Objective:
To assess the association between intake of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) and important health outcomes in generally healthy or overweight/obese adults and children.
Design:
Systematic review following standard Cochrane review methodology.
Data sources Medline (Ovid), Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, Clinicaltrials.gov, and reference lists of relevant publications.
Eligibility criteria for selecting studies:
Studies including generally healthy adults or children with or without overweight or obesity were eligible. Included study designs allowed for a direct comparison of no intake or lower intake of NSS with higher NSS intake. NSSs had to be clearly named, the dose had to be within the acceptable daily intake, and the intervention duration had to be at least seven days.
Main outcome measures:
Body weight or body mass index, glycaemic control, oral health, eating behaviour, preference for sweet taste, cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, mood, behaviour, neurocognition, and adverse effects.
Results:
The search resulted in 13 941 unique records. Of 56 individual studies that provided data for this review, 35 were observational studies. In adults, evidence of very low and low certainty from a limited number of small studies indicated a small beneficial effect of NSSs on body mass index (mean difference −0.6, 95% confidence interval −1.19 to −0.01; two studies, n=174) and fasting blood glucose (−0.16 mmol/L, −0.26 to −0.06; two, n=52). Lower doses of NSSs were associated with lower weight gain (−0.09 kg, −0.13 to −0.05; one, n=17 934) compared with higher doses of NSSs (very low certainty of evidence). For all other outcomes, no differences were detected between the use and non-use of NSSs, or between different doses of NSSs. No evidence of any effect of NSSs was seen on overweight or obese adults or children actively trying to lose weight (very low to moderate certainty). In children, a smaller increase in body mass index z score was observed with NSS intake compared with sugar intake (−0.15, −0.17 to −0.12; two, n=528, moderate certainty of evidence), but no significant differences were observed in body weight (−0.60 kg, −1.33 to 0.14; two, n=467, low certainty of evidence), or between different doses of NSSs (very low to moderate certainty).
Conclusions:
Most health outcomes did not seem to have differences between the NSS exposed and unexposed groups. Of the few studies identified for each outcome, most had few participants, were of short duration, and their methodological and reporting quality was limited; therefore, confidence in the reported results is limited. Future studies should assess the effects of NSSs with an appropriate intervention duration. Detailed descriptions of interventions, comparators, and outcomes should be included in all reports.
Showing posts with label children's health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children's health. Show all posts
Monday, January 7, 2019
Friday, December 5, 2014
Want Kids to Eat Better? Get Them Cooking
Getting kids involved in the kitchen, through cooking classes or at home, may make them more likely to choose healthy foods, according to a recent review.
Cooking programs and classes for children seem to positively influence children’s food preferences and behaviors, according to the new research. And, although the review didn’t look at long-term effects of such programs, the findings suggest that such programs might help children develop long-lasting healthy habits.
“It’s important to expose children to healthy foods in a positive way,”vsaid Derek Hersch, the lead author of the study who also works with a cooking education program called Food Explorers at the Minnesota Heart Institute Foundation.
This research comes at a time when childhood obesity rates have been rising rapidly. More than one-third of adolescents in the United States were obese in 2012, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This trend has been caused, at least in part, by a significant decrease in the amount of meals that people consume at home since the 1980s, according to background information in the study. People are more likely to eat at restaurants, where meals are more calorie-dense and less nutritious, the study noted.
Sara Haas, a spokesperson with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, noted that time is a factor. “It has a lot to do with eating more convenience foods because parents are lacking time, and may not have learned to cook healthy meals,” she said.
Cooking education programs, such as Food Explorers, teach children about new healthy foods and how to prepare them. They also stress the importance of eating five fruits and vegetables every day. A volunteer parent explains a new food to the group, and the kids make something based on the lesson, such as fruit skewers or spinach salad. Depending on the program, kids may be sent home with information about healthy food to bring to their parents, the review explained.
Hersch and his study team reviewed eight other studies that tested different types of cooking education programs. Children in these classes were between 5 and 12 years old, according to the review. Hersch’s goal was to learn more about developing an efficient program to encourage healthy food choices that last a lifetime.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Can Video Game Play Help Young Minds Learn?
It’s not clear how the improved learning abilities may translate to life outside of the screen and joystick. There’s also no evidence that endless playing of video games is a good idea.
“Our studies are no excuse for binging on video games,” said study co-author Daphne Bavelier, a research professor with the department of brain & congnitive sciences at the University of Rochester in New York. Still, she noted, the research reveals the “beneficial effects of playing action video games on vision, attention, and now learning.”
At issue is a phenomenon known as “perceptual learning.” In particular, the small study examined the kind of perceptual learning that’s involved in detecting the subtle differences between things – “the process whereby one person might be able to taste the difference between wines because he has had perceptual practice, but to another person they taste the same,” said Felice Bedford, an associate professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Arizona who’s familiar with the study.
