Welcome to del.icio.us Friday, your once-a-week health news update. You can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

This week, a heartening story about school cafeterias around the nation making an excellent a turn for the better caught my eye.

The education section of CNN carries a story, “Carrots in, fries out in school cafeterias“, which tells of how more and more cafeterias are making healthful choices available to school children and, more interestingly, how it’s now considered hip to refuse junkfood!

This story is especially relevant in the current context of childhood obesity (another story of the week, “Obesity may complicate surgery in children” shows how early these problems can surface).

The school cafeteria looks radically different from those of his parents’ generation, and it appears many kids aren’t turning their noses up at the new offerings. In fact, according to a survey of food service directors, french fries are decreasing in popularity and interest in carrots is skyrocketing.

Here are the top health stories for this week:

1. Obesity may complicate surgery in children: A new study suggests that nearly one-third of children undergoing surgery are overweight or obese, placing them at increased risk of experiencing complications associated with the surgery.
2. Kids walk to battle obesity: If you come across fifth-graders in Mesa next month, odds are good they’ll be walking, running or doing whatever they can to bump up the count on their new pedometers.
3. Trans fat fight: Heart of the matter: Do you know how many grams of trans fats you were just consuming? No? That’s a shame.
4. Crisco Latest to Reduce Trans Fats: Crisco is getting a new formula after 95 years in America’s pantries that nearly eliminates artery-clogging trans fats.
5. No Trans Fat Does Not Mean No Worry: Experts warn that despite the crackdown on trans fat, consumers must still be careful about what they eat. The problem with removing trans fat, they point out, is that saturated animal fats may be taking their place.
6. From 500 pounds to a new and rewarding life: I was 34 and had always struggled with my weight, but for 15 years, I had allowed it to get out of control. I ate as if it were my hobby. I was unable to do the simplest physical activity. I made excuses to avoid having to go out in public, for fear of be
7. Trans fat labeling can be misleading: As it stands right now, food manufacturers are allowed to list zero grams of trans fat on the Nutrition Facts panel if the product contains less than 0.5 gram in each serving. But I think that’s very misleading.
8. UK schools “must tell parents” if children are obese: Primary schools should inform parents if their children are overweight or obese, an influential group of MPs said on Thursday.
9. Can fruit help you lose weight?: Add strawberries and grapefruit to your watermelon, and watch the scale inch to the left.
10. Pedometers for ‘deprived’ pupils: Children who attend primary schools in deprived areas of England are to be given pedometers in an attempt to encourage them to be more active.
11. Fibre ‘lowers breast cancer risk’: Pre-menopausal women who eat large amounts of fibre could halve their breast cancer risk, a UK study has suggested.
12. High School Football Players Too Fat?: High school football players may not be just big and strong; a lot of them are overweight or obese, an Iowa study shows.
13. 8 Reasons You Could Be Sabotaging Your Diet: It turns out that sneaky hidden sources may be keeping your hunger on overdrive.
14. To Get Anywhere, First Pick a Destination: “The basic issues are: What do you want to get out of it? Why do you want to exercise?”
15. Why We Eat When The Heat Is On: “It’s an ongoing battle for me. . . . Food not only placates, but it also allows me to procrastinate.”
16. Calling the Flock To God, Away From the Fridge: Saving souls is serious business for Annandale pastor Steve Reynolds. So is losing weight.
17. Carrots in, fries out in school cafeterias: “I eat carrots or apples every day,” said 10-year-old Alan Espino. He said he didn’t notice that the bun holding his all-beef hot dog was whole wheat.
18. Good Heart Health Habits Should Start in Childhood: If more parents instilled heart-healthy habits from the time their children were toddlers, they could greatly reduce their kids’ risk of future problems.

Get the best health and fitness stories of the week: in your RSS inbox.

Have a good weekend!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, health news, fitness news, del.icio.us

Related Posts:

• del.icio.us Friday
• del.icio.us Friday
• FitnessMantra Weekend: The McDonald’s Effect On Children’s Taste

Welcome to del.icio.us Friday, your once-a-week health news update. You can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

While not a very busy week in the health-news department, one truly amazing story stands out of the crowd among news of vitamins and trans-fats: the New York Times feature “104 Teenagers Who Are Role Models for Weight Loss“. It describes the book Weight Loss Confidential, an inspiring story of 104 overweight preteens and teenagers who achieved significant and lasting weight-loss by getting to the root of their individual problems.

The book is authored by dietitian Anne Fletcher, who herself had to deal with an overweight son and realized that weight-loss can only be successfully achieved when individuals make a conscious decision about what losing weight means to them and what would work for them.

Many of these youngsters had tried fad diets and weight-loss gimmicks, only to regain what they lost and then some. They succeeded only after coming to terms with their self-destructive eating habits and sedentary ways, and making permanent changes in how they deal with food and how they move their bodies.

-Via 104 Teenagers Who Are Role Models for Weight Loss

The book should make an excellent addition to the libraries of the concerned parents who see their children spiraling out of weight-control and who wish to try a new strategy - in this case one that results in lasting weight-loss.

Here are the top health stories for this week:

1. Folic acid may boost brain power in the elderly | Health | Reuters.com: Folic acid supplements may boost brain power in the elderly and could possibly help reduce the risk of dementia, scientists said on Friday.
2. Scientists Debunk So-Called Fat Gene: It’s true that we can’t pick our parents, we can’t change our genes. Most of us are not hard-wired to become obese, though, suggests a new study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
3. Tomato-Broccoli Combo May Protect Against Prostate Cancer: Broccoli and tomato — two vegetables known to help fight cancer — are more effective against prostate cancer if they’re eaten together as part of a daily diet than if they’re eaten alone, a new study with rats suggests.
4. The Evidence Is Thin on Multivitamins: If you’re among the 52 percent of Americans who take multivitamins or minerals, you may be surprised to learn how little experts know about their benefits — or their potential harm.
5. 104 Teenagers Who Are Role Models for Weight Loss: “Weight Loss Confidential,” a study of how 104 overweight preteens and teenagers — 41 boys and 63 girls — lost significant amounts of weight and maintained their losses for two years or longer.
6. Cloudy apple juice packs more punch: When it comes to apple juice, cloudier may mean healthier, according to a new study. In a head-to-head comparison of apple juices, Polish researchers found that pulpy, non-clarified juice carries a greater antioxidant punch than clear juice.
7. IPods can help and hinder workout: Gyms are jammed with people like Unruh - the guy on the treadmill watching ESPN, the aerobic class bouncing to Hollaback Girl, the spinner reading Self magazine.
8. Trans Fats May Increase Infertility: Cutting trans fats from the diet may be especially important for women of childbearing age who want to have children.

Get the best health and fitness stories of the week in your RSS inbox.

Have a good weekend!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, health news, fitness news, del.icio.us

Related Posts:

• del.icio.us Friday: Pills cannot make you lean
• Body Mass Index can affect heartburn
• FitnessMantra Weekend: Social Networks Can Help Children Maintain Weight Loss