A new study suggests that while most Americans know they should limit unhealthy saturated and trans fats, few know which specific foods to avoid. Published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers present findings from a study that surveyed 1,000 adults in 2006 and 2007 about their awareness, knowledge, and behaviors related to fats and oils and their perceived impact on heart disease.

Positive findings during the 1-year study period included: increases in awareness of trans fat; increases in perceptions that trans fats, saturated fats, and partially hydrogenated oils increase the risk of heart disease; and improved behaviors related to trans fat information, such as buying food products because they show "zero trans fat" on the label or package.

Negative findings during the 1-year study period included: knowledge about food sources of different fats remained low. Only 21% of study participants could list three food sources of trans fat (up only slightly from 17% in 2006) and 30% could list three food sources of saturated fat (unchanged from 2006).

Therefore, while national consumer education campaigns like "Face the Fats" launched in 2007 by the American Heart Association are likely increasing awareness of unhealthy fats, more education is needed on which specific foods contain saturated and trans fats.

So here it is...

Foods High in Saturated Fat: Lard, butter, fatty beef, pastries, cookies, dairy products, whole milk, coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil

Foods High in Trans Fat: French fries, doughnuts, pastries, hard margarine, vegetable shortening, cookies, and crackers

Where Else to Look for Fat Facts: The Nutrition Facts Panel on food labels lists grams per serving of saturated and trans fat; the Ingredient List also provides "red flags" for trans fats (e.g., partially hydrogenated oils) and saturated fats (e.g., palm kernel oil); it is important to look at both the saturated and trans fat content on food labels because food manufacturers often take out one and replace it with the other!

Back in the 1960’s the feds made cigarette manufacturers put a warning label on cigarette packages stating “Smoking may be hazardous to your health.”   Maybe we should put a similar warning, “TV watching may be hazardous to your health,” on television sets.  Here is one reason why.

Using data from a very large prospective study of African-American women, researchers recently showed that the more hours of TV watched per day, the higher the risk of the women being diagnosed with diabetes during the 10-year follow-up period.  Women who watched 5 hours or more of TV per day were nearly twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as women who watched less than an hour of TV each day.  And this is after controlling for confounding variables such as age, education level, income, calorie intake, and family history.  We have blogged previously about how television watching is associated with increased body mass index (BMI).  This study showed that risk of diabetes increased in this study group for ALL levels of BMI. So even people with a “healthy” BMI who watched a lot of TV were at increased risk of developing diabetes. 

Also, this study demonstrated that risk of diabetes was reduced dramatically for women who regularly (an hour or more than per week) did moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity compared to sedentary women.  Again, this association held true regardless of their BMI. 

What did the researcher find when they analyzed the data on TV watching and physical activity together?  Women who did no vigorous exercise and watched 5 or more hours of TV daily had 3½ times the risk of diabetes as women who did 3 or more hours of physical activity per week and did not watch television at all. 

So maybe any health warning label we put on TVs in the future should read, “TV watching AND being a couch potato may be REALLY hazardous to your health.”

What are your ideas for health warning labels we could put on TVs? Put them in the comments section below.

Krishnan S, Rosenberg L, and Palmer JR.  Physical activity and television walking in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes:  The Black women’s health study.  American Journal of Epidemiology.  2009;169:428-434. 

Researchers from the University of Minnesota recently analyzed data from 349 adolescent-caregiver pairs to assess adolescent and parental knowledge related to energy (calorie) intake and expenditure and the link between this knowledge (or lack thereof) and weight related behaviors (like fast-food intake, sweetened beverage intake, physical activity, television viewing, body composition and weight status).¹

Findings indicated that knowledge related to energy (calorie) intake and expenditure was poor, particularly among adolescents. Furthermore, as knowledge increased so did moderate physical activity; and as knowledge decreased, television viewing went up. But knowledge was not associated with sweetened beverage consumption, fast food intake, weight status, and/or body composition. Thus, while knowledge about calories in and calories out is important, it doesn't necessarily translate into healthy behaviors. Children, adolescents, and parents alike (note: there were numerous areas where parents didn't score so well in this study, too!), need to learn practical, behavioral strategies/skills to make and maintain changes in their eating and activity behaviors. And that's what Stand Up & Eat's all about!