The study involved several different experiments with young adults, average age of 22, both skilled and unskilled, playing various video games.
In one experiment, they trained 26 players for 50 hours on the action video games ‘Call of Duty 2’ and ‘Unreal Tournament 2004’ and then compared them to players of non-action video games like ‘The Sims.’ Those who played the action games showed improvement in not just their skills but also their abilities to learn in certain areas, the test showed.
“I think they are learning how to better apply themselves to certain types of tasks,” said Aaron Seitz, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside. The brain, he said may be adjusting to using certain skills.
This kind of learning is important in real life, he added. “Many tasks that we do involve understanding what to look for. This ranges from finding the cereal that we are looking for at the grocery store to the skills of radiologists and even athletes,” Seitz said.
Friday, July 4, 2014
American Children ‘Consuming Too Many Vitamins and Minerals’
One reason the report gives is that the explosion in fortified foods, paired with inadequate government policies, means that many children in the US are now consuming too many vitamins and minerals.
Vitamins and minerals are essential for good health, and for many children, exceeding the required amount is unlikely to cause harm. But for some, there is a narrow band between an optimum level that benefits health and an excessive level that can cause harm. Unlike adults, whose bodies are much larger, children are more vulnerable to overdosing.
Citing several government and academic sources, the EWG report summarizes how millions of American children under the age of 8 are getting too much vitamin A, zinc, and niacin from fortified foods and supplements.
An excess of zinc can stop the body absorbing copper properly and result in anemia, changes in red and white blood cells and impaired immune function, while too much niacin (vitamin B3) can cause rashes and other skin reactions, nausea and liver toxicity.
The EWG report shows that breakfast cereals and snack bars are often fortified with vitamin A, zinc and niacin in amounts that exceed children’s daily needs. In some cases, the amounts exceed the limit that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – a branch of the National Academy of Sciences – considers safe for children.
Monday, May 5, 2014
1 in 13 US Schoolkids Takes Psych Meds
More than 7% of American schoolchildren are taking at least one medication for emotional or behavioral difficulties, a new government report shows.
Thursday, April 24, 2014 NIH National Institutes of Health
“We can’t advise parents on what they should do, but I think it’s positive that over half of parents reported that medications helped ‘a lot’, said report author LaJeana Howie, a statistical research scientist at the US National Center for Health Studies.
Howie and her colleagues were not able to identify the specific disorders or medications the children received. However, she said that 81% of the children had been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at some point in their lives.
Data for the study came from the National Health Interview Survey, which continually collects information about health and health care in the United States. All of the information on children is obtained through parental (or other guardian) responses. None of the information comes from medical records.
Overall, the researchers found that 7.5% of US children between the ages of 6 and 17 were taking medication for an emotional or behavioral problem. Significantly more boys than girls were given medication – 9.7% of boys compared with 5.2% of girls.
White children were the most likely to be on psychiatric medications (9.2%), followed by black children (7.4%) and Hispanic children (4.5%).
The study found that significantly more children on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program were on medication (9.9%), versus 6.7% with private insurance and just 2.7% of children without insurance.
Additionally, more families living below 100% of the federal poverty level had children taking medications than those above the federal poverty level.
“There maybe parenting challenges, such as more single-parent households, medications may be more available than access to behavioral treatments, there may be more logistical issues with nonpharmaceutical interventions, like getting time off from work,” said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York. “It’s encouraging that the children who are identified as taking prescription medications are benefiting from those medications,” Adesman said. However, he added, “There are nonpharmaceutical treatments for virtually all psychiatric diagnoses in children. For households where a child has significant emotional or behavioral difficulties, counseling, behavior management and some forms of psychotherapy can be helpful as well.”
MY TAKE:
I suspect that the definition of helps “a lot” means the child is easier for the parent or teacher to manage. That is their behavior is subdued by the medication(s) so they appear more socially acceptable.
It has been my clinical experience that these psychiatric medications stifle creativity and dull the intellect. However, the use of amphetamines for ADHD goes well beyond that to create liver inflammation, adrenal stress, hypothyroidism, and bone loss.
In my opinion, most children exhibit behavior that we call “ADHD”. This is especially true of young boys. The symptoms of hyperactivity, short attention span, and physical outbursts are from lack of consistent, engaging physical activity and overstimulation from their high tech lifestyle.
One hundred years ago, as a child, you would have worked on the farm for several hours prior to walking to school. That excess energy was spent before you had to sit in a classroom and try to pay attention.
Even when I was young, we had recess three times a day. When I got home, if my chores were done, I went outside to play. Play was always physical – running, bike riding, and swimming. In the winter, it was snowball fights, ice skating, and sledding.
