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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Jul 27 2008, 08:05 AM
What?
The boost from caffeine…
It never even occurred to me as a kid, let alone a young teen, to ask or think about having a cup off coffee. Not once. Now it’s commonplace to see a Starbucks with teens hanging out or kids walking around with espresso.
As teens keep staying up later then ever, they’re more tired during the day. They need that extra lift. Now we have energy drinks. Some of these drinks are oozing with caffeine. And schools aren’t happy about it…
“School officials across the country aren't as buzzed about caffeinated energy drinks as some of their students. They're worried about young people gulping down too much caffeine—and getting so hyper that they lose focus on their studies.
"Being hepped up on caffeine can be a distraction to your learning," said Joe Trybulski, principal of Hillsborough Middle School in central New Jersey.
The Hillsborough school, with more than 1,200 seventh and eighth graders, is among a growing number across the country that have banned or are considering banning energy drinks from their campuses.
Trybulski has found parents supportive of the ban since it went into effect in April, and teachers haven't had to take energy drinks away from any students.
"They get enough junk all over the place so I support it," Pam Christian said as she picked up her 13-year-old son, Sam, on one of the last days of school in June.
Sam Christian said a lot of students like energy drinks. "But it may just hurt us instead, because of all the caffeine," he said.
Energy drink industry representatives said they don't market directly to children, that the cost of around $2 to $4 a can is geared toward adults, and that the drinks generally have less caffeine than coffee.
"Are you going to start carding kids at coffee houses and candy shops?" said Craig Stevens, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based American Beverage Association, which has energy drink companies among its members.”
A variety of energy drinks are available; the skinny "bullet" can shape is popular
Read the complete article from CBS Here
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By Janet Evans
Tuesday, May 20 2008, 06:50 AM
With more teens getting less physical education in school, eating fewer balanced meals at home, and spending more time on the computer, anything they can do to keep off a few pounds can help.
A good breakfast can do just that….
Lean Teens Eat Breakfast
Among teenagers, eating breakfast helped adolescents weigh less, exercise more and overall have a much healthier diet than their non-breakfast eating peers, according to researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
The researchers followed over 2,000 teenagers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, and tracked their weight, eating patterns and other lifestyle habits for five years. The article, which was published in the journal of Pediatrics in March of 2008, stated that the teenagers were just under 15 year of age at the start of the study.
Studies have indicated that breakfast eating declines during adolescence. Some data reveals that only 14% of 12-19 year olds consistently eat breakfast. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between eating breakfast and weight change within a five year period in an adolescent population.
The findings revealed that children who ate breakfast regularly were more healthy overall. In addition, breakfast eaters in this study had a lower body mass index (BMI), according to the authors. BMI measures weight relative to height. The higher the BMI, the more overweight a person is. Teenagers in the study who consistently skipped breakfast weighed on average about 5 pounds more compared to teenagers who included breakfast in their everyday routine.
In this study, although breakfast eaters consumed a greater amount of energy, carbohydrates, and fiber, they consumed lower percentages of total calories from saturated fat. This dietary intake has been shown to improve energy balance and weight control since fiber rich foods (foods most consumed at breakfast) contributeto better glucose and insulin control which leads to an increased satiety and ultimately lower body weight.
This study supports the importance of consistent breakfast consumption in improving overall dietary intake, contributing to healthy weights and promoting a healthy lifestyle in youth. As the rates of breakfast consumption declines throughout the teenage years and early adulthood, the impact of consistent breakfast consumption may be an important indicator of an overall healthful lifestyle pattern in adolescents. Furthermore, thefact that regular consumption of breakfast is associated with a healthier weight and less weight change over time, may serve as an important message to teenagers who are engaging in unhealthy dietary behaviors, such as skipping breakfast, in their effort to lose weight. Educational efforts should focus on the importance of breakfast whether it is consumed at home or at school. In addition, education that promotes healthful breakfast (whole grain cereals, fruits, low fat milk) is important since diets that include nutrient and fiber rich food have been shown to have a positive effect on weight and disease reduction.
This is an excerpt from The Breakfast Scoop, Vol. 1, No. 3, an electronic newsletter covering issues related to breakfast and school breakfast programs. It is made possible by a partnership of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instructionand the University of Wisconsin-Extension Wisconsin Breakfast Newsletter Website http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/food/schoolbreakfast/newsletter.cfm
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By Janet Evans
Monday, Jan 14 2008, 06:15 AM
Back in November I blogged about the study that was done regarding children who aren't getting enough sleep are more prone to gaining weight. While I can't disregard a study...I did not totally agree with it. I think kids need to get some exercise rather than sitting at the computer and they need to eat some old-fashioned balanced meals instead of fast food or processed foods.
Meanwhile, there are many theories flying around about why children are overweight. One survey found that many parents don't believe their children are overweight , or if they are overweight, they believe their child will outgrow the weight problem. Parent's are in denial. Then there's this, in a must read article, Fat kids, silent parents by Amy Benfer,
"A variety of factors have contributed to the country's ballooning weight -- poverty, inactivity, poor nutritional education, lard-rich fast food. A disproportionate number of overweight children continue to come from lower-income families. But as issues of obesity invade middle-class homes, parents who are versed in the four basic food groups and have the money to provide healthy meals are tongue-tied by a new conundrum: Having done their perfect-parent best to protect their children, in particular their daughters, from the dangers of eating disorders and self-loathing, they have ended up with a generation of fat children (not to mention adults) who now need to lose weight. But as they prepare themselves to finally confront their children about their weight, they find themselves bound and gagged -- deprived by the experts of appropriate language for the task".
Benfer goes on about overweight children, again highlighting girls,
"No one wants children to grow up feeling bad about themselves. But silence about weight isn't helping children or parents. The actual formula for anyone who is trying to maintain a healthy weight is ridiculously low-tech: Eat less, exercise more. But in order to be in a position to offer this simple solution, we need to stop encouraging girls to pursue an unrealistic body weight in the name of beauty, so that we can encourage them to maintain a realistic weight in the name of health."
Another concept of why children are overweight is not a new one. The absence of a parent at home, specifically "mom," is thought to be the reason behind the overweight child. Mom is less able to supervise outdoor play or has less time to cook and therefore buys more fast food. Unfortunately for working mothers who are already struck by guilt, the effects are pretty substantial.
From Maternal Employment and Childhood Obesity
Patricia Anderson, Kristin Butcher, and Phillip Levine
Economic Research Service/USDA
"Childhood overweight may be one of the most significant health issues facing American children today. In the 1963 to 1970 period, 4 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 11 were defined as overweight; that level had more than tripled by 1999, reaching 13 percent. The rise in women working outside the home coincides with the rise in childhood weight problems.From 1970 to 1999, the fraction of married women with children under 6 who participate in the labor force doubled, rising from 30 to 62 percent, while those with children ages 6 to 17 rose dramatically from 49 to77 percent. However, time series evidence is not sufficient to imply that these trends are related. This study explores whether the rise observed in both maternal employment and childhood overweight represents a causal relationship between these two phenomena."
We can go on, and on seeking, blaming, trying to find the right answer as to "why" more children are obese.
In my opinion the common factor here seems to be the word "parent."
While it is the child putting that food in his or her mouth, it is the parent's responsibility to make sure the child is getting the proper nutrition. Cook the balanced meal for dinner - Possibly eat it while sitting with the whole family talking about how the day went.
It is the parent who buys the food that is in the home and needs to educate the child, from the time the child eats solid food, what constitutes a healthy snack. You don't need to stock up on junk foods.
It is the parent who needs to monitor what foods are being served at school in the school lunch programs or what your child brings to school in his or her bag lunch.
It is the parent who needs to encourage and participate with the child in activities and exercise at home, after school and in the evening, to discourage sitting around watching television and spending time on games and the computer.
Oh, that's right....
You're rushed.
You don't have time.....
Ask yourself what's really more important?
Getting your child or yourself to the next activity?
Or getting your child to adulthood not obese. Not unhealthy....
Are working moms to blame for fat kids? Maybe....
It seems to me it's a family problem.
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By Janet Evans
Sunday, Nov 18 2007, 07:15 AM
Workers spray concrete on the walls of the Svalbard Global Seed
Vault in Longyearbyen, Norway, during the construction phase in August.
In announcing it would create a global seed bank on the Svalbard Islands,
Norway did not say exactly where but the archipelago includes a few
existing settlements like this one at Alesund
Have you ever wondered what would happen to the world's supply of seeds in case
of a global catastrophe?
Something such as plant epidemics, natural disasters like flooding, the dreaded climate change, or war?
Are you aware of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Oslo, Norway?
It is called the "Doomday Vault."
The vault is blasted into the permafrost of the Arctic, 300 miles from the mainland. The temperature of the vault will be kept at zero degrees Fahrenheit. It's like a safe-deposit box. Each country owns what they deposit in the vault and can take it out at their own will
The vault is due to open February 26, 2008.
"It's very satisfying to see the vault evolve from a bold concept to an impressive facility that has everything we need to protect crop biodiversity," said Norway's Agriculture Minister Terje Riis-Johansen.
Norway first proposed building what it called a "Noah's Ark" for the world's seeds in June 2005, and started construction a year later, blasting a nearly 400-foot (120-meter) tunnel into a frozen mountain and placing the vault for foil-wrapped seeds deep inside. Each sample holds about 500 seeds."
There already are about 14,000 seed banks in the world run by individual countries. But some of these have already been wiped out, such as in the Philippines, destroyed by a typhoon, South Asia, destroyed by tsunami, or in Iraq (looters) and Afghanistan (by Taliban), destroyed by war. The Svalbard vault is intended as a final backup for all other seed banks.
"The vast collection is intended as a hedge against disaster so that food production can be restarted anywhere on the planet should it be threatened by a regional or global catastrophe."
Click on the icon below for information about the complete history of the Doomsday Vault, including frequently asked questions:
Were you aware we even had "seed banks" around the world?
Do you think this is a cool idea?
Are you "unglued" when you realize the seed banks of some countries have already been destroyed and it took until 2008 to get a "Doomsday Vault?" I mean, come on ....
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