So with the new year comes an even more hot topic of weight loss, obesity, and nutrition. Everyone has their New Year's Resolutions dialed in and are hopefully still committed to reach their goals!
Now instead of writing a full report, I'll keep it simple. I have been following a few expert's pages and one of them, Dr.Freedhoff, and his site, "Weighty Matters," discusses something very important! The causes! He specializes in Bariatric Medicine(medicine that deals with the causes, prevention, and treatment of obesity).
He covers a great topic with childhood obesity and makes it very enjoyable and understandable to read! Check out his post on McDonald's new attempt to lure children into healthy eating below:
http://www.weightymatters.ca/2012/05/mcdonalds-helping-kids-get-their-5-day.html
After he wrote the article, he was interviewed and asked a few important questions:
It’s no secret that children today are growing up in a different world. What needs to happen to fight the childhood obesity epidemic?
Dr. Freedhoff: That’s simple – we need to change the world. Because really it’s the world that’s the problem, not the kids. Kids are kids. There hasn’t been a pandemic loss of willpower in 6 year olds these days. Instead these days 6 year olds are growing up in an environment that is by its very nature obesogenic. Focusing on the kids treats the symptom. We need to treat the cause.Whether it’s banning advertising targeting kids, ending the provision of no-name junk food at schools, bringing back home economics, launching public health campaigns to promote the home cooked around the table meal, changes to crop subsidies to make junk food less inexpensive to sell – there are no shortages of initiatives we could take.
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff
What are some of the most common misconceptions about obesity that people have?
DF: That exercise matters as much or more as dietary intake (it doesn’t), that you should wait until you’re hungry to eat (by then it’s too late for any hope of control), and that suffering is required (if you’re suffering, you’re going to quit).Clever marketing and misleading food / nutritional labels usually come down to corporate profits. Companies will always want to make money, so where does the fight against obesity go from here?
We need to create a world that nudges us in the right direction, and it’s going to take a huge amount of time and effort. It will require abandoning the notion that the food industry is a “partner” and accepting the fact that their sole job, by the very definition of industry, is to increase profits.
We’re not going to solve this problem with “food products”, but we might solve it with actual food. The sooner governments appreciate that fact, the sooner we’ll see actually evidence based food guides, true school food reforms, and public health campaigns that are actually helpful.
A good friend wants to lose weight – what are your top 3 tips for them?
DF:1. Don’t set number goals. Numbers are hopes. Goals should be behaviors – tangible things like eating out less frequently, cooking from scratch, keeping some form of food diary. It’s goals like that which may get a person to their hopes.
2. Spend more time in your kitchen than in your gym.
3. Keep a food diary. Clinical studies suggest people who keep food diaries lose twice as much weight as those who don’t. My own experiences with literally thousands of patients would be that people who keep them really well lose three times as much weight as those who don’t.
Any simple nutrition advice for parents trying to provide a healthy lifestyle for their children?
DF: Live the life you want your children to live. If you want them to be active – be active yourself. If you want them to eat healthfully prioritize actual cooking, and teach your kids how to do it.Carve out at least one night a week to, as a family, cook a healthy meal from scratch and eat it at a leisurely pace around an actual table and make meals out and ordering in a rare treat.
What are your favorite nutrition / health resources?
DF: There are too many to list!What I use most to help myself would be www.tweetwhatyoueat.com to keep my food diary, and Fitocracy to manage my fitness.
So there you have it! Dr. Freedhoff is spot on with his statements! Its not that kids are not kids anymore....It is just the dramatic change of our society and how food is advertised and easily assessable. We must treat the cause! Then work towards getting them to enjoy exercise again! I highly doubt your son or daughter will sit inside playing video games if the whole neighborhood is outside playing capture the flag! America needs to make a change by looking at the causes of obesity!
With that note, here is a little Blender Drink Recipe I have used for years to help my training and really give me energy to propel through workouts and long work days! It is GREAT for fat loss and revitalizing your metabolism!
Mike's Pre-Workout Blender Drink Recipe:
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1 Cup Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk
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1 Cup Ice Cubes
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2 Stevia Packets(Splenda Okay As Well)
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1.5 Scoops Whey Protein(Any Flavor But Prefer
Chocolate PB For This Recipe)
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1 Oz Almonds or Tablespoon Almond Butter
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Cinnamon & Nutmeg
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1/3 Cup Frozen Blueberries
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Micronized Creatine
- I sometimes will add Spinach As Well! (trust me, you cannot taste it)
Until Next Time, Keep pushing for your goals and stay strong with your resolutions!
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