Daily dose of soda pop 'batters' the body's cells and increases pre-diabetes risk 46 percent, study says; 1 in 3 in Ky. may have it

Illustration by superanimalswallpapers.blogspot.com

Drinking a can of sugar-sweetened beverage a day increases your risk of developing pre-diabetes by 46 percent, according to a recent study.

The study by the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging  at Tufts University in Boston said the daily dose of sugar "batters a person's body on a cellular level," reports HealthDay.

"This constant spike in blood glucose over time leads to the cells not becoming able to properly respond, and that's the beginning of insulin resistance," senior researcher Nicola McKeown told HealthDay. She added that once insulin resistance starts, blood sugar levels rise to levels that are damaging to every major system in the body.

"As many as one in three Kentucky adults, about 1.1 million people, are estimated to have pre-diabetes, but only 8.6 percent, more than 248,000 people, have reported being diagnosed, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health and the CDC," Darla Carter of The Courier-Journal reported in an in-depth look at diabetes in Kentucky.

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, analyzed 14 years of self-reported data from nearly 1,700 middle-aged adults on their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and diet sodas. Participants did not have diabetes or pre-diabetes when they entered the study. The information came from the Framingham Heart Study, a multi-generational study that measures lifestyle and clinical data that contributes to heart disease.

This study found that a can of diet soda every day does not boost pre-diabetes risk, but notes that other studies have found otherwise.

McKeown told HealthDay that results from this study show that cutting back on sugary drinks is "a modifiable dietary factor that could have an impact on that progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes."

The American Beverage Association, a lobby for soft-drink manufacturers, countered that sugar-sweetened beverages aren't the only risk factor for pre-diabetes.

"Credible health organizations such as the Mayo Clinic note that the risk factors for pre-diabetes include factors such as weight, inactivity, race and family history," the industry group said in a statement to HealthDay.

The study said that pre-diabetes risk did decline when other factors such as other dietary sources of sugar and weight were considered, but not by much -- with the increased risk associated with sugary drinks still amounting to about 27 percent.

Best way to diagnose pre-diabetes: A1c hemoglobin

Another study found that the common blood test called hemoglobin A1C is the "most accurate predictor" of who will go on to develop diabetes and to develop long-term complications from it, and says it's time for everyone to agree on the best way to diagnose pre-diabetes.

“The goal is to figure out who is at the highest risk of not only developing diabetes but of developing its serious complications including kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and even death,” lead author Bethany Warren said in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health news release. “Hemoglobin A1C appears to be the tool that is best able to do that.”

Professional organizations differ on how they define pre-diabetes, a condition that indicates whether a patient is likely to develop type 2 diabetes, says the release. For example, the American Diabetes Association recommends either the A1c hemoglobin test or glucose levels, while the World Health Organization recommends the glucose test only.

Glucose measures look at current levels in the blood as opposed to A1c hemoglobin, which looks at glucose exposure over two to three months.

The one thing health-care providers agree on is that people who are at high risk of developing diabetes can reduce their risk through weight loss, changes in their diet and increased activity. Some even recommend the use of a medication called metformin to reduce the risk.

“When someone is told they have pre-diabetes, we hope it will cause them to make changes to their habits in order to prevent the development of diabetes and its complications,” senior author Elizabeth Selvin, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins said in the release. “Being identified as having pre-diabetes can also make it easier to receive weight loss and nutritional counseling as well as reimbursement for these services.

The study, published in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, found no difference between the two glucose tests used to diagnose diabetes and pre-diabetes, but found that the tests diagnosed pre-diabetes at a higher rate.

"We also don’t want to over-diagnose people," Slevin said. "Using the hemoglobin A1C test allows us to more accurately identify those persons at highest risk.”

New guidelines recommend no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day and one sugared drink a week for children and teens

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Children and teens should consume no more than six teaspoons of added sugars a day and drink no more than one 8-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage per week, according to new advice from the American Heart Association.

"The typical American child consumes about triple the recommended amount of added sugars,” Dr. Miriam Vos, lead author, nutrition scientist and associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, said in a news release. "[And] are currently drinking their age in sugary drink servings each and every week."

