Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

One of my biggest gripes with Girl Scout Cookies was that they were always made with heart-stopping trans fats (although as usual the labels would declare them to be free of trans fat because a single serving had less than 0.5 g of partially-hydrogenated oils). For example consider the nutrition label and ingredients of the most popular of them all - “The Thin Mints” (taken from the Girl Scout Cookies ABCs page for Thin Mints):

Ingredients: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, vegetable shortening (palm, partially hydrogenated palm kernel and/or soybean oil), cocoa (processed with alkali), caramel color, contains less than 2% of: high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, whey, salt, leavening (sodium bicarbonate), soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, peppermint oil.

Enriched flour, partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup - the unhealthy trifecta for your eating pleasure, folks! It used to give me a good excuse when I refused to buy these artery cloggers from coworkers, though! I would point to my heart and they had to back down. But after reading this MSNBC article it looks like I might have finally run out of excuses now:

For much of the country, it’s Girl Scout cookie time again. And this year, all those cookies, not just the Thin Mints and a few others, will come nearly free of harmful trans fats. […] The change reflects a movement by the scouts in recent years to add an element of health consciousness to their annual bake sale.

- Girl Scout cookies toss out trans fats

As always a healthful change in recipe is always welcome but in this case, all the more so since it involves children (although if you see some of my coworkers buying these cookies, you might disagree that it is all about the children!).

Anyway, here are the week’s top health and fitness stories:

1. Washington youth at high risk for obesity: Almost one in four of eighth, 10th and 12th graders in Washington state is overweight or obese, and most of the kids who are heaviest now will have weight problems as adults.
2. UK women are now officially the fattest in Europe: The scale of the obesity crisis was laid bare last night when an alarming report revealed Britons are the fattest people in Europe.
3. Job burn-out ‘ups diabetes risk’: People who suffer from job burn-out may be prone to developing type 2 diabetes, research suggests.
4. Why Weight-Loss Efforts Fail: About one in three American adults is trying to lose weight at any given time, and while their track record for trying is good, their track record for succeeding is not.
5. Girl Scout cookies toss out trans fats: For much of the country, it’s Girl Scout cookie time again. And this year, all those cookies, not just the Thin Mints and a few others, will come nearly free of harmful trans fats.
6. Caffeine may prevent heart disease death in elderly: Drinking caffeinated beverages often may provide protection against heart disease mortality in the elderly people aged 65 or older, according to researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Brooklyn College.
7. Vitamin D May Cut Elders’ Falls: Vitamin D, taken in a high dose, may help prevent falls in the elderly.
8. Kids Living Near ‘Green Spaces’ Less Likely to Be Overweight: Children who live in densely populated urban areas may be less likely to be overweight if they have parks and lawns in their neighborhoods, a U.S. study suggests.
9. Coffee May Pack Dietary Fiber: Your coffee may come with a little something extra — and not just cream and sugar. Some of the dietary fiber in coffee beans may make it into your mug, Spanish researchers report.
10. Trans fats are not the only villain in American diets: Artery-clogging trans fats are the villain of the moment in the enduring story of America’s love affair with food. Now, some nutrition and health analysts say the preoccupation with trans fats has gone too far.
11. Eat Your Favorite Foods and Still Lose Weight: The best way to peel away pounds and get the body you want is to eat what you want in moderation.
12. Junk food ad ban plans laid out: The broadcasting regulator is sticking to its plans to ban junk food ads during TV shows watched by under-16s.
13. Health care costs will keep climbing: Health care is expected to account for $1 of every $5 spent in the United States in another decade.
14. Boost your brain power with exercise: Can exercise make you smarter?
15. Location is key to seniors walking: The benefits of walking and being active are well known, especially for older people, but what kind of neighborhood gets seniors going?
16. Researcher Says Anorexia May Be Genetic: A researcher at a Tulsa clinic says a decade-long study into anorexia nervosa is beginning to reveal that those who suffer from the disease might have a genetic predisposition toward it.
17. The Hindu News Update Service: The “diabetes clock” may start ticking in women years in advance of a medical diagnosis of the disease, new research has shown.
18. Young ‘hung up on their bodies’: Some 51% of young women would have surgery to improve their looks and a third of those who are a size 12 think they are overweight, a survey suggests.
19. A Silent Epidemic: During a routine postoperative checkup several weeks later, Cordell vividly remembers, she was stunned when the nurse asked, “How are you since your hysterectomy?”
20. Negative Reinforcement: If you’re just getting into regular weight training, or have hit a plateau in your progress, here’s an offbeat suggestion: Accentuate the negative.
21. Sir, Yes, Sir!: There’s a reason new military recruits are put through boot camp: to make them strong and fit and all that they can be. But could I really be all that I never was?
22. New guidelines issued for women’s heart health: Nearly all American women are in danger of heart disease or stroke and should be more aggressive about lowering their risk — including asking their doctors about daily aspirin use, the American Heart Association said today in new guidelines.
23. $5M to bring back ParticipACTION exercise program: The federal government pledged $5 million over two years Monday to renew ParticipACTION, the federal fitness-awareness campaign.
24. Computer games ‘burn up calories’: Playing new style computer games can help people burn up a significant number of calories, research has found.
25. Waistlines keep expanding around the globe: No matter how you tip the scales, Americans are getting wider every year. What’s worse is that many nations are following suit.
26. 5 Simple Steps to Keep Off Rebound Pounds: Want to keep lost pounds from finding their way home again? Try these five simple rules
27. Study: Cholesterol may help cause diabetes: Cholesterol may not just be bad for your heart. A study suggests problems with cholesterol regulation in the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas may be responsible for the development of Type 2 (formerly known as late onset) diabetes.
28. Some cocoa may improve brain blood flow: A nice cup of the right kind of cocoa could hold the promise of promoting brain function as people age.
29. Chemicals ‘could be the cause of obesity’: Exposing babies to plastics and pesticides before they are born could make them more prone to obesity and disease, a scientist said yesterday.
30. Exercise May Help Prevent Breast Cancer: Exercise may help prevent breast cancer, and help those who do get it cope, two new studies show.
31. Diabetes in pregnancy can hamper infant memory: Babies whose mothers had diabetes during pregnancy may be less able to form early memories than children whose mothers had normal pregnancies, a U.S. researcher said on Friday.
32. Cooking Garlic? Crush It First: Got a recipe that involves cooking garlic? You might want to crush the garlic first.
33. Get the diet scoop: 6 promising supplements, 6 to avoid: The sales pitches are irresistible: “Lose 2 Pounds a Day!” “Burn Fat Round the Clock!”
34. Your drinks may be making you fat: New findings are adding to the research suggesting that more than ever before, what and how much we drink may increase calorie intake and weight without our noticing.