Today, it’s video games, texting, television, and no recess. The body is at rest, but the mind is over stimulated. Numerous studies show a strong correlation between video games, hyperactivity and even seizures.
The average American takes 4 prescription medications daily. Apparently, we now start them real young. All medications have side effects. I agree with Dr. Adesman, there are alternative therapies that avoid the use of drugs and can actually identify an issue if one exists.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Parents drug their children because it is easier that way. Easier for them, not the children. They do it because it is made available and recommended, especially if it is covered by insurance. We have no idea what the long term ramifications of drugging our youth will be. But it can not be good.
Thursday, April 24, 2014 NIH National Institutes of Health
“We can’t advise parents on what they should do, but I think it’s positive that over half of parents reported that medications helped ‘a lot’, said report author LaJeana Howie, a statistical research scientist at the US National Center for Health Studies.
Howie and her colleagues were not able to identify the specific disorders or medications the children received. However, she said that 81% of the children had been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at some point in their lives.
Data for the study came from the National Health Interview Survey, which continually collects information about health and health care in the United States. All of the information on children is obtained through parental (or other guardian) responses. None of the information comes from medical records.
Overall, the researchers found that 7.5% of US children between the ages of 6 and 17 were taking medication for an emotional or behavioral problem. Significantly more boys than girls were given medication – 9.7% of boys compared with 5.2% of girls.
White children were the most likely to be on psychiatric medications (9.2%), followed by black children (7.4%) and Hispanic children (4.5%).
The study found that significantly more children on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program were on medication (9.9%), versus 6.7% with private insurance and just 2.7% of children without insurance.
Additionally, more families living below 100% of the federal poverty level had children taking medications than those above the federal poverty level.
“There maybe parenting challenges, such as more single-parent households, medications may be more available than access to behavioral treatments, there may be more logistical issues with nonpharmaceutical interventions, like getting time off from work,” said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York. “It’s encouraging that the children who are identified as taking prescription medications are benefiting from those medications,” Adesman said. However, he added, “There are nonpharmaceutical treatments for virtually all psychiatric diagnoses in children. For households where a child has significant emotional or behavioral difficulties, counseling, behavior management and some forms of psychotherapy can be helpful as well.”
MY TAKE:
I suspect that the definition of helps “a lot” means the child is easier for the parent or teacher to manage. That is their behavior is subdued by the medication(s) so they appear more socially acceptable.
It has been my clinical experience that these psychiatric medications stifle creativity and dull the intellect. However, the use of amphetamines for ADHD goes well beyond that to create liver inflammation, adrenal stress, hypothyroidism, and bone loss.
In my opinion, most children exhibit behavior that we call “ADHD”. This is especially true of young boys. The symptoms of hyperactivity, short attention span, and physical outbursts are from lack of consistent, engaging physical activity and overstimulation from their high tech lifestyle.
One hundred years ago, as a child, you would have worked on the farm for several hours prior to walking to school. That excess energy was spent before you had to sit in a classroom and try to pay attention.
Even when I was young, we had recess three times a day. When I got home, if my chores were done, I went outside to play. Play was always physical – running, bike riding, and swimming. In the winter, it was snowball fights, ice skating, and sledding.
Today, it’s video games, texting, television, and no recess. The body is at rest, but the mind is over stimulated. Numerous studies show a strong correlation between video games, hyperactivity and even seizures.
The average American takes 4 prescription medications daily. Apparently, we now start them real young. All medications have side effects. I agree with Dr. Adesman, there are alternative therapies that avoid the use of drugs and can actually identify an issue if one exists.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Parents drug their children because it is easier that way. Easier for them, not the children. They do it because it is made available and recommended, especially if it is covered by insurance. We have no idea what the long term ramifications of drugging our youth will be. But it can not be good.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Many Kids May Have High Cholesterol
About one of three Texas kids screened for cholesterol between the ages of 9 and 11 had borderline or high cholesterol, potentially placing them at greater risk for future cardiovascular disease a new study has found.
Friday, March 28, 2014 (WebMD News from HealthDay)
Obese kids were more likely to have abnormal cholesterol levels, but a large percentage of normal-weight children also had borderline or high cholesterol, said lead investigator Dr. Thomas Seery, a pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston.
“The reality is that 35 percent of kids who were not obese had abnormal cholesterol as well,” Seery said. Physicians and parents need to teach kids healthy habits, such as eating right and exercising regularly, or as adults they will me more likely to suffer heart disease and stroke, he said. “Cardiovascular disease in children is rare, but we know that atherosclerosis has its beginnings in childhood,” Seery said. “The better a job we do now, the better they will do later in life.”
Previous studies have indicated that as many as 70 percent of children who have elevated cholesterol levels maintained those high levels as they entered young adulthood, said Dr. Patricia Vuguin, a pediatric endocrinologist at Cohen Children’s medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. “Your cholesterol at 9 is a reflection of where your cholesterol is going to be in your 40s and 50s,” Vuguin said.
