Teens who eat breakfast regularly are less likely to be overweight

Skipping Cereal and Eggs, and Packing on Pounds

A new study reports that the more often adolescents eat breakfast, the less likely they are to be overweight.

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

Researchers have found evidence that Mom was right: breakfast may really be the most important meal of all. A new study reports that the more often adolescents eat breakfast, the less likely they are to be overweight.

Breakfast Eating and Weight Change in a 5-Year Prospective Analysis of Adolescents: Project EAT (Eating Among Teens)

The researchers examined the eating and exercise habits of 1,007 boys and 1,215 girls, with an average age of 15 at the start of the five-year study — a racially and economically diverse sample from public schools in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

The authors found a direct relationship between eating breakfast and body mass index; the more often an adolescent had breakfast, the lower the B.M.I. And whether they looked at the data at a given point or analyzed changes over time, that relationship persisted.

Why eating breakfast should lead to fewer unwanted pounds is unclear, but the study found that breakfast eaters consumed greater amounts of carbohydrates and fiber, got fewer calories from fat and exercised more. Consumption of fiber-rich foods may improve glucose and insulin levels, making people feel satisfied and less likely to eat more later in the day.

“Food consumption at breakfast does seem to influence activity,” said Donna Spruijt-Metz, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, who was not involved in the study. “Maybe kids eating breakfast get less refined foods and more that contain fiber. The influence of that on metabolism and behavior is something we’re still trying to sort out in my lab.”

For the study, which appears in the March issue of Pediatrics, the researchers recorded food intake using a well-established food frequency questionnaire and added specific questions about how often the teenagers ate breakfast.

They also included questions to determine the behavioral and social forces that might affect eating. For example, they asked whether the teenagers were concerned about their weight, whether they skipped meals to lose weight, whether they had ever been teased about their weight and how often they had dieted during the last year. They were also asked how much exercise they were getting.

About half the teenagers ate breakfast intermittently, but girls were more likely to skip breakfast consistently and boys more likely to eat it every day. Girls who consistently ate breakfast had an overall diet higher in cholesterol, fiber and total calories than those who skipped the meal; the boys who were consistent consumed more calories, more carbohydrates and fiber, and less saturated fat than their breakfast-skipping peers.

At the start of the study, consistent breakfast eaters had an average body mass index of 21.7, intermittent eaters 22.5, and those who never had breakfast 23.4. Over the next five years, B.M.I. increased in exactly the same pattern. The relationship persisted even after controlling for age, sex, race, socioeconomic status, smoking and concerns about diet and weight.
The authors acknowledge that the study depends on self-reports of weight and eating habits, which are not always reliable, and that even though they controlled for many variables, the study was observational, showing only an association between breakfast eating habits and body mass, not a causal relationship.

Still, Mark A. Pereira, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, said that eating a healthy breakfast would “promote healthy eating throughout the day and might help to prevent situations where you’re grabbing fast food or vending machine food.”

Dr. Pereira added that parents could begin to set a good example by sitting down to breakfast themselves. “The whole family structure is involved here,” he said.

Most in isles skimp on exercise and nutrition

Posted on: Wednesday, March 19, 2008

FOR MORE TIPS
For more tips on getting fit, quitting smoking and healthy eating, go to www.healthyhawaii.com

START WALKING
The state Department of Health's recommendations on starting a walking program to get fit:
How far and how fast you walk is not an issue in the beginning. Recommendations:
• Walk 10+ minutes 5+ days a week.
• Walk briskly, and with a purpose.
• Work your way up to 30+ minutes 5+ days a week.
Walking can be done:
• With one piece of equipment: good walking shoes.
• To music, to nature or to conversation.
• In groups or alone. You can decide each day which suits you.
Fitness level does not matter. Simply get off the couch.
Begin with the end in mind. Good health and happiness will result from placing one foot in front of the other on a regular basis.
Enlisting support has been shown to drastically increase your chances of success. Talk about the fact that you're walking. Others will ask how it's going, which keeps you motivated.
Don't let the weather stop you. Find favorite walking routes for both sunny and rainy weather.
Sign up for a walking event like a 5K walk. Just remember you don't need to walk a marathon to be healthy.
Join a walking club. Commit to at least one group workout a week.
Plan a walking or hiking vacation (and get in shape for it).
Make walking a part of your routine. Walk to work, walk during breaks, take the stairs, walk the kids to school, etc.

The first comprehensive report on Hawai'i's nutrition and physical activity covers more than a hundred pages with statistics and charts but can be summarized simply:
Most children and adults need to get more exercise every day. And everyone can benefit from increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables they eat each day.
"The changes don't have to be dramatic," Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona said yesterday at the state Capitol in releasing the report. "One more fruit and vegetable improves health. ... Eliminate one cookie, one chocolate candy and one soda" per day.
And exercise can come easily, too, Aiona said. Adults can break down their 30 minutes of recommended daily exercise into three separate, simple activities like walking up the stairs at work.
"It can be as easy as flying a kite, walking the dog or walking down the street to buy a newspaper," Aiona said.
Most of the data in the Hawaii Physical Activity and Nutrition Surveillance Report 2008 has been reported before and covers information for 2005:
One in five people in Hawai'i were considered obese.
In 2005, 2,900 people in Hawai'i died of heart disease.
Most middle and high school students did not meet the daily recommendations for physical activity. And almost half of adults were not physically active enough.
An estimated $140 million in inpatient hospital charges related to heart disease, stroke and diabetes could have been prevented in 2005 if more adults were regularly physically active.
"We know that walking for at least 30 minutes per day can lower risks of obesity, heart disease and stroke and some cancers," said Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the state Department of Health. "This report will be our guide to improving physical activity and nutrition in our community."
Some 750 copies were published at a cost of $12,345 from Hawai'i's tobacco settlement funds. The report also is available at www.healthyhawaii.com; click on the link "Pan plan."

Upcoming Holidays & Spring Break Hourse

Upcoming Holidays & Spring Break Hours
Atherton Library's hours during Spring Break will be as follows:

March 21 : CLOSED (Good Friday Holiday)

March 22: 9 am - 1 pm

March 23: 1 pm - 5 pm (Easter)

March 24: 8 am - 6 pm

March 25: 8 am - 6 pm

March 26: CLOSED (Kuhio Day Holiday)

March 27: CLOSED (Spring Break Holiday)

March 28: 8 am - 6 pm

March 29: 9 am - 1 pm

March 30: 1 pm - 5 pm

Have a fun and safe week off from school. However, if you need our help, we'll be here!

Teens who skip breakfast have higher risk of gaining weight

Skip Breakfast, Pack on the Pounds: Teens who start the day with a healthful meal tend to stay trimmer, study suggests
HealthDayMonday, March 3, 2008

MONDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- For teens looking to keep weight off, it doesn't have to be a breakfast of champions, but it should be some kind of breakfast -- and preferably a healthy one.
Yet another study is confirming that adolescents who skip breakfast have a higher risk of being overweight.
"There's a pretty significant inverse association between how frequently kids report eating breakfast and how much weight they gain over time, and we took into account other dietary factors and physical activity," said Mark Pereira, co-author of the study, published in the March issue of Pediatrics.
"It's interesting to note that the kids who eat breakfast on a daily basis overall have a much better diet and are more physically active," Pereira said.
Added Dr. Peter Richel, chief of pediatrics at Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mount Kisco, N.Y.: "Grandma and Mom are right. When we skip breakfast, especially in the teenage years, then kids tend to snack and graze."
More than one-third of teens aged 12 to 19 are now overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. And over the past two decades, the proportion of children who are overweight has doubled; among teens, the proportion has tripled, according to background information with the study.
An estimated 12 percent to 34 percent of children and adolescents skip breakfast on a regular basis, a number that increases with age. Previous studies have linked breakfast skipping with a greater tendency to gain weight.
"There has been quite a lot of published scientific literature already on the relationship between breakfast habits in both children as well as adults and obesity risk," said Pereira, an associate professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. "It's pretty darn consistent in the literature that people who eat breakfast are at lower risk for obesity, but most of those studies have some methodological limitations."
The new study was both cross-sectional and prospective -- moving forward in time. More than 2,000 adolescents were followed for five years. Participants completed detailed surveys on their eating patterns and also provided information on their height, weight, body-mass index and physical activity.
The more often a person ate breakfast, the less likely he or she was to be overweight or obese.
"We can't make definitive statements about cause and effect," said Pereira. But the evidence seems to point that way, he added.
"What happens is that total fat and saturated fat as a percentage of total daily energy were lower in the breakfast eaters compared with breakfast skippers," Richel explained. "This really shows that we have the potential to improve energy balance and weight control with healthy breakfast consumption. We're not talking pop-tarts."
In another Pediatrics article, researchers reported that an Internet-based program helped keep teens' weight in check over the short term and also reduced binge eating. Those who participated in the program also had less concern about their weight and shape, compared with teens who did not participate, suggesting that the program may lower the risk for eating disorders.
The 16-week program included education, behavioral modification, journaling, discussion and motivational messages.HealthDayCopyright (c) 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.Related News:

Date last updated: 04 March 2008

Medical news: Urinary incontinence

Medical News: Urinary Incontinence

Diagnoses Likely to Overlap in Pelvic Floor Disorders
By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: March 04, 2008




SAN DIEGO, March 4 -- Pelvic floor disorders usually overlap, so that a diagnosis of urinary incontinence should often have prolapse or another condition listed as a comorbidity.

In this exclusive MedPage Today podcast, Karl Luber, M.D., of Kaiser Permanente of Southern California, offers insights from his clinical experience, as well as advice about techniques to use when evaluating women for pelvic floor disorders.



Additional Urinary Incontinence Coverage