cocktail.
• Don't allow holiday activity to slow down your exercise program. Exercise can help burn off extra calories and make you feel good about yourself.

SOURCE: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

Keeping the Holidays Healthy

Sat. Nov 01, 2008

The holidays are once again upon us - and for many that means extra calories. Whether it's turkey with all the dressing, holiday pies or parties with lots of snacks and drinks, overeating can lead to extra pounds that can be difficult to get rid of in the new year.

Luckily, it doesn't have to be that way if you follow a few simple tips from University of Maryland Nutritionist and Registered Dietician Jane Jakubczak who also happens to be the team nutritionist for the Washington Redskins!

Super sizing, restaurant servings and the membership warehouse stores have caused us to lose perspective. Several strategies to help control portion distortion without going hungry include sharing your meal with a friend when you eat out or taking half home to enjoy the next day for lunch. Also, avoid eating snacks out of the bottomless bag or box; instead take a handful out and eat from a small bowl. Try using smaller plates for meals. These simple changes can really work.

Liquid calories don't fill us up like solid calories do, so it is very easy to consume extra calories without knowing it. Limit caloric beverages. They include regular sodas, fruit juice drinks, some specialty coffee drinks, lemonades and sweetened tea, energy drinks and alcohol. If you're looking for some flavor, choose diet soda, unsweetened teas, coffee drinks made with low-fat milk and sweeteners, light beer, wine spritzers or mixed drinks made with diet mixers.

Unfortunately, along with gifts, many of us receive an extra 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Use your calories wisely by choosing foods that you don't have a chance to enjoy the rest of the year. Don't waste calories on cheese platters, potato chips or chocolate chip cookies - these foods are around all year long.

At this time of year, it's imperative to expend more calories. Add an extra workout to your weekly routine. Plan fun physical activities such as ice skating, family football games or hiking. Include small activities in your daily routine such as taking the steps, parking further away or taking laps around the mall before starting to shop.

If 80 percent of the time you choose nutrient dense foods (whole grains, lean proteins, fresh fruit and vegetables, or low fat dairy) then 20 percent of the time you can choose "fun" food. Balance this with daily physical activity.

SOURCE: University of Maryland

View from space predicts obesity

Tue. Oct 28, 2008

Using satellites to identify children at risk of becoming overweight seems an unusual diagnostic technique, but it is yielding some surprising information that may help with early interventions for at risk populations.

Researchers using satellite imaging say that children living in inner city neighborhoods with higher "greenness" experience lower weight gains compared to those in areas with less green space. Previous studies that examined residential density, found a relationship between the amount of physical activity adults received and the degree of urbanization in their local area.  This relationship was not seen in children, leading researchers to believe children and youth in urban environments may be active in a wider variety of open spaces (e.g., yards, parks, vacant lots) and less likely to constrain activity to streets and sidewalks. Greenness might indicate proximity to parks, playfields or other open spaces that promote either physical activity or increased time spent outdoors in active play.

Whatever the reason, the researchers say that higher greenness is significantly associated with lower body mass index (BMI) changes in children living in these areas.

According to Janice F. Bell, PhD, MPH, from the University of Washington, "This study's findings align with previous research linking exposure to green landscapes with health improvements. Among adults, greenness is associated with less stress and lower BMI, improved self-reported health and shorter post-operative recovery periods. Among children and youth, the positive health effects of green landscapes include improved cognitive functioning and reduced attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. Ideally, future research in this area will be multidisciplinary - involving city planners, architects, geographers, psychologists and public health researchers - and will consider the ways children live and play in urban environments."

SOURCE: American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Eating speed affects our weight

Mon. Oct 27, 2008

It's not just what we eat that matters when we are losing weight.  The way we eat and our attention to signals from our bodies matter also.

Fast eaters and those who eat until they feel full are three times more likely to be overweight than people with more subdued eating behaviors.
In an environment where larger portions of poor nutritional quality food is available relatively inexpensively, and there is an increasing tendency to eat while engaged in other distracting activities such as watching TV, most likely has a significant  influence on the current world crisis of obesity.

Researchers from Osaka University in Japan surveyed over 1100 people to identify eating behaviors.  They found that over half the men and women involved in the study said they ate until they felt full and about 40% said they ate quickly.  Those that ate both quickly and until full were about three times as likely to have a body mass index in the overweight or higher range.

"The combination of the two eating behaviors had a supra-additive effect on being overweight," conclude the study authors.
The results of this study support the practice of using cognitive counseling to assist people with weight control and add to mounting evidence that people who can successfully modify their eating speed and recognize early signs of fullness are better able to balance food intake with their energy needs.

SOURCE: BMJ

Getting healthy with extertainment

Tue. Oct 14, 2008

Playing active video games can help children burn up to 4 times as many calories as playing inactive games say researchers, but whether this makes it a healthy pastime for young and old is still open to discussion.

The combination of entertainment and exercise or "extertainment" gaming systems, are a recent development for the multi billion dollar gaming industry and promoting gaming as a way to live a more active lifestyle has enormous marketing appeal.

Researchers from the Institute of Human Performance at the University of Hong Kong conducted a small trial on children to measure heart rate and calorie expenditure during 25 minutes of active and inactive video games.

Not surprisingly, active games burned more calories and increased heart rate more than inactive games and the level of heart rate and calories burned increased with the intensity of game activity.

