Diabetes, Cheerios, and Late Night Eating...

...you betcha, it's a smorgasbord today!

First up: a break-down of diabetes prevalence across the United States. Sorry the below map doesn't enlarge any bigger, but you can go here to see the enlarged version. Of course I found this interesting as I work with a largely diabetic population.

Among those 30 and older in the US, 13.7% of men and 11.9% of women have diabetes. A third of this estimated number are going undiagnosed. Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont have the lowest rates of diabetes while the southeastern states have the highest rates -- Mississippi having the highest rates of all. Lead author and epidemiology research fellow, Goodarz Danaei at Harvard stated, "The Southern States have a very dangerous aggregation of risk factors for heard disease: obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes [1]."

With more than 70,000 diabetes-related deaths each year, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death [1]. You can clearly see that Oklahoma and Texas have much work to be done in diabetes prevention, especially among the men, compared to neighboring Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and New Mexico.

In other news, a federal court panel has ruled that five pending lawsuits against General Mills for claims touting the cholesterol-lowering benefit of Cheerios will be consolidated into one multi-district case. The FDA administered a warning to General Mills regarding their claims of Cheerios "lowering your cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks" and "clinically proven to lower cholesterol." A specific rate of risk reduction is not allowed, according to the FDA. Plantiffs states that General Mills made false claims which led them to eat the cereal as a way to lower cholesterol [2].

The FDA stated in May that eating Cheerios was "not generally recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease [2]. Shame, shame, Cheerios and General Mills!

Last up: light night eating produces weight gain. I found WebMD's take on evening eating and weight gain, which was in consensus with a post I made back in September. Similarly, recent research performed at Northwestern University found that eating at night led to twice as much weight gain, even when total calorie consumption was the same among mice. The science, however, is still unknown [3]s.

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, and director of nutrition for WebMD recommends consuming regular meals, as well as consuming 90% of your daily caloric needs before 8 pm. Eating every three to four hours helps regular blood sugar and control hunger and cravings [3]. I concur, for what it's worth. :O ) 

And yesterday's diabetic diet...

Breakfast:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (2 carbs)

1 cup skim milk (1 carb)

1 tsp turbinado (1/2 carb)

1 tsp Splenda brown sugar (1/2 carb)

1/2 ounce pecans, chopped (0 carbs)

cappuccino with 2 Tbsp sugar-free International Delight

     Total: 4 carbs

1 cup whole wheat pasta (3 carbs)

4 ounce chicken breast (0 carbs)

3/4 cup marinara (1 carb)

1 ounce Parmesean cheese (0 carbs)

     Total: 4 carbs

Snack:

12 baby carrots (0 carbs)

small apple (1 carb)

     Total: 1 carb

Dinner:

1 cup mashed potatoes (2 carbs)

3 fingerlings of Biggest Loser "Fried Chicken" (2 carbs)

     Total: 4 carbs

Snack:

3 graham crackers (1 carb)

1 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter (0 carbs)

     Total: 1 carb

[1]. Bakalar, Nicholas. Diabetes: A State-by-States Breakdown. The New York Times. October 13, 2009.

[2]. Scott-Thomas, Caroline. Lawsuits Against Cheerios Cholesterol Claims Combined. Food Navigator. October 13, 2009.

[3]. Zelman, Kathleen M.  Is Late Night Eating More Likely to Pack on the Pounds? WebMD.

Denny's Downer

If you enjoy a good'ole Denny's breakfast anything like my family -- brace yourself. In keeping with yesterday's topic of sodium...turns out, Panera may not be a leading offender.

A consumer activist group in New Jersey sued Denny's Corporation this week because of the "dangerously high" levels of sodium found in their meals. As previously discussed, the recommended daily allowance for sodium is 1,500 milligrams for a hypertensive individual, and up to 2,300 milligrams for a healthy individual (some sources stick with 1,500 mg for all). Some menu items at Denny's more than double Panera's worst offender with nearly 6,000 milligrams of sodium. *blink*

As for the health implications of such foods, we know that diets high in sodium are major causes for hypertension, which is associated with heart disease and stroke -- two of the leading causes of death. The Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Michael Jacobson, is quoted in saying, "For those Americans who should be most careful about limiting their sodium, such as people middle-aged and older, African-Americans, or people with existing high blood pressure, it's dangerous to eat at Denny's. Denny's customers deserve to be warned about the considerable health risks posed by many of these meals" [1].

As for Denny's...they have no comments at this time (duh).

