Sugar in soft drinks

At one time humans obtained most of their calories from food.  That changed with the arrival of cheap sugar, and then cheaper high-fructose corn syrup.

In the late 16th century, a teaspoon of sugar cost the equivalent of ten pounds in London (1).  Nowadays, 1 teaspoon of sugar costs approximately one pence (2).

 

 

Sugar added to food now accounts for nearly 16 percent of the average American’s daily intake; sweetened soft drinks make up nearly half of that (3).

In Britain, government statistics indicate that 14.2 per cent of the calories in the average diet come from added sugars (4).

Researchers at Glasgow University asked 2,005 people from across the UK to estimate how many teaspoons of sugar were in some of the UK’s most popular drinks (5).  Those surveyed were also asked to estimate their average weekly liquid consumption in detail.

 

 

The findings suggest that the average person in the UK consumes 659 grams of sugar and 3,144 calories per week (which equates to 450 calories per day) through non-alcoholic liquid intake.  This is the equivalent of nearly a quarter of recommended daily calories for a woman and a fifth for men.

People underestimated the amount of sugar in a serving of pomegranate juice by an average of 17.9 teaspoons, while they overestimated the amount of sugar in a serving of fruit squash by almost seven teaspoons.

It is worth noting that a number of products state they contain “100% juice” or “100% pomegranate juice”. You need to read the product label carefully because most products contain only 20 to 30 per cent pomegranate, with the rest typically apple or grape juice.

 

Pomegranate juice

 

Professor Naveed Sattar said:

“While people sometimes overestimate the amount of sugar in carbonated drinks, they significantly underestimate the sugar levels in smoothies and fruit juices.

This analysis confirms that many people are perhaps not aware of the high calorie levels in many commonly consumed drinks.  Some varieties of drinks such as pure fruit juices and smoothies which are perceived as “healthy” options are also very high in sugar. For many people struggling with their weight, reducing their intake of such drinks and replacing with water or diet drinks would be a sensible first target to help them lessen their calorie intake.

For some, this change might seem difficult or impossible as they admit to having a “sweet tooth.”  However, it is now clear that our taste buds can be retrained over time to enjoy far less sugar in drinks (or no sugar at all).  But people deserve support and encouragement to make these changes and the soft drinks industry also has a role to play here by providing drinks with less sugar or offering cheaper diet versions.”

According to information from the British Soft Drinks Association, most soft drinks do not contain sugar.  Their data indicate that more than 60 per cent of the soft drinks market is now made up of diet, low calorie and no added sugar drinks, up from 30 per cent 20 years ago (6).

It is best to drink water but if you would like a fruit juice, here is a recipe for a watermelon, strawberry  and rose water crush, which is relatively low in sugars and calories.

 

Watermelon, strawberry and rose water crush

 

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References

---

(1) http://www.sugarnutrition.org.uk

(2) http://www.tesco.com

(3) Malik VS, Schulze MB, Hu FB.  Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2006; 84:274-288

(4) DEFRA Food Statistics Pocket Book 2011

(5) http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_230642_en.html

(6) British Soft Drinks Association 2011 UK Soft Drinks Report, data from Zenith International

Healthy Food Healthy Business

Eating out is no longer an occasional luxury.  Consumers in the UK spent a staggering £81 billion on catering services in 2008 (1) and sales on food eaten out have increased by 23 percent since 2003 (2).  Market surveys estimate that between 7.5 and 8.5 billion meals were eaten out in the UK in 2009 (3).  DEFRA statistics suggest that one in every six meals in the UK is eaten out and the catering industry provides at least three meals per week for the average person in Britain (1).  Approximately 20 to 30 percent of each household’s food budget is spent on food and drink consumed outside the home (1). 

So what are the most important factors driving consumer food choices in the eating out market?

Recent surveys by the Food Standards Agency (4) and leading market research organizations (3), as well as sales data from supermarkets (5), indicate that health consciousness has moved right to the top of the consumer agenda. There is growing evidence that consumers are beginning to give health similar priority to price and value for money when deciding what to eat. 

Worldwide, more than 60 percent of deaths are caused by chronic diseases (6), thus almost everyone knows someone who has suffered from cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.  Public awareness of the key role played by diet in the development of many of these diseases is increasing.  People are therefore concerned about the amount of calories, salt, saturated fat and sugar they are consuming.  As eating out becomes more common, the nutritional quality of the eating out diet is starting to receive scrutiny.

