by AntiDiets on February 17, 2012
Although many public and private schools have taken steps to ban sweet and salty snacks from the lunchroom and the classroom in recent years, a new study titled Competitive Food Sales in Schools and Childhood Obesity and published by Pennsylvania State University suggests that junk food availability in schools does not have an impact on childhood obesity rates. The study followed around 20,000 middle school children to determine if schools that sell popular junk food items experienced a higher incidence of obesity among students.
Published in the January issue of Sociology of Education, the Penn State study tracked the body mass index (BMI) of students in the fifth through the eighth grade and compared the weight of students in schools where junk food is available to the weight of students in schools where it has been banned. In addition, the study accounted for eighth graders who transferred to schools that sold junk food and compared the results of kids who had always been given access to snacks at school with those who had transferred out.
“Food preferences are established early in life,” shared Jennifer Van Hook, lead author on the study and professor of sociology and demography at Penn State. “This problem of childhood obesity cannot be placed solely in the hands of schools.”
Interestingly, the study found that in fifth grade 59% of participating children attended a school where junk food was available, while by eighth grade 86% of participating children had access to unhealthy snacks at school. Regardless of how researchers manipulated the data, they were unable to find any connection between childhood obesity and whether or not the schools offered junk food. There was a statistically insignificant difference of 35.5% of kids in schools with junk food found to be overweight, compared to 34.8% of kids in schools that did not offer junk food.
“Children’s environments at home and in their communities may provide so many opportunities to eat unhealthy foods that competitive food sales in schools have little influence on children’s weight,” Hook stated. “Schools only represent a small portion of children’s food environment.”
Earlier studies with smaller sample sizes have shown a connection between obesity and junk food availability in schools, prompting a number of public and private educational institutions to ban the sale of unhealthy snack foods such as chips, soda and candy, from their grounds. In fact, in 2007 the American Beverage Association announced it would stop selling sugar-laden soft drinks in public schools, and California schools now feature vending machines that offer fresh fruit and bottled water instead.
Hook admits to being surprised by the results of the new study, and suggests that perhaps time constraints while at school cause at-home eating habits to play a greater role in determining weight gain. Hook also points out that our eating habits are set early in life, making it essential for parents to teach children about health food options before they reach middle school. In addition, most of the schools in the study were found to offer junk food for sale, with those in low-income neighborhoods the most likely to do so.
ABC News, Yahoo, New York Times
Photo Copyright Kanko, Flickr
by AntiDiets on February 11, 2012
Somewhere dieters who love chocolate cake are high fiving each other right now as new research from the Tel Aviv University in Israel shows that eating chocolate cake for breakfast can actually help you keep unwanted weight gain at bay. The study showed that participants who consumed a piece of chocolate cake in addition to a breakfast high in protein were able to lose more weight than those who merely focused on consuming a low-carb or low-calorie breakfast.
As it turns out, the research has revealed that morning is actually the best time to consume sweets like cake because your metabolism is functioning at its peak when you wake up and also because you have the rest of the day to burn off the added calories. In addition, eating cookies or cake for breakfast, along with other proteins and carbs, can help curb cravings for sweets later in the day.
193 clinically obese but non-diabetic participants were involved in the 32-week study and were separated into two control groups, both of which consumed between 1400 and 1600 calories per day, depending on the sex of the participant. One of these groups consumed a low-carb, low-calorie breakfast, while the other group consumed a 600-calorie breakfast, which included a piece of chocolate cake. However, the participants in the low-carb, low-cal group reported feeling less satisfaction and greater hunger throughout the day.
“But the group that consumed a bigger breakfast, including desert, experienced few if any cravings for these foods later in the day,” shared study researcher Daniela Jakubowicz of Tel Aviv University.
In an interesting turn of events, during the first half of the study both groups lost an average of around 33 pounds per person, but during the second half of the study the low-carb group actually regained an average of 22 pounds per person. On the other hand, the dessert group lost another 15 pounds during the second half of the study, which has surprised some experts.
“I would never, in a million years, recommend cookies or cake for breakfast,” registered dietician and author Katherine Tallmadge told MSNBC. “
Regardless, both sides agree that consuming a balanced, substantial breakfast is key to long-term weight loss. Eating breakfast helps reduce cravings and consequently causes you to be less likely to gorge throughout the rest of the day. For anyone concerned with maintaining a healthy weight, it is never a good idea to be hungry late in the day, as most people are prone to overeating at night, which can really pack on the pounds.
It is also important to point out that favorite food items – such as sweets – should be incorporated into your diet in moderation and should not be consumed in large quantities – regardless of the time of day. In addition, sugar can sometimes increase cravings for sweets, so it’s important to consume healthy lean proteins and complex carbs to counteract this effect. Luckily, eating a large meal at breakfast is good for overall body function and long-term weight loss. So next time you’re eyeing that leftover piece of cake while preparing breakfast, go ahead and indulge. If you remember to pay attention to everything else you eat for the rest of the day, allowing yourself an early reward might actually help you reach a weight loss goal.
Sources: MSNBC, The Telegraph
Photo Copyright: Matt Gibson, Flickr