The average American child takes in about 80 grams of added sugar daily — half from food and half from beverages, according to the AHA's analysis of the most recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The 2015 KentuckyYouth Risk Behavior Survey found that almost one-third of Kentucky's high school students drank a sugared soda one or more times per day during the seven days before the survey; 23 percent had sugared soda two or more times a day; and 13 percent three or more times a day. Nearly 36 percent of Kentucky's children are either overweight or obese, acccording to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

The AHA statement, based on a comprehensive review of scientific research on the effects of added sugar on children's health, is published in its journal Circulation.

The statement also says children younger than 2 should have NO added sugar. They have lower calorie needs than older children, so there is little room for foods and drinks with added sugars that don't provide "good nutrition," AHA says.

Why is the heart association interested in this problem? Children who eat diets high in added sugar have increased risk factors for heart disease, including obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, fatty liver disease and unhealthy cholesterol levels, says the report.

Added sugars are any sugars or syrups that are added to foods during processing or preparation. The sugars in fruits, vegetables and other whole foods are natural sugars. One teaspoon of sugar equals 4 grams of added sugar.

The best way to avoid added sugars is to "serve mostly foods that are high in nutrition, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meat, poultry and fish, and to limit foods with little nutritional value," Vos says.

"A plain whole grain bagel with cream cheese can have no added sugar, while a frosted doughnut has 23 grams of added sugar," she told Jacqueline Howard of CNN. "A bowl of cereal can range from 1 gram to 12 or more grams, depending on the brand. One soda typically has 33 grams. A healthy breakfast of a low added-sugar, whole-grain cereal with a piece of fruit and a glass of low-fat milk would have about 1 gram of added sugar [but] varies by the cereal."

Starting in July 2018, food manufacturers will be required to list the amount of added sugars on nutrition labels.

The latest national U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines recommend limiting added-sugar intake to less than 10 percent of your daily calories. For someone older than 3, that means eating no more than 12.5 teaspoons, or 50 grams, of added sugar a day and 25 grams for children 1 through 3 years. The AHA guidelines cuts this amount in half for children.

That amount is "closely aligned with the new recommendations," Vos told CNN. "The AHA statement provides a fixed amount, 25 grams, that is less than 10 percent of calories for most children and is easier for parents to understand."

“I hope our recommendations help parents feel more confident limiting sugar. This statement helps answer the question how much is OK so parents can choose the right combination of foods and drinks so their children are healthier,” Voss told AHA News. “If parents know how much they are looking for, it will help the food industry satisfy that goal.”

Newspapers across the state are reporting about school lunch and nutrition programs, of great interest to readers with students

Kentucky newspapers are writing about school meals, against the backdrop of controversy about federal nutrition guidelines, and these are stories with a high level of interest among a key demographic - readers with children of school age.

The Glasgow Daily Times  recently reported that a new deli-style option at Barren County High School has more than doubled its sales of this grab-and-go option since it has been offered this year, compared to the old grab-and-go option that was pre-assembled and served in a bag. The article noted that this new option has been well-received by both the students and staff, all while staying within the new federal nutrition guidelines.

The Hickman County Gazette reported that the county schools have increased breakfast participation to 68 percent, up from 23 percent last year and lunch participation to 95 percent, compared to 77 percent the same time last year. (This story is behind a paywall.)

Schools Nutrition Director Lynsi Barnhill told the newspaper that the increase can be attributed to the nutrition staff working with the students through surveys to create a menu that they like, but still stays within the federal nutrition guidelines; and that the school district is now classified as a Community Eligibility Provision school district, which allows schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to all of its students.

The Independent in Ashland reported on a campaign, called "No Soda September,"  to encourage families in Boyd and Greenup counties to drink more water and less sugary beverages throughout the month. This effort is a partnership between The Appalachian Partnership for Positive Living and Eating and the local Boyd and Greenup counties middle and elementary schools.

"Classes that returned signed pledges received free color-changing water bottles and water trackers for students and teachers. More than 2,300 water bottles have been distributed," Adam Black writes.
  .

This idea was spurred by the health department's 5-2-1-0 APPLE program, which is funded by a grant from the AstraZeneca HeathCare Foundation’s Connections for Cardiovascular Health, that suggest kids get: • 5 servings of fruit or vegetables • 2 hours or less of screen time • 1 hour of physical activity • 0 sugar-added beverages. 