Latest figures show that 11 percent of total energy intake comes from eating out (1).  This number would be substantially higher if alcohol consumption were included.  The eating out diet has more fat and less carbohydrate than the household diet. 

Several consumer surveys conducted in the UK and the USA between 2006 and 2009 point to a growing demand for healthier menu items and a frustration at this need not being met (3) (7) (8) (9).  In one UK survey conducted by Consumer Focus (10), 94 percent of respondents indicated a desire for increased availability of healthier food when eating out.  At the same time, Datamonitor reported that 35 percent of European consumers cannot find healthier menu items when dining out (8).  On top of this, consumers are beginning to request more information about the provenance of their food and its nutritional content (11). 

Supermarkets have already reacted to this trend and implemented front of pack ‘traffic light labelling’ to provide consumers with information on the content of major nutrients and on whether the item is relatively healthy (green) or unhealthy (amber or red).  In 2009, Sainsbury’s reported a dramatic shift in purchasing patterns as a consequence of introducing such labels.  Sales of healthier items increased by 40 to 97 percent, whilst those of less healthy items decreased by 30 to 40 percent (5).

The National Restaurant Association reported that 60 percent of US consumers are aware of calorie information when making menu choices and 25 percent use this information to influence their choices (12).  A study published by Stanford University in January 2010 looked at the impact of mandatory calorie labelling in Starbucks in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.  They found that calorie posting led to a 6 percent reduction in calories per transaction.  This was entirely related to food choices and did not affect beverage consumption.  Interestingly, in Starbucks outlets within 50m of a competitor, the calorie posting led to an increase in Starbucks’ revenue (13).

In the UK, the FSA started working with 18 large catering businesses in 2009 to provide voluntary labelling of calorie content of menu items; the outcome of this is still being evaluated.

So the evidence suggests that today’s eating out consumers are cost-conscious, health-conscious and ethically-conscious.  The successful catering business will capitalise on these trends and create value by delivering what the consumer wants.

The good news is that making small and simple changes to menus to reduce content of calories, saturated fat, salt and sugar can enhance both health and profit margins.  Training courses are available to provide information and practical suggestions about how this can be achieved (14).

For example, there is plenty of scope to reduce portion size and reduce costs and food wastage.  The latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey published in February 2010 shows that average intake of protein is almost double that of the guideline intake (15).  Protein content of dishes can thus be reduced, thereby reducing cost.  Likewise, a number of businesses have reported increased margins as a result of reducing fat content of their menu items.

As life expectancy of the burgeoning world population continues to rise along with the incidence of overweight and obesity, the number of people with chronic diseases will increase.  There is also an increase in the number of the “worried well”.  Health consciousness is likely to intensify and caterers who provide healthier menu choices will position themselves to generate healthier businesses.

For further information and practical suggestions for providing healthier menu items, please come to a Healthier Catering Training Course in the UK.  Suitable for caterers and for professionals involved in encouraging healthy eating in the population.

Works Cited

1. DEFRA. Food Statistics Pocketbook. 2009.

2. Mintel. Eating Out Review. 2009.

3. Allegra Strategies. Review. 2009.

4. Food Standards Agency. Quarterly Public Attitudes Tracker. December 2009.

5. Sainsbury’s. Effect of food labelling on food purchasing choices. 2009.

6. World Health Organisation. World Health Report. 2002.

7. Nestle Professional. 2010.

8. Datamonitor. Workplace consumption: targeting a captive audience. 2005.

9. Aramark (NYSE, RMK) Dining Styles. Research presented to clinical researchers and health professionals at the 2006 NAASO Obesity Summit in Boston October 22-24. 2006.

10. Consumer Focus. s.l. : http://www.consumerfocus.org, 2006.

11. Food Standards Agency. June 2008.

12. National Restaurant Association. 2008.

13. Bollinger, B., Leslie, P. and Sorenson, A. Calorie posting in chain restaurants. s.l. : Stanford University, http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/StarbucksCaloriePostingStudy.pdf, January 2010.

14. Philpott, J.K. Healthier Catering Training Courses. s.l. : http://www.cookingforhealth-uk.com/healthier-catering.php.

15. Food Standards Agency and Department of Health. National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Headline results from Year 1 of the Rolling Programme 2008-2009. s.l. : FSA and DoH, February 2010.

