How do we get children to eat their vegetables and drink more water? Fact-filled TV adverts? ...Funny radio characters? ...Computer games?
Well maybe so!
Two games, "Escape from Diab" and "Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space" are video games specifically designed to lower risks of type 2 diabetes and obesity by changing behaviors.
"Diab and Nanoswarm were designed as epic video game adventures, comparable to commercial quality video games. These games incorporated a broad diversity of behavior change procedures woven in and around engrossing stories. The games motivated players to substantially improve diet behaviors," according to lead investigator Tom Baranowski, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service supported Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine. "Serious video games hold promise, but their effectiveness and mechanisms of change among youth need to be more thoroughly investigated."
Amazingly they found that children actually ate more fruit and veg per day, however it didn't increase the amount of water they drank or physical activity. These children basically wanted to sit inside, play computer games and eat an apple! I guess it's better than a chocolate bar!
Oh well, you can't win them all!
But it's a huge step forward in using a medium that children really like to get them to lead healthier lives!
Link to Paper
Showing posts with label food abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food abuse. Show all posts
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Friday, 10 December 2010
Depression and it's link with Obesity
A new recent study has found that past surveys show having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more increases a person’s risk of depression by 50% to 150%.
Lead author said: “I expect that the relationship between depression and physical activity goes in both directions, Increased physical activity leads to improvement in depression and improvement in depression leads to increased physical activity. We see in our study that they go together, but we can’t say which causes which.”
In the study, women involved were put in two groups.
Group 1: Focused on weight loss
Group 2: Focused on weight loss and depression.
38% of the women who had at least a one-half point decrease on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist depression score lost at least 5% of their body weight.
But only 21% of the women who had no decrease in their depression score lost the same amount.
It seems that levels of depression can greatly affect your weight, perhaps suggesting that you must first help the mind before the body can be effectively helped also.
Simon GE, et al. Association between change in depression and change in weight among women enrolled in weight loss treatment. Gen Hosp Psych, 32(6), 2010.
Lead author said: “I expect that the relationship between depression and physical activity goes in both directions, Increased physical activity leads to improvement in depression and improvement in depression leads to increased physical activity. We see in our study that they go together, but we can’t say which causes which.”
In the study, women involved were put in two groups.
Group 1: Focused on weight loss
Group 2: Focused on weight loss and depression.
38% of the women who had at least a one-half point decrease on the Hopkins Symptom Checklist depression score lost at least 5% of their body weight.
But only 21% of the women who had no decrease in their depression score lost the same amount.
It seems that levels of depression can greatly affect your weight, perhaps suggesting that you must first help the mind before the body can be effectively helped also.
Simon GE, et al. Association between change in depression and change in weight among women enrolled in weight loss treatment. Gen Hosp Psych, 32(6), 2010.
Monday, 15 November 2010
2 Articles into Obesity
Two interesting articles caught my eye this week on the Subject of Obesity.
1. Researchers confirmed that Obesity and Overeating are directly linked to excessive activity in a specific gene found in the human body.
You can't argue with a headline like that! It immediately grabbed my attention.
In this study the researchers bred mice with a particular gene that was identified in 2007 amongst heavier human subjects, which they believed could be the 'fat' gene. In the recent study they found that the mice with overactivity in this gene, "although healthy, ate more and became fatter than normal mice."
I argue that I wouldn't say these mice (nor people with this gene) are 'genetically' obese, they just eat more. Although their body may be telling them that they are hungry, when perhaps they are not, they don't have to eat and therefore put on weight.
Still, regardless of what people can conclude, it was an interesting study.
2. Lose weight by eating junk food?
A researcher recently proved that this IS possible. How? Just don't overeat!
Mark Haub, nutrition professor, believed that "It's all about how much you eat, not what you eat."
He tested the theory on himself, only eating a maximum of 1800 calories today (down from the usual 2600) and he ate only food that you would typically found in vending machines.
After 2 months of his experiment, his weight dropped to 174 pounds, and his BMI dropped to a healthy 24.9. The experiment even improved his other health statistics!
I wouldn't recommend this diet, and nor did he, but it is interesting how this actually seems, in a roundabout way, to back up the first article.
