This is where the secondary complications of obesity comes into fore–a new study says that the number of new cases of diabetes-related kidney failure has almost doubled in Quebec and across Canada since the mid-1990s. It is clear that diabetes is directly related obesity, and people who are obese have greater chances of getting diabetes. So, from the study, it can be easily deduced that the obesity is playing its part in diabetes-related kidney failure problems faced by these people. 

However, it has also been highlighted that unless Canadians adopt a more active lifestyle and a less sugary diet, similar incidence of kidney failure will continue to grow. Well, we can easily understand that why the doctors involved in this study suggest that their life-style is one of the main cause for this problem. Eating habits are always designated as one of the key factors for this. 

“The epidemic of obesity in North America is probably contributing more than anything right now to diabetes and kidney failure,” said Paul Barre, director of dialysis at the McGill University Health Centre. “We’ve seen a huge increase in the number of diabetics at our clinic.”

It has been reported that unfortunately, before the patients show symptoms like fatigue and loss of appetite, they lose 80% of their kidney function. However, it is also clear that diabetes is not the sole cause of kidney failure, but around 40% of kidney patients have type 2 diabetes.

We are known to the complications that come directly with obesity; however, researches and studies like this clearly indicate the relationship between the secondary complications that are there with obesity. With more research on this aspect of obesity, we may come to some more complications that might be very closely related to obesity. We can hope for things to show up more clearly.

Trans fat–yes, we know that you have heard about these terms and have read about them a lot. These are supposed to be one of the main factors that contribute to the outbreak of obesity epidemic. It is noticeable here that the New York City banned the use of trans fats in December, and we have more state authorities that are raising their voice to let the ban hold in their areas also. You would not be surprised by the fact that around in 19 states, bills have been introduced to restrict or banish trans fats in restaurants or school cafeterias. Some bills demand that warnings in establishments that serve foods containing trans fats should be provided. It is clear that the food industry is smarting under the pressure to let trans fats go.

The food industry adopted the use of trans fats because they lengthen shelf-life and improve taste of food items. However, people demanding ban on these say that trans fats raise levels of bad cholesterol leading to clogged arteries and heart disease. However, it is quite clear that the National Restaurant Association also agrees that trans fats should go. However, the industry feels that the private sector itself is developing a plan to curb the use of trans fats, and that government mandates and timetables are not that necessary.

It is quite clear from the situation that both the parties agree on the point that trans fats are not good for general health of public. However, we will need to wait and see how the things progress from here on–the government is bent upon to bring some bills; whereas the food industry wants that they should be allowed to make their own efforts to curb the use of trans fats. We can’t infer that the industry is demanding something unjust; however, the government may also need to consider some other aspects.

A few days ago, we heard about eating disorders being one of the main reasons for obesity and weight-loss problems. However, the popular belief about eating disorders is that anorexia or bulimia are the main eating disorders. But a recent survey has shown that Binge eating tops the list of eating disorders affecting Americans–it is noticeable here that it is the first-ever national survey on eating disorders.

Binge eating is a particular condition where people undergo frequent and uncontrolled eating binges without purging. It has been found out that this condition affects 3.5% of women and 2% of men during their lifetime. No wonder that like other eating disorders, this condition is also linked to obesity. Dr. James I. Hudson, director of the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory at McLean Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, is the lead researcher of this survey.

We can easily gauge the importance of this survey, as according to popular belief, it was other types of eating disorders that were prevalent among the populace. However, it is unfortunately true that this condition is also related to all troubles that arise from obesity. It is said repeatedly that eating disorders and unhealthy life-styles are the main cause of obesity amongst the major part of the population. Awareness and knowledge about these things are top-measures that can help to tackle obesity among the masses. We will need to implement many of the suggestions that medical bodies and organizations are providing for curbing of the epidemic of obesity, which has not spared young, women, old people, and is quite prevalent in children also.

Hopefully, this survey would provide some better insight to tackle the issue of eating disorders, and perhaps, the researchers would also be able to provide some solution for this. We again will need to wait and watch.

Eating habits are very crucial for the overall growth of the child, and it is quite obvious that apart from obesity, there are a number of other chronic diseases that are readily associated with bad eating habits of children. A recent study has suggested that these eating habits only get worse as kids grow older, apart from a worrying factor that notices the intake of fruits and vegetables among the US kids lowered quite significantly. 

Nicole Larson, M.P.H., who is the lead researchers of this study, states, “Fruit and vegetable intake is important for the prevention of future chronic disease. So it’s important to know whether intakes of teens are approaching national objectives for fruit and vegetable consumption.”

The study has been conducted by Larson and colleagues from the University of Minnesota–the study is geared to examine whether or not teens in the state were increasing their intake of fruits and vegetables as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010 objectives and Dietary Guidelines for Americans. However, contrary to the recommendations, the intake of fruits and vegetables is found to be decreasing even from a level which was recorded in 1999.

“This is giving us the message that we need new and enhanced efforts to increase fruit and vegetable intake that we haven’t been doing in the past,” Larson said.

A person who is knowledgeable in the field of diet and fitness knows easily that fruits and vegetables are quite important to make a balance diet. However, it is admittable that during the phase of such a fast life-style, the consumption of fruits and vegetables would be less. But the magnitude of reduction is stunning and the efforts of health department in recommending the use of these food items is not achieving its results.

