A School Food Revolution :: Weight Loss

A School Food Revolution

Look out potato chips, chocolate bars, French fries, and pop. More than 70 percent of Canadians support banning all junk foods, processed foods, and foods high in sugar, cholesterol, and trans fats from school cafeterias, according to a new survey by Food Network Canada and Decima Research Inc.

Of 750 respondents, women (84 percent) were more likely to support a ban than men (67 percent), as were university-educated participants over high school graduates. Fifty-one percent of respondents indicated they’d support a tax increase of $1 per week to improve the quality of school meals.

England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair has already put money where his mouth is by pledging £280 million to improve school lunches and also by promising to introduce nationwide nutritional standards for school meals.

To battle obesity amongst youths, Connecticut is attempting to rid public schools of soda pops and junk foods. The move represents the United States’ biggest ban of its kind.

In Canada, the overweight/obesity rate of adolescents aged 12 to 17 has jumped from 14 to 29 percent since 1978, reveals a 2004 Canadian Community Health survey. Experts agree it’s time to fight back…starting in schools.

Source: alive #A

Combating The Childhood Obesity Crisis
Kids and youth are eating worse and exercising less. Something has got to change. In his 29 years as a physical education teacher, David Lively has seen "big" changes in his students. Frightening ones.

Downsize Not Supersize
Living in a land of plenty comes with a price that we're only now discovering. With one out of three Canadians now overweight, Canada appears to have one of the worst obesity problems in the industrialized worl.

Soothe Inflammation
Inflammation is associated with a wide range of chronic and acute diseases.

Crohn's Disease
As a youngster, Ferne Sherkin-Langer just couldn't escape the fact that she was different.

Health Perspective
When I read newspaper headlines such as "Trans fat Could Stop Your Heart and "New Food Labels Indicate 'bad fat' Content, I know that at last, the tireless work by health food educators on the dangers of 'bad' fats has now become mainstream.

A Heavy Toll
Of all the resolutions made on January 1, 2000, none were more fervent than those to lose weight. In the millions, overweight men and women resolved not to drag their extra pounds into the new millennium.

The Blood Sugar Connection
Everyone knows that smoking is directly linked to numerous cancer.

Childhood Obesity
Until recently the battle of the bulge has been fought primarily by adults. Today, however, the largest growing segments among the obese are our children and adolescents.

Children and the Fat Wars
It's no longer uncommon to see an overweight child. Within the last 20 years, we have witnessed a doubling in the prevalence of childhood obesity. Now, approximately 30 percent of our kids are seriously overweight, and 15-percent are considered obese.

Crohn's Disease
We have all checked with our gut from time to time to make major decisions, but imagine having to check in for the most basic of lifestyle choice.

Grumpy, Lumpy, Men Syndrome
Remember what it was like to be a teenager? That lean, muscular physique never seemed to gain an ounce of fat no matter how much you ate (or drank). Do you now find yourself patting your belly more then you pat your dog? If so, you could well be experiencing a loss of your male hormone - testosterone.

A Miracle Man With a Mission
In 1994, 19-year-old Jordan Rubin was suffering from the ravages of Crohn's disease. Once healthy and vibrant, Jordan became a mere shadow of his former self as his immune system faltered and his weight plummeted from 180 to 104 pounds.

Metabolic Aging
Everybody wants to live a long and healthy life. If you carry excess body fat on your frame, though, you may be setting yourself up for a shorter lifespan than the one you were aiming for.

Overweight Kids?
I recently attended the birthday party of a three-year-old. Cookies, cake, and ice cream were served. The birthday boy smiled with anticipation--he has learned that this food is worth getting excited about.

Lighten the Load
In order to assess a child's risk of being overweight for his or her age, researchers use a variation of the Bod.

Nag Me Not
In 2000 the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported that children are increasingly choosing to watch TV, surf the Internet, and play video games instead of staying active with sports and outdoor play. Today the average Canadian child sits in front of a screen three to five hours a day.

You Can Have Healthy Children
A young mother, in her mid-20s and grossly overweight, was pulling a four-wheeled cart behind her. In the cart was an obese six-year-old child. The young boy, sitting cross-legged, was eating a mound of pretzels and potato chips piled high in his lap.

Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is an inflammatory condition that most commonly affects the lower part of the small intestine, although it may be present anywhere within the digestive tube. The inflammation caused by Crohn's disease can extend deep into the lining of the affected organ. Symptoms, often exacerbated by stressful conditions, include abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, and nutritional deficiencies.

Environmental Weight Gain
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the latest studies indicate that in the past 20 years overweight and obesity rates have more than doubled for adults and tripled for children. So why the sudden expansion (pun intended)?

No Pain, More Gain

Obesity Cuts Life Span

Tune In and Tone Up

Syndrome X: Reduce your risk with exercise

Small Victories; Healthy Kids

Yin and Yang of a Balanced Diet

Start young for better health

Encouragement goes a long way

Crohn's Disease: A Naturopathic Approach

Are Toxins Making you Fat?

Decidedly Delicious
One of the great challenges of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is absorbing adequate nutrition. A focus on nutrient-rich foods that taste delicious is required, so that the sometimes bland, non-trigger foods become more palatable.

Eat, Drink, and Exercise
Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Zone, and Bernstein diets are in mainstream practice. Yet research is clear that as long as we are dedicated and compliant, any weight-loss diet will work. Unfortunately, 95 percent of all dieters regain lost weight.

Into the O-zone
It seems so simple really. Eat too much and move too little, and you'll get too fat. Move more and eat less, and you'll get thinner. If human beings were machines, we would all plug into this universal weight loss equation and live the rest of our lives in svelte bliss.

A MAP for Crohn's Disease
Every time I arrive at my doctor's office for an appointment, the first thing I do is ask to see the latest pictures of the receptionist's gorgeous grandchildren. The last time she pulled out her ever-growing album, it was with an uncharacteristic air of sadness.

High Fructose Corn Syrup
Would sugar by any other name taste as sweet - or make us as likely to gain weight? It's the sticky debate taking place in nutrition circles.

The Obesity Epidemic
Excessive body fat accumulates when we take in more calories than we expend. But the expanding North American waistline is caused by a complex relationship between environment and genes. This month Research Watch explores the causes of the obesity epidemic.