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:
- Food labels branded ‘misleading’: The food industry is misleading consumers with its new food labelling system, a report claims.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Veggies for Enlarged Prostate Risk: Enlarged prostates appear to be less common among men who eat lots of vegetables, a new study shows.
- Carbs May Help You Fall Asleep Faster: To fall asleep faster, you might want to consider eating starchy carbohydrates before bedtime.
- ‘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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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’
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- No sleep means no new brain cells: Missing out on sleep may cause the brain to stop producing new cells, a study has suggested.
- 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?
- 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.”
- 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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Have a good weekend!
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