_____On the Web_____ Surgeon General's Report on Obesity
_____Special Report_____ 8 Ways to Get in Shape
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By Sally Squires
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 13, 2001; 10:31 AM
The U.S. Surgeon General called today for sweeping changes in schools, restaurants, workplaces and communities to help combat the nation's growing epidemic of obesity/overweight.
In outlining the first national plan of action for overweight and obesity, Surgeon General David Satcher recommended improvements in school lunch programs, restriction of the popular vending machines that provide students with ready access to calorie-dense foods and soft drinks and resumption of daily physical exercise classes for all children and adolescents as well as recess for elementary students.
The report also advises that restaurants and fast food establishments, where Americans now spend about 40 percent of their food budget, provide more nutrition information something that consumer groups have long lobbied for. It also outlines changes to improve eating and exercise on the job and urges employers to include weight management and physical activity counseling as part of health insurance coverage.
"Overweight and obesity may not be infectious diseases, but they have reached epidemic proportions in the United States," Satcher notes in the 59-page report which was released this morning. " . . . Left unabated, overweight and obesity may soon cause cause as much preventable disease and death as cigarette smoking."
An estimated 300,000 people already die each year of illnesses related to obesity or being overweight--more than the number killed annually by pneumonia, motor vehicle accidents and airline crashes combined. Exactly how much this fuels health care expenditures is under debate, but some experts put the cost at $100 billion annually.
With nearly two out of every every three adults in the United States being overweight or obese, public health officials worry that this is just the beginning of a burgeoning health problem that will claim more lives and send medical costs soaring.
(The surgeon general's report defines being overweight as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25-29.9 and being obese as 30 or higher. BMI is computed by multiplying your weight in pounds by 703 and then dividing that by your height in inches squared.)
Even children are not immune to the obesity epidemic or its health effects. Nationwide, 13 percent of youngsters are overweight, but a report published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that the problem is worse among segments of the population: 22 percent of both African-American and Hispanic youngsters are overweight compared to about 12 percent of non-Hispanic white children. Type II diabetes which is closely linked to overweight and was once only in adults now accounts for up to half of all diabetes among children.
The new report earned praise for marking a shift in how overweight and obesity are addressed by the federal government. In the past, consumers were encouraged simply to eat better and exercise more.
"What's unique is to have the government saying that we need to address nutrition and physical activity as a societal issue, much like we did for tobacco," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit consumer group based in the District. "We need to put in place policy and change the environment around people so that it is easier for them to eat well and be active."
Industry groups also praised the report. It shows, noted Lisa Katic, director of scientific and nutrition policy for the Grocery Manufacturer's of America, "that Secretary [Tommy] Thompson and the Surgeon General have examined the obesity issue and recognized that this is a complex issue and there are no simple solutions."
But there was also disappointment that the report failed to go far enough in making recommendations that could lead to significant reductions in obesity-related death and disease, especially among minority populations. "I was hoping that the report would address some of the tough issues, including tax policies, that might make the environment safer for people to live healthier, more active lives," said Barbara Moore, executive director of Shape-up America, a non-profit group founded by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. "I'm talking about incentives to make fruits and vegetables cheaper and for physical activity to be safer and more affordable, like building gyms where populations are at particular risk. Why not do that?"
NOTE: The following information is an example of what is a typical process taking place upon the earth among persons who declare themselves professionals or experts, because they believe that they have the best understanding. This is what has caused mayhem on the earth, for it is such people who have obtained large sums of money that they can use to keep others who may have more knowledge and understanding from out shining them and taking their profits away.
We want you to understand that there are other things that are better and more comprehensive in their ways of looking at things and in your investigation than that which is being fostered by professionals and organization that believe they know all the answers!
It is very interesting to NOTE: THAT WHAT IS BEING SUGGESTED at this time are the very same things attempted over 30 years ago. Those who were trying to inform the public were defeated, not only for a lack of funds, but because they were a group of Alternative and Natural oriented professionals and concerned public.
The situation upon the earth is not good. The Conventional Medical Cartel fought what was being doing, saying it was quackery or practicing medicine without a license and it was false. Now most of them and the food industry does not want the public to know what is really causing their physical problems.
We have the science to prove everything that is taking place and can find out what is good and what is not, before it is used or done! But those on you planet lack the funds to get this information out to your communities and is why the Science of Wellness Society needs your support!
The medical community do not really want things to change because they need people to do things that make them sick so they can have someone to treat.
The food industry needs to sell their products, so they take every advantage to exploit the ignorance of the public to make their money! They have fostered many of the food products that are now being found to cause a number of disease conditions and not foster certain food to have the power to overcome disease conditions.
This is true, food can keep you healthy, but they will also make you sick, so the problem lies in when these two process are taking place, which is not what the industry!