"The consumption of sugary beverages, especially among young children who drink more than one beverage a day, leads to a higher risk of being overweight or obese and children with obesity issues are more likely to suffer from health problems such as asthma, headaches, depression and type 2 diabetes," according to the health department, Black reports.

"Officials also report the consumption of sugary beverages can lead to many dental issues, including cavities that can cause pain, infection, tooth loss and in severe cases, death," he writes.

The News-Graphic in Georgetown reported on how several schools  in Scott County, like many across the state, are conducting food drives to support its "Send Out Snacks Backpack" program to make sure kids don't go hungry over the weekend.

Becky McDonald, the family resources coordinator at Garth and Eastern elementary schools told Kayla Pickrell of the News-Graphic that the backpack program helps children who are on free or reduced lunch have food over the weekend by giving them backpacks with enough easy to prepare breakfast, lunch and snack foods to last until they come back to school on Monday. 

 “We have families who struggle to feed their kids over the weekend” because they are used to the free or reduced lunch during the week, McDonald said. “It helps out the parents a lot.” (This story is behind a paywall.)

Cut back on sugar-sweetened beverages, eat natural foods and read labels to decrease the added sugar in your kids' diet

A greater awareness about added sugars in food products has led many parents to make healthy food swaps for their children, granola bars for cookies, yogurt for ice cream, but what they probably don't realize is that they have likely swapped one source of added sugar for another, Liza Lucas reports for CNN.

Image: foodnutritionscience.com

Lucas offers some suggestions on choosing foods with no or little added sugar and recommends that for a short time, until you easily recognize these foods, you will have to become a "sugar detective." Added sugar is syrup or sugar that is added to foods during processing; the sugar in fruits, vegetables and other whole foods are natural sugars.

The American Heart Association's guidelines for the daily amount of added sugar a child should consume depends on the child's age and caloric intake. BJC HealthCare in St. Louis breaks it down on its website:

• Preschoolers averaging 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day should limit added sugar to about 4 teaspoons (16 grams) per day.
• Children ages 4 to 8 who average 1,600 calories per day should limit added sugar to about 3 teaspoons (12 grams) a day. To fit in all the nutritional requirements for this age group, there are fewer calories available for added sugar.
• Pre-teen and teens averaging 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day should not have more than 5 to 8 teaspoons (20 to 32 grams) of added sugar per day.

Why does it matter?

Added sugar has been linked to obesity, which is then linked to so many other chronic diseases: type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer.

Kentucky is the 7th most obese state for children, with 36 percent of its children overweight or obese, according to Child Health Data. And studies have shown that children who are obese are likely to become obese adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The United States Department of Agriculture found that kids eat 18 teaspoons of added sugar a day and most of that comes from what they eat at home.

One 12-ounce regular soda has 8 teaspoons of sugar, which is more sugar than children of any age should have in a given day.

In Kentucky, 15 percent of high school students reported that they had three or more sodas a day during the past seven days, 25 percent said they had two or more per day, 33 percent said they had one or more a day, and 22 percent said they did not drink any soda, according to the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

How do you help your kids cut back on added sugar?

Multiple sources recommend limiting sugar-sweetened beverages, which includes soda, fruit drinks and sports drinks, as the most important thing we can do to decrease most of the added sugars in our kids diets. They recommend replacing it with water.

"The preponderance of research shows that sugar sweetened beverage consumption leads to excess caloric intake and weight gain, as well as increased obesity rates among children and adolescents," says a report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Serve treats occasionally and only at special events. The added sugar from daily cookies in the lunch box and ice-cream every night adds up quickly.

The easiest way to decreases added sugars is to eat whole, natural, unprocessed foods. They have no added sugars.

It is also important to learn how to read labels, especially snack foods, breakfast foods, any foods marketed toward children and beverages. Four grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon, so a food that has 16 grams of sugar has 4 teaspoons of sugar in it.

In addition to desserts and processed treats, granola bars, cereals, barbecue sauce, ketchup, salad dressings, tomato sauces, soups, fruit juice, lemonade, bottled teas, and flavored yogurts are common foods that kids eat that are loaded with added sugars, Madeline Vann reports for Everyday Health.

