DIETARY REGIME FOR RESTORATION AND STABILISATION OF CORRECT BODY WEIGHT AND METABOLIC FUNCTIONS, AND THE ELIMINATION OF CRAVINGS AND ADDICTIONS INCLUDING ALCOHOL AND DRUGS

This regime was first written here in the year 2000
I have had no reason to alter any of it.

In order to be clear on the latest detailed thinking on Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids
please read all of this October 2009 PDF file from London Metropolitan University

Other than in exceptional circumstances it is essential to eat a BALANCED DIET
and train the digestion to deal properly with Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats
and the associated Vitamins, Minerals and Fibre.
Avoid supplements.
The rate at which energy is used by the brain and body depends not only
 on obvious exercise but on all sorts of mental and hidden physical activity.

It is also true that psychosomatic influences play a role in appetite
and a recent verfication of this widely held view has been published
see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7783088.stm

Finally, bear in mind that because two or more factors are associated, to work out which is cause and which effect, if any, can be complex
see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10545542.stm

26th July 2006 updates: See also http://uk.news.yahoo.com/25072006/12/low-gi-diet-reduces-fat-bad-cholesterol.html where 6 years after I pointed out the painfully obvious, it is produced as NEWS! Good grief, Charlie Brown.

The PM seems to have realised we had better get a grip on reality too: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5215548.stm
SEE ALSO THE WESTMINSTER DIET AND HEALTH FORUM    and the end of this file here for important updates


I.   THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE PROCESS

Many people who find themselves in circumstances where a variety of ready-to-eat manufactured foods, fast foods and confectionery are readily available, become overweight.

The natural condition of a healthy body is to feel hungry when food is required, and to desire those substances which are beneficial to health. The planet is populated by millions of animal species which naturally seek out and consume the correct nourishment in the correct quantity. But human beings can apparently become attracted to consuming food in quantities which are excessive and of quality that is questionable. Furthermore, quite small quantities of certain foods can cause a steady increase in weight above the optimum. Attraction to these can become an addiction, a craving for food which is inappropriate.

The result is that it is very difficult for any individual to regain control of their eating habits, let alone actually lose excess weight. Going on a weight-loss diet that is unpleasant for the individual may produce a temporary result that will be reversed when the diet ends. Eating less of what is desired but harmful is less satisfying and will not result in a correction of the syndrome. Eating more of the healthier options will not necessarily satisfy the apparent hunger, nor will it lead automatically to weight loss.

In order to get the body and mind back to a coherent mode of function, where the correct body weight is achieved naturally and the appetite reverts to its proper state so that it actively leads to a stable and healthy condition, we need to understand in simple, basic terms, exactly what has caused the malfunction, how it has happened and is sustained, how the causes can be removed and the proper condition restored.

On the next page this is explained as clearly as possible. Understanding it will help any individual setting out on a restorative regime to have a reason to stick to the right path in the early stages. Once results have started to be felt, such as feeling better every day (which may take 3 to 12 days depending on the individual), the incentive to continue will be obvious; but from there on the understanding of the method will enable the individual to take charge of their own special nutritional program.

 
II   THE DIAGNOSIS

A well known law of thermodynamics states that the energy input for a human being is always equal to the energy output. If the input exceeds the output, it will be stored in the body. An example of permanent (very long term) storage is the physical growth of bone, muscle, brain tissue etc. which takes place in early life but can also take place later in a more gradual process. An example of short and medium term storage is body-fat.

The function of short and medium term storage is to act as an available source of energy to the body and the brain, on-demand. It is the equivalent of the fuel-tank in a car, but there is an important difference. The fuel tank in a car stores fuel in the state it can be burned in the engine. This means it takes up quite a lot of space.

Our body's short term energy store is more efficient. The fat represents a more concentrated molecular form, which takes up much less room than carbohydrate. It requires a chemical conversion before use, and of course it requires transport from its current location to the place of combustion (e.g. brain or muscle tissue). But here again the system is clever. Fat can be stored in different types and in different places, so some is ready for immediate transport and use and  some can be stored right within the tissues where it is to be consumed!

Because nature always uses every attribute to the full, fat is also used as the ideal insulation to keep the body warm when it is not being heated by the use of the energy in activity. So if you cannot habitually move about to keep warm, your energy store of calories from what you eat will also serve as a protective blanket. Because females producing and nurturing offspring would stay in a cave while the male went hunting and gathering for food, the energy storage system for females in the way of body-fat has developed slightly differently, enabling them to convert caloric input more especially to insulation and, when required, breast milk.

Now that food is produced by specialist suppliers, we do not have to hunt and gather. Nor do we live in caves which we have to keep warm by chopping wood and making fires. While much of the world goes short of food through lack of organisation or the protection of a rule of law, we in the developed world who are not excluded from a social system of some sort can lay our hands on enough food to keep us going. But two dangers lie in wait for us.

Those with enough money to eat for pleasure can eat more than they need. Excess will be stored as fat but, before it can be used, more calorific input will arrive. When this happens, the energy tends to get parked in long-term storage areas and in a configuration that is not ready for quick transport and use. A classic example is the building of a 'spare tyre' round the stomach. The body gets used to this store, and the routing program, and uses it by default.

Those with a shortage of disposable cash will tend to eat what brings instant gratification, filling their appetite, for a minimum outlay - this may bring them instant energy, too, so there is a rationality to their eating. Advertising may lead them to believe it is a good idea. "A Mars a day helps you work rest and play".

This 'quick combustion' food is particularly typified by the 'refined carbohydrates' such as refined sugar and flour. A diet of refined carbohydrate supplies energy directly from the intestine to the blood stream. It is the equivalent of putting fuel into the float-chamber of the carburettor. It bypasses the energy storage system of the body. Because of this, over-reliance on a repeated snacking on sweets, biscuits and instantly pleasure-giving drinks will discourage the operation of the fat-burning process (energy retrieval from the fat store and combustion to meet energy needs). Worse still, because the instant top-ups must be at least enough to match perceived needs, they will always in reality exceed actual needs. The excess will then be stored as fat in the very reservoirs where the retrieval system has fallen into disuse!

From the above we can see that those who eat too much, and those who eat refined carbohydrates, both fall into a trap from which there is no way out without  a strategy and the right tactics. They will have become addicted to the very foods that are at the root of the trouble. They will think that nature has failed them, having given them the wrong appetite, but the truth is they have given nature the wrong task in the first place. The system has adjusted to what it believes to be the pattern of available food, as this is what comes in via the mouth!

Alcohol is not, of itself, an addiction causing substance. In fact it is the very reverse. But it has a very particular property: along with water it is the only substance that can pass directly into the blood stream from the stomach, before it even reaches the digestive tracts. This function has been important for its medicinal use and revival potential. But It is therefore an instant energy food of the first degree and as such, if not partaken either medicinally or for pleasure as part of a balanced diet, can create a dependence in exactly the same way as refined carbohydrates, only more so.

Alcohol also has certain relaxing and mild perception enhancing qualities through its action on certain receptors in the human brain which have developed to take advantage of this in human species that have evolved in those geographic regions where alcohol developed naturally as part of the food and drink storage and preservation process - a process which then enabled these people to travel relying on the provisions they carried with them.

Here again those with excess disposable income can abuse the intake of alcohol, and those with insufficient income can nevertheless become dependent on it, exactly as has been described in the case of the other instant-action foods.