Seery and his colleagues undertook their research after new guidelines for juvenile cholesterol screening were issued by the U.S. National Hear, Lung, and blood Institute in 2011 and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
These screenings present “the perfect opportunity for clinicians and parents to discuss the importance of healthy lifestyle choices on cardiovascular health.” he said. “Our findings give a compelling reason to screen all kids’ blood cholesterol.”
MY TAKE:
I like the concept of discussing “healthy lifestyle choices” with parents and children. However, the standard American diet (SAD) has condemned fat for the past 30 years promoting refined carbohydrates and processed foods. This is why cardiovascular disease is on the rise. It has little or nothing to do with cholesterol levels.
High cholesterol as a cause of heart disease has never been supported by research. High fat intake as a cause of heart disease is also not supported by the literature. Over 50 percent of people suffering their first heart attack have normal or even low cholesterol.
The elevated cholesterol in our youth is mostly because the medical norms have gradually been lowered over the course of the past 30 years. Beyond that true elevated cholesterol is most commonly associated with a diet high in trans-fats. The second most common cause is an underactive thyroid, not heart disease. The third is the presence of harmful bacteria in the gut.
“Low fat” or “reduced fat” foods have been developed over the past 30 years in response to the myth that fat is bad. The result is food that has been processed to remove the healthy fat and replace it with trans-fats. Butter is a very healthy fat – Margarine is a very unhealthy fat. However, the total fat content of margarine is lower than butter, so it is touted as being healthy. By trying to reduce our fat intake we have dramatically increased the rate of heart disease.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Encourage your children to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Lead by example and avoid the processed foods as much as possible. Don’t buy into the cholesterol myth. That is just an elaborate ploy to sell statin drugs. If you decide to screen your child for cholesterol, run a glycohemoglobin A1c as well to see if they are insulin resistant. That’s where the heart issues begin.
Friday, March 28, 2014 (WebMD News from HealthDay)
Obese kids were more likely to have abnormal cholesterol levels, but a large percentage of normal-weight children also had borderline or high cholesterol, said lead investigator Dr. Thomas Seery, a pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston.
“The reality is that 35 percent of kids who were not obese had abnormal cholesterol as well,” Seery said. Physicians and parents need to teach kids healthy habits, such as eating right and exercising regularly, or as adults they will me more likely to suffer heart disease and stroke, he said. “Cardiovascular disease in children is rare, but we know that atherosclerosis has its beginnings in childhood,” Seery said. “The better a job we do now, the better they will do later in life.”
Previous studies have indicated that as many as 70 percent of children who have elevated cholesterol levels maintained those high levels as they entered young adulthood, said Dr. Patricia Vuguin, a pediatric endocrinologist at Cohen Children’s medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. “Your cholesterol at 9 is a reflection of where your cholesterol is going to be in your 40s and 50s,” Vuguin said.
Seery and his colleagues undertook their research after new guidelines for juvenile cholesterol screening were issued by the U.S. National Hear, Lung, and blood Institute in 2011 and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
These screenings present “the perfect opportunity for clinicians and parents to discuss the importance of healthy lifestyle choices on cardiovascular health.” he said. “Our findings give a compelling reason to screen all kids’ blood cholesterol.”
MY TAKE:
I like the concept of discussing “healthy lifestyle choices” with parents and children. However, the standard American diet (SAD) has condemned fat for the past 30 years promoting refined carbohydrates and processed foods. This is why cardiovascular disease is on the rise. It has little or nothing to do with cholesterol levels.
High cholesterol as a cause of heart disease has never been supported by research. High fat intake as a cause of heart disease is also not supported by the literature. Over 50 percent of people suffering their first heart attack have normal or even low cholesterol.
The elevated cholesterol in our youth is mostly because the medical norms have gradually been lowered over the course of the past 30 years. Beyond that true elevated cholesterol is most commonly associated with a diet high in trans-fats. The second most common cause is an underactive thyroid, not heart disease. The third is the presence of harmful bacteria in the gut.
“Low fat” or “reduced fat” foods have been developed over the past 30 years in response to the myth that fat is bad. The result is food that has been processed to remove the healthy fat and replace it with trans-fats. Butter is a very healthy fat – Margarine is a very unhealthy fat. However, the total fat content of margarine is lower than butter, so it is touted as being healthy. By trying to reduce our fat intake we have dramatically increased the rate of heart disease.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Encourage your children to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Lead by example and avoid the processed foods as much as possible. Don’t buy into the cholesterol myth. That is just an elaborate ploy to sell statin drugs. If you decide to screen your child for cholesterol, run a glycohemoglobin A1c as well to see if they are insulin resