DadTalk

Why You Must Eat That Chocolate Chip Cookie

Food scientists have known for years that they can create food junkies simply by combining a little fat, sugar and salt. Add another addictive ingredient such as chocolate and you have the namesake cookie that is almost impossible to resist.

The cookie is so potent that former Food and Drug Administration chief Dr. David Kessler decided to write “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite,” which is reviewed in The New York Times.

Restaurants and food makers long have been taking advantage of our human weaknesses. Writes The Times:

Children Trade in Chicken Nuggets for Soup and Carrots, Study Finds

Children are drinking less cola and eating fewer chicken nuggets, French fires and hot dogs at restaurants, reports The New York Times. Consumption of soup, grilled chicken sandwiches, yogurt and carrots is, amazingly, up.

The economic downturn and new offerings by restaurants were cited in a new study as reasons for the sudden change in childhood eating habits, which coincides with childhood obesity levels reaching a plateau, according to another study. At the same time, it’s important to note that children are still eating plenty of fast junk food.

While eating habits may be changing somewhat, living close to fast food chains does not seem to contribute to childhood obesity, reports Inside Indiana Business on an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis study.

While living near a McDonald’s had little effect on weight, living near recreational amenities does seem to lower body mass indexes in children:

The IUPUI researchers also report that residing near certain recreational amenities – fitness areas, kickball diamonds, and volleyball courts – lowers children’s body mass indexes (adjusted for normal childhood growth). The researchers estimated that locating one of these facilities near the home of an overweight 8-year-old boy could lower his weight by three to six pounds.

The Sweet Poison Shuffle

Sugar is dead. Long live sugar!

It seems that American food makers are finally getting a little nervous about high fructose corn syrup and are switching back to sugar, reports The New York Times.

While nutrition experts – and likely most dentists – consider the switch nutritionally meaningless, at least one person besides myself in this world will be happy with the switcheroo: my wife, Anne.

That’s because she is allergic to something in corn syrup. Perhaps it is the corn. Perhaps it’s the caustic soda and traces of mercury. Whatever the case, sugar is better for my wife than corn syrup.

As I mentioned, the experts are having none of it, writes the Times:

Though research is still under way, many nutrition and obesity experts say sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are equally bad in excess.

And later:

Although researchers are looking into the effects of fructose on liver function, insulin production and other possible contributors to excess weight gain, no major studies have made a definitive link between high-fructose corn syrup and poor health. The American Medical Association says that when it comes to obesity, there is no difference between the syrup and sugar.

Well, I disagree. Look, sugar is bad; dental problems in this country surged along with the growing consumption of sugary foods and drinks. The stuff isn’t so good for blood sugar levels.

Ailing Children on the Rise?

Our children are using more drugs. No, not the ones that send narcotics officers crashing into your house. It’s those other kinds, the ones doctors prescribe.

Check out these stats on kids 5-19 using prescribed pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2005, as reported by WebMD:

• 46.5 percent increase in asthma medication
• 50 percent increase in diabetes medicine
• 40.4 percent increase in ADHD drug use
• 15 percent increase in cholesterol reducing medicines

“We are seeing more disease, better detection of disease, and more use of medication,” Donna Halloran, MD, a professor of pediatrics at St. Louis University, tells WebMD. “We don’t know the risks for long-term medication use, but better diagnosis is a good thing.”

Um, I don’t know if I’d consider that fact that children are increasingly relying on pharmaceuticals a good thing.

In Halloran’s defense, she does recommend that “families eat more fresh fruit, stop eating salt-rich fast foods and drinking high-calorie sodas, and engage in more physical fitness activities,” writes WebMD.

But personally, I would freak out if a doctor told me my kids needed to take Lipitor at age 6.

It Comes Down to Calories

Halloween is all about calories. My kids can’t wait.

But parents aren’t so lucky. We pay a high price for gorging in high-caloric anything.

In New York City, California and dozens of other states, regulators decided it was time to do something about it by requiring some restaurants to post calorie counts on food. You can read the New York Times article yourself, but here are some highlights:

• A Starbucks blueberry scone delivers 480 calories.
• Quiznos regular tuna melt is 1,270 calories.
• Wraps, the refuge for low-carb sandwich lovers, can top 800 calories.
• Bagels pack more calories than doughnuts.
• A large bucket of buttered movie popcorn has more than half the calories anyone should eat in a day.
• McDonald’s large French fries have dropped to 500 calories this year from 570 last year.
• The makers of Coca-Cola and M&Ms will soon print calories on the front of packages.

Happy Halloween – and try not to steal too much of your children’s candy.

Yum, Sugar in a Bowl

This story came out before I left on vacation, but it’s worth repeating for those who may have missed it: Consumer Reports found that many breakfast cereals are largely sugar, reports WebMD.

The worst two – Post’s Golden Crisps and Kellogg’s Honey Smacks – were more than 50 percent sugar. That leaves little room left for healthy ingredients such as fiber. Honey Smacks actually contains more sugar in it than a glazed donut.

The four best of the tested cereals were:

• Cheerios
• Kix
• Life
• Honey Nut Cheerios

When I was a kid, I called those the “boring” cereals.

Rounding up the cereals with too much sugar were:

• Cap’n Crunch’s Peanut Butter Crunch (drat, I used to eat those straight out of the box.)
• Cap’n Crunch
• Apple Jacks
• Froot Loops
• Corn Pops

(Sadly, I don’t think my high-protein Kashi was tested.)

See the article for the middle of the road cereals. That’s where you’ll find favorites such as Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs.

Guest Author Big Box + Dining = Big Calories, Salt

By Kami Gray

I tagged along with a friend recently who was furnishing her new place. We visited Target, Ikea and Costco, which I frequent every so often: Target sells an affordable organic wine I like; Costco sells a decent organic, fair trade coffee; and Ikea sells wine glasses and coffee mugs for less than a buck a piece.

While shopping, I became completely fixated on how well-patronized the big box “restaurants” were. While only a few employees were eating at Target, Costco was packed. Moms were buying hot dogs and ice cream bars for their not-so-little ones to quiet them down. Dads downed Polish Sausages to pass the time. Teenagers wolfed down churros, berry sundaes and tropical smoothies.

Since it was late afternoon, I wondered whether these shoppers were eating their dinner at Costco or just staving off hunger to be followed by a Costco-sized dinner.

At Ikea, same thing. Dozens and dozens of shoppers were lined up in the restaurant waiting for  Swedish meatballs, boiled potatoes, gravy and lingonberry jam. I’m guessing that the average serving size was about 20 meatballs. I saw a lot of empty plates.

What I didn’t see was nutritional information revealing just how many calories are in the “food” served at these places. Some cities – such as Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles – are trying to force restaurants to provide nutritional information including number of calories and fat grams directly on their menus.

How about a little reality check on a few popular items? Check out Target’s Nachos with Cheese!

COSTCO (Hebrew National) Hot Dog
530 calories, 32 grams of fat, (14 grams, saturated) 1,530 mg of sodium (64% of RDA of sodium)

COSTCO Polish Sausage
570 Calories, 32 grams of fat, (12 grams, saturated) 1,570 mg of sodium (65% of RDA)

COSTCO Churro
430 Calories, 18 grams of fat, (5 grams, saturated) 450 mg of sodium (19% of RDA)

IKEA Meatballs
240 Calories, 13 grams of fat, (5 grams, saturated) 450 mg of sodium (17% of RDA) (This is for the six meatball dish and doesn’t include boiled potatoes and Lingonberry jam, which adds 334 calories.)

TARGET Barbecue Chicken Sandwich
867 Calories, 25.7 grams of fat, (9.5 grams, saturated) 915 mg of sodium (38% of RDA)

TARGET Nachos with Cheese
1,101 Calories, 59 grams of fat, (18.5 grams, saturated) 1,580 mg of sodium (66% of RDA)

Target and Costco nutrition information found at Calorie King.
Ikea nutrition information found at the Daily Plate.

Kami Gray is author of The List: Sixteen Simple Habits for a Smaller You (and a Healthier Planet), Published by New World Library, due in stores Spring 2009. For more information, visit http://blog.thelistbykamigray.com.

It’s Not About Obesity, It’s About Nutrition

It’s been a while since I tackled a newsy topic on this blog. Why? Because it takes time – something I’ve had little of during my move from Chicago to Scottsdale, Arizona.

But recent stories on obesity have been bugging me, especially those focusing on the concept that it is better to be fit and fat than unfit and thin. Here’s a quick summary:

“The data suggest that half of overweight people and one-third of obese people are ‘metabolically healthy,’ ” reports The New York Times. “That means that despite their excess pounds, many overweight and obese adults have healthy levels of ‘good’ cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and other risks for heart disease.”

While that’s good news from some Americans, there is another side to these statistics: half of the overweight and two-thirds of the obese adults studied are NOT “metabolically healthy.” The story adds that overweight and obese adults still face numerous other serious health problems.

About one-quarter of those who are considered thin suffer from “at least two cardiovascular risk factors typically associated with obesity.” So statistically speaking, one-fourth of thin people have health issues versus two-thirds of obese adults. Could it be that writers are missing the bigger picture here?

McDonald’s to Stop Offering Food-for-Grades Programs

“One parent can make a difference” – a cliché, yes, but in this case a Florida woman’s complaint that her school district was offering McDonald’s Happy Meals for good grades convinced the giant food chain to pull out of similar programs nationwide. I first wrote about the story here.

The quote above came from Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

The only problem? While McDonald’s has seen the light on this issue,  the Seminole County School Board may just find another advertiser to take over the food-for-grades spot.

“We feel there is value in incentives for good grades and good attendance,” says Superintendent Bill Vogel. Which just goes to show us: cultural attitudes can be tougher to change than corporate ones.

How I View Food

I’ve never read Michael Pollan’s books – he’s the guy who wrote “Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food” – and yet I already know we view food the same way.

I’ve read many of his New York Times articles, but the real clue is this line: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants,” posted on his most recent book.

It’s kind of stunning to see my eating lifestyle summed up in seven words. To get an idea of what Pollan is talking about, read this short Q&A with him in The New York Times.

Here he explains how those seven words are more complex than they sound and yet how powerful they are. “It’s simple advice as long as you know what food is, but I spend 14 pages trying to define what food is,” Pollan says. “It’s gotten complicated because of food science and the kind of engineering that’s gone into processing food.”

Even better:

“I think health should be a byproduct of eating well, for reasons that have nothing to do with health, such as cooking meals, eating together and eating real food. You’re going to be healthy, but that’s not the goal. The goal should just be eating well for pleasure, for community, and all the other reasons people eat.”

Yes, yes and yes.