The same is true of medicinal drugs which are used for pleasure by injecting or inhaling. These can become highly addictive and will replace the psycho-active chemicals which the body can produce to give the same results at a sustainable and acceptable level. These natural systems will shut down, and the individual will become dependent on the external source. Recent research has discovered that in addition cocaine actually damages the receptors it works on in the brain, making it necessary to increase the dose to achieve the same response the next time.
 
III     THE TREATMENT

While the consumption of refined carbohydrates, alcohol, and nicotine can be halted without serious withdrawal symptoms, withdrawal from certain drugs - including those prescribed as a treatment to obtain stability, may not be possible unless a behavioral and dietary regime has first been completely mastered, and even then only under careful supervision.

The halting of consumption of alcohol and nicotine may be psychologically difficult unless the change to a balanced diet and the halting of consumption of refined carbohydrates is undertaken first or simultaneously. For this reason, this document will deal first, foremost and only with the restorative regime of nutritional therapy and exercise to get the individual on the road to feeling better every day. This is the incentive that will keep them going until their digestive and energy managing system has been repaired. When that is more than 50% completed they will find that their appetite has altered and their cravings for inappropriate food and drink are disappearing.

By 12 weeks they should reach a 'secure zone' and providing the consumption of alcohol, if not abandoned, has been progressively reduced and the same with smoking, now is the time when you MUST stop smoking (reasons later). However, if it is at all possible to cut out smoking and alcohol consumption early on during the restorative process it will greatly accelerate the achievement of spectacular results.

Some common foods that contain refined carbohydrates are mentioned in these pages. In addition to these, foods and drinks to be avoided are those that contain artificial colourings, flavourings and preservatives apart from the classic ones in moderate amount.. Some suggestions for breakfast and main meals are also covered, but a key part of the treatment is just the avoidance of certain types of food.

Now we will get to foods that you MUST eat, as these are just as important as those you must avoid. It is these two changes in combination, plus a prescribed minimum amount of physical activity, which achieve the result. If any one of these three are not applied the programme will be severely prejudiced.

Although the daily exercise that will be recommended to start with is nothing more than walking for half an hour, it is important to start building a healthy body and above all to make sure that the heart, arteries and veinous system are not in a dangerous condition to begin with. As most people now know, certain forms of cholesterol have been identified as the cause of blocked arteries. Smoking has also been identified as health risk for some people. While smoking can be seen as an option that might well be a surprise to the lungs and circulation system of any warm blooded mammal, cholesterol comes to us in natural foods that we have eaten for millennia. So what has gone wrong?
 
The cause of the problem is an imbalance in our diet. Our ancestors - at least those who lived long and healthy lives - balanced their input of butter and eggs and milk with a variety of fresh vegetables that supplied them with what we now call 'plant sterols'. These substances regulate the management of cholesterol in the digestive system. They route the cholesterol we need to the places it is needed, but the other types of cholesterol that were required by the production system in the plant but not good for our internal use are routed through the intestine and out with the faeces. In this operation they play a useful role in lubricating the workings of the intestines and keeping us regular, comfortable and avoiding constipation or diarrhoea.

This year (2002) at least 2 manufacturers have put a supplement of plant sterols into one or more of their healthiest margarines - those which already contain a high proportion of polyunsaturated fat and a low reading of trans-fatty acids. This will bring our input of cholesterol and plant sterols back into balance. No need to give up eggs or cheese in moderation.  The plant sterols are also beneficial in other ways, so for this treatment at least 2 pieces daily (toasted if you like) of wholemeal bread, spread thickly with BENECOL or FLORA PROACTIVE is compulsory. Since some varieties of Benecol can be used for  cooking, but Flora Proactive only for spreading, it is sensible to use Flora for all the spreads as it is the most effective in cholesterol reduction.

The next type of food we must make sure we eat is unrefined carbohydrate. Many breakfast cereals are not helpful in this respect. Ordinary cornflakes with sugar is a disaster. Best is "Dorset High Fibre" which contains nuts and seeds (protein) and raisins and other dried fruits. There are others, but make sure they are reasonably high-fibre as this aids the slow release process which is the key to eliminating cravings for instant energy supplements like sugar.

Wholemeal Bread is essential. It replaces the harmful refined white bread and is an ideal source of nutrition. Special bread may be used by those with allergies.
 
Fresh fruits and vegetables contain very acceptable carbohydrates, much embedded in cellulose that acts as sensible transport in the digestive system. They also contain a variety of vitamins and minerals which act as catalysts for advanced metabolic processes and building materials in the body. The skins of fresh citrous fruit contain chemicals which maintain the health of the veinous system in particular, and these veins irrigate ALL our internal organs. A change in their overall condition has a powerful effect.

While vitamin and mineral supplements in the form of tablets and additives can be effective in the case of a deficiency, they are not a replacement for a balanced diet which contains natural vitamins and minerals in their natural surroundings. An excess of vitamin or mineral supplements can be very dangerous to your health and lead to kidney stones, cancer and all sorts of trouble.

If the digestion is not functioning correctly due to energy demands being met by refined carbohydrates or alcohol, vitamins and minerals will not be routed to the required addresses in the body. Mineral supplements together with an excess of vitamin C can end up in the kidneys and form stones that then block the urinary tract with fatal results unless removed. They should therefore be used with caution and moderation until a balanced diet is achieved on a regular basis.
 
The next class of food we need is that which contains protein, as we are not only about to remove some fat but to rebuild and improve our muscle, skin, bone, hair, gums, eyes, ears, nails and internal organs. A whole new liver is being ordered just for starters! So meat and fish and fowl and nuts are all good - but salted nuts only in great moderation. Oil-rich fish such as mackerel and sardines, rich in vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids are highly recommended.

Finally: fats. A low-fat diet, let alone a zero fat diet, is to be avoided. Eating enough of the right kinds of fat ensures that at the very least the fat-combustion systems and processes of the body are kept active. It is these systems and processes which must trigger the retrieval-from-storage process that is essential if the excess of calorific input (from carbohydrates, proteins and fats) over temporary demand is not to result in calories being parked in an energy stores with no exit. But bear in mind that the excess of input over immediate demand is both inevitable and necessary. We cannot operate efficiently without reserves.

The reader will remember that we started the  DIAGNOSIS with the law of thermodynamics. To force the fat combustion process to start the retrieval process from the various fat stores, the body must run out of instantly available energy from other sources. But before that ultimate situation arises, the body and the autonomic nervous system (a sort of metabolic civil service that works out of sight behind the scenes) can sense this crisis coming. The act of walking with a known destination in mind not only jogs the internal organs in a healthy way and informs the whole system that it is going to be active and require full systems management, but wakes up the most immediately appropriate retrieval systems, processes and storage sites.

In severe cases of obesity or muscular tiredness a supplement Coenzyme Q10 will assist in the full functioning of body cells in the release of energy.  L-Carnitine from Holland and Barrett will also assist in retrieval and combustion of stored fat. But do not use these to excess or after a reasonable body weight has been achieved.

Antioxidants are present in a good diet of fruit and vegetables and vitamin E comes with most Coenzyme Q10 supplements. Alpha Lipoic Acid is an effective antioxidant the works in many parts of the body.

Acid and alkaline producing foods should ideally be balanced, or at least not excessively out of balance (see later). Adequate fibre content each day is important. One and a half litres of liquid a day is a recommended minimum.  

Alcohol intake must be very moderate, at least until the effects of the regime have become have noticeable and established. The daily walk is compulsory, though it can be cut to one mile on occasions. This is regardless of any other exercise that may be taken. Get an umbrella, and when it is not raining use it for arm exercises while walking in parks, open spaces or the country. Bicycling is good.