McDonald’s Map – fast food forward?

This week photographer Stephen Von Worley set the blogosphere buzzing with his astonishing image of the distribution of the 13,000 McDonald’s fast food outlets across the United States.

Close to highways and population centres, there is apparently no escape from the Big Macs, fries, 710-calorie salads and super-sized vats of coke.

Is anywhere sacred, wondered Von Worley?

“For maximum McSparseness, we look westward, towards the deepest, darkest holes in our map: the barren deserts of central Nevada, the arid hills of southeastern Oregon, the rugged wilderness of Idaho’s Salmon River Mountains, and the conspicuous well of blackness on the high plains of northwestern South Dakota.  There, in a patch of rolling grassland, loosely hemmed in by Bismarck, Dickinson, Pierre, and the greater Rapid City-Spearfish-Sturgis metropolitan area, we find our answer.  Between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley lies the McFarthest Spot: 107 miles distant from the nearest McDonald’s, as the crow flies, and 145 miles by car!”

Yesterday, Britain’s Telegraph Newspaper reported that America’s Fast Food Temple is celebrating its 30^th anniversary in France by opening its 1,142^nd Gallic outlet a few yards from the Louvre Museum.

“This is the last straw,” said one art historian working at the Louvre, who declined to be named. “This is the pinnacle of exhausting consumerism, deficient gastronomy and very unpleasant odours in the context of a museum.”

This echoes the sentiment of many in France who view “McDo” as the Trojan horse of globalisation and the scourge of local produce and long lunches.

Despite this, statistics suggest the battle of Le Big Macs has already been lost. France has become McDonald’s biggest market in the world outside of the US, according to the chain. While business in traditional brasseries and bistros is in freefall, the fast food group opened 30 new outlets last year in France and welcomed 450 million customers – up 11 per cent on the previous year.

British people will either be horrified or reassured to know that despite the comparatively tiny size of our islands, we still find room for an artery-busting 1,250 McDonald’s outlets.

Is it any wonder we have an obesity crisis?

 

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The need for healthier drinks

This week, the British Soft Drinks Association published the 2009 UK Soft Drinks Report.  Despite the recession and the wet summer, total soft drink consumption held up, with a 1 per cent increase in market value, although volume declined by 1 per cent.  Bottled waters and smoothies were particularly hit by a decline in volume, whilst carbonated drinks, still and juice drinks increased in volume.  Consumers’ focus on health and wellbeing, and a desire for naturalness benefited the not from concentrate (NFC) fruit juice category with volumes up 10 million litres so that NFC juice now represents over 45% of the chilled juice segment. The overall retail value of fruit juice did, however, decline in 2008 (down 4% to £1900 million).  In total, £13 billion was spent on soft drinks in the UK, representing consumption of 13905 million litres.  This is an average of 4.4 litres per person per week, or the equivalent of 2 cans per person per day.

Consumption of soft drinks is continuing to rise.  Findings from the last UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey showed that consumption of soft drinks in adults in 2000/01 was equivalent to 4-5 cans per week, compared to less than 3 cans per week in 1986/87.  The majority of soft drinks consumed were carbonated.  Statistics from the British Soft Drinks Association show that 60 per cent of the carbonated drinks consumed are low-calorie and no added sugar types.  In 2000/01 young men and women (19-24 years) consumed over three times the quantity of soft drinks as did the oldest men and women (50-64 years).

Evidence from the British Soft Drinks Association suggests that children drink an average of 4.7 litres of soft drink per week, of which only 10% are fruit juice or water. 

According to the last National Diet and Nutrition Survey in the UK, soft drinks (mainly carbonated) were the single largest contributor to non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) intake in all age groups, providing a quarter to a third of intake on average.  

It is interesting to note that groups with the lowest mean intakes and biochemical status of almost all nutrients had the highest consumption of soft drinks. 

Although the British Soft Drinks Association denies a link between soft drink consumption and obesity, pointing instead to the value of soft drinks for encouraging adequate hydration, there can be little doubt that these rivers of sugar are doing little to enhance the health of the nation. 

