News from the new World Heavyweight Champion
Believe it or not, the U.S.A. isn’t the world’s fattest nation
No, the “World Heavyweight Championship” belt (size 48″) probably belongs to Australia, new data indicates. According to recent research, as much as 67% of males Down Under – and 52% of its women-folk – are overweight or obese. The epidemic is especially prevalent among children. Statistics show that the number of fat kids from “Oz” doubled from 1985 to 1995, and has ballooned even more since.
The reasons are surely much the same as they are here in the states: The proliferation of fast food (especially the super-sized varieties), packaged processed snacks, sugary sodas and “sports drinks,” chain restaurants serving carb-heavy fare like breads and pastas – and the de-emphasis of healthy exercise for kids, especially in schools.
But there’s at least one other thing that’s causing Aussie kids to pack on the blubber, according to some new research – something assumed to be “healthy” by most parents (and governments). It’s something I’ve warned American parents about several times in past Daily Doses
Fruit juices.
As I’ve said before, many types of fruit juices (like orange, grapefruit and grape juices) contain as much sugar per serving as soda-pop. And the irony is that many well-meaning parents make a concerted effort to switch their kids from soda to fruit juice, thinking that it’ll be better for their waistlines. Many school districts have also outlawed soda from their premises – substituting high-fructose juices and juice-drinks in school vending machines
But it’s not helping matters at all, as the Aussie model proves. A study of more than 2000 kids aged 4-12 conducted by scientists from Melbourne’s Deakin University discovered a linear relationship between kids’ weights and the amount of fruit juice they consumed – in other words, the more juice they drank, the greater their likelihood of being porkers.
The study concluded that more that 500ml daily (about 2 glasses worth) of most fruit juices contributed to heaviness or obesity in children. And studied kids who drank the most fruit juice – 4 glasses or more per day – were more than twice as likely to be plump as those drinking little or no fruit juice each day.
Bottom line: Kids don’t need a lot of extra sugar in their diets. But steer clear of ALL sodas (even sugar-free and diet varieties – they’re health hazards in a different way), “sports drinks,” punches, and juice-based refreshments like Sunny Delight. They’re almost pure sugar-water.
If you want to give them fruit juices to drink, avoid the citrus and grape-based varieties. Apple juice isn’t too bad – and cranberry juices are excellent, from a sugar/nutrients ratio. When kids are thirsty, give them one of these juices, unsweetened ice tea, or just plain water (fluoride/chlorine free, of course).