Your US Federal government was slapped down severely by the food industry during the 95th congress, in 1977 when Senator George McGovern, chairman of the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, publish their findings and made suggestions on the Dietary Goals of the Government regarding the purblic.
They said the public was "eating too much" fat, sugar, salt, smoking, drinking alcohol, soda, refined foods and flour and needed to eat whole grains and whole grain bread and cereals, etc. , less dairy, beef, pork and more chickes, turkey, fishetc. and these industries came at them with guns blazing, because they did not have good research to back them up. The committee only had experience and statistics from medical records! This is all because they do not have a science that can explain all of this, but we do!
They now are or want to spend billions of dollars to do worthless research into finding out which diet is the best one. We know that there is NO BEST ONE DIET, because they are ALL necessary! Also, NO DIET WORKS FOR EVER!
Why? Because each one helps someone, but not everyone and this is in compliance with the laws of the Science of Wellness! There is no one diet that is better than another except for those people, with which it is compatible.
What is being suggested in all of the articles and material we present, sounds very good but in the long run other problems will appear that they cannot explain any better than they do now.
For ImmediateRelease:October 25, 1999 For more information:202/332-9110
Studies Show that Diet May Trigger Adverse Behavior in ChildrenHHS urged to Recommend Dietary Changes as Initial Treatment WASHINGTON In a new review of two dozen scientific studies, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) contends that food dyes and certain foods can adversely affect children's behavior. CSPI, in a 32-page report titled "Diet, ADHD, and Behavior," charges that federal agencies, professional organizations, and the food industry ignore the growing evidence that diet affects behavior.
The report cites 17 controlled studies that found that diet adversely affects some children's behavior, sometimes dramatically. Most of the studies focused on artificial colors, while some also examined the effects of milk, corn, and other common foods. The percentage of children who were affected by diet and the magnitude of the effect varied widely among the studies. Six other studies did not detect any behavioral effect of diet.
"It makes a lot more sense to try modifying a child's diet before treating him or her with a stimulant drug," said Dr. Marvin Boris, a pediatrician in Woodbury, New York, whose 1994 study found that diet affected the behavior of two-thirds of his subjects. "Health organizations and professionals should recognize that avoiding certain foods and additives can greatly benefit some troubled children." Several experts on diet and behavior joined Boris today calling on Donna Shalala, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to encourage parents and professionals to modify children's diets before resorting to drug treatment.
They asked HHS to undertake new research into the link between diet and behavior and to "consider banning synthetic dyes in foods and other products (such as cupcakes, candies, sugary breakfast cereals, vitamin pills, drugs, and toothpaste) widely consumed by children." Those experts include Ted Kniker, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and Joseph Bellanti, Georgetown University Medical Center.
ADHD's main symptoms are reduced attentiveness and concentration, excessive levels of activity, distractibility, and impulsiveness. An estimated three to five percent of school-age children have ADHD, though some surveys put the percentage as high as 17 percent. Stimulant drugs, such as Ritalin and amphetamines, are often highly effective in reducing the symptoms of ADHD, and millions of children have been treated with them. One recent study found that 18 to 20 percent of fifth-grade white boys in two cities had been diagnosed with ADHD and were being treated with stimulant drugs.
Ritalin and other drugs sometimes cause side effects, including reduced appetite, stomachaches, and insomnia. A 1995 study conducted by the federal government's National Toxicology Program (NTP) found that Ritalin caused liver tumors in mice. "The NTP study sends a strong warning that Ritalin may cause cancerin the liver or other organsin humans. Millions of young children take Ritalin for long periods of time, and children may be especially vulnerable. It would be prudent for HHS to discourage doctors from prescribing Ritalin, especially in the absence of an explicit warning about the cancer risk," says Samuel Epstein, professor of occupational and environmental health at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago.
Epstein and several other cancer specialists, including Emmanuel Farber, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Marvin Legator, University of Texas Medical Branch at San Antonio, and Richard Clapp, Boston University, urged HHS to sponsor new animal and human studies on Ritalin and other stimulant drugs. "The Department of Health and Human Services should withdraw its printed and Internet documents that largely dismiss the effect of food ingredients on behavior.
For starters, the FDA should halt distribution of a pamphlet on food additives that it co-published with an industry group, the International Food Information Council," said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of CSPI and lead author of the report. "It's high time that the government as well as doctors provided the public with accurate information that might help many children." "Diet, ADHD, and Behavior" is also available for $8, and a "Parent's Guide to Diet, ADHD, and Behavior" is available for $1.50, from CSPI-Behavior, Suite 300, 1875 Connecticut Ave., Washington, DC 20009.
_____On the Web_____ Surgeon General's Report on Obesity 
