PROGRAMMED TO BE FAT

Pregnancy Diet and Childhood Obesity Risk

Eating ice cream and other fatty foods during pregnancy could raise your child's chances of becoming obese. A Rockefeller University animal study demonstrated that even short-term exposure to a high-fat diet in utero could prompt genetic fetal changes that dictate an increased appetite, higher fat intake, earlier puberty and a higher body weight later in life.

The offspring of rats fed a 50% fat diet for two weeks during pregnancy were up to 140% more likely to be fat (vs. those whose moms ate a balanced diet during the intervention period). "We're programming our children to be fat," warns study author Sarah Leibowitz. Dietary excess during pregnancy also sets up expectant mothers to gain more than the recommended 25-35 pounds (an overweight woman should gain just 15-25).

This in turn ups the odds of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, congenital malformations -- and the likelihood of your child becoming obese later on in life. Also of concern: entering pregnancy with extra pounds increases the risk of miscarriage by 67%. On the other hand, unwanted pounds may increase your risk of unwanted pregnancy, by und   Continue...

ATKINS ATTITUDE

Low-Carb Cantankerousness

The definition doesn't appear in Webster's yet, but the irritability, mood swings and restlessness often associated with extreme low-carb dieting have become so famous that they've earned their own sobriquet.

Self magazine defines "Atkins Attitude" as "a biological (and attitudinal) response to a chronically low-carb diet, which is characterized by grouchiness, distractibility, even depression." So common is ketosis neurosis that it's even spawned a synonym that is an alliterative variation of South Beach (but rhymes with South Witch).

A new study from the MIT Clinical Research Center suggests the phenomenon may be more than anecdotal. According to study author and Director of Women's Health Judith Wurtman, low-carb dieting can cause serotonin levels to plummet, which in turn make your moods go south (as in bad, not beach). Other research has linked depression with low levels of the important B vitamin, folate, found in abundance in most fruits and vegetables, as well as fortified grain products, also scanted on low-carb diets.

These hormonal and emotional effects may help explain why such extreme low-carb regimes are so difficult to maintain in the long run. Serotonin deprivation can lead to carb cravings, setting unsuspecting dieters up for binges and rebounds.

Stay on an even keel with B-vitamin-rich foods such as asparagus, spinach, broccoli, bananas, cantaloupe and beans. Cut out processed carbs such as white rice, breads, pastries a   Continue...

"C IS FOR CHILDHOOD OBESITY..."

Cookie Monster Gets a Makeover

Sesame Street gets a standing ovation for recognizing that "C is for Cookie" sounds a bit off-key in the era of childhood obesity. Cookie Monster is getting a diet makeover. Instead of scarfing down platefuls of chocolate chip fat bombs, the shaggy blue Muppet now learns that "A Cookie is a Sometimes Food," per the song that accompanies his new diet plan.

Cookie's rep, Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, explained that the character is being taught moderation. The show will now promote "anytime foods" such as fruits and vegetables, along with a sprinkling of "sometimes foods" such as sugary snacks. This goes hand-in-hand with Sesame Street's current efforts to promote proper nutrition on the show, along with new characters such as talking carrots and eggplants.

Those who grew up (if not fat) with the show may balk at the change, but we applaud Sesame Street's efforts to encourage healthy eating and exercise. Millions of kids worldwide watch the show, giving producers an opportunity to do something to help curb the current obesity epidemic.

For his part, Cookie is taking the changes in stride. At the close of "A Cookie is a Sometimes Food," he asks hopefully, "Is sometimes now?"