Replace milk with a soya product - e.g.  http://www.sogood123.com though you can use milk in tea and coffee if you must. No sugar is allowed in either of these. Honey, which has a mixture of fructose, sucrose and maltose is OK on wholemeal bread/toast for those with a sweet tooth. EAT NO BISCUITS except the very occasional 'digestive'.
APPENDIX  I  -  Example of diet            APPENDIX  II  -  A Recipe suggestion

If you follow the recommendations on these pages carefully, you will get obviously beneficial results in 4 weeks, spectacular results in 12 weeks. Because the regime is balanced and sustainable, it can be continued indefinitely. Increase the exercise time progressively on weekends. After 12 months you should be able to walk or cycle for a whole day without tiring or needing food or drink. On the other hand you will be able to enjoy three or four meals a day if you wish, be able to sleep for 5 or 9 hours as required, take a nap for 20 minutes sitting in a chair, even go without sleep for a whole night in emergencies without ill effects. Unless you are a recovered alcoholic, you will be able to drink normally at parties and social gatherings. In some cases of recovery from moderate addiction, individuals may be able to handle moderate and occasional alcoholic drinking without any need to over-indulge or to make it a regular necessity.

However, we know there are no absolute guarantees in life. I tested the above regime myself in order to give up smoking, to verify the effects before recommending it, and to make sure there were no ill effects. It may not work for you, but it worked for me, much better than I expected. Now, none of my trousers fit.
POSTSCRIPT MARCH 2004
2 Years after I wrote the above, confirmation of part of the science arrives from another source
However, the chemists involved wish to manufacture and sell pills to achieve what can
be achieved by following the advice in the preceding pages. This way we will continue
on the road to hell, till the cost of the National Health Service bankrupts the nation,
antibiotics fail, and drug addiction drives more to crime. Nutritional Therapy is the
way to reduce every kind of illness, from cancer to deafness. Nevertheless the news
report below is worth reading as it does explain one important connection between
addictions of different sorts and obesity.

On February 29th, the FOOD PROGRAMME on BBC Radio 4 dealt for the first time with
NUTRITIONAL THERAPY. Details of that programme are appended here below the news of the
new pills. Which way we go depends on personal and collective decisions of great consequence.

SEE ALSO THE WESTMINSTER DIET AND HEALTH FORUM
* * *

Wednesday, 10 March, 2004, 09:30 GMT    BBC Online News

One pill for obesity and smoking

Scientists are developing a pill that helps people quit smoking and slim down at the same time.

The drug, rimonabant, works by blocking the circuits in the brain that control the urge to eat and smoke.

Obesity and smoking have become two of the world's biggest killers, and are being targeted for action in the UK.

The makers, French firm Sanofi-Synthelabo, hope to market the drug next year.

" We think this might be the ideal compound for people who are overweight and smoke. "
Dr Robert Anthenelli

In one trial the drug helped people to shed an average of 9kg (20lbs) in a year.

And in a second, it was found to double the chances of smokers successfully quitting - at least in the short term.

Dr Robert Anthenelli, of the University of Cincinnati, who directed the smoking study, said: "We think this might be the ideal compound for people who are overweight and smoke."

Hunger circuits

The drug works by blocking the endocannabinoid system in the brain which regulates hunger, and probably other urges, including craving for alcohol.

The drug marijuana makes people ravenous by stimulating this circuitry.

And it is thought that over-eating and smoking can also over stimulate this system, leading people to eat and smoke still more.

Rimonabant seems able to block the body's ability to receive these signals, allowing the system to return to normal.

The obesity arm of the research focused on 1,036 overweight volunteers, who were put on a restricted calorie diet, and given either rimonabant or dummy pills.

After a year, those who got the higher of two doses of rimonabant had trimmed 7.6 centimetres (three inches) from their waistlines. Nearly half of them took off 10% of their body weight.

By comparison, those on placebos lost just 2.25 kilograms (five pounds).

Rimonabant also seemed to cut levels of potentially harmful cholesterol, while boosting levels of "good" cholesterol.

People taking the drug reported that they simply felt less hungry.

Smokers quit

Dr Jean-Pierre Despres, of Laval University in Quebec City, who led the obesity study, said: "The bottom line is we found a spectacular drop in waistlines and changes in many other risk factors that are beyond what you would ordinarily expect."

The smoking arm of the study showed 28% of smokers who took the drug shunned cigarettes for at least a month, compared to just 16% who were given dummy pills.

The people on rimonabant who quit gained little or no weight - and a third actually slimmed down.

Dr Ian Campbell, chairman of the UK National Obesity Forum, told BBC News Online that the drug "looked promising".

"It appears to have helped patients maintain significant weight loss over a 12 month period, but I look forward to even longer term results.

"However, I would stress that weight management remains a lifestyle issue. Medication must only ever be seen as an adjunct to support people who have made efforts to change their lifestyle first."

Dr Campbell said people who gave up smoking had a tendency to put on weight, and this put many people off even trying.

"A drug which could tackle both problems would represent a fantastic opportunity," he said.

Details of the trials were presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.



On Feb 29th 04, a milestone was passed when NUTRITIONAL THERAPY became the subject of serious reporting and discussion in the BBC's Radio 4 FOOD PROGRAMME

PROGRAMME DETAILS
29 February 2004
NHS Medicine Cabinet

FOOD AS MEDICINE

Sheila Dillon investigates the money we could save ourselves and the NHS by replacing pills with a different diet.

Obesity alone (which shaves a decade off life expectancy and triples the risk of diabetes and heart disease) is estimated to cost the NHS two and a half billion pounds a year. Add coronary heart disease, cancer, stroke and iron deficiency and the burden to the tax payer of chronic diet-related illness is about £15 billion every year.

In this week’s Food Programme Sheila Dillon meets those taking action to reduce the burden on the NHS simply by looking more closely at the role food plays in the nation’s health.

Taking part:

Former GP Dr Brian McDonogh who now runs a private practice in Crawley, West Sussex (The Eagle Clinic)

Professor Sue Fairweather-Tait, Head of the Nutrition Division of the Institute of Food Research in Norwich.

GP Dr Julia Davis and colleagues from the Bromley-by-Bow Healthy Living Centre.

Patrick Holford from the Institute of Optimum Nutrition.

Professor Andre Tylee from the Institute of Psychiatry.

Teodoro Bottiglieri, professor of pharmacology at Baylor University Medical Centre in Dallas, Texas.

Khush Mark cancer specialist working for a private practice in London.

Dr Siobhan Quinn, NHS registrar in psychiatry.

Professor Pekka Puska, Director General of Finland’s National Public Health Institute.

Melanie Johnson, Government Minister responsible for public health.