It'll break my brother's heart to hear that the Denny's Meat Lover's Scramble which contains two eggs with chopped bacon, diced ham, crumbled sausage, cheese plus two bacon strips, two sausage links, hash browns, and two pancakes weighs in at an astonishing 5,690 milligrams of sodium -- a scary 379% of the recommended daily allowance [1].

But the bleeding doesn't end there. A Denny's Spicy Buffalo Chicken Melt with seasoned fries will provide 4,880 milligrams of sodium while an added bowl of Denny's Clam Chowder would together boast a staggering 6,700 milligrams of sodium for the meal - an amount that should be consumed over the course of 4 1/2 DAYS. Medically speaking, the body has a difficult time ridding of that amount of sodium and excess sodium in the body can lead to fluid retention and accumulation in the lungs, presenting potentially severe medical consequences over time [2].

And, it doesn't stop there. EVEN the smaller meals advertised specifically for children and seniors contain sodium in excess of the daily recommended intake [2]. Scary, isn't it? Dr. Stephen Havas of Northwestern University explains high sodium intake to be one of the nation's top health threats. He goes on to share that by reducing 50% of the sodium content in packaged and restaurant foods, there would be 150,000 saved lives each year. If that's not evidence enough for change, I don't know what is.

Beware of Denny's! Though my hypertensive father doesn't read blogs, this one will be printed and snail mailed to Chicago. While I know my parents look forward to retirement and "Lumberjack Slams" (850 calories and 3180 milligrams of sodium), the Food Police, as I'm so lovingly referred to, says "NO!" to Denny's. Back to the kitchen, Maaaaaaaaaaaaa... also known as Jan's Bar and Grill.

[1]. Activist Group Sues Denny's Over Sodium Levels. Reuters UK. July 23, 2009.
[2]. Unsafe Sodium Levels at Denny's Prompt Class Action Lawsuit. CSPI Newsroom. July 2009.

Beyond "Baby Fat"

Maury Povich is infamous for his obese babies episodes (a close second to paternity testing, of course) featuring children who are double…triple… even quadruple the weight that is recommended for their age and length. While I’ll admit to partaking in the Maury episodes in the past myself, the reality is scary. Some go as far as to call such cases that of child abuse. What do you think?

USA Today ran a recent article on this very topic: does extreme childhood obesity qualify as child abuse? Jerri Gray, a South Carolina resident, was arrested in June with charges of criminal neglect despite her claims of doing all that she could to help her son lose weight. Her son, Alexander, tipped the scale at 555 pounds at the age of 14 and this unfortunate story has made nation-wide headlines [1].

Those opposing the charges, take the stance that if and when Jerri Gray is found guilty, “you have set a precedent that opens Pandora’s box,” says Grant Varner. Fortunately and unfortunately, I guess…I have to agree. In recent years, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, New Mexico, Indiana, and California have toyed with the same predicament: what quantifies as a abuse when it comes to childhood obesity [1]?

Because the health implications of obesity many times don’t become chronic until adulthood, it makes it difficult to charge parents with child abuse, explains Linda Spears, Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs for the Child Welfare League of America. As for our South Carolina mother charged with criminal neglect, she could not comment as she has signed an agreement with a film documentary company for exclusive rights to her story [1]…what a winner of a mom, huh? If 555 pounds wasn’t evidence of abuse, benefiting from your son’s morbid obesity ought to be.

Some states are taking strides to reduce the rates and severity of childhood obesity, however. Twenty states (up from 4 states five years ago) have passed laws requiring schools to perform BMI screenings on children and adolescents. And while physical education is required in every state, the requirements “are often limited, not enforced, or do not meet adequate quality standards.” Not surprisingly, the CDC reports the number of obese children more than doubling in the past twenty years among children 10 to 17, and more than tripling among adolescents [1].

Rob Jones, a corporate wellness expert, advocates for charges being placed on parents rearing severely obese children. He explains that when parents give children drugs harmful to their health (illicit or not), they would be held responsible in court. Jones argues the same should hold true for food. Jones poses the question: is killing your children by way of food acceptable? Well, it’s not necessarily acceptable, but obesity does not necessarily put a child in immediate danger, either. Oh, the loopholes!

Keep yourself healthy and lead by example for your children. Introducing foods at a young age is key and participating in family meal times is integral to family togetherness and the maintenance of a healthy weight.

[1]. Barnett, Ron. S.C. Case Looks on Child Obesity as Child Abuse. But Is It? USA Today. July 22, 2009.