You might be scared about eating tomatoes and broccoli and other green leafy items in your food after so many outbreaks of viruses and bacteria that have rocked the food industry. However, here is a good and encouraging news for you that might help you to regain your confidence in these food items. It has been found out that eating tomatoes and broccoli in the same meal help men to fight prostate cancer–a form of cancer that is most prevalent in men.

A new study has pointed out the benefits of these two food items present in the same meal, and how they can help to reduce tumors more effectively than when they are eaten separately. It should be noted here that both of these food items are known for their cancer-fighting qualities. Prostate cancer, in fact, is the most common male cancer in Britain, and it accounts for almost 1 in 4 cancers in men. 

The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Illinois, and the team believes that men should regularly consume of 3/4 of a head of raw broccoli and 2-3 tomatoes together in their meal to help fight the disease. The results of the study were published in the American journal Cancer Research.

Well, we can’t understand the technicalities of this issue–we don’t know what causes them work more potently when they are eaten together; however, the study drives home a good lesson–fruits and vegetables should be varied in their type and also in their preparation methods. The study has also provided some issues for future researches that can be made on these lines. However, we can clearly see that men who eat a variety of fruits and vegetables have more chances of fighting cancer than the ones who do not.

A few days ago, you might have heard the news of E. Coli outbreak that rocked the restaurants of Taco Bell, which were forced to throw the food items that were contaminated, and was also asked to close some of their outlet–the government officials have now found a reason for this outbreak. Prepackaged lettuce from California has been linked to this outbreak, which clearly is another blow to the leafy industry of California that is major in the country. 

Taco Bell’s lettuce that was noticed contaminated, was traced via packaging to the farms in the Central Valley; however, there is no specific source that FDA has pointed out. The main problem, as the officials see it, is the proximity of ranching and farming operations in parts of California, where cattle and other animals harbor the bacteria in their feces. This is where most of the outbreaks find their origin and spread to the produce of the farms. 

Well, these findings certainly point a finger, whereby the officials and the people who are engaged in the green leaf industry of California need to answer certain questions–they will certainly need to take these findings seriously and find out a solution that could stop future outbreaks of such kinds–it is sure that these outbreaks should not be allowed to repeat themselves if they come from the same sources. Ranching and farming should be made isolated from the farming section of the produce, and more stringent conditions can also be imposed by FDA, so that the produce that is packaged is checked against the standards of their guidelines. Again, the industry in California should take it as a call to take appropriate measure to avoid such outbreaks in the future–it is obvious to say that their market would be severely suffering if it continued to happen that way. 

If you are a regular reader of health related news, you must have heard much about the outbreaks that rocked the food industry in the country in few of the last months. And to curb such future possibilities of these deadly outbreaks, the government and the produce industry are focusing to make leafy greens safer before the spring planting season. It is believed that the new guidelines that are due from the industry in April would help to maintain more resistance upon these outbreaks. It will also tell how to prevent contamination throughout the food chain–from before green leafs are planted until they reach the dinner table.

The outbreaks had put many questions on the regulations that the government has put on health organizations, and the food industry itself. No wonder that members of Congress have already asked federal agencies to report on what went wrong and how to fix the problem. Again, it should be noted that many advocated to replace the patchwork system of federal food regulation with a single agency in charge of what people eat, during those troubled times of these outbreaks–it appeared at that time, that whatever you eat at the restaurants might be contaminated–such was the impact of those outbreaks.

The first outbreak of such kind was noticed in the spinach–it killed three people and sickened more than 200. Another outbreak noticing E. coli in lettuce sickened dozens of people who ate at East Coast Taco Bell outlets and Midwest Taco John’s restaurants in November and December. In between these were two salmonella outbreaks, which was noticed in tomatoes and made around 400 people sick in October and November.

The goal of the efforts that the produce industry and the government is indulging in is to tell farmers, before spring planting, and then consumers about the new safety guidelines, which will ensure that they are not hit by such outbreaks.

The ban on the use of trans-fats in restaurants is gaining heat, and as expected, there are mixed reactions from different quarters of the country. New York has already banned it, apart from some theme parks like Disney and Universal Studios. However, Mayor Thomas M. Menino has expressed doubts on discussions to banish unhealthy fats from restaurant kitchens, saying it would be difficult for Boston to enforce a ban similar to the one recently enacted in New York City.

The mayor has admitted that fighting obesity is one of the priorities for public health, but there is no clear-cut relationship between banning these trans-fats and getting the desired results of lowering obesity. He has expressed a clear thought–for a prohibition to be meaningful, it must be easily enforceable. 

It is noticeable here that New York’s health agency ordered restaurants to eliminate trans fat this month. Trans fat is a substance linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, and this is the very reason why health agencies across the nation are considering seriously to adopt similar bans on its use.

Well, the mayor sounds good at his positions–there might be some other measures also that need to be implemented in order to ensure that the public is made aware about the problem of obesity. Ordering a ban on certain ingredients can’t help in eliminating the whole problem–there is no way in which inspectors can actually check the food served at every restaurant in the city. However, if people are themselves conscious about the problem, they can choose better of alternated food items that have lower or no use of such fats. It will be more effective if people are made aware about the gravity of the problem; though, we can’t deny, in any way, that banning such ingredients do help in lowering the chances, however small it might be.