Further Information

Eagle Clinic
Gainsborough House
28-32 High Street
Crawley
West Sussex
RH10 1BW
Tel: 01293 582340
Fax:01293-582341
E-mail:info@eagleclinic.com

Institute of Food Research
NorwichResearchPark
Colney
Norwich
NR4 7UA
Tel: 01603 255000
Fax: 01603 507723
E-mail: ifr.communication@bbsrc.ac.uk
NorwichResearchPark

Bromley-by-Bow Healthy Living Centre
St. Leonards Street
Bromley-by-Bow
London
E3 3BT
Tel: 020 8709 9700
Fax: 020 8880 6608
E-mail:connect@bbbc.org.uk

Institute of Optimum Nutrition
Press Office
13 Blades Court
Deodar Road
Putney
London
SW15 2NU
Tel: 020 8877 9993

Institute of Psychiatry
King’s College London
De Crespigny Park
London
SE5 8AF
Tel: 020 7836 5454
E-mail: enquiries@10p.kcl.ac.uk

BaylorUniversityMedicalCenter
3500 Gaston Avenue
Dallas, TX75246
Tel:214 820 6226
Fax: 214 820 6080
E-mail: merijanb@bhcs.com

National Public Health Institute, Finland
Mannerheimintie 166
FIN-00300 Helsinki
Finland
(+358 9) 47 441

Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London SW1A 2NL
Tel: 0207 210 4850
Lines are open from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday
Minicom: 0207 210 5025
Lines are open from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday
E-mail: dhmail@doh.gsi.gov.uk

SEE ALSO THE WESTMINSTER DIET AND HEALTH FORUM


NOVEMBER 22 2005
I have warned for years that supplements of minerals are not always a good idea or even effective. The latest research confirms this for Calcium

By Graciela Flores Tue Nov 22,11:36 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young girls who get extra calcium from food tend to gain more bone mass than those who get it from tablet supplements, but children who already receive adequate amounts of calcium in their diets do not benefit from any form of extra calcium, a research team in Finland reports.
"We conducted the study to learn how to maximize the children's peak bone mass during the rapid-growth period of puberty -- in which 60 percent of the adult bone mass accumulates -- and thus prevent osteoporosis in adulthood," Dr. Sulin Cheng from the University of Jyvskyl in Finland told Reuters Health.
For two years, Cheng and her colleagues followed a group of 195 healthy girls, ages 10 to 12, whose calcium intake was under the National Nutrition Council recommended levels (less than 900 mg a day.) They randomly assigned the children to receive 1000 mg calcium tablets, 1000 mg calcium plus 200 IU vitamin D tablets, low-fat cheese (1000 mg of calcium), or placebo tablets.
The researchers measured the effects of calcium supplementation on bone mass and body composition, and analyzed the data using traditional statistics as well as a new model that takes into account the rate of body growth.
"We found that the cheese group showed more beneficial effects in their bones than any of the other groups," said Cheng, "but when we took into account the individual growth speed, we found no beneficial effect with any of the interventions -- calcium alone, calcium plus vitamin D, or even cheese supplementation. This means that if you exceed certain levels of your dietary calcium intake, it doesn't matter how much you take; you won't get any benefits," explained Cheng.
In the Finish study, most subjects were already receiving adequate levels of calcium in their diets. Only one percent of the girls in the total screened population (more than 1000 girls) had a dietary calcium intake below 400 mg/day. "In Nordic countries, people already get enough calcium," added Cheng.
The authors believe that their study brings up a very important question for the entire medical community: how to avoid the unnecessary calcium supplementation in normally growing children. "I hope these results will make doctors and authorities think about this issue," said Cheng.
SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2005.

FEBRUARY 19th 2006

Diet study confusion will not change habits-analysts

By Nichola Groom Sun Feb 19, 2:45 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - New studies indicating a low-fat diet does not reduce the risk of cancer and calcium supplements do little to prevent broken bones are unlikely to change consumers' habits and may only add to confusion about the link between diet and health.

In the last year, researchers have released a series of medical studies that fly in the face of conventional wisdom, which holds that weight loss, nutritional supplements and diets low in fat and calories help fight disease and prolong life.

But three studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association published earlier this month showed that women who ate less fat and more fruits and vegetables did not reduce their risk of cancer or heart disease. And Wednesday's New Englans Journal of Medicine found that calcium and vitamin D supplements were unlikely to prevent broken bones in women as they age.

The research comes on the heels of statistics published last year that questioned the U.S. government's assertion that obesity causes nearly as many deaths as smoking.

The studies prompted headlines suggesting consumers would take the news as carte blanche to eat as they please, but experts said that was unlikely.

"Consumers are used to the fact that there are often multiple medical studies coming out that often have conflicting findings," said Michael Allenson, a principal at food industry consulting firm Technomic. "Until they see a greater consistency ... they are likely not to make a change."

Consistency, however, appears to be a long way off as theories about diet and health are constantly changing. In the last two decades, fats and carbohydrates have alternately been praised and demonized by health experts. Most recently, fear of carbohydrates like pasta and bread led to a boom in low-carb, high-protein diets in 2004 that quickly vanished.

The headline-grabbing studies against a background of diet trends like low-carb, low-sugar and low-fat forces consumers to sift through masses of conflicting as well as confusing information and ultimately draw their own conclusions.

"The public gets information in little, fragmented pieces through the news," said Dr. Walter Willett, a nutrition professor at Harvard University's School of Public Health. "If that's really all they are getting, it is extraordinarily difficult to make some sense out of what's there."

Adding to the confusion, according to some, is that while some consumers take their long-term health into consideration when eating, those concerns are typically outweighed by a preoccupation with saving time and money.

"The real problem with health is that there is no immediate payback," said Harry Balzer, vice president with The NPD Group, which tracks consumer eating trends. "If I have low-fat milk today, what do I get? Did it save me time, did it save me money? The feedback is going to get to you 40 years from now."

In addition, Allenson said, consumers usually go on diets so they can lose weight, not so they can prevent disease.

"That's not the only reason why people go on diets or eat low-fat foods," Allenson said. "A lot of people are looking to lose weight because they do feel better about themselves."

In the meantime, while researchers duke it out over the long-term benefits of diet and exercise, experts said consumers can rest assured that the conventional wisdom about maintaining a healthy weight and eating a balanced diet is more likely to help than hurt.

"What we know about diets hasn't changed. It still makes sense to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, balance calories from other foods, and keep calories under control," said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University. "That, however, does not make front-page news."

I REPEAT
Other in exceptional circumstances it is essential to eat a BALANCED DIET
and train the digestion to deal properly with Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats
and the associated Vitamins, Minerals and Fibre.
The rate at which energy is used by the brain and body depends not only
 on obvious exercise but on all sorts of mental and hidden physical activity.

Obesity pandemic engulfing world: experts

AFP Sunday September 3, 09:37 AM

SYDNEY (AFP) - Obesity has reached pandemic proportions throughout the world and is now the greatest single contributor to chronic disease, an international conference was told here.

"This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world," Australia's Monash University professor Paul Zimmet, chair of the 10th International Congress on Obesity, said on the opening day of the conference.

The spread of the problem was "led by affluent western nations, whose physical activity and dietary habits are regrettably being adopted by developing nations," Zimmet told more than 2,000 delegates.

The world now has more fat people than hungry ones, according to World Health Organisation figures, with more than a billion overweight people compared to 800 million who are undernourished.

The congress on obesity is held every four years, with the last three staged in Toronto (1994), Paris (1998) and Sao Paulo (2002).

"The conference will treat obesity as the keystone of all health priorities because it is the single greatest contributor to chronic disease throughout the world," said University of Sydney professor Ian Caterson, the event co-chair.

"There are now more overweight people in the world than undernourished and we are seeing the double burden of the extremes of malnutrition -- undernutrition and overnutrition -- in many developing countries.

"We know this is not about gluttony -- it is the interaction of heredity and environment. We know that small changes can make a big difference in peoples weight and health."

Zimmet said the problem needed urgent solutions -- not just widespread changes to diet and exercise but the rethinking of national policies on urban and social planning, agriculture policy, education, transport and other areas.

