With obesity levels in all age groups soaring and people desperately battling with their weight, diet and health foods have become multi-million-pound industries. As we get older, especially into our 50s and above, the body slows down and it becomes increasingly easy to put on weight and harder to lose it. So it can be tempting to turn to quick-fix diets and slimming aids. But how well do these really work? With the latest health battle being waged on hidden sugar, its clear that even those who try to eat healthily could be making the wrong decisions. Health campaigners warn that some of the products deemed by many as healthy could contain spoonful after spoonful of the stuff and actually contribute to weightgain. In fact, a new campaign by Action on Sugar recently showed that a brand of 0% fat vanilla yoghurt had up to five teaspoons of sugar in it, while a type of energy water contained four teaspoons. Those behind the campaign want manufacturers to gradually reduce the amount of added sugar in food and soft drinks (with no substitution) by setting targets for all products where sugar has been added. The group believes a 20% to 30% reduction in three to five years is within reach. It says this reduction in calorie intake is predicted to reverse or halt the obesity epidemic and will also have a significant impact in reducing the burden of chronic disease. Action on Sugar chairman Professor Graham MacGregor said: We must now tackle the obesity epidemic both in the UK and worldwide. This is a simple plan which gives a level playing field to the food industry, and must be adopted to reduce the completely unnecessary and very large amounts of sugar the food and soft drink industry is currently adding to our foods. Rhondda Valley-based dietitian Sioned Quirke backed the call. She said: I agree that people do not often realise just how much sugar is in certain foods. People may try to choose a healthy option of a fizzy drink, but actually they still have high levels of sugar. Sugar is what we call empty calories and it contains calories without any nutrients, and it can have a significant impact on health. Meanwhile, we are all aware of fad diets, whether its been ourselves, our friends or family members who have embarked on them. Usually touted by celebrities as ways to lose weight quickly, these diets often involve cutting out major food groups in order to shed the pounds. But there have been concerns about the impact these can have on peoples health. There is also the inevitable fact that once you start to fall back into your old habits after depriving yourself for so long, you are likely to put the weight back on. Examples include the Paleo diet (based on the principle that we should eat the way we did back in the Paleolithic era - if a caveman wouldnt have eaten it, neither should we); the 5:2 diet (eat normally for five days and fast for two, cutting down your calorie intake to just a quarter of the usual daily amount); and the Dukan diet (four different phases, each concentrating on separate food types). Ceri Perkins, a registered dietitian and founder of One Life Health Wales, said it was important people understood the drawbacks of such diets. She said: First of all, I think that people want quick results when it comes to weight-loss and they may go on quite strict and severe diets. What I would say about a lot of these is that they are not sustainable over a long period of time. People tend to lose weight but immediately when they start eating normally again, they put on the weight. It will lead to disappointment and then further failure. They will often exclude whole food groups, such as carbohydrates, and by doing that they remove essen-tial vitamins and minerals from their diet, which can lead to malnutrition. Celebrity diets do not work. It comes down to healthy eating, which works and is sustainable, and youll lose weight gradually, which means you are more likely to keep it off. Eating a healthy and balanced diet prevents the loss of macro-nutrients such as protein and carbohydrates. Then it also keeps micronutrients so that you do not become malnutritioned. There are lots of common mistakes that people make. They believe in superfoods when there no such things. There is no one fruit or vegetable or seed or grain that is superior. All these foods are super because they bring vital nutrients. Ms Perkins warned that cutting out whole food groups could be detrimental to health. She said: Cutting out certain food groups is not good. Cutting out carbohydrates for a long time will lower energy levels. You body will manage on fat and protein for its energy sources, but it cannot do that for a long time without feeling tired and over time there will be deficiencies. Some of the problems with things like fasting diets is that the person may not eat for days but then they will over-eat on the days they can eat and then they have not accomplished anything at all. The average woman who is able to do 150 minutes of physical activity a week should be eating around 1,900 calories a day. If you are not doing physical activity but are still consuming high levels of calories, then you are likely to be overweight or obese. Having three meals a day with healthy snacks is advisable. A lot of people miss breakfast but this is a big problem as not eating breakfast will mean that you have a period of fasting, which means you require an energy intake and a lot of people will opt for something high in sugar. If you have something that is high in fibre that makes you feel full for breakfast so that carbohydrates are released slowly, you will not have the tendency to binge or over-eat at midmorning or lunchtime. In a recent committee hearing, Health Minister Mark Drakeford said more should be done to reduce the food industrys impact on levels of obesity. Speaking to the National Assemblys Children and Young People Committee during its inquiry into childhood obesity, Prof Drakeford raised concerns about the levels of sugar in food products. Prof Drakeford said: More could and should be done to reduce the impact of the food industry. The food industry is busy putting more and more sugar into peoples diets. The UK Governments position is very much voluntary - it will not move into more mandatory measures. I have to recognise that my own position would be much more at the mandatory end. If we take the voluntary approach at the moment, I think there is more that we can do, but it has to be done on a UK basis. But the major problem in the battle against obesity and poor health is the choices that we make. Recent figures revealed that Welsh families consume more sugar, as well as milk and cream, than any other UK region - thats 151g of sugar per week and 2,054ml of milk and cream. Following the report, Ms Quirke said: Unfortunately people do consume an awful lot of them because it is perceived as being cheaper - so if they see a massive microwave lasagne for Pounds 2, they think its a cheap meal. They are filled with preservatives, fats and they can sit on a supermarket shelf for up to two weeks - what does that tell you? You can buy a multi-pack of crisps for Pounds 1, but you can also buy a bag of apples for Pounds 1. We are still buying the wrong types of food. Lots of people dont have cooking knowledge. hidden sugar in products Starbucks caramel frappuccino with whipped cream and skimmed milk (tall): 273kcal; 11 teaspoons of sugar Coca Cola Original (330ml): 139kcal; nine teaspoons of sugar Muller Crunch Corner Strawberry Shortcake Yogurt (135g): 212kcal; six teaspoons of sugar Yeo Valley Family Farm 0% Fat Vanilla Yoghurt (150g): 120kcal; five teaspoons of sugar Kelloggs Frosties with semi-skimmed milk (30g); four teaspoons of sugar Glaceau Vitamin Water, Defence (500ml); four teaspoons of sugar Heinz Classic Tomato Soup (300g): 171kcal; four teaspoons of sugar Ragu Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce (200g): 80kcal; three teaspoons of sugar Kelloggs Nutri-Grain Crunchy Oat Granola Cinnamon Bars (40g): 186kcal; two teaspoons of sugar Heinz Tomato Ketchup (15ml): 18kcal; one teaspoon of sugar (Source: Action on Sugar)
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 15:04:54 +0000
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