Nutrition labels don't list the amount of added sugars separate from naturally occurring sugars in a product so you will have to read the ingredient list to see if the product contains added sugars. First look for any word that ends in "ose," and then look for any of these following added sugars: agave syrup, brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, honey, invert sugar, malt sugar, molasses, raw sugar, sugar, and syrup, says the American Heart Association.

"Even 4 grams of sugar makes a difference. It may be only 7 grams versus 11," in terms of product comparison "But if you're making five choices a day, that's 20 grams of sugar you're saving," Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician specializing in nutrition, told Lucas.

Study: American children's diets will cause early heart disease; Kentucky kids seem to be on the same track

Kentucky Health News

A study shows that American kids are eating themselves toward early heart disease.

The study, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, looked at a nationally representative group of children and found that "American kids eat too much sugar and salt, they don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, and far too many are overweight," , Maggie Fox reports for NBC News. And of the 8,900 children aged 2 to 11 surveyed, "most were not meeting the goal on three out of four measures of healthy living."

"Our findings indicate that, in general, children start with pretty good blood pressure," Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who oversaw the study, told Fox. "But if they have a horrible diet, it will drive a worsening body mass index and cholesterol levels."

The research found that fewer than 1 percent of the children in the study had four or five of the main components of a healthy diet; only 3 percent of boys and 2 percent of girls ate enough whole grains daily; more than half of the children drank too much sugar-sweetened beverages; and fewer than 10 percent ate the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. The study also found that 30 percent of the children surveyed were overweight or obese, Fox reports.

This poor diet could "put many on the road to heart disease," Fox writes.

And Kentucky's children, who rank eighth in the nation for child obesity, are likely walking down this road to poor health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2013 State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables found that only 50 percent of Kentucky adolescents reported eating fruit and 43 percent reported eating vegetables with a median intake of one time per day for both.

As for sugar-sweetened beverages, the 2013 Kentucky High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that in the seven days prior to the the survey: 33 percent of high school students drank a sugared soda one or more times a day; 25 percent drank a sugared soda two or more times per day; and 15 percent drank a sugared soda three or more times per day.

"It seems that children in the United States are losing their ideal cardiovascular health status," the researchers wrote, Fox reports. The study found about "40 percent of the kids already had poor to worrying cholesterol levels."

The main components of a healthy diet, according to the study, are: eating four and a half cups or more of fruits and vegetables each day; three servings of whole grains a day; two servings of fish a week; minimal amounts of sugar; and below 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day.

NBC has previously reported that many studies have found that children who have risk factors for heart disease show signs of clogged arteries that are typically found in middle-aged adults.

But another study found that that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, low in saturated fats and low on fatty meat "dramatically cuts the risk of heart disease and stroke," Fox writes.

Kentuckians split on taxing sugary drinks to pay for nutrition and physical-activity programs, but like warning labels for such drinks

Should soda and other sugary drinks be taxed to fund school nutrition and physical activity programs? Kentucky adults are almost evenly divided on the issue, but the majority of them believe that sodas and sugary drinks should come with a health warning label.

According to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll, 51 percent of Kentucky adults support taxing soda and other sugary drinks, while 47 percent do not. Fifty-five percent of women favored the measure, while 46 percent of men favored it. African American adults (67 percent) were more likely than white adults (50 percent) to support a tax. Sixty-eight percent of respondents ages 18-29 favored the measure, 49 percent of those 30 to 45, 49 percent of those 46 to 64 and 32 percent of those 65 and over.

The poll also asked respondents if sodas and other sugary drinks should come with a label that says "studies show that daily consumption of soda and other sugary drinks contributes to diabetes, obesity and tooth decay." Seventy-one percent of Kentucky adults favored adding the label.

A random sample of 1,597 Kentucky adults were interviewed by phone. To see the rest of the results, click here. The poll is sponsored by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health, formerly the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

Kids' excessive salty snacks are linked to obesity, high blood pressure; new limits on school vending items may help

As new research shows that America's child-obesity epidemic is linked to eating too many salty snacks,  new federal regulations could ensure that vending-machine snacks in Kentucky's schools are healthier and lower in sodium.

Spurred by children eating too much salt and being too fat, "blood pressure in America's kids and teens has gone sky-high," creating a young generation at risk for serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke, reports Brian Alexander of NBC News.

“Kids eat far too much sodium,” the study's co-author, Dr. Stephen Daniels told NBC. “And they aren’t adding it at the table, and their parents aren’t putting it into food; they’re getting it through processed foods.” The research, published Monday in the journal Hypertension, links this rising blood pressure to children's increasing bod- mass index and sodium intake.

The "Smart Snacks in Schools" nutrition standards, announced last month by the Department of Agriculture, require any food sold in public schools to meet calorie, fat, sugar and sodium limits. The changes shouldn't be very significant for Kentucky students because the state already prohibits vending machine sales during the school day. And, a few existing state regulations, like fat content, are tougher than the federal changes and will remain in place, Sue Bartenfield, nutrition program manager for the Kentucky Department of Education, told Stu Johnson of the Kentucky Public Radio bureau in Frankfort. The new federal limits on calories and sodium are tighter, and the federal law will also keep vending machines shut down for a half-hour after school, Bartenfield told Johnson.

Mayors and AMA say food stamps shouldn't pay for soft drinks

Louisville's Greg Fischer is among 18 mayors asking Congress to ban sugary drinks from purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps.  One day after their June 18 letter, the American Medical Association adopted a policy supporting the removal of sugar-sweetened drinks from SNAP.

In a the letter sent to congressional leaders, the mayors said it is "time to test and evaluate approaches limiting" the use of the subsidies for sugar-laden beverages to fight obesity and diseases linked to obesity, reports Jennifer Peltz of The Associated Press.

At its annual meeting, the AMA took several steps toward controlling the country's increasing obesity problem, including calling obesity a disease, an action that may prompt insurers to cover medical treatments aimed against obesity. “The AMA is working to improve the nation’s health care outcomes, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which are often linked to obesity,” said AMA President Dr. Ardis Hoven of Lexington. “Removing sugar-sweetened beverages from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will help encourage healthier beverage choices.”

This isn't the first attempt to ban soda from SNAP. The Department of Agriculture, where the program is housed, turned down such a request from New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2010. The city had proposed a two-year experiment to see if a sugary beverage ban would reduce obesity among food-stamp recipients. But, the department rejected the plan and said a soda ban would “perpetuate the myth” that food stamp users make poor shopping decisions, The New York Times reported. Read about Kentucky's SNAP program here.

The soda lobby, the American Beverage Association, said sugary drinks shouldn't be singled out as a cause of obesity. It called obesity "a complex health condition that affects Americans of all income levels." Last year, more than 47 million low-income Americans used food stamps.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/06/18/2683656/18-mayors-limit-use-of-food-stamps.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/06/18/2683656/18-mayors-limit-use-of-food-stamps.html#storylink=cpy

First major study of diet and strokes links fried, sugary Southern diet, low on fruits and vegetables, to increased risk

Genuine Kentucky fried platter:
Cornbread, fried catfish, fried green
tomatoes, fried apples and fried okra
(Photo from Ramsey's, Lexington)

By Molly Burchett
Kentucky Health News

People with a Southern diet, or one heavy on fried food and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soft drinks, are more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.

It's the first big look at diet and strokes, and researchers say it might help explain people in the nation's "stroke belt" or southern states suffer more of them, reports Marilynn Marchione of The Associated Press.

These findings have important implications for Kentuckians because stroke accounts for 5.5 percent of Kentucky deaths each year and more than 81 percent of Kentucky adults eat fruit and vegetables fewer than 5 times a day, which is a indicator of risk for stroke:

Heart Disease and Stroke Risk Factors from federal Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System national survey	Ky.	U.S.
Eat fruits and vegetables less than 5 times/day	81.6	75.6
Overweight or obese	69.1	62.9
No moderate or vigorous physical activity	55.8	50.5
High total blood cholesterol	38.5	37.6
High blood pressure	30.0	27.8
Cigarette smoking	28.2	19.8
Diabetes	9.9	8.0

"We're talking about fried foods, french fries, hamburgers, processed meats, hot dogs," bacon, ham, liver, gizzards and sugary drinks, said the study's leader, Suzanne Judd of the University of Alabama in Birmingham.  For the study, a southern diet also included jerky, red meat, eggs, and whole milk.