He also warned in an opening address that the growth of obesity-related diabetes, or so-called "diabesity", was set to bankrupt health budgets all over the world.

Around 370 speakers and presenters at the six-day congress will discuss a range of issues, including scientific research on how the brain regulates energy and advances in the prevention and clinical management of obesity.

The conference is being attended by academics and health professionals from Australia, Japan, the United States, Britain, Canada, Sweden, Indonesia and New Zealand.


JANUARY 7th 2007

THESE DRUGS, UNLESS RESTRICTED TO EMERGENCY INTRACTABLE CASES UNDER MEDICAL SUPERVISION, WILL BE A DISASTER
Concern over anti-obesity drugs
Better data on the long-term effects of anti-obesity drugs is needed before more widespread use of the therapies, a Canadian study says.

Researchers said such drugs would become more important in the future to combat the growing obesity crisis.

But the University of Alberta Hospital said in the Lancet that data on drugs already in use was limited particularly over cardiovascular outcomes.

They said there should be better testing of anti-obesity therapies.

The team analysed articles published over the last six years on three drugs - hunger suppressant sibutramine, orlistat, which restricts the absorption of fat, and rimonabant, a relatively new drug being targeted at people with diabetes.


Doctors use these drugs carefully, there are no wonder cures, but in the right circumstances they can help
Jim Kennedy, of the Royal College of GPs

They said the long-term impact of the drugs was not clearly known with side effects including increased blood pressure and pulse rate for sibutramine and mood-related disorders for rimonabant reported.

The three drugs are used in the UK - where one in five adults are classed as obese - although they are restricted for clinically obese people or those at risk through conditions such as diabetes.

Doctors normally only prescribe them in tandem with exercise and dietary regimes and they are not often used for longer than a year.

But the researchers said as the obesity crisis escalates, as it is predicted to do, clinicians will have to increasingly rely on drug treatment programmes.

Pandemic

Lead researcher Raj Padwal said: "In light of successful weight-loss treatments and the public health implications of the obesity pandemic, the development of safe and effective drugs should be a priority."

But he said trails should show reductions in both weight loss and clinical outcomes "should be required either before these drugs are approved for widespread use or as a condition for on-going approval".

Dr Jim Kennedy, prescribing spokesman for the Royal College of GPs, said there was little known about the long-term impact of anti-obesity drugs.

But he added: "I think the use of drugs will be limited to certain situations.

"Obesity is a complex issue and there are many factors that need to be addressed, it is not just a question of handing out drugs.

"Doctors use these drugs carefully, there are no wonder cures, but in the right circumstances they can help.

"For example, if someone's diabetes is out of control or if they need to lose weight for an operation."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/6231481.stm

Published: 2007/01/05 23:59:49 GMT

© BBC MMVII

FEBRUARY 10th 2007 
The following report is worth reading. The science is good. The lesson to learn is: "Grow old gracefully. Keep fit, but don't don't bust a gut trying be superman."  ...and OK, perhaps a touch of Coenzyme Q10 might help, who knows...most medicaments create a dependency so shoul only be used in emergency or when needed to stop a self-feeding downward trend.

Why exercise gets harder with age
There is a reason why people feel they have to exercise harder as they age to get the same results, scientists say.

A US team found a system that boosts muscles fails with age, leading to the need for increased efforts, the paper in Cell Metabolism reported.

The finding could also help foster an understanding of type 2 diabetes, which is linked to ageing, the study said.

But a UK expert said there was little point in people exercising harder, as muscle function could not be regained.


Loss of skeletal muscle mass and function as we age is a major problem
Dr Anne McArdle, University of Liverpool

It is known that even the fittest 70-year-old has more fat in their muscles and livers than a 20-year-old.

These fat cells have been linked to the rise in insulin resistance - where the hormone is not processed properly - and type 2 diabetes, which is connected to ageing.

Elite athletes

The team from the Howard Hughes Medical School at Yale University School of Medicine, compared the skeletal muscle of three-month-old rats and two-year-olds.

They found that a process called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) slowed down in the older animals.

AMPK's role in skeletal muscle is to stimulate the body to burn off fat and to fuel cells, via the production of mitochondria - cells' power sources.

The skeletal muscles of marathon runners has been found to have a much greater mitochondrial content and a greater capacity to burn fat, which the scientists say is probably linked to high levels of AMPK activity.

The animals were exposed to a chemicals which stimulates AMPK and were also fed more food, which also stimulates the process.

They found that the older rats had lower AMPK activity than the younger animals.

In addition, the muscle of young rats who did more exercise had double the normal AMPK activity - up to 38% - while in older rats, this effect was "severely blunted."

Quality of life

Dr Gerald Shulman, who led the research, said: "The message is that, with ageing, the AMPK pathway has reduced activity."

He said this meant a person would have to work harder when trying to maintain the same benefits from exercise as they did when they were young.

"AMPK activity in our skeletal muscle is probably a good thing because it activation stimulates glucose uptake, increases fat oxidation [fat burning], and promotes mitochondrial biogenesis [production]," he said.

Dr Shulman added that the reduction could be a contributing factor to the development of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes because of its effect on fat burning and mitochondria production.

Dr Anne McArdle, an ageing specialist at the University of Liverpool, said: "Loss of skeletal muscle mass and function as we age is a major problem which has a significant effect on quality of life of older people.

"Studies which examine the mechanisms by which muscle function is lost are crucial to the development of interventions aimed at maintenance of muscle mass and function in later life."

Dr McArdle said this study supported other work which had suggested the response of skeletal muscles and other tissues was affected by stresses, including exercise.

But she added: "The data suggest that the ability to increase AMPK activity is completely abolished and so there is little evidence to suggest that 'working harder' would overcome these deficiencies."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/6334899.stm

Published: 2007/02/10 00:00:55 GMT

© BBC MMVII

FEBRUARY 26th 2007        
I am gad to read this as I have long held that vitamins should be taken in food, not as pills, unless there is a deficiency that cannot be corrected otherwise because the individual does not have control of his/her diet.
[See the article on antioxidants in fruit juices - that's what you need (and wine) - March 15 2007 below]

Antioxidants don't help you live longer

By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer 

CHICAGO - Antioxidant vitamins taken by tens of millions of people around the world won't lead to a longer life, according to an analysis of dozens of studies that adds to evidence questioning the value of the popular supplements. The large review of separate studies on thousands of people found no long-life benefit from vitamins A, E and C and beta carotene and selenium.

However, some experts said it's too early to toss out all vitamin pills — or the possibility that they may have some health benefits. Others said the study supports the theory that antioxidants work best when they are consumed in food rather than pills.

An estimated 80 million to 160 million people take antioxidants in North America and Europe, about 10 to 20 percent of adults, the study's authors said. And last year, Americans spent $2.3 billion on nutritional supplements and vitamins at grocery stores, drug stores and retail outlets, excluding Wal-Mart, according to Information Resources Inc., which tracks sales.

The new study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, was led by the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. The Cochrane organization is a respected international network of experts that does systematic reviews of scientific evidence on health interventions.

For the new report on antioxidants, the researchers first analyzed 68 studies involving 232,606 people and found no significant effect on mortality — neither good nor bad — linked to taking antioxidants.

When they eliminated the lower-quality studies and looked only at the most trustworthy ones, they actually found a higher risk of death for people taking vitamins: 4 percent for those taking vitamin E, 7 percent for beta carotene and 16 percent for vitamin A. The actual cause of death in most studies was unknown, however.