See how you would have scored on some of the energy (calorie) balance questions asked in this study (answers at the bottom of the page):

1. If someone sits all day, they do not need to eat any calories. True or false?

2. Alcohol contains calories. True or false?

3. The sweetener used in Gatorade and other sports drinks is healthier than the sweetener used in soft drinks such as Coke and Mountain Dew. True or False?

4. Most youth who are active need to drink sports drinks to replace electrolytes and minerals. True or false?

5. One gram of carbohydrate contains more than one gram of protein. True or false?

6. One gram of carbohydrate contains more calories than one gram of fat. True or false?

7. Skim milk is a good source of calcium. True or false?

8. Skim milk has fewer vitamins and minerals as compared to 2% and whole milk. True or false?

9. 100% fruit juice includes added sugar. True or false?

10. Skipping breakfast may make you gain weight. True or false?

¹ Nelson, M. C. (2009). Improving calorie literacy about energy-related issues: the need for a better understanding of the concepts behind energy intake and expenditure among adolescents and their parents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 109, 281-287.

Answers: False, True, False, False, False, False, True, False, False, True

To exercise when it is cold or rainy or not to exercise?  That is the question.  Not for Hamlet but apparently it is for Canadian adolescents. 

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal looked at what, if any, influence weather and season have on physical activity levels for boys and girls from about age 12 to age 17.  They tracked the number of physical activity sessions per day in a group of students and correlated activity level with the daily weather conditions.  They found that for each four-inches of snow accumulation the students had 3% fewer activity sessions.  Similar drops in activity were seen on days with significant (10 cm or about 4 inches) rainfall.  For every 10 degrees Celsius (about 18 degrees Fahrenheit) increase in temperature, researchers saw a nearly 6% increase in daily physical activity sessions. 

Now this could be another one of those “duh” stories, especially for those of you living this time of year in the cold, damp, and dark of the northern latitudes.  But one of the most significant findings of this study was that the increases that occurred in the warmer months did not compensate for the declines that occurred during the winter.  This led to a net decline in physical activity sessions by 32% over the five year study.  The authors suggest that perhaps this is a factor that contributes to the well-documented (and previously blogged) decline in physical activity seen in children as they go through adolescence.

The solution?  No one knows for sure but the McGill researchers recommend being especially mindful  to create opportunities for physical activity – outdoors or indoors – during winter months.  This may require more structured activities (i.e. sports leagues) and facilities.  It may also be where the DDR*, VCR**, or DVR*** may come in handy (see a previous post on video games).

A question still remains.  Would similar ebb and flow patterns of physical activity be seen in adolescents living in San Antonio or Tucson when heat is more of the problem than snow and rain?  If you live in a hot climate, tell us what you think.

*DDR – Dance Dance Revolution video game
**VCR – video cassette recorder
***DVR – digital video recorder

Belanger M, Gray-Donald K, O’Loughlin J, et al.  Influence of weather conditions and seasonality on physical activity in adolescents.  Annals of Epidemiology.  2009;19:180-186.

Counting calories in (and out) is a successful strategy for losing or maintaining weight. But, if you don't anything with the information you collect, it won't work!

Tip 1: Don't use logging as an excuse to sit more! Consider downloading a program to your portable device (phone, PDA, etc.). Or, keep a paper log in your pocket.

Tip 2: Look at your food and physical activity log for times of the day when you get off track (eat too much, sit too much). Set a goal to make a healthier choice during those tempting times.

Tip 3: Start with easy substitutions. Instead of sitting in meetings all day, ask co-workers if you could walk and talk. Instead of eating bites of food while you cook dinner (taste-testing doesn't require several spoonfuls!), snack on baby carrots to curb your hunger.

Reading the entire 683-page scientific  committee report on the new Physical Activity Guidelines  for Americans can be a hard slog.  Even the 22-page consumer-level guide to becoming more active may be a bit much for today’s time-starved consumers.

So you can thank the University of Missouri Cooperative Extension for coming up with the Cliff Notes version. 

Click the graphic above to view a two-page graphical description of what the latest research tells us adults need to be doing to garner the myriad of health benefits of regular physical activity.  You’ll see that it looks vaguely familiar.  That’s because it’s modeled after the USDA’s MyPyramid for healthful eating.  Just as the MyPyramid for food is comprised of different food groups for a well-balance diet, the MyActivity Pyramid illustrates the types of exercises for a well-balanced physical activity plan.

Click here to go to the site where you can download a pdf or order bulk copies.

Thanks University of Missouri Cooperative Extension for making light reading of an important topic.

Had a rough day? Feeling under the weather? Longing for home? These feelings often trigger people to turn to comfort foods - especially this time of the year! While typically high in fat and calories, comfort foods don’t have to be unhealthy. Next time you’re craving a home-cooked helping that’ll make you feel warm inside, choose one of these healthy alternatives.

Pizza - The best way to enjoy a health pizza is to make it yourself. Start with whole-wheat crust (homemade or store-bought whole-wheat dough or ready-made whole-wheat crust); spread on a layer of marinara or pizza sauce; then, top with a sprinkling of reduced fat cheese and several handfuls of lean meat (chicken, ham) and vegetables (mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, broccoli, etc.). If you only have time for takeout, choose thin, wheat crust (if available) and ask the pizza parlor to go light on the cheese, but heavy on the vegetables.

Pot Pie - It's hard to believe that a mini pot pie (5-6 inches) can pack more than 1,000 calories! But, again, by baking one from scratch, you can cut out much of the fat and calories. Ellie Krieger, registered dietitian at The Food Network, has a great healthy chicken pot pie recipe that isn't too tough to make.

Pasta - When eating out (or cooking in) Italian, think red - not white. Creamy white cheese sauces are extremely high in fat and calories, whereas tomato-based sauces are loaded with lycopene, an antioxidant associated with reduced incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease. If available, choose whole-wheat pasta and savor with just a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Meatloaf - By swapping a few simple ingredients you can transform a meatloaf from hazardous to healthy. Instead of high-fat meat, choose at least 90% lean ground beef or turkey; instead of white bread or bread crumbs, use whole grains like oatmeal or whole-wheat bread or couscous; instead of cheese or other high-fat ingredients, add flavor through spices, herbs, and lots of shredded vegetables (onions, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots).    

Please share your healthy comfort food recipes or ideas here!

We have a friend who complains that he has a “metal disorder.”  (That’s metal without an “n.”)  “I have silver in my hair, gold in my teeth, and lead in my pants,” he quips with a twinkle in his eye.  For those of you with a similar affliction, listen up.

A team of researchers at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada found that doing both aerobic and strength-training exercises while maintaining a healthy diet significantly reduced health risks and improved ability to live independently in people between the ages of 60 and 80.  Yes, you have heard this before. 

What is unique about this study is that it tested the effects of the aerobic and strength-training activities independently and in combination.   Some participants did aerobic exercise such as walking (30 minutes/5 days a week), some did resistance exercise (20 minutes/3 days a week) and some did both (90 minutes of aerobic and 60 minutes of resistance exercises each week).  Of course, there was a control group that did not exercise. 

After six months the aerobic exercise and combination exercise groups improved fitness and health risks.  Changes produced by resistance training alone were not significant.  But all forms of physical activity – aerobic, strength-training, and especially a combination of the two – significantly improved physical function, a measure closely associated with independent living in older adults.

So while burning calories through aerobic and resistance type physical activities won’t do anything for the silver in your hair and the gold in your teeth, it will certainly help to get the lead out of your pants.  And reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

How do you get the lead out??

Davidson LE, Hudson R, Kilpatrick K, et al.  Effects of exercise modality on insulin resistance and functional limitation in older adults:  a randomized controlled trial.  Archives of Internal Medicine.  2009;169(2):122-31.