Although some may have this overactive gene, in the end it really does seem to be the quantity of what you eat that determines your weight. As Mark Haub showed, quantity makes a large difference, and quality seems to take a step back. The mice study shows that an veractive gene is merely causing people to eat more, increasing their weight.
To me, this evidence shows very clearly that it is nurture that alters our weight and nature is sitting the fight of Obesity out.
Article 1: Mice
Article 2: Mark Haub
1. Researchers confirmed that Obesity and Overeating are directly linked to excessive activity in a specific gene found in the human body.
You can't argue with a headline like that! It immediately grabbed my attention.
In this study the researchers bred mice with a particular gene that was identified in 2007 amongst heavier human subjects, which they believed could be the 'fat' gene. In the recent study they found that the mice with overactivity in this gene, "although healthy, ate more and became fatter than normal mice."
I argue that I wouldn't say these mice (nor people with this gene) are 'genetically' obese, they just eat more. Although their body may be telling them that they are hungry, when perhaps they are not, they don't have to eat and therefore put on weight.
Still, regardless of what people can conclude, it was an interesting study.
2. Lose weight by eating junk food?
A researcher recently proved that this IS possible. How? Just don't overeat!
Mark Haub, nutrition professor, believed that "It's all about how much you eat, not what you eat."
He tested the theory on himself, only eating a maximum of 1800 calories today (down from the usual 2600) and he ate only food that you would typically found in vending machines.
After 2 months of his experiment, his weight dropped to 174 pounds, and his BMI dropped to a healthy 24.9. The experiment even improved his other health statistics!
I wouldn't recommend this diet, and nor did he, but it is interesting how this actually seems, in a roundabout way, to back up the first article.
Although some may have this overactive gene, in the end it really does seem to be the quantity of what you eat that determines your weight. As Mark Haub showed, quantity makes a large difference, and quality seems to take a step back. The mice study shows that an veractive gene is merely causing people to eat more, increasing their weight.
To me, this evidence shows very clearly that it is nurture that alters our weight and nature is sitting the fight of Obesity out.
Article 1: Mice
Article 2: Mark Haub
Friday, 8 October 2010
Virtual Food Causes Stress in Patients Affected by Eating Disorders
Food presented in a virtual reality (VR) environment causes the same emotional responses as real food.
The 10 anorexic, 10 bulimic and 10 control participants, all women, were initially shown a series of 6 real high-calorie foods placed on a table in front of them.
Their heart rate and skin conductance, as well as their psychological stress were measured during the exposure. This process was then repeated with a slideshow of the same foods, and a VR trip into a computer-generated diner where they could interact with the virtual version of the same 6 items. The participants' level of stress was statistically identical whether in virtual reality or real exposure.
Speaking about the results, Gorini said, "Since real and virtual exposure elicit a comparable level of stress we may eventually see VR being used to screen, evaluate, and treat the emotional reactions provoked by specific stimuli in patients affected by different psychological disorders."
Interesting study showing how virtual food can create a response within those with Eating Disorders.
Could this affect advertising in the future? Especially as advertising is slowly moving to becoming more interactive..
Link to Article
The 10 anorexic, 10 bulimic and 10 control participants, all women, were initially shown a series of 6 real high-calorie foods placed on a table in front of them.
Their heart rate and skin conductance, as well as their psychological stress were measured during the exposure. This process was then repeated with a slideshow of the same foods, and a VR trip into a computer-generated diner where they could interact with the virtual version of the same 6 items. The participants' level of stress was statistically identical whether in virtual reality or real exposure.
Speaking about the results, Gorini said, "Since real and virtual exposure elicit a comparable level of stress we may eventually see VR being used to screen, evaluate, and treat the emotional reactions provoked by specific stimuli in patients affected by different psychological disorders."
Interesting study showing how virtual food can create a response within those with Eating Disorders.
Could this affect advertising in the future? Especially as advertising is slowly moving to becoming more interactive..
Link to Article
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
The Mechanism that links Obesity and Addiction
When an animal finds food in the wild, it is a rewarding stimulus for the animal and is recognized by the brain by the release of dopamine.
Illicit substances such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines also cause the release of dopamine and therefore make people feel rewarded when they take drugs. The release of dopamine also occurs in tasty and highly-caloric foods. For this reason it's clear that dopamine has a role in addiction and the development of obesity.
Professor Bill Colmers set out to find if dopamine may have an effect on the memory-forming brain cells in the dentate gyrus. 'Conditioned Place Preference' is the name given to the behaviour when an animal knows it can expect rewarding stimuli, like a treat, in a certain location. This forms spatial memories in the dentate gyrus.
They found that when dopamine was added, it increased the excitability in part of the brain cell called the dendrites. A chemical secreted by the brain, Neuropeptide Y, had the opposite effect making the cells less excitable.
"You can find the fridge and you know there's good stuff in there, so you can find it in your sleep, and people do," said Colmers. "So there's this whole reward aspect to place that we've been able to unravel."
So if location and 'reward' can be linked, then avoiding places where we usually have a 'treat' (e.g. not going to the employee lounge on our breaks!) may help reduce those cravings for high-calorie foods. Similar findings have already been talked about in regards to drug use, (e.g. smokers not sitting outside can help curb the need to smoke) but with this finding used to explain eating behaviour and obesity, it shows how obesity and drugs addiction are not worlds apart.
Link to Article
Illicit substances such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines also cause the release of dopamine and therefore make people feel rewarded when they take drugs. The release of dopamine also occurs in tasty and highly-caloric foods. For this reason it's clear that dopamine has a role in addiction and the development of obesity.
Professor Bill Colmers set out to find if dopamine may have an effect on the memory-forming brain cells in the dentate gyrus. 'Conditioned Place Preference' is the name given to the behaviour when an animal knows it can expect rewarding stimuli, like a treat, in a certain location. This forms spatial memories in the dentate gyrus.
They found that when dopamine was added, it increased the excitability in part of the brain cell called the dendrites. A chemical secreted by the brain, Neuropeptide Y, had the opposite effect making the cells less excitable.
"You can find the fridge and you know there's good stuff in there, so you can find it in your sleep, and people do," said Colmers. "So there's this whole reward aspect to place that we've been able to unravel."
So if location and 'reward' can be linked, then avoiding places where we usually have a 'treat' (e.g. not going to the employee lounge on our breaks!) may help reduce those cravings for high-calorie foods. Similar findings have already been talked about in regards to drug use, (e.g. smokers not sitting outside can help curb the need to smoke) but with this finding used to explain eating behaviour and obesity, it shows how obesity and drugs addiction are not worlds apart.
Link to Article
Monday, 27 September 2010
Teasing about weight and its affect on pre-teens
"We tend to think of adolescence as the time when kids become sensitive about their body image, but our findings suggest that the seeds of body dissatisfaction are actually being sown much earlier," said Timothy D. Nelson.
For the study, Nelson and his colleagues surveyed hundreds of public school students whose average age was 10.8 years. They collected participants' heights and weights and calculated their Body Mass Index, then examined the relationships between weight-related criticism and children's perceptions of themselves.
Their results showed that overweight pre-teens who endured weight-based criticism tended to judge their bodies more harshly and were less satisfied with their body sizes than students who weren't teased about their weight.
Because children who develop such negative views of their bodies are at higher risk for internalizing problems, developing irregular eating behaviors and ongoing victimization, researchers said these results should be a signal for more early identification and intervention efforts at schools.
"There's often a sense that overweight people 'deserve' it, or that if they are continually prodded about their weight, they'll do something about it," said Nelson
So what do you think?
Do children think about their body weight as much as this study suggests? Are weight-related criticisms found more in groups of girls or boys? Can pre-adolescent taunting really affect children for the rest of their lives?
And what should be done to try and stop this happening in schools?
Are weight issues a problem generated by the media? e.g. super skinny people in magazines and on the tv.
Or are they now being generated by the Health Authority by chastising those who are overweight?
What's your opinion?
Link to Article
For the study, Nelson and his colleagues surveyed hundreds of public school students whose average age was 10.8 years. They collected participants' heights and weights and calculated their Body Mass Index, then examined the relationships between weight-related criticism and children's perceptions of themselves.
Their results showed that overweight pre-teens who endured weight-based criticism tended to judge their bodies more harshly and were less satisfied with their body sizes than students who weren't teased about their weight.
Because children who develop such negative views of their bodies are at higher risk for internalizing problems, developing irregular eating behaviors and ongoing victimization, researchers said these results should be a signal for more early identification and intervention efforts at schools.
