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7/21 - Austin editorial - Changes in fatty foods a good recipe for a healthier America



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 21st 03, 02:56 PM
Maurice
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Default 7/21 - Austin editorial - Changes in fatty foods a good recipe for a healthier America

Changes in fatty foods a good recipe for a healthier America

http://www.statesman.com/editorial/c...210ac00ac.html
*
Changes in fatty foods a good recipe for a healthier America
Editorial Board
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Monday, July 21, 2003

A combination of changing tastes, alarm about the growing number of
obese children and fear of lawsuits is having a profound -- and
beneficial -- effect on the American food industry.

Fast food giant McDonald's now touts its healthy salad choices, and is
experimenting with fruit in its popular Happy Meal for kids. Frito-Lay
has removed trans fat from Doritos, Chee-tos and Tostitos, and labels
the trans fat content in other products. Trans fat is thought to add
to the risk of heart disease, and the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration this month mandated its listing on food packages after
2005.

Kraft Foods, which was sued over the trans fat content of Oreo
cookies, is radically altering its food products by reducing the fat
content and calories. Kraft also is attacking trans fat in its snack
foods in an effort to reduce or eliminate it.

These and many other changes are driven both by a demand from
health-conscious consumers and the fear of product liability lawsuits
like those filed against cigarette manufacturers. The effect has been
to produce a healthier food supply, even if the industry is to a large
degree changing out of self-interest. Although bills now in Congress
would protect the food industry from lawsuits, their passage is far
from assured.

Fast foods and snacks are popular, but they are often unhealthy and
high in calories, sugar, sodium and fat. One only needs to look at a
bag of glowing orange Chee-tos to understand it isn't health food.
While food manufacturers may be responding out of fear, everyone
benefits if the industry succeeds in making healthier foods that
people like.

A public concern about the alarming rise in obesity is another factor
in the switch to more nutritious fare. Child obesity has more than
doubled in the past 25 years, according to the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and teenage obesity has tripled.

That knowledge has forced schools to reconsider their lunch menus and
relocate or lock their snack and soda machines. It also has made snack
food and fast-food companies take a hard look at their menus and their
marketing. There is no question that food companies have aimed their
high calorie, high fat foods at children.

Personal decisions play a role in the fast food and snack food
choices, too. Parents and individuals choose the foods they and their
children eat and bear most of the responsibility if they choose
unwisely.

But food decisions are not only a matter of personal choice, because
people are influenced by advertising, convenience and taste. And that
is why food companies are taking the initiative and changing the way
they prepare, package and advertise their products.

These changes appear to be part of a shifting dietary landscape.
Though it may take years to substantially alter America's appetite for
unhealthy food, when people know what's in the food they eat and its
effect on their health, they are more likely to make better choices.

Food manufacturers now recognize the concern about obesity, health and
a more discerning public -- plus the likelihood of expensive lawsuits
-- and are changing their products. That's a good beginning toward
becoming a healthier America.

ON THE WEB: For more information about the FDA's rule on trans fat
labeling and nutrition, go to www.fda.govoc/initiatives/transfat.
Information on health and nutrition is available at the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site,
www.cdc.gov/health/nutrition.htm.
  #2  
Old July 22nd 03, 11:14 AM
Maurice
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Default 7/22 - Scripps Howard MD column - Too much soda does make children fat, study finds

http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/health_and...124783,00.html

Too much soda does make children fat, study finds

By Steve Infanti Scripps Howard News Service
July 22, 2003

Q: My child drinks a great deal of soda. My mother says this will make
him fat. Does soda contribute to weight gain in children?

A: Too much soda and other sugar-filled drinks make children fat. That
is the message of a two-month study by nutritionists at Cornell
University. Children who drank more than 12 ounces of sweetened drinks
gained significantly more weight than children who drank less than six
ounces a day. That's because children do not reduce how much food they
eat at meals for the calories they consume in sweetened drinks. The
more sweetened drinks they consumed, the greater their daily caloric
intake and the greater the weight gain.

Nutritionists also worry that soda might be crowding out bone-healthy
milk on the menu and might even leach calcium out of growing bones.

"Soft drinks taken in excess may result in excessive phosphorus in the
diet and that, in turn, can result in low blood calcium levels," says
Dr. Lisa Ritchie, assistant professor of family and consumer sciences
at Harding University in Searcy, Ark. "The body will respond by
pulling calcium from the bone to increase the amount in the blood."
 




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