Tricked into eating more

How food is packaged, described and presented can cause a person to overeat, said to Dr. Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab, during a discussion at the National Institutes of Health.

The size and shape of containers, he said, can double the amount a person consumes in a single sitting. In a field study at a Philadelphia movie theater, researchers gave participants free popcorn in large or extra large sizes. Unknown to the participants, they were randomly given popcorn that was either fresh or 10 days old. The researchers found that people eating from the extra-large popcorn containers ate 45 percent to 50 percent more than those eating from the large ones. Participants even ate 40 percent to 45 percent more stale popcorn when it was served in larger containers.

Food descriptions can increase the amount of food a person ate, Wansink claimed. Using creative terms that appeal to the senses, changing “seafood filet” to “succulent Italian seafood filet” and “chocolate cake” to “ and “Belgium black forest double chocolate cake” caused people to be more enthusiastic about their food orders. Those making selections from non-descriptive menus were usually disappointed. Research showed that this common advertising technique, called descriptive labeling, not only attracted customers to selected menu items but also caused them to eat more.

Losing track of how much you’re eating also leads you to eat more. In another study, students at a restaurant’s Super Bowl party were given free all-you-can-eat chicken wings. Plates were bused from some of the tables while bones piled on others. Those whose plates were not bused ate less. Participants from the bused tables seemed to have a harder time judging how much food they ate. The researchers concluded that people who saw reminders of what they ate consumed less. This conclusion was confirmed by another study showing that people wound up eating less candy when they saw their empty wrappers pile up as they ate.

A keen awareness of all these hidden persuaders is an important step towards controlling the amount and quality of food eaten, according to Wansink.

Diabetes widespread in adults

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from a national sample of U.S. adults older than 20 years old. They interviewed the participants in their homes, gave them a physical exam and took a glucose reading after an overnight fast.

The researchers found that diabetes in U.S. adults rose to 6.5 percent in 1999-2002 from 5.1% in the years 1988-1994.  About 2.8 percent of U.S. adults, a third of those who have diabetes, don’t even know they have it.

Diabetes is a group of diseases marked by high levels of blood glucose. Persistent high levels can lead to blindness, kidney failure, amputations, heart disease and stroke.

The study also found that about a quarter of U.S. adults have a form of pre-diabetes, a condition that increases the chances of type-2 diabetes — the most common form of diabetes — which can lead to heart disease or a stroke.

Another NIH funded program, the Diabetes Prevention Program, found that overweight people with pre-diabetes can prevent or delay diabetes by losing 5 percent to 7 percent of their body weight by cutting fat calories and walking 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. The modest weight loss from diet and moderate physical activity lowered the chances of getting diabetes by nearly 60 percent in study participants.

Lifestyle changes worked just as well for men and women and all ethnic groups. Nearly half the study’s participants were from minority groups who suffer disproportionately from type 2 diabetes: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In the study, people age 60 and older who made the lifestyle changes lowered their chances of developing diabetes by 71 percent.

Easy steps to increase activity
• Put away the TV remote control and get up to change the channel.
• Try walking around the house while you talk on the phone.
• Park the car farther away from stores, movie theaters or your office.
• Visit museums, the zoo or an aquarium. These are great ways to be active with your family.

Easy steps to eat right
• Don’t cut out your favorite foods — Just reduce the amount eaten and eat them less often.
• Limit fried foods. Baking and broiling are healthier ways to eat meat, chicken and fish.
• Try to keep meat, poultry and fish servings down to three ounces — that’s about the size of a deck of cards.
• Try to eat three sensible meals at regular times throughout the day.
• Eat more fresh fruit, veggies, nuts and whole grains.
• Share large portions at restaurants.

Millions at risk for kidney disease

Diabetes and high blood pressure — affect nearly 20 million Americans — and are the leading factors developing chronic kidney disease, according to the National Institutes of Health. Kidneys are bean-shaped organs located near the center of a person’s back, contain tiny blood vessels and remove poisonous wastes from a person’s blood.

Diabetes and high blood pressure can damage those blood vessels causing wastes to build in a body. The damage can happen very slowly without any symptoms. Untreated, kidney disease can lead to kidney failure. When that happens the only options are dialysis or a kidney transplant, stated the NIH in their monthly health newsletter.

Don’t wait for symptoms,” said Dr. Josephine P. Briggs, a kidney specialist with the NIH’s Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. “It’s important for people at risk to get their kidneys tested and take steps to protect their kidney function.”

People with diabetes or high blood pressure should talk with their doctor about getting tested, Briggs advised.

Kidney failure affects both men and women from all racial and ethnic groups. But African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, putting them at greater risk for developing kidney disease.

Kidney failure can be prevented or delayed, according to NIH reports. Medicines called ACE inhibitors and ARBs can keep kidneys healthy. People with diabetes and high blood pressure should also control those conditions.

“Ten years ago, dialysis was inevitable for people with kidney disease,” says Briggs. “But because of treatments available today, it’s a different story. That’s why it’s so important for those at risk to get tested.”
— Michael de los Reyes, The Sun