“State of the Nation’s Waistline” is the title of a report prepared by the National Obesity Forum which makes the usual dire predictions about how obesity is getting worse and the failure of individuals, health professionals and the government to tackle the issue (1). Here is selection of some of the points made in the […]
Obesity is now classed as a disease according to a recent decision taken by the American Medical Association (AMA)which is the official body representing the medical profession in the USA. This decision was reached despite the fact that the AMA’s own Council on Science and Public Health had concluded that: “Without a single, clear, authoritative,
42. American Doctors Decide that Obesity is a Disease Read More »
According to recent press reports , the Department of Health (DoH) is cock-a-hoop because the main supermarkets and some of the major food manufacturers have agreed on a system of nutritional labels which will appear on the front of food packaging. It is claimed that this will remove confusion and enable shoppers to choose so-called
If losing weight is to be justified then there should be convincing evidence that there will be definite benefits to health for those who actually succeed in reducing their body weight. In an investigation in which 2453 men and 2739 women aged 45 to 74 were monitored initially in the period 1971-1975 and followed up
31. Does Weight Loss by Calorie Reduction Improve Health? Read More »
At any given time there are large numbers of people who are attempting to lose weight. For example a survey conducted in Denmark found that 25% of people classified as underweight were slimming (1). The results for all BMI categories are in Table 1 TABLE 1. PROPORTION SLIMMING IN THE DIFFERENT BMI CATEGORIES BASED ON
30. Does Calorie Reduction Result in Long Term Loss of Body Weight? Read More »
The NHS website section which deals with Healthy Eating recommends that we should choose low fat dairy products in order to reduce our intake of saturated fats (SFA) which raise cholesterol levels and therefore increase in the risk of heart disease. This has contributed to the demonization of the fat in milk and milk products.
Once again the news media is highlighting the supposed dangers of consuming too much ham, bacon, sausages and other forms of processed meat. This is based on the results of a European study involving 448,568 men and women aged between 35 and 69 years old at the outset. The habitual diet was assessed over
19. Yet Another Report Which Condemns Processed Meat Read More »
Stearic acid is a long chain saturated fatty acid which contains 18 carbon atoms. According to an article in the Daily Mail: “emerging evidence suggests not all saturated fat should be tarred with the same brush — one type of saturated fat, known as stearic acid, may actually protect the heart against disease.” (1) However
The possibility that excessive sugar consumption is the cause of many aspects of ill-health goes back a long way. Obesity was first observed in the wealthy who would have been the only people who could afford to buy sugar. Diabetes, hypertension and obesity were first recorded in England, France and Germany which are the
17. The Increasing Consumption of Sugar and the Relationship with Obesity/Diabetes Read More »
There is no question that the incidence of obesity continues to increase. According to the official strategy “Britain is in the grip of an epidemic. Almost 2/3 of adults and 1/3 of children are either overweight or obese……These figures will rise to almost 9 in 10 adults and 2/3 of children by 2050.” “We are
4. Obesity Increasing Despite Low Fat Strategy #ObesityCrisis Read More »