Mikibo launches Calorifica

The makers of Mikibo have launched a new site called Calorifica (www.calorifica.com). Calorifica is a food nutrient data search engine. Simply type in a food name and you will be presented with all of its nutrient data.

Visit: www.calorifica.com and give it a try.

European Union Plans for Obesity

The European Commission has presented the results of a public consultation on promoting healthy diets and physical activity, with a focus on the prevention of overweight, obesity and chronic diseases. With around 14 million children in Europe currently overweight, of which more than 3 million are obese, this is now seen as an urgent public health issue requiring co-ordinated action by the European Union (EU) and its member states. Given the complexity of the issue, contributors called for a multi-sector approach. Contributors also called for special attention to be paid to children and youth where fast increases in obesity are being observed. There were also calls for better consumer information on nutrition.

Overweight and obesity levels are increasing at an alarming rate, with up to 27% of European men and 38% of women now considered obese depending on the EU member state concerned. The number of overweight children is also growing rapidly, rising by 400,000 a year. Obesity is a risk factor for many serious conditions including heart disease, type-2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and certain types of cancer. Obesity related illnesses are estimated to account for as much as 7% of total healthcare costs in the EU.

Most respondents agreed that the EU should foster a multi-sector approach, which involves other EU policies such as agriculture, education, transport and urban planning and a range of different stakeholders across national, regional and local levels.

Respondents believe that consumer information, including labelling, should be clear, consistent and based on evidence, and broadly disseminated. While respondents from industry favour self-regulation, healthcare professionals, consumer organisations and NGOs are sceptical about the impact of self-regulation on advertising of foods high in calories but poor in nutrients.

To help consumers make healthy dietary choices, respondents suggest to: encourage fruit and vegetable consumption; limit total fat and/or saturated fat intake; promote a balanced diet; increase consumption of whole grain, starchy or fibre-rich products; reduce consumption of sugar and soft drinks; reduce salt intake; and reduce portion sizes.

Respondents believed that best practice for improving the nutritional value of school meals are: education programmes for healthy diet for children, offering free or subsidized fruit, vegetables and drinking water; training of kitchen staff and general guidelines and/or standards for school meals including regular control enforcement.

European Union Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said: “The prevalence of obesity has been rising fast in Europe and there is already evidence that this is leading to increasing rates of conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The results of the consultation provide us with valuable feedback from all interested parties and will inform our strategy to promote healthy lifestyles. The European Commission’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Network, as well as the EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health will be key forums to discuss these issues further with government, industry and civil society and to identify ways to engage stakeholders and make progress on these issues. The Commission will now further consider which policy options to adopt, and fine-tune its action with the right balance between voluntary agreements and legislative action.”

Parents Influence Obesity

The amount and quality of time parents spend with their children has a direct effect on children’s rates of obesity, according to a new study from Texas A&M University.

The five year study found that the more time a mother spends with her child, the less likely that child is to be obese, however fathers were found to be a bad influence on their child’s obesity. “For a long time we thought that parents ought to influence what their kids eat, but we were not sure how that worked.” Lead researcher Professor Alex McIntosh said.

Because so many families are headed by two working parents, the focus of the research was to look at how the parents’ work-related stress, flexibility and general work conditions influenced the children’s nutrition, McIntosh said.

The study found that the fathers of 9 to 11-year-olds’ spend an average of 80 minutes per day with their children, while mothers’ average time spent with their children is 125 minutes. Children ages 13-15 included in the study saw their fathers an average of 95 minutes per day, while mothers of this age group spent an average 87 minutes per day with their children.

Income levels for the mother and father were also evaluated, examining the effects on a child’s nutritional intake. Professor George Davis from the department of agricultural economics at Texas A&M, said as parents’ income goes up, their children’s body mass index also increases. His advice to parents: “You’re not at work 24 hours a day. For mothers: For the time you do have, spend some with your kids. For fathers: Dads are not toxic, but people who teach nutrition education may be talking to the wrong audience. Men in general tend to have more muscles and less fat than women do, and consequently can eat more food without gaining weight. That means they may not be paying as much attention to nutrition as women do. “We may need to teach fathers about nutrition,” McIntosh said.

 

Low GI diet best

The most effective diet for weight loss and cardiovascular health is a high carbohydrate plan based on low glycemic index (GI) foods, according to a study by University of Sydney researchers.

Published in the most recent issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, the 12 week study compared the relative effects on weight loss and cardiovascular risk of low GI and high-protein diets.

Undertaken by Professor Jennie Brand-Miller and Joanna McMillan-Price from the University of Sydney Human Nutrition Unit, the findings show that there is no ‘one diet fits all’ solution, and both high protein and low GI diets will help you to shed fat. However, it did show that a diet containing low GI carbohydrate significantly reduces your risk of heart disease.

The theory behind low GI diets is that rapidly digested, high GI carbohydrates cause fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin levels, contributing to hunger and preventing the breakdown of fat.

The trial, which was led by Joanna McMillan-Price, enrolled 129 overweight or obese adults and randomly assigned them to one of four reduced calorie, reduced fat diets over a 12 week period. Two of the diets were high-carbohydrate diets and the other two high in protein – one of each had a high GI and the other had a low GI.

Between the two high-carbohydrate diets, lowering the glycemic index doubled fat loss – this effect was strongest in women. ‘Our findings suggest that dietary glycemic load, and not just overall energy intake influences weight loss’ said McMillan-Price.

While the high-protein, high GI diet was equally effective for fat loss as the high carbohydrate, low GI diet, the two had diverse effects on LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol. The high protein, high-GI group showed increased levels of LDL cholesterol, while there were significant LDL reductions in those on the high carbohydrate, low-GI diet.

However those on the high-protein, low GI diet did not experience the same rise in total LDL cholesterol suggesting the importance of low GI foods alongside a high protein diet. ‘Diets based on low-glycemic index, whole grain products, tend to be better for the heart, maximising cardiovascular risk reduction – particularly if protein intake is high,’ said McMillan-Price.