Fried foods tend to be eaten with lots of salt, which raises blood pressure and sweet drinks increases risk for diabetes- both are known stroke risk factors, Judd said.

People who ate about six meals a week featuring these sorts of "Southern" foods had a 41 percent higher stroke risk than people who ate that way about once a month, researchers found.

In contrast, people whose diets were high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish had a 29 percent lower stroke risk, reports Marchione.

"It's a very big difference," Judd said. "The message for people in the middle is there's a graded risk" — the likelihood of suffering a stroke rises in proportion to each Southern meal in a week. 

These findings were reported last week at the American Stroke Association conference. The study was launched in 2002 to explore regional variations in stroke risks and reasons for them.

Stroke death rates in Kentucky vary widely among counties. Here's a county map of the rates, from KentuckyHealthFacts.org, which has a county-by county list:

The map shows stroke rates in ranges per 100,000 population from 2003 through 2007. Purple counties had rates above 69; blue counties ranged from 52 to 69; turquoise were 44 to 52; light blue were 31 to 44 (the number that is about the national average), and tan were 18 to 31.

Many Ky. parents don't realize children are overweight, or won't acknowledge it, but many report kids' poor health behavior

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

Many Kentucky parents don't realize that their children are obese or overweight, or at least aren't willing to acknowledge it. That is the obvious conclusion to draw from the latest results of the Kentucky Parent Survey, released Tuesday by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

The poll found that only 14 percent of Kentucky parents say their child weighs too much, but the National Survey of Children's Health found that 37 percent of Kentucky children are overweight or obese. Conversely, 76 percent of parents in the poll think their child's weight is about right, but the national survey found that only 58 percent of Kentucky kids have healthy weight.

The Kentucky Parent survey, taken by land-line and cell telephone from July 19 to Aug. 22 by the Center for Survey Research at the University of Virginia, interviewed 1,006 Kentucky parents, step-parents, grandparents, foster parents or other legal guardians of children in Kentucky selected at random. The statistical margin of error for that sample size is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The poll also found that 56 percent of Kentucky children are watching more than the maximum daily recommended amount of “screen time” – watching television, playing video games or using the Internet – and that 59 percent drink sugar-sweetened beverages every day. Both are major factors in childhood obesity, research has found, and experts recommend no more than two hours of screen time a day and no sugar-sweetened drinks at all.

“Parents can help reduce this risk by encouraging healthy behaviors for their children,” said Dr. Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.“Our children’s habits and behaviors impact their health today and shape their quality of life as they grow. When kids eat poorly and don’t get enough physical activity, it increases their risk for obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases. This poll data helps us understand what parents think about the behaviors that are so critical to health.”

The Kentucky Parent Survey also found that only 56 percent of Kentucky parents said their child got "enough" fruits and vegetables every day during the preceding week, and 66 percent of parents reported their child got "enough" physical activity every day during the preceding week. It also found that elementary and high-school students often get less than the recommended amount of sleep per day (chart).

The survey did not define "enough." The foundation noted that one strategy to reduce childhood obesity in Kentucky is "5-2-1-0," reflecting experts' recommendations that each day, children should eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables, have no more than two hours of screen time, engage in one hour of physical activity, and drink zero sugar-sweetened beverages. For the foundation's press release, click here.

Japan approves a high-fiber version of Pepsi as a fat blocker

Let's start here: Way too much of Kentucky is way too fat. And, let's add this, we drink lotsa sugary beverages. Why, our intake of Mountain Dew alone is legendary. So, here comes some news out of Japan which may have particular interest to Kentuckians: This week, Pepsi will start marketing a new product called Pepsi Special that is special indeed, since it has the blessing of that country's National Institute of Health and Nutrition as a "food for specified health use." That use, you ask? Fat blocking. Let me at it, you say? Hold up, we caution. Pepsi Special is, in a nutshell, Benefiber Pepsi.