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Have a great weekend!

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Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

There’s some wonderful news from Ireland: An Irish TV cartoon show called “The Food Dudes” (which has actually been around for quite some time now) that features 4 superheroes who promote healthy eating in children is such a major hit and so effective in real life that Ireland is expanding the small pilot program to the whole country. BBC News had written about this as early as 2002, but the results are palpable now and worth mentioning as CBS does in their article, ‘Food Dudes’ Promote Kids’ Health.

The Food Dudes are 4 preteens called Razz, Rocco, Charlie and Tom who fight against the evil Junk Punks (General Junk and his sidekicks) who are depriving the world of fruits and veggies! The teens get their superpowers by consuming healthful foods like raspberries (Razz), broccoli (Rocco), carrots (Charlie) and tomatoes (Tom).

In one primary school, the fruit consumption of 5- and 6-year-olds more than doubled. The kids were originally eating 28 percent of the fruit given them; six months later they were eating nearly 60 percent. Vegetable consumption jumped from 8 percent to 32 percent.

Scotland and England have also begun experimenting with this concept. This is in a similar vein to a previous story I profiled about Shrek, The New Anti-Obesity Mascot? I believe one of the best ways to solving the world’s obesity problems is to begin early and influence the most impressionable: children. By all accounts this seems to be a success and I sincerely hope other nations follow suit.

Can you think of other unique ways to get children to eat better? After you jot those in the comments section, read the rest of the week’s top health stories:

1. Food labels branded ‘misleading’: The food industry is misleading consumers with its new food labelling system, a report claims.
2. W.Va. Ranks First in Heart Disease: West Virginia has a higher prevalence of heart disease than any other state; while the U.S. Virgin Islands has the lowest, according to the CDC.
3. Eating fish while pregnant leads to smarter children, new study says: Women who eat seafood while pregnant may be boosting their children’s IQ in the process, according to new research published Friday in The Lancet.
4. Daily bunch of watercress ‘can cut cancer risk’: Eating watercress every day could help protect against cancer, say researchers. The vegetable reduces damage to DNA in cells, according to a British trial.
5. Superfoods: are they merely a fad?: FROM blueberries and broccoli to tea and tomatoes, the widely-lauded “superfoods” are credited with a host of amazing powers - from helping us look younger to protecting us from deadly cancers and heart disease.
6. FDA gives diet-pill makers new tips: As more Americans struggle with growing waistlines, U.S. health officials Wednesday set out their own tips for drugmakers seeking to develop products for people trying to shed pounds.
7. Calcium, vitamin D boost reduces fractures: Very active young women who took higher-than-recommended doses of calcium and vitamin D supplements for eight weeks had fewer stress fractures than women who were given dummy pills, a study of Naval recruits showed.
8. Veggies for Enlarged Prostate Risk: Enlarged prostates appear to be less common among men who eat lots of vegetables, a new study shows.
9. Carbs May Help You Fall Asleep Faster: To fall asleep faster, you might want to consider eating starchy carbohydrates before bedtime.
10. ‘Food Dudes’ Promote Kids’ Health: Like TV cartoon characters pitching sugary children’s cereal, the Food Dudes of Ireland pitch food, too. Only it’s carrots and broccoli. The Food Dudes are preteen actors playing superheroes in an educational video series shown in some Irish schools.
11. Anorexia Patients Say More Help Needed: U.S. patients with anorexia need more support from their insurance companies, a report says. While insurers often will cover the medical complications that arise from anorexia, the patients are left without any support once they gain enough weight back, t
12. Kids Eat More When in Larger Group: Children may eat nearly a third more when they snack in large groups rather than with just a few friends.
13. Olive Oil May Prevent Ulcers: Olive oil may be good for your stomach as well as your heart. A new Spanish study suggests virgin olive oil may help prevent and treat H. pylori infections, which are responsible for millions of cases of gastritis and peptic ulcers each year.
14. Survey Puts New Focus on Binge Eating as a Diagnosis: Binge eating is not yet officially classified as a psychiatric disorder. But it may be more common than the two eating disorders now recognized, anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
15. Sleep Deprivation May Impair Memory: Want a sharper memory? Get some sleep. Sleep deprivation tends to hamper the brain’s ability to make new memories, a new study shows.
16. No sweat? Chain touts 4-minute workout: The promise is attractive: a sweat-free four-minute workout that will give you the same results as a grueling 90-minute session at the local gym.
17. Study: Napping Might Help Heart: Office nappers now have the perfect excuse: New research shows that a little midday snooze seems to reduce the risk of fatal heart problems, especially among men.
18. Minority women know less about heart disease: Black and Hispanic women in the U.S., who have some of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease, are less likely to know how to prevent illnesses such as heart disease and stroke than white women, according to a survey in this month’s Journal of Women’
19. Eat Smart: Five important goals to improve your diet: After a serious health scare requiring surgery in 2004, Kathy Carlson decided she needed to make serious changes to her lifestyle.
20. Type 2 diabetes genes mapped out: Scientists say they have mapped the most important genes that put people at risk of type 2 diabetes, offering hope that a test could be delivered.
21. 11 Delicious Heart Healthy Snacks: These snacks get our hearts pumping, literally and figuratively. They’re delicious alternatives to the ho-hum bag of chips or candy bar.
22. No sleep means no new brain cells: Missing out on sleep may cause the brain to stop producing new cells, a study has suggested.
23. Is Your Personality Sabotaging Your Diet?: You diet more vigorously, but somehow the weight keeps finding its way back to your hips, thighs and waist. What gives?
24. Heart Healthy Diet Tips: “if all they did was flip their diet to healthier choices, they would see benefits and weight loss, and they wouldn’t even need to get into portion control until they were well into their journey.”
25. When it comes to chocolate, go dark: Linda, a 38-year-old mother of three, was so anxious to lose weight she promised to follow any meal plan I recommended. “But can I still have my chocolate?” she pleaded.

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