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Healthy parents tend to have healthier kids

It shouldn’t be much of a shock that parents can take at least some of the blame for their kids being overweight or obese, but should there be any doubt that parents influence their children’s eating behavior, a study from California found that teens whose parents eat five servings of fruits and veg daily are 16 percent more likely to do the same than kids whose parents don’t eat lots of produce. On the other hand, if parents drink soda every day, teens are 40 percent more likely to drink soda compared to teens whose parents don’t drink it. And 48 percent of teens with soda-drinking parents eat fast food at least once a day, compared to 39 percent of teens whose parents don’t drink soda.

Mediterranean diet could cut risk of dementia

Eating a diet rich in fish, olive oil and vegetables may help prevent borderline dementia and could help keep people with mild dementia from progessing to Alzheimer’s. A study in the Archives of Neurology followed for four years about 1,400 with healthy brains and almost 500 who had mild cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study. People who most closely adhered to the Med diet had a 28 percent lower risk of developing cognitive impairment compared to those who followed it the least. Among those who already had borderline dementia, eating the diet gave them a 48 percent reduced risk of progressing to Alzheimer’s.

One in 20 in military overweight

The number of people in the military who are overweight or obese has more than doubled since the beginning of the Iraq war, according to a Pentagon review. From 1998 to 2002, about one or two service members per 100 were overweight or obese; now one in 20 are, or about 70,000 soldiers and Marines as of last year. The military says the stress of long deployments is largely to blame, but more new recruits are overweight as well as people gain weight across the population.

Multivitamins don’t protect women against cancer

Studies of individual vitamins and minerals have been coming up short lately when it comes to cancer prevention, and it turns out taking a multivitamin isn’t any more protective. Using data from the Women’s Health Initiative, researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that, over an average of eight years, women who took vitamins weren’t any less likely to be diagnosed with breast, ovarian, lung, stomach, bladder, kidney, colorectal or endometrial cancer and the vitamins didn’t ward off heart attacks or strokes or reduce the risk of death from any cause during the study period compared to those who didn’t take vitamins. Those who took a stress formula with extra C and B vitamins did see a 25 percent reduction in heart attacks, however. Researchers say a large-scale, randomized and controlled trial needs to be undertaken to determine once and for all of multivitamins are in any way useful.

FDA still says Bisphenol A is OK

Last month the Food and Drug Administration and Canadian health officials met with manufacturers and users of food packaging that includes Bisphenol A, a plastic commonly used in baby bottles and to line the inside of food cans that is considered hazardous as an endocrine disruptor that may increase the risk of breast cancer and other health problems. While getting rid of BPA was big news last year, the FDA says it shouldn’t pose a health risk in the concentrations currently used in the food supply, even among infants and children. Canada agrees, sort of: it is actually taking steps to reduce exposure for infants and kids.

Natural diet pills aren’t really

Finally, we’ve been telling you for a few months now about the saga of StarCaps, a “natural” weight loss supplement that’s gotten some National Football League players in trouble because it contained bumetanide, a prescription-strength diuretic that’s a banned substance in the league. The FDA has recently cited 69 weight loss supplements as being tainted with drugs or unapproved ingredients. Most of these are made overseas, and only three companies have recalled their products. The maker of StarCaps says she’s “devastated” by the news that her product was tainted. The FDA says current rules are plenty to keep people safe, but others say natural ingredients and pills need to be more strictly regulated for safety and effectiveness.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 and is filed under Childhood obesity, Diet pills, drugs, supplements and devices, Diet programs, Food safety, Kids and families, Nibbles: diet news shorts, Nutrition, Obesity research and studies, Obesity statistics, Weight control in the military. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.