"There's often a sense that overweight people 'deserve' it, or that if they are continually prodded about their weight, they'll do something about it," said Nelson
So what do you think?
Do children think about their body weight as much as this study suggests? Are weight-related criticisms found more in groups of girls or boys? Can pre-adolescent taunting really affect children for the rest of their lives?
And what should be done to try and stop this happening in schools?
Are weight issues a problem generated by the media? e.g. super skinny people in magazines and on the tv.
Or are they now being generated by the Health Authority by chastising those who are overweight?
What's your opinion?
Link to Article
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Link Between Everyday Stress and Obesity Strenthened
Stress can take a daily toll on us that has broad physical and psychological implications. Science has long documented the effect of extreme stress, such as war, injury or traumatic grief on humans. Typically, such situations cause victims to decrease their food intake and body weight. Recent studies, however, tend to suggest that social stress--public speaking, tests, job and relationship pressures--may have the opposite effect--over-eating and weight gain. With the rise of obesity rates, science has increasingly focused on its causes and effects--including stress.
A recent study conducted by the Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, examined the effects of stress on the meal patterns and food intake of animals exposed to the equivalent of everyday stress on humans. The results suggest that, not only does stress have an impact on us in the short term, it can cause metabolic changes in the longer term that contribute to obesity.
Stress is experienced by animals and humans on a daily basis and many individuals experience cycles of stress and recovery throughout the day. If, following stress, we consume larger and less frequent meals, the conditions are favorable for weight gain--especially in the abdomen. We know that belly fat, as well as stress, contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction and other metabolic disorders. Further studies using the VBS model will help us understand the relationship between stress and obesity and help us treat and prevent the development of these diseases
(More information on this study can be found by clicking HERE)
__________________________________________
With obesity and body image in the media more and more in recent years, it seems now more than ever trying to maintain a healthy diet and exercise is important - especially if you've had that extra-stressful day at the office!
Possible methods to help you relax? Meditation, Tai Chi or a nice cup of tea!
A recent study conducted by the Departments of Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, examined the effects of stress on the meal patterns and food intake of animals exposed to the equivalent of everyday stress on humans. The results suggest that, not only does stress have an impact on us in the short term, it can cause metabolic changes in the longer term that contribute to obesity.
Stress is experienced by animals and humans on a daily basis and many individuals experience cycles of stress and recovery throughout the day. If, following stress, we consume larger and less frequent meals, the conditions are favorable for weight gain--especially in the abdomen. We know that belly fat, as well as stress, contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction and other metabolic disorders. Further studies using the VBS model will help us understand the relationship between stress and obesity and help us treat and prevent the development of these diseases
(More information on this study can be found by clicking HERE)
__________________________________________
With obesity and body image in the media more and more in recent years, it seems now more than ever trying to maintain a healthy diet and exercise is important - especially if you've had that extra-stressful day at the office!
Possible methods to help you relax? Meditation, Tai Chi or a nice cup of tea!
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Half of the nation clinically obese by 2050 — what can be done?
The largest ever UK study into obesity, compiled by 250 experts, said excess weight as now the norm in our "obesogenic" society.
Those of SDS delegates who attended our "Food Abuse: from Addiction to Obesity" will notice that lots of the statements in the report are very much in line with our own conclusions on the day. For the first time there is an acknowledgement from both the specialists and the government that encouraging the individual to choose a healthier lifestyle, simply isn't enough. Obesity, the authors concluded, is an inevitable consequence of a society of cheap, readily available and energy-dense foods, motorised transport, labour-saving devices, and inactive lifestyles.
The report forecast for 2050 is pretty gloomy. If current trends continue:
- 60% of men, 50% of women, and 26% of children and young people will be obese
- Cases of type 2 diabetes will rise by 70%
- Cases of stroke will rise by 30%
- Cases of coronary heart disease will rise by 20%
Though it is very encouraging that the overall attitude towards the problem seems to start changing and the report recognises that the trivialising the issue by 'eat less exercise more' educational approach is not the strongest strategy, most questions remain open:
What can be done to change the tendency?
Is obesity the fault of the individual?
Should more support for obese people be provided by the NHS?
Should changes be made at home or would government action make a real difference?
Looking forward to your replies
Julia Budnik
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