Those findings are based on an analysis of 47 studies involving 180,938 people who were randomly assigned to get real vitamins or dummy pills. Some involved superdoses far exceeding the recommended daily amount of the compounds; others involved normal doses.

Some experts who reviewed the research were dismissive of the increased death risk and the analysis overall, saying it pooled studies that were too diverse.

However, the study's senior author, Dr. Christian Gluud of Copenhagen University Hospital, said, "The main message is that prevention by beta carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E cannot be recommended. These three antioxidant supplements may increase mortality."

Gluud said most of the studies didn't reveal why those taking supplements died, but "in all likelihood, what they died from is what people normally die from, maybe accelerated artherosclerosis, maybe cancer."

Antioxidant supplements have been tested repeatedly by many clinical trials with no consistent clear evidence for their health effects, Gluud said.

"We have had this huge industry really wanting to demonstrate an intervention effect that has gone to lengths to do so," Gluud said. "Sadly enough for the industry, and for us as consumers, it has failed to do so."

Preliminary studies suggested antioxidants might block the heart-damaging effects of oxygen on arteries and the cell damage that might encourage some kinds of cancer.

But some researchers now believe antioxidants work only when they are in food, or that people who eat vitamin-rich food are healthier simply because they take better care of themselves. And beta carotene supplements have been found to increase lung cancer risk in smokers.

Meir Stampfer, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said the new analysis hasn't discouraged him from taking his vitamins.

Stampfer said the studies were too diverse to pool together because they looked at various combinations and doses of antioxidants tested in different groups of people. The trials ranged from a three-month study of 109 elderly nursing home residents to a 12-year study of 22,071 male doctors.

"This study does not advance our understanding, and could easily lead to misinterpretation of the data," said Stampfer, who was not connected to the new report.

The complaints were echoed by Andrew Shao, a scientist at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement trade association.

"Only when they included and excluded certain trials were they able to find this alleged increase in mortality, which they themselves can't explain," Shao said. "There is plenty of data out there that show regular use of antioxidant supplements help to maintain health."

Donald Berry, chairman of the department of biostatistics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, said the analysis persuades him antioxidants have no measurable health benefits, but he disagrees with the researchers' finding of an increase risk of dying.

"There are so many choices you can make when you're doing these analyses," he said.

Alice Lichtenstein, a professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University who was not involved with the research, said the study's main message is: "Rely on food to get your nutrients."

MARCH 1st 2007    As I have been warning continually, appetite suppressant drugs are not advisable except in emergencies

UN blames pill abuse on slimming 'obsession'

By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent

Published: 01 March 2007

Soaring use of appetite-suppressing drugs could have a serious impact on users' health and even kill them, the United Nations' drug-control agency warns today.

As such drugs become popular around the world, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) appealed to the Government to take tougher action to curb their spread in Britain.

The board said overuse of such substances, known as anoretics, could lead to panic attacks, violent behaviour, hallucinations, breathing problems, seizures, coma and even death. In Britain they are prescription drugs, but are easily available on the internet.

The warning comes after the British Fashion Council refused to ban "size zero" models from London Fashion Week last month. The industry's frequent use of ultra-thin women has been attacked by public figures ranging from actress Kate Winslet to Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary.

Philip Emafo, the INCB president, warned that anoretics should only be used under medical supervision. He added: "They are being used indiscriminately to feed the slimming obsession that affects some societies. Effective intervention by local competent authorities is a must, if this trend is to be reversed."

Fourteen different appetite suppressants, prescribed to treat obesity, attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy, have been developed, including phentermine, which has 45 per cent of the world market, fenproporex (23 per cent) and amfepramone (18per cent).

The INCB also raised the alarm over the rapidly expanding global trade in counterfeit prescription drugs to treat such conditions as impotence and hairloss. It predicted that the market could be worth £38bn within four years.

A spokesman for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency insisted it was taking action against UK-based websites illegally selling prescription drugs, but was powerless to stop people buying them from abroad.

He said: "People are being ripped off. They could be forking out phenomenal amounts of money for medicines that may not even arrive. They might not contain the correct active ingredients, which could be detrimental to their health."

The INCB also expressed concern about the boom in opium cultivation in Afghanistan, which reached a record 6,100 tonnes last year. The vast majority of the heroin found in Britain comes from Afghanistan, smuggled through central Asia and the Balkans to western Europe.

MARCH 15 2007

Why a glass of grape may be best way to start your day

By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor, The Independent

Published: 15 March 2007

If you think a glass of breakfast orange juice is the best way to start the day, think again. Grape juice could be more beneficial.

Scientists have carried out the first scientific analysis of fruit juices to measure their antioxidant activity - the anti-ageing compounds that protect against heart disease and other chronic conditions.

Top of the league is purple grape juice followed by apple juice and cranberry juice, according to the study by researchers at the University of Glasgow. Orange juice, the most popular fruit juice, comes way down the league. It contains fewer polyphenols than the other juices tested, which are strong antioxidants.

Alan Crozier, professor of plant biochemistry and human nutrition who led the study, said: "Not all fruit juices are the same. The findings reveal that the variety of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of the individual juices varied markedly."

"Purple grape juice made with Concord grapes contains the highest and broadest range of polyphenols as well as having the highest antioxidant capacity. Other high-ranking products include cloudy apple juice and cranberry juice drink."

The research was funded by the National Grape Co-operative, a consortium of farmers in the US owned by Welch's, makers of Concord purple grape juice. It is published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.

The finding comes in the wake of research by US scientists which showed an association between long-term fruit juice consumption and a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers who followed almost 2,000 volunteers for up to 10 years found the risk of Alzheimer's was 76 per cent lower for those who drank juices more than three times a week compared with those who drank them less than once a week.

The Glasgow study suggests these protective effects may be strengthened by consumption of a combination of juices with a high concentration and broad range of polyphenolic antioxidants.

Antioxidants are compounds such as vitamin C found in fruits and vegetables which are believed to play a key role by protecting the body from the damaging effects of free radicals, the products of metabolism. By quenching free radicals they help to maintain oxidative balance and prevent the development of diseases including cancer and heart disease.

Professor Crozier said: "Supplementing a healthy diet with a regular intake of a variety of fruit juices such as purple grape juice, grapefruit juice, cloudy apple juice and cranberry juice,will increase the consumer's intake of phenolic antioxidants. The message is to mix these juices during the week. That way you will get all the compounds with anti-oxidant activity. If you drink only one juice you risk missing out on the compounds in the others."

He said Welch's had asked his research team to measure the antioxidant activity in 13 of the most popular fruit juices in Britain.

"The paper we have published is as we wrote it. If Welch's had written it they would have said drink only Concord grape juice."

The findings also revealed the number and level of antioxidant phenolic compounds in purple grape juice equates with those found in a Beaujolais red wine.

The juice league table

Millimoles per litre of phenolic anti-oxidants:

1 Purple Grape 0.98

Made from grapes with dark flesh which have the highest level of anti-oxidants

2 Cloudy Apple 0.67

Cloudy apple juice has four times the level of anti-oxidants of clear apple juice.

3 Pomegranate 0.45

One of the newest juices on the market. Has a high anti-oxidant content.

4 Cranberry 0.32

Known for its health-giving benefits, especially as a treatment for cystitis in women.

5 Grapefruit 0.30

Interacts with some medicines reducing their effectiveness.