According to reporters at the The Atlantic magazine, wheat dextrin is the same additive in Pepsi Special as the one that's sold as Benefiber in the U.S. It's a soluble fiber that "absorbs water as it moves through our intestines and promotes movement of food through the bowel, and contraction of the bowel wall itself." In a 2006 Japanese study, rats that ate wheat dextrin absorbed less fat from their food because, notes the magazine, "It essentially moved right through them."

So, is any of this actually good for you? Dextrin "may increase micronutrient absorption, stabilize blood glucose, lower serum lipids, may prevent several gastrointestinal disorders, and have an accepted role in prevention of cardiovascular disease," experts say. But you still have to restrict your soda intake for any of this to matter. (Read more)

Sodas losing fizz in schools, but exclusive deals remain

New research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows more than half of middle and high schools have purged the pop since the 2006-2007 school year. That year, 53.6 percent of high schools and 27.4 percent of middle schools gave students access to soda. In the 2010-2011 those numbers dropped to 25.3 in high schools and 12.5 percent in middle schools, reports Sarah Kliff for The Washington Post.

"You have policymakers at the state level, and also more local, moving policies into this directions," said researcher Yvonne Terry-McElrath. "You have policymakers at the state level, and also more local, moving policies into this direction. I also think you're seeing movement from parents and individuals who are becoming more aware of what is and isn't healthy."

That is the case in Kentucky. Under a state law passed a few years ago, students can only buy school-day-approved beverages — 100 percent fruit juice, lowfat milk and any beverage that contains no more than 10 grams of sugar per serving — during the school day. It may benefit reporters to ask school administrators though if there are vending machines at school that sell soda after the school day is finished, however. 

Though schools are getting rid of soda in high numbers across the country, a lot of them still have relationships with Coke or Pepsi, something reporters can find out by simply asking administrators.

Photo by Paul Robert Lloyd, via Flickr

A 2005 survey found nearly half of elementary schools and about 80 percent of public high schools nationwide had pouring rights contracts with one or the other of the soda companies, which gives them exclusive rights to supply all the beverages in school snack bars, vending machines, school stores and at sports events.

The upside for the schools can include funding for field trips, gym uniforms, SMART boards and other perks, reports blogger Tom Philpott for Mother Jones. Philpott cites one study that shows students living in states with laws that limit junk food sales gained less weight — an average of about 2.25 pounds for a 5-foot child — than those that didn't. A study in California showed students consumed 158 less calories each day in schools where sodas were banned and new nutritional regulations were implemented in cafeterias.

But one study of 20,000 students found no correlation between obesity rates and access to soda at school. "The research is pretty mixed," Terry-McElrath said.

NYC deeply split on Bloomberg plan to ban supersize sodas

Bloomberg with Linda I. Gibbs, deputy mayor for health.
(New York Times photo by Chang W. Lee)

In a bold move to curb obesity, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to ban the sale of supersize sodas and other sugary drinks by restaurants, movie theaters and street carts.

"The sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 fluid ounces — about the size of a medium coffee, and smaller than a common soda bottle — would be prohibited under the first-of-the-nation plan, which could take effect as soon as next March," reports Michael Grynbaum for The New York Times.

Exempt from the measure are diet sodas, fruit juice, dairy-based drinks and alcoholic drinks. The ban would include drinks sold in grocery or convenience stores.

"New York City is not about wringing your hands; it's about doing something," Bloomberg said. "I think that's what the public wants the mayor to do." In NYC, more than half of adults are obese or overweight.

A poll conducted Sunday showed about half of New Yorkers feel Bloomberg is going too far, while 42 percent said it would be good health policy, reports Samantha Gross for The Associated Press. The idea has been harshly criticized, with an editorial in the Times calling the plan "overreaching" and saying "Too much nannying with a ban might well cause people to tune out."

But conservative David Frum, a contributing editor for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, said "good for Bloomberg," pointing out: "Sugary drinks now provide 7 percent of the calories in the American diet, the largest single national source of calories. Teen boys average more than a quart of sugary soda per day. Even adults who say they are trying to lose weight still drink more two 12-ounces cans per day, on average."

"The campaign against obesity will have to look a lot less like the campaign against smoking (which involves just one decision, to smoke or not to smoke) and much more like the generation-long campaign against highway fatalities, which required the redesign of cars, the redesign of highways, and changes in personal behavior like seat-belt use and drunk driving," Frum argues.