More children are suffering from EXTREME obesity

See Los Angeles Times blog report.

This tragic state of affairs obtains because members of the public continue to receive the wrong information and advice about obesity, and in particular, about child obesity.

When children become fat it is essentially because they are eating salty food. Children are especially vulnerable to salt because of their small size and small blood volume, and because their blood vessels are weaker than those of adults. Salt, and the water it attracts to it, can more easily distend weak blood vessels than fully mature ones. The resulting increase in blood volume and other fluid retention results in weight gain, as well as higher blood pressure and many other undesirable consequences. The smaller the child, the less salt they should have - and a baby, of course, should have no salt at all. - Babies can die if they are fed salty food.

Because children have much smaller bodies than adults it would be best if they had no more than half as much salt as adults. Most children, however, have much more than this because they eat so many snacks and instant foods. Just one cheeseburger, for instance, contains almost double the recommended daily salt maximum for children. There are high amounts of salt in packet soups, instant noodles, ketchup and sauces, sausages, burgers and savoury snacks. Fat children will lose weight fast if they eat less salt. And even faster still if they eat plenty of fresh fruit and unsalted vegetables, because these are rich in potassium, which helps to displace sodium from the body. Overweight children should not be put on a diet; dieting is harmful and unnecessary and does not usually result in weight loss. Once children start dieting it is often the beginning of a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and increasing weight and ill-health.

Unfortunately bread contains a lot of salt and most families eat quite a lot of bread because of using it for sandwiches in packed lunches, and for toast, etc. Because of its high salt content bread is not a healthy food for little children or for anyone who is overweight. Some bread manufacturers have lowered the salt content of certain loaves, but most bread still usually contains 0.5g or more of sodium per 100g. This is too much. - Always check on the packet; look for the lowest sodium content.

Cheese is often recommended as being good for children because it contains calcium, but cheese is not really good for children because it has a high salt content. So don't give them a lot of it. Children can get plenty of calcium by drinking milk and by eating yogurt (but avoid the sort of yogurt that has lots of chemical additives).

See Children and Obesity

And see Sodium in foods

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Lose weight

vulnerable groups

FAT RETENTION

My Big Fat Diet Show, Episode 3, shown January 12th

Well I watched tonight and there were points made that pleased me. I was glad to see the 'cheese-addicted' woman helped to get over her 'addiction'. - Cheese is high in salt and so it is a food best avoided by overweight people wanting to lose weight, because all overweight people are sensitive to salt. For overweight/obese people, eating salt/sodium tends to increase their problem of fluid retention and so they weigh more. Because this woman drastically cut down on her cheese intake, this reduced her salt intake and so she lost some of her fluid/water retention. The fluid is lost by excreting more urine. If you want to lose excess weight, you would do well to reduce your intake of cheese.

Cheese figured in another part of the programme tonight too - Dairylea cheese. - But of course Dairylea cheese isn't really cheese at all: it's a concoction. The dietician on the show explained that it is mainly composed of skimmed milk powder, butter, cheese, emulsifiers and a high amount of added salt. - See Nutritional information for Kraft Dairylea Spread. Since it is so very high in salt/sodium it is not something you should be eating if you want to lose excess weight. To convert sodium content to salt content, multiply the sodium by 2.5.

Chocolate digestive biscuits, both the usual ones and the ones labelled as 'lower fat', featured in tonight's show. Both of these types of chocolate biscuit, and indeed almost all sweet biscuits, you may be surprised to learn, are high in salt! - If you are trying to lose excess weight you should cut down on biscuits or avoid them altogether.

If you find exercising difficult, please do not feel you have to do it to lose weight. Exercise is good for many aspects of health, but it has practically no part to play in losing weight.

Here is how to lose weight

Sodium in foods

FAT RETENTION

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

Junk food TV ad ban will cover under-16s: Ofcom

Junk food TV ad ban will cover under-16s

Extract:

"New rules designed to reduce children's exposure to "junk food" adverts on television were announced yesterday — and immediately came under fire from the food industry and health campaigners.

The regulator Ofcom said the ban will stop commercials for foods high in salt, sugar and fat being broadcast during children's programmes and shows "of particular appeal to viewers under 16".

This is part of a Government drive to reduce childhood obesity after evidence that television adverts have a modest effect on youngsters' diets.

The food industry called the rules ridiculous and disproportionate. Under the formula used to define junk food, adverts for cheddar cheese, Marmite, ketchup, raisins and porridge would be banned."

See also Junk food ad rules too watered down, say health groups

If adverts for "raisins and porridge" would be banned that would be strange indeed because both of these foods are low in salt and so are very good for children and would certainly not cause obesity in children! - Cheddar cheese, Marmite, ketchup are all high in salt/sodium and so are unsuitable foods for children, especially if the children are already overweight.

When children become fat it is essentially because they are eating salty food. Children are especially vulnerable to salt because of their small size and small blood volume, and because their blood vessels are weaker than those of adults. Salt, and the water it attracts to it, can more easily distend weak blood vessels than fully mature ones. The resulting increase in blood volume and other fluid retention results in weight gain, as well as higher blood pressure and many other undesirable consequences. The smaller the child, the less salt they should have - and a baby, of course, should have no salt at all. - Babies can die if they are fed salty food.

Because children have much smaller bodies than adults it would be best if they had no more than half as much salt as adults. Most children, however, have much more than this because they eat so many snacks and instant foods. Just one cheeseburger, for instance, contains almost double the recommended daily salt maximum for children. There are high amounts of salt in packet soups, instant noodles, ketchup and sauces, sausages, burgers and savoury snacks. Fat children will lose weight fast if they eat less salt. And even faster still if they eat plenty of fresh fruit and unsalted vegetables, because these are rich in potassium, which helps to displace sodium from the body.

See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/children.html