How to Solve the Epidemic of Childhood Obesity and Disease
By the time overweight children are in their twenties, they can expect to be diagnosed with diseases that normally affect people in their sixties and seventiesBefore I tell you more about what Dr. Ludwig teaches us, let me tell you who he really is. Some of us who write books are simply translators of the science, and we depend on intellectual and creative giants to pave new paths in understanding how our bodies work and how to create health. I mostly fall into that category. Others are the giants who see far into the future and quietly do the hard work in the laboratory and in clinical scientific research to bravely ask the right questions despite enormous political and economic obstacles. Dr. Ludwig is just such a man. In fact, he is an unsung hero who has taught us about the effects of food and particularly high-glycemic foods on our bodies. He has published more than 70 scientific papers in top medical journals like the "New England Journal of Medicine" and the "Journal of the American Medical Association." His work is the basis of popular diets such as "The South Beach Diet" and "Sugar Busters," and I counted heavily on his research for my book UltraMetabolism. Up until now, his work has been only available to those who study scientific journals. But now, for the first time, he speaks out in public to teach us what he has learned in a way that is accessible to every grandparent, parent, and child in the world. Now you too can discover what he has learned in more than 20 years of research -- information that could save your life. He provides the only real hope I've seen for our children and our communities. I have had the privilege of getting to know Dr. Ludwig personally and he is a man of the highest integrity, modesty, and truth. You owe it to yourselves, to your children, to your family, and to your community to listen to what he has to say. Here are but a few things he writes about in his new book, "Ending the Food Fight." Why we are in trouble:
- The percentage of overweight children ages six to eleven has doubled in the last 25 years.
- The percentage of overweight teens has tripled.
- One in three American children (30 million kids) are overweight today (and it is predicted that one in two -- a full half of all children! -- will be overweight by 2010.)
- Pediatricians now treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, "adult" onset (type 2) diabetes, heart attacks, and sleep apnea in children.
- By the time overweight children are in their twenties, they can expect to be diagnosed with diseases that normally affect people in their sixties and seventies, including heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and even amputations caused by complications from diabetes.
- Overweight children are discriminated against more than those in wheelchairs or with facial disfigurement.
- Childhood obesity affects the quality of life as much as a diagnosis of cancer does.
- Life expectancy is declining for the first time in human history.
- A typical child sees 10,000 junk food ads a year.
- Modern foods are made by food chemists, not grown by farmers.
- Neighborhood playgrounds, school physical education, and after-school programs have all declined dramatically -- while junk food vending machines are now everywhere in schools.
- A Harvard study of 750 children from 10 to 15 years old found that kids who watched five hours of television or more a day (compared to those who watched two hours or less), had a FIVE-fold (500 percent) greater risk of being overweight.
- Sixty percent of all childhood obesity can be attributed to watching TV. For every hour of TV watched, weight increases by six pounds.
- Soda intake has increased 500 percent since the 1950's and now comprises 10 percent of all calories consumed by the average teenager.
- Among 500 middle school children, the risk of becoming obese increased 60 percent for every additional serving of sugar-sweetened drink per day.
- In a study of 3,000 children over 15 years, those eating fast food twice a week or more gained an extra 10 pounds (one fast food meal can contain more than the all the calories the body needs for the entire day!)
- Low-fat, low-calorie diets don't work.
- The government's food pyramid is wrong and works against our biology.
- Our genes haven't changed, the environment has.
- Low-glycemic-load diets (which raise blood sugar and insulin levels more slowly and less than diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates like flour products, white rice, pasta, potatoes, and processed foods) are very effective for long-term weight loss.
- They do this without you having to count calories or fat or carbs -- they do it by reducing hunger and naturally helping you reduce food intake.
- Eating a low-glycemic diet helps lower all the hormones that make us hungry and fat -- working with the body, not against it.
- High-glycemic-load diets increase belly fat even without weight gain, leading to a higher risk of disease.
- Eat high-quality, whole foods that decrease hunger and support metabolism (this is the basis of my book UltraMetabolism.)
- Eat real foods that come from nature and are grown on farms -- not fake foods made in a chemist's lab.
- Follow Dr. Ludwig's Eight Principles of Low Glycemic Eating (on page 69 of his book.)
- Play throughout the day. Don't only focus on structured exercise -- make it fun.
- Turn off the TV at meals and remove TVs from your bedrooms and living room. Limit screen time to two hours a day.
- Use age-appropriate parenting practices that defuse conflict and guide long-term behavior changes.
- Young children watch adults, so be a role model and set up clear boundaries and limits.
- Older children need to learn to be self-directed.
- Follow Dr. Ludwig's 9-week program developed at Harvard Medical School, which has been successful with thousands of patients.
- Work within your community to make it a healthier place by getting vending machines out of schools and healthy foods in.
- Lobby for bans on junk food commercials to kids (they are banned in Canada and much of Europe.)
- Work on getting more play spaces in your community and physical education back into schools.
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