In an editorial accompanying the research results, Russell R. Pate, Ph.D., of the University of South Carolina writes that the "findings show that kids who play the new generation of video games requiring physical activity expend energy at levels that could help to prevent overweight. This observation is important because electronic entertainment is not going away. So, if we want to promote physical activity in the context of contemporary society, we will have to fight fire with fire. Physically active video gaming may be part of the antidote to the poisonous growth of sedentary entertainment."

Active gaming may provide a way of getting children who normally play a lot of computer games to exercise more. However, it is unclear from this study whether this would have an effect on a child's health or weight in the long term. Ideally, children should also be encouraged to engage in non-computer related exercise.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine

Mental barriers to exercise

Mon. Oct 06, 2008

Overcoming time and motivation barriers to exercise are difficult for most of us, but it seems that overweight woman have additional barriers that prevent them from getting the exercise they should. Researchers at Temple University say that obese women face a significant number of barriers when it comes to exercise, more so than their normal weight counterparts.

"This is the first time we've been able to systematically look at what stops obese women from getting the activity they need," said Melissa Napolitano, one of the study authors.

The researchers surveyed 278 women enrolled in a 12 month physical activity program at several times during the year.  At each survey, obese women reported feeling greater barriers to physical activity.  These barriers were:

• Feeling self-conscious;
• Not wanting to fail;
• Fearing injury;
• Perceived poor health
• Having minor aches or pains
• Feeling too overweight to exercise.

How strongly obese women experienced these barriers, was an indicator for how often they exercised during the 12 month program.

"These might sound like excuses to some people, but for those who have these aversions, they're real problems," said Napolitano. She believes that tailoring programs specifically to increase comfort and acceptance for obese women is an important step in overcoming these barriers and assisting them adhere to weight loss goals.

SOURCE: Obesity

Remember failure for success

Wed. Sep 24, 2008

Habitually impulsive eaters can improve their resisting power by thinking about times when they gave in to impulses say researchers.  

Seeing or smelling a food item can drive some people to eat, even when they are not hungry.  This behavior is known as impulse eating and creates a serious problem for those struggling to control their weight.

The degree to which we are affected by impulse eating varies from person to person with some people finding resisting impulses fairly easy while others find it nearly impossible.

Researchers say that while chronically non-impulsive people show consistent behavior when it comes to resisting food temptations, impulsive individuals tend to resist if they remember a time where they failed to resist before, or succumbing to the temptation if the recall having succeeded in the past.

"So what is it that makes people succumb to temptation, time after sinful time? We suggest that the likelihood of a repeat act of indulgence depends on what people recall doing the previous time they were faced with a similar choice," the researchers write. "In general, chronically impulsive people are more likely to feel this conflict between the two forces - of giving in and holding back, while those who tend to be less impulsive are also less likely to experience such a struggle."

The study suggests that holding onto a strong memory of food temptation and failure to resist, can help chronically impulsive eaters do a better job of dealing with food temptation.

SOURCE: Journal of Consumer Research

Recalibrate your emotional intelligence

Tue. Sep 23, 2008

Pictures of food presented in restaurant menus elicit subtle feelings of arousal that may lead to unhealthy choices in people unprepared to deal with these feelings. 

Researchers from the University of Kentucky say that people who are confident in their emotional intelligence and ability to handle their emotional reaction to food are likely to make poor nutrition choices and overeat if they lack the emotional abilities they think they have.  

Emotional intelligence describes a person's ability to identify, interpret, and manage emotions. People with confidence in their emotional ability that matches their level of emotional intelligence are referred to as emotionally calibrated by the Kentucky researchers, while those who do not are referred to as miscalibrated

The researchers found that people with emotional miscalibration chose foods higher in calories, even more so than people with low levels of nutritional knowledge. Emotional miscalibration leaves obese people susceptible to impulsive eating triggered by vivid pictures of food.

SOURCE: Journal of Consumer Research

Obesity is a matter of perception for kids

Mon. Sep 22, 2008

Children with overweight parents, or who have overweight friends, are less likely to recognize their own weight problem and may ignore messages designed to help them make better health choices.

"When children's parents and schoolmates are overweight or obese, their own overweight status may seem normal by comparison. The higher the BMI of their friends and family, the more kids are likely to underestimate their weight - a trend consistent for both sexes, regardless of the socioeconomic levels of their school or family," said Katerina Maximova from McGill University.

"Peers and parents have an enormous impact on kids' weight perception and when they live in environments in which people they see on a daily basis, such as parents and schoolmates, are overweight or obese, they may develop inaccurate perceptions of what constitutes appropriate weight status. So it is important that we help them correct their misperceptions and help them recognize that they may be at risk."

"If you are surrounded by overweight people, you may be more vulnerable to distorted perceptions about your own weight," says Tracie Barnett from the University of Montreal. "I think this speaks to the importance of children's every day settings like school, home and neighborhood, and how these environments can influence our health in many ways."

When young people do not recognize that they are overweight, messages aimed at educating them on the risks of overweight and obesity to their health are probably ignored.  Because they underestimate their weight, obese kids may not recognize that the actions promoted by health agencies trying to help them make better health choices are relevant to them.

"Accurately perceiving oneself as overweight or obese is an important cue to take action," says Jennifer J. McGrath from Concordia University. "That's why obesity prevention programs should be created to help youth correct their weight misperceptions. If youth recognize themselves as being overweight or obese, they are more likely to adopt healthy lifestyles and it is important that healthy lifestyle behaviors are adopted early in life when kids are more malleable and habits are being established."

SOURCE: International Journal of Obesity