Each 330 ml can of sugary drink or juice typically has 10 to 12 teaspoons of sugar, and 150 or more calories.  Is it pure coincidence that the rising thirst for sugar-water has paralleled the epidemic rise of obesity and type 2 diabetes? There is now strong evidence that sugary drinks have contributed substantially to the rapid growth of “diabesity”.  Women who have one or more servings of a sugary drink per day have nearly double the diabetes risk of women who rarely have sugary drinks. 

Latest research from the Harvard School of Public Health finds disturbing evidence of a link between sugary drink consumption and heart disease. The study, published in the April edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed the health of nearly 90,000 women over two decades. It found that women who drank more than 2 servings of sugary beverage each day had a nearly 40 percent higher risk of heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages. 

Water, of course, is the best beverage option. It delivers everything the body needs – pure H₂O – with zero calories. But for some tastes, ordinary water is just too dull and it is unrealistic to expect people to overcome their sugar-water addiction overnight.  Instead, it will require concerted effort at a range of levels to retrain our palates.  We need to educate individual consumers about the benefits of consuming less sugary drinks, provide healthier alternatives in schools and worksites, and encourage creativity and innovation among food scientists and marketers in the beverage industry to develop products that consider health and well-being whilst maintaining profitability. 

For further information about the effects of drinks on our health, please come to a Cooking for Health Course, led by Nutrition Consultant Jane Philpott, MA (Oxon), MSc, PhD.

Over-eating when eating out

Recently, I gave the menu of a well-known chain restaurant to a group of students and asked them to select what they would eat if they were dining there. 

 

They selected a starter (garlic bread with cheese), a main course (traditional lasagne with a salad), a dessert (ice cream) and a drink (a can of coke). 

 

Using the restaurant’s own nutritional information, they calculated the nutrient content of what they had chosen (Table 1).  The results left the students open-mouthed.

 

Their menu selection had provided:

 

n 106% of the guideline daily amount of calories (assuming 2000 kcal per day);

n 141-171% of the guideline daily amount of protein (depending on whether they were male or female);

n 61% of the guideline daily carbohydrate;

n 109% of the guideline daily amount of total fat;

n 192% of the guideline daily amount of saturated fat

n 52% of the guideline daily amount of salt. 

 

It is worth noting that the dietary reference value for salt in the UK is 6 g per day, compared with 2.3 g per day in the USA.

 

Thus, one meal out would have provided more than the entire day’s requirement for calories; enough protein to last for one and a half days; and enough saturated fat to last for two days.

 

Most people have no idea of the nutrient content of the food they are eating, nor of the potentially damaging effects on their health of a dietary excess of sugar, saturated fat and salt. 

 

Given that at least one–third of household expenditure on food and drink is spent on food eaten outside the home in the UK, food manufacturers and caterers have a real opportunity to contribute to an improvement in public health whilst also making a profit themselves. 

 

There is now convincing research evidence to suggest that increasing the amount of fruit, vegetables and whole grains in the diet, whilst decreasing the amount of sugar, saturated fat and salt, helps to protect the body from chronic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and various cancers.

 

A two-day professional training course is offered, tailored to equip caterers, and those involved in encouraging healthier catering practices, with information and practical tools to achieve healthier eating in the population.

 

By the end of the course, participants will:

• Understand the basic principles of nutrition
• Be aware of the importance of food in the maintenance of health and well-being
• Appreciate the role of lifestyles and culture in influencing diet
• Recognise the potential benefits for both caterers and customers of providing a choice of healthier options
• Know more about ingredient selection and methods of food production and processing that can be used to create healthier options, whilst being attractive and convenient to modern tastes and lifestyles
• Be able to apply appropriate and relevant skills and knowledge when advising catering businesses or when planning, preparing, promoting and serving healthier foods

For further information on the course content and the course tutor, Dr Jane Philpott, please click http://cookingforhealth-uk.com/healthier-catering.php.

 

 

Table 1

Menu item	Calories per portion	Protein g per portion	Carbohydrate g per portion	Total fat g per portion	Saturated fat g per portion	Salt g per portion
Starter	568	29.8	35.6	34	16.5	1.15
Main course	934	42.2	74.4	33.1	14.6	1.84
Dessert	475	5.5	18.8	18.1	11.1	0.15
Drink	139	0	35	0	0	0
Total	2116	77.5	163.8	85.2	42.2	3.14
Gov guideline	2000 kcal	45 g/day (women) 55 g/day (men)	267 g per day	78 g per day	22 g per day	6 g per day
% of guidelines	106%	171% (women) 141% (men)	61%	109%	192%	52%

 

 

 

Cinnamon – spice up your health

Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of evergreen trees (Cinnamomum verum, C. zeylandicum, C. aromaticum), native to Sri Lanka and other Asian countries.  The bark is peeled away from the tree and curls up into tubes, called quills, as it dries.