6 Clear Apple 0.26

Processes used to remove the pulp, which makes juice cloudy, remove the anti-oxidants

7 Tropical 0.12

Mixed fruit juice that contains a range of anti-oxidant compounds - but made from juices that have low levels

8= Orange, Pineapple, Tomato, Red Grape, White Grape less than 0.1

These juices are still fine to drink - they just pack less of a health punch than those at the top of the table.

OCTOBER 15th 2007

Brown: 'Tackle childhood obesity quickly'


ITN

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said the "huge" childhood obesity issue needs to be tackled quickly and "in a "number of different ways".

Half the population will be obese within 25 years if current trends continue, according to the stark findings of a new Government study.

Mr Brown's comments came during a visit to specialist sports school, the Harris Girls' Academy in East Dulwich, south London.

He said: "There are more school playing fields now. There is a wider range of sport in schools. Girls might be more interested in netball and yoga. It's one of the answers to childhood obesity."

The Premier, who revealed he uses a treadmill to keep fit, also said more needed to be done on food labelling to help parents make the right decisions for their children.

He said: "I want to see a young nation growing up that's healthy and fit. Sometimes if you don't deal with the problem quickly...then it just grows and grows and grows and gets worse."

Having invested £2.3 billion in PE over the last ten years, Mr Brown announced that Labour will provide an extra £100 million this year to try to broaden the range of sports available to children.

But, Mr Brown described as "phenomenal" the rise in students doing more than two hours of sport a week, from 20 per cent ten years ago to 86 per cent now.

He added: "When I was at school one child in the class was very fat and it was a problem for them. Now there are four or five in the class and it's a big problem for them," he added.

Mr Brown, who joined pupils at the school's breakfast club, eating croissants and grapes and drinking hot chocolate, then toured the school's new gym facilities with Olympic gold medal winner Dame Kelly Holmes.

Earlier, a representative for nurses at 2,500 UK schools, said they must be better equipped to help tackle the epidemic.

Ros Godson, from the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association (CPHVA) is due to call for every school to have its own equipment to weigh and measure children.

She will also tell delegates at the National Obesity Forum's (NOF) fifth annual conference, in London, that school nurses should be given a dedicated area to work to ensure confidentiality.

***

SEE also  http://www.nationalobesityforum.org.uk/

OCTOBER 17th 2007

Being overweight is a far more passive phenomenon than is often assumed, according to Foresight.

It found in a report that the technological revolution of the 20th century has led to weight gain becoming unavoidable for most people because our bodies and biological make-up are out of step with our surroundings.

"Stocking up on food was key to survival in prehistoric times, but now with energy-dense, cheap foods, labour-saving devices, motorised transport and sedentary work, obesity is rapidly becoming a consequence of modern life," said Sir David King, the government's chief scientific adviser and head of the Foresight programme.

This report, the result of careful research and analysis by over 200 scientists and experts, reaches the same conclusion as to the cause and the remedies for the onset of obesity in our current population as I proposed in the year 2000 in the opening paragraphs of this web file under the heading " I. THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE PROCESS".

In that year, the UK public had not been alerted to the trap they were walking into or the means to avoid it. That is no longer true. For that reason I cannot go along with the headline in the BBC acount of the report linked here below
 After the work put in to inform the media and through them the public, it is increasingly obvious that in all cases other than the genetically overriden, obesity is the individual's responsibility - peer pressure and parental impotence or incompetence notwithstanding. See also http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071017/tuk-uk-britain-fat-fa6b408_6.html . 

OCTOBER 23rd 2007
It was strange to hear on YOU and YOURS (BBC Radio 4 today) a discussion on how deaths related to smoking are going down as deaths related to obesity were rising, without relating one to the other. In my youth, smoking was known to be the principal way young ladies kept slim. When advised by their doctor to give it up at the age of 40 or 50, most put on weight immediately.

Cigarettes were the reason neither men or women snacked between meals, as well as the reason they did not over-eat. By the time we got to the cheese course we were looking forward to a cigarette and there was no call for secnd helpings of anything. So cigarettes played a vital role in reducing the amount eaten at meals, in not eating between meals, and not needing to ask for nuts or crisps when in a pub or at a drinks party. They even caused people to drink less, and made them relax.

A great many of today's social problems are the result of us giving up smoking without realising that if we do that (a good idea) we must take control, ignore any adverse peer pressure, and reboot our entire lifestyle program.

If you add to that the adverse effects of:

1. Driving instead of walking
2. Lifts and escalators instead of stairs
3. Central heating instead of coal and wood fires or none
4. Television and computers at home
5. Computers in the work place
6. Cheap junk food available
7. Non-stop advertising
8. Concern about children playing outside or walking to school
9. The move from rural to urban with farm mechanisation
10 The poor cycling environment in most of the UK

Then it is likely that we have a serious obesity risk. Any ONE of the above could require an individual with one out of the two main default tyoes of metabolism to need to take deliberate action in order to avoid putting on weight if it was a factor in their life. It is likely that at least 6 and possibly 10 play a part, 11 if they were a smoker, and that one could do the job on ts own.

Quite apart from the calorie/exercise balance, there are dietary considerations such as glycaemic load that until recently have been ignored or the subject of appalling misinformation by the media, which has added to the problem.

Which part of the above do you, or anyone else, NOT understand?

As for whether people are offended or die because of it, nothing could matter less. The more that die and the quicker, the better. Those who take offence can just take offence or get over it. All we have to do is make sure everyone knows about the risk. I do not think its causes have yet been put publicly as clearly as I have here. They should be.

FEBRUARY 7th 2008
I have spent a lifetime on and off on trying to get the human race to understand the simplest of all truths: the relationship of Nature to Nurture, the of cause and effect, of probabilities and possibilities when it comes to human life and individual development. I believed that as one amongst many who were beating the drum of understanding we were making progress, and that understanding was at last filtering into the ranks of the media hacks, Fat chance, it seems, when there is one born every minute who fails to learn from those who have ridden the road before.

Below you will see in the first sentence the reason for my despair,  "A new study suggests that Genes are more to blame for weight gain.... etc. etc."

What happens to an individual from the moment of conception is adjusted by the environment. The response of the genetically endowed material to the environment and the feedback between the two, the switching on or not at a given moment of various genetic potentials, will guide the developmental path. Sometimes it will proceed up paths which are irreversible, other times alternative compensatory or side-tracking options can enter the picture. After the moment of birth a new mode is entered, where the environment is increasingly under the control of the individual and at the same time exposed to the control and influence first of parents/guardians and then of others, peers and mentors.

The 'fat gene' referred to below as if it were an accident, randomly achieved property, is statistically a result. Every individual must suit their behaviour to their genetic limits or the relative absence of them. We come into the world prepared by nature in a very complex way. The environment and even the state of mind of parents has an effect on fertility, on the pregnancy and the development of the foetus. But the genetic trends draw on history that goes further back than than that. As a result, many people being born in the UK today lack not only the appropriate genetic preparation for the environment they are to enter, but also the environment itself does not contain the means to correct this, when it very well could, and on top of that the genetically given intelligence to self adjust after personal reflection and meditative thought.

In that very first line below the writer enters the BLAME GAME. Good grief, Charlie Brown. The genes are neither more or less to blame than the environment. There is simply a mismatch between the genetic preparation and the environment that is met. Sometimes this is affects the indigenous population, sometimes immigrants are more vulnerable. Those who do not realise this are in a pickle. Those who haven't the means or the wit to deal with it are in a further pickle, and those who live in a country where the popular press and the hacks that churn this stuff out are dim as Toc H Lamps, and the where universities spawn research undertaken by people who have not learned the results of research already done over the past 2 millennia, whose reports are then summarised incorrectly in the media, are not just in a pickle but deep, deep doo doo.

The research referred to below covered many non-identical twins, where there was a genetic difference but supposedly identical environment including diet. The first thing to say is that the genetic difference is a classic device of nature to ensure species survival. One twin will have a different calorific optimal input to the other, a different default metabolic functionality. In treating them the same, the parents will actually accentuate unnecessarily, the difference in the tendency to obesity or the reverse. Sauce for goose is not sauce for gander. So it is wrong to BLAME genes. If anyone is to blame it is those who do not understand the difference between individuals, even - perhaps especially - non-identical twins!

Now you are prepared you can read the press report, where what the researchers have to say is obvious, where the researcher themselves have failed to qualify their conclusions in the way I have rightly done above, and where the very first line of the Press Association report is completely at variance with the burden of the argument and an understanding of the truth as it affects us all.

Study hints at 'fat' gene

Press Assoc. - Thursday, February 7 06:08 am

Genes are probably more to blame for weight gain than an appetite for cream buns, a new study has suggested.

Scientists have found that ease of putting on weight in school children is mostly inherited.

A study of more than 5,000 pairs of twins aged eight to 11 showed that genes contributed 77% of the amount by which their body mass and waist circumference varied.

Only 23% of the differences between the children was due to home environment.

Children born with "fat" genes are not inevitably overweight, but have to work extra hard to stay slim, said study leader Professor Jane Wardle, from University College London.

"In today's environment, which provides unprecedented opportunities for all children to over-eat and be sedentary, it is not surprising these tendencies result in weight gain," she added.

"It is therefore especially important to provide the best possible environment for all children to help protect those who are at higher genetic risk."

Twin studies disentangle "nature and nurture" influences by comparing identical and non-identical pairs of individuals.

Studies of twins can estimate the extent to which the home environment makes family members more similar than would be expected from their genetic relatedness. This is especially useful when looking at the factors behind child obesity.


OCTOBER 19th 2008

The omega 6 news is interesting. It's the n-6/n-3 balance which is critical. We need both, but if 6 gets too high it can cause a problem. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-6_fatty_acid

SEE ENTRY OCTOBER 25th 2009

NOVEMBER 8th 2008

Shock obesity statistics revealed

Saturday, November 8 06:09 pm

Press Assoc.

Nine out of 10 British adults and two-thirds of children will be overweight or obese by the middle of this century unless eating and exercise habits change, Health Secretary Alan Johnson has warned. 

  Shock obesity statistics revealed

Predictions from a Government agency suggest that the cost to the UK of the obesity epidemic will treble to £50 billion a year by 2050 unless urgent action is taken.

The Health Secretary highlighted the shock statistics ahead of Tuesday's launch of a £400 million Change4Life public health campaign to encourage families to eat better, eat less and exercise more.

Mr Johnson told the News of the World: "It's the curse of modern life - we eat too much and don't take enough exercise to burn off the calories.

"That's why so many people are overweight. If this trend continues, by 2050, nine out of 10 adults and two-thirds of all children will be overweight or obese.

"That's why we are taking action now. Change4Life is the beginning of the biggest ever grassroots movement to support families to eat better and be more active."

The Government's science thinktank Foresight predicted in a report published last year that, on current trends, by 2050 60% of males and 50% of females will be obese.

The report also claimed that by that date, 90% of adults would be overweight or obese, placing enormous strain on the NHS because of weight-related conditions like diabetes, stroke and heart disease.



OCTOBER 25th 2009
If you have not already read it, now read:
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=0A153BEC-C58E-3966-60E7-B055A4B5C22C&siteName=londonmet
and
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/depts/hhs/research/nutpolunit/
on Omega 3 and Omega 6 issues

See also
http://www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=3
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research-units/ibchn/

JUNE 16th 2010
Today is a dismal day by any standards. The EU has voted (by a narrow margin - but that is no excuse) NOT to adopt the 'Traffic Light system for marking the levels of salt, sugar and fat in foods. They have gone instead for the 'Guideline Daily Amounts' . They were at the receiving end of a monstrous lobbying exercise by certain food manufacturers and certain retailers (such as Tesco, who depend on addicts of cheap, profitable junk food to finance good deals on better stuff and generally play the field as and when required).

The advantage of the traffic light system is obvious. Few people have time to examine and calculate as they shop. There is no reason why certain foods high in salt, sugar or fat should not be bought. What is to be avoided is an unhealthy diet. When a shopper sees that there are more red lights in the shopping basket than normal, usual, intended or expected, that is the time to check up on their diet or that of their children. The RDA figures are going to be there anyway, what has been lost today is a chance to make a difference to the health of Europe. Putting the RDA figures alone is just arse-covering, it will not make a significant difference in the real world. It will not reach the people most in need of help, who are causing most waste and most cost to the economy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10327312.stm

I am a chocolate eater. At least two bars a week of Lindt Orange Intense or Green & Black's Maya Gold. These would have a red label no doubt. Would that reduce sales to me? Absolutely not. Would it change what sort of chocolate I eat? No.
But if somebody was buying food they did not realise was high in salt, sugar or fat, or did not realise that most of their shopping basket was high is one, some or all, then it would make a difference and one which was necessary to the individual but minimal in its effect on the food industry, other than those parts of it manipulating customers to make a profit unjustified by legitimate supply and demand. The whole point of the traffic light system is it makes it easy to make sure that a shopping basket is not overloaded with red lights, or the red lights are not on large volumes..

I was going to say 'words fail me' but they do not.
Today confirms that too many of our politicians are stupid or bribable, and too many of our business leaders are stupid or arseholes. Or both.

JULY 7th 2010
Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "Given that one-third of our children are overweight or obese, tackling our unhealthy food culture is vital. Food advertising should be restricted, planning controls used to limit fast-food premises near places where young people congregate and the price of food examined to find ways to make healthier products more affordable."

Lindsey Davies, the new president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, wants ministers to bring in legal minimum health standards for food if manufacturers do not undertake dramatic action to strip out harmful ingredients such as transfats and excess salt. Both are added during production and have been implicated in causing tens of thousands of deaths a year through strokes and heart attacks
http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food-drink/doctor-calls-urgent-action-salt-fats-food-article-huib.html

AUGUST 26th 2011
Another year has passed and statistically, no progress at all has been made.

Researchers have  now made projections for the US and the UK - two of the developed countries with the worst rates of obesity.

They predicted obesity rates would rise from a quarter in the UK to about 40% by 2030.

Such a scenario would cost the NHS an extra £2bn a year - the equivalent of 2% of health spending.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14669203

The cost to the NHS is actually less than the cost to the nation in other ways. Do the math - including all energy the geometry. No, I can't be arsed to do it for you here.

OCTOBER 24th 2011
Oh good grief, now the Chief Medical Officer  http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/MinistersandDepartmentLeaders/ChiefMedicalOfficer/index.htm has announced the way to deal with the obesity epidemic is to count calories, eat less fat and take more exercise. If it were that simple, it would be that simple. I sometimes think that the anglo-saxon default diet has itself rendered the population so stupid they cannot reason their way out of the problem. A true catch-22 situation. Once again Sheila Dillon rides to the rescue on BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnx3
It is too much refined carbohydrate, lack of a balanced diet and a lack of intake of vitamins and minerals from food as opposed to supplements, that produces unwanted body fat.
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