Governments, schools and businesses should work together to stop a global epidemic of diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the University of Australia.

There is no doubt that diabetes is a global problem intertwined with the obesity epidemic. The World Health Organization projects that 366 million people will have the disease by 2030, compared to 171 million in 2000. Diabetics often suffer from depression, heart disease, stroke, renal failure, blindness, impotence, and amputations of limbs. The cost to the United States alone was over $132 billion in 2002.

The Australian team looked at a variety of solutions in terms of their cost and feasibility. They considered having more people undergo surgeries such as stomach stapling to lose weight. They looked at prescribing "polypills" to great masses of people. These pills would contain small does of statins, hypertensive drugs, aspirins, and folates to prevent heart attacks and strokes. They studied how much it will cost to set up more monitoring and services for "pre-diabetes," a condition that has no symptoms and often lasts over ten years.

In the end, the researchers concluded that the best approach would be to involve governments, business and schools to educate and help children and adults become more active and eat healthier foods. Even a small weight loss can have a big effect on whether or not a person gets diabetes. The team envisioned an approach similar to the anti-smoking campaigns used in the past.

This study was published in the September 2006 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Labels: diabetes, healthy_eating, research

What happens when a school district replaces junk food with healthier choices? Will it lose money in food sales? Starting January 1, 2003, the San Francisco School District stopped selling sodas, chips, sweets and other low-nutrient foods in its cafeterias that serve over 59,000 students. This was a result of a new law called the California Childhood Obesity Prevention Act.

Researchers at the Department of Pediatrics, University of California/San Francisco, studied the effect of the new rules on sales. They found that more students participated in the free lunch programs, partly because more were eligible in 2003. However, sales dropped 9% on lunches at regular price. The schools' ala carte or snack bars in particular lost money: an average of $13,000 per school per year. The snack bars no longer sold foods like mega burgers, burritos and cookies. Instead, they offered sushi, low-fat cookies, smaller sized burgers and other healthy foods.

Altogether there was a small increase in lunch sales after the changes, mostly due to increased participation in the free lunch program. Researchers found that 46% of students believed that the new food choices tasted better.

Many school districts throughout the country are making similar changes to their menus. The authors of the study noted that the United States ranks third in the world for its children's consumption of soda, candy and chocolates. This study appeared in the September 2006 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Labels: healthy_eating, junk food, schools

That is the question that many weight controllers, myself included, are constantly asking themselves. This question has been in the forefront of my mind for the last several days. This past Tuesday I went home for an "Off Campus Challenge." In addition to seeing my family, going home provided me the opportunity to take a look at my current relationship with food. I had felt on top of my weight control efforts here on campus. But when I left the comforts of Reedley, California, I found it exponentially more difficult for me to control my food intake. When I asked myself why this was the case, I realized that I was eating only because the food was there. Here at AOS, we stick to a diet of healthy, wholesome foods. When I was off campus, and saw the high-fat, high-sugar foods that I used to love, I let the sight overwhelm me, and did not use what I had learned.

I did learn a valuable lesson, however. Next time I am in a situation where I am face to face with a cookie, I know how important it is never to underestimate the power of how strong just seeing some thing can make you want to eat it.

Labels: healthy_eating, relationships, weight_controllers