 

 

In addition to its use as a spice, cinnamon or its oil is used as a flavouring agent in pharmaceutical, personal health and cosmetic products.

Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known.  It was imported to Egypt from China as early as 2000 BC, where it was used as a medicinal herb, a flavouring for drinks and as an embalming agent.  At one time it was considered to be even more valuable than gold.  Cinnamon is also mentioned in the Bible.

Moses was commanded:

“Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels” (Exodus 30:23)

 

In Proverbs, the lover says:

“I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon” (Proverbs 7:17)

And Solomon describes the beauty of his beloved as

“Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices” (Song of Solomon 4:14)

The Roman Emperor Nero is said to have burned a year’s supply of cinnamon at the funeral for his wife Poppaea Sabina in 65 AD, to express the depth of his loss.

As its popularity grew, cinnamon was one of the first spices to be traded regularly between Europe and the Near East.

 

Cinnamon has many medicinal uses.  It is reported to be beneficial in the treatment of arthritis, asthma, cancer, diarrhoea, fever, heart problems, insomnia, menstrual problems, peptic ulcers, psoriasis, and spastic muscles.  Some of the confirmed effects of cinnamon are as a sedative for smooth muscle, circulatory stimulant, digestive aid, antibiotic, anticonvulsant, diuretic and antiulcerative.

Some studies suggest that cinnamon may be useful for people with diabetes.  In one trial, 1 to 6 grams of cinnamon taken daily for forty days reduced fasting blood glucose by 18 to 29 per cent, triglycerides by 23 to 30 per cent, LDL cholesterol by 7 to 27 per cent, and total cholesterol by 12 to 26 per cent.  In contrast, there were no clear changes for the subjects who did not take cinnamon[1].

Another trial showed that a cinnamon extract had a moderate effect in reducing fasting plasma glucose concentrations in diabetic patients with poor glycaemic control[2].

Other research has shown that a substance in cinnamon called methylhydroxychalcone acts as an insulin mimetic; it stimulated glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis to a similar level as insulin[3].

Cinnamon may thus be useful for helping to treat insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, conditions that are becoming increasingly more common in the UK and elsewhere.

Statistics published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health in February 2009 indicate that the incidence of diabetes in the UK climbed 74 per cent between 1997 and 2003.  By 2005, over 4 per cent of the population were classified as having some type of diabetes.  The majority of new cases are type 2 diabetes, linked to diet and growing obesity rates. A research team from Spain and Sweden analysed the results, and made it clear that the trend was not due to more screening tests or an ageing population.

Ideas for incorporating cinnamon into your diet

• Add 1 tsp ground cinnamon to oat porridge at breakfast
• Drizzle flaxseed oil over whole-wheat toast and then sprinkle with cinnamon and a little rice malt syrup
• Simmer a cinnamon stick with 1 cup rice milk  for a delicious warm drink
• Add a cinnamon stick to home-made squash soup to make a warming lunchtime meal
• When poaching fish, add cinnamon sticks to the poaching liquid
• Add ground cinnamon when preparing curries or spicy Middle Eastern dishes using chickpeas
• Add ground cinnamon to stewed apple and mix with ground almonds for a creamy dessert

 

For recipe ideas, tips and information about following a plant-based diet please sign up for my free newsletter and check out my website.

You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

References

[1] Khan et al. Cinnamon Improves Glucose and Lipids of People With Type 2 Diabetes.  Diabetes Care 26:3215-3218, 2003

[2] Mang et al. Effects of a cinnamon extract on plasma glucose, HbA_1c, and serum lipids in diabetes mellitus type 2 European Journal of Clinical Investigation:Volume 36(5)May 2006p 340-344

[3] Jarvill-Taylor et al.  A Hydroxychalcone Derived from Cinnamon Functions as a Mimetic for Insulin in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 20, No. 4, 327-336 (2001)

Obesity in children

Overweight and obesity among children is widely regarded as being even more serious than it is among adults, with a very rapid rise in prevalence in the last two decades. Child obesity is likely to continue into adulthood, and many of the problems linked to obesity are more severe if the obesity has been present for a long period. Adults with the highest risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, liver malfunction and orthopaedic dysfunction, are likely to have the most extreme levels of obesity and to have been obese since childhood[i].

