Health and Fitness News Room

New York, NY - New York City plans to enact a far-reaching ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts, in the most ambitious effort yet by the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to combat rising obesity. Has Mayor Bloomberg gone of the deep end or is he on the right track and should more city’s/States so the same? 

Read the full story from msnbc…

(Source: blog.madsweat.com)

Nutella’s $3M settlement over health claims could mean cash in your pocket

By Kayleen Schaefer Friday, April 27, 2012

If you bought Nutella thinking the chocolate hazelnut spread was good for you, you can get $4 back.

That’s thanks to a San Diego woman who sued the makers of the gooey treat for promoting it as a healthy breakfast option.

Ferrero, the Italian company that also owns Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Tic Tac breath mints, has agreed to settle with Athena Hohenberg for $3.05 million — $2.5 million of which will be split among consumers. The initial agreement was reached in January. The deal is expected to be finalized by the courts in July.

Contacted by The Daily, Hohenberg declined to comment.

In her suit, filed in February 2011, Hohenberg said that she had been regularly serving Nutella to her 4-year-old for breakfast. She said she “was shocked to learn” that it “was the next best thing to a candy bar.” She sought an order to stop Nutella from marketing itself as “healthy” and “balanced nutrition.”

“Defendant’s claims regarding Nutella are also false and misleading because they omit that Nutella contains over 55 percent processed sugar, the consumption of which has been shown to cause type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems,” the suit said.

Particularly popular in Europe, especially Italy, Nutella is a breakfast and snack staple. Creative home cooks have been known to use it as a substitute in recipes for chocolate-banana crepes or chocolate thumbprint cookies. Basketball star Kobe Bryant formerly served as the spread’s spokesman. It even has its own fan-started “World Nutella Day.”

The chocolate topping is made with sugar, palm oil and hazelnuts. A few tablespoons of Nutella contain about 200 calories, 11 grams of fat (3.5 grams saturated) and 21 grams of sugar. According to Consumerist.com, “That’s comparable to a Three Musketeers candy bar.”
In the United Kingdom, about 30 complaints were filed over a television commercial promoting Nutella as a family-friendly breakfast food. Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority declined to take any action.

But under its agreement with Hohenberg, Ferrero agreed to modify the Nutella label and certain marketing statements in the United States about the product. The company will also create new television ads and change its website.

The nationwide settlement affects U.S. consumers who bought Nutella between Jan. 1, 2008, and Feb. 3, 2012. In California, the Nutella has to have been bought between Aug. 1, 2009, and Jan. 23, 2012. Disgruntled customers who file a claim can get $4 per jar, with a maximum allowance of five jars, or $20, per household.

To file a claim, visit www.nutellaclassactionsettlement.com.

- Kayleen.Schaefer@thedaily.com
@kayleener

This article has been shared from The Daily

(Source: blog.madsweat.com)

New findings show women run scared from outdoor exercise.

Posted: Monday 23 April 2012

Outdoor exercise can be as effective as antidepressants in treating mild to moderate depression and anxiety1 and is increasingly being recognized and prescribed as a form of therapy. Today the mental health charity Mind releases new statistics showing 9 out of 10 women aged over 30* battle body-confidence and low self-esteem when considering outdoor exercise. This is leading many to take extreme measures, such as exercising when it’s dark to minimise embarrassment, or to avoid outdoor activities altogether. However, new findings for the Feel better outside - feel better insidecampaign, run by Ecominds on behalf of the Big Lottery Fund, suggest that whilst many women feel unable to exercise outside confidently, they are missing fantastic opportunities to boost and maintain positive mental wellbeing. Women are continuously confronted by health messages, advising them to get active to improve mental and physical health. The point is getting through as 98% of the 1,450 women surveyed were well aware of the research. However the issue is more complex as inhibitions and low body-confidence create significant barriers to getting outside regularly, especially when feeling low. Mind’s research found women were more likely to eat comfort food (71%), listen to sad music (32%), spend time social networking (57%) go to bed (66%) or find a way to be alone (71%), than exercise. The survey also revealed: 2 out of 3 feel conscious about their body shape when they exercise in public Many doubt their own ability compared to others; 65% think it’s unlikely they’ll be able to keep up in an exercise group and almost a half feel they will look silly in front of others as a result of being uncoordinated 60% are nervous about how their body reacts to exercise – their wobbly bits, sweating, passing wind or going red 2/3 feel that if they joined an exercise group, other women would be unwelcoming and cliquey, with only 6% feeling they would be very likely to make new friends In response to these feelings, many women have taken extreme steps to reduce the risk of embarrassment: Over 50% said they exercised very early in the morning or late at night solely to avoid being seen by others Almost 2/3 of women choose to exercise in a location where they’re unlikely to bump into anyone they know Over 50% don’t leave the home when exercising, so as not to be seen in public - even though exercising outside is more effective for lifting mood then inside 67% wear baggy clothing when exercising in order to hide their figure

* Research taken from a poll of 1,450 people conducted via Survey Monkey between 13 March and 3 April 2012. ** The case-study’s name has been changed to protect her anonymity Halliwell E. (2005), Up and Running? Exercise Therapy and the treatment of mild to moderate depression in primary care, Mental Health Foundation, London

www.mind.org 

Young Americans Need to Cut Calorie Intake: Study

Without reducing consumption, more than one in five children will be obese by 2020.

TUESDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) — American youngsters have a long way to go to reach new goals for a lower childhood obesity rate, a new study shows.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a goal of reducing the childhood obesity rate to 14.6 percent by 2020, and to do so children aged 2 to 19 would need to eliminate an average of 64 calories a day.

Without this reduction in calorie intake, the average child or teen would be nearly 4 pounds heavier in 2020 than a child of the same age in 2007. In addition, more than 20 percent of youth would be obese, up from 16.9 percent currently.

The last time the childhood obesity rate in the United States was 14.6 percent was in 2002.

“Sixty-four calories may not sound like much individually, but it’s quite a consequential number at the population level, and children at greatest risk for obesity face an even larger barrier,” study author Dr. Y. Claire Wang, an assistant professor of health policy and management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, said in a university news release.

“Closing this gap between how many calories young people are consuming and how many they are expending will take substantial, comprehensive efforts,” Wang added.

The new goal could be achieved by reducing calorie intake, increasing physical activity or both. But, although 64 calories is the overall average reduction required to meet the 2020 goal, certain groups of young people may need higher or lower calorie reductions.

White youngsters would need an average reduction of 46 calories, compared with 91 calories for Mexican-Americans and 138 calories for black children, who have higher rates of obesity. Children and teens in low-income communities also have higher rates of obesity and would require greater calorie reductions than those in higher-income areas.

The researchers suggested many policy strategies that could help American youngsters reduce calories:

• Replacing all sugar-sweetened beverages in school with water and preventing children from drinking additional sugary beverages outside of school could eliminate an average of 12 calories per day.
• Having children aged 9 to 11 take part in a comprehensive physical-education program could eliminate an average of 19 calories per day.
• After-school activity programs for children in kindergarten to fifth grade could eliminate an average of 25 calories per day.

(Source: healthfinder.gov)

A recent study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reports employees that are obese cost most in healthcare terms than employees who smoke.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic examined the additional costs related to smoking and obesity among over 30,000 Mayo Clinic current and former employees.

Not surprisingly, they found that employees who were obese or smoked had higher overall healthcare costs. Compared to nonsmokers, average healthcare costs were $1,275 higher for smokers, $1,850 more for obese individuals and even as high as $5,500 more for those who were morbidly obese.

In recent years, smoking has been on the decline, whereas obesity rates have nearly doubled. Obesity has been linked with many chronic conditions including diabetes, which can increase risks for heart & kidney disease, high blood pressure and even blindness.

Current projections indicate that by 2018, over 43% of American adults will be classified as obese, which will in turn cost the US about $344 billion in medical-related expenses. This will equate to approximately 21% of all healthcare spending.

To battle this disturbing trend, many companies are taking action by introducing wellness, fitness and smoking cessation programs to the workplace. There has also been a growing movement by employers to incentivize employees who participate in its fitness program or quit smoking. Unfortunately, signups for these types of programs are still relatively low. Consequently, some companies are taking a hard-line approach by raising healthcare costs for employees who they deem “unhealthy.”

Source: American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine

(Source: blog.madsweat.com)

A treadmill may be able to tell guys more about their health than their bathroom scale.

If you exercise often but can’t seem to lose the weight you’d like, a new study may cheer you up a bit.

Researchers looked at the cardio-respiratory fitness of more than 14,000 men. They had them hop on a treadmill to measure their fitness, then repeated the test about six years later.

The men who maintained their fitness levels or became more fit were less likely to die of heart disease in the following years. And they were less likely to die in general! Even if they didn’t lose extra weight, they were still protected. However, the men who became less fit had a higher risk of dying, even if their weight went down.

These findings remind us that physical activity is good for our health for more reasons than just weight loss. And getting regular exercise is important even if you’re not overweight! Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week. How can you find a moderate level? If completely resting is a zero, and working out as hard as you can is a 10, then moderate is a 5 or 6.

(Source: blog.madsweat.com)

Flat ab Makeover

Give your workout a flat ab makeover (without having to do crunches- we promise!). Fitness experts will be giving you their top tricks to blasting belly fat this Friday from 12-2pm EST. Join MadSweat’s very own Sharecare Elite Trainer Crystal Reeves as she answers questions with @sharecarenow on Twitter. So follow us @madsweat on Twitter and head on over to get your questions answered by Sharecare Fitness Experts. Make sure you use #SCFitFridays

Click on the picture for more information.

(Source: blog.madsweat.com)