Projections of child obesity based on trends from the 1980s and 1990s indicate that the annual increase in child obesity prevalence is itself increasing[ii]. By the year 2010, some 26 million school children in the EU are expected to be overweight, of which 6 million will be obese. The numbers of overweight children will rise by some 1.3 million per year, of which the numbers of obese children will rise by over 0.3 million per year.

At a conservative estimate, over a million obese children in the EU are likely to show a range of indicators for cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure and raised blood cholesterol levels, and to have three or more indicators of the metabolic syndrome[iii]. Over 1.4 million children could have early stages of liver disorder.

The costs of childhood obesity have not been estimated but should include lost educational opportunity. A study of children’s quality of life found the psychological effects of severe obesity to be equivalent to a diagnosis of cancer[iv].

Behaviour, learning and mental health problems in children are rising as fast as rates of obesity and diabetes. Food affects brains as well as bodies, and early malnourishment can have devastating effects on both. Conversely, improving nutrition can help reduce antisocial behaviour as well as symptoms of ADHD, dyslexia, depression and related conditions[v].

The only pan-European estimates of children’s food consumption patterns are from self-reported surveys of health behaviours of children aged 11-15 years[vi]. The most recent (for 2001-2002) found:

• In virtually all countries fewer than 50 per cent of children ate vegetables every day. On average, 30 per cent of children said they ate vegetables daily, but the children in countries once famous for their Mediterranean diets reported lower than average levels, especially Spain, where vegetables were typically eaten daily by only 12 per cent of children.
• In virtually all countries fewer than 50 per cent of children ate fruit every day. On average, 30 per cent of boys and 37 per cent of girls reported eating fruit daily, but in sixteen countries only 25 per cent of children were eating fruit more than once a week. Lowest levels of consumption were reported among children in Northern European countries.
• Soft drinks and confectionery were consumed daily by about 30 per cent of children (over 40 per cent in some countries).

According to the last National Diet and Nutrition Survey in the UK[vii]:

• 92 per cent of children consume more saturated fat than is recommended
• 86 per cent consume too much sugar
• 72 per cent consume too much salt
• 96 per cent do not consume enough fruit and vegetables

Governments are trying to improve children’s diets, but young people’s exposure to marketing pressures in our time-poor, anxiety-ridden, media-driven society is at an all-time high.

Widespread action is needed to reverse current trends – and we all need to take responsibility for what we are feeding young bodies and minds.

In a Cooking for Health class focused on Healthy Cooking for Your Children, we look at:

• The best and the worst food for children
• Easy steps to free your child from food traps
• Simple, child-friendly recipes
• Practical tips to help your child make the best food choices

The class involves 100% hands-on practical cooking in a small, supervised group, combined with teaching of up-to-date information and research findings on the effects of diet on health. Clear, easy-to-follow presentations and handouts are provided with plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion.

References

[i] Policy options for responding to obesity. Summary report of the EC-funded project to map the view of stakeholders involved in tackling obesity – the PorGrow project. Dr Tim Lobstein and Professor Erik Millstone. http://www.sussex.ac.uk/spru/porgrow

[ii] Jackson-Leach R, Lobstein T. Estimated burden of paediatric obesity and co-morbidities in Europe. Part 1. The increase in the prevalence of child obesity in Europe is itself increasing. Int J Pediatric Obesit 2006;1:26-32.

[iii] Lobstein T, Jackson-Leach R. Estimated burden of paediatric obesity and co-morbidities in Europe. Part 2. Numbers of children with indicators of obesity-related disease. Int J Pediatric Obesity 2006;1:33-41.

[iv] Schwimmer JB, Burwinkle TM, Varni JW. Health-related quality of life of severely obese children and adolescents. J Am Med Ass 2003;289:1813-9.

[v] Richardson, A. They Are What You Feed Them. Harper Thorsons (5 Jun 2006)

[vi] HBSC. Young people’s health in context: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2001/2002. Health Policy for Children and Adolescents 4. C Currie et al (eds) Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2004.

[vii] Gregory, J. et al. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Young People Aged 4-18 years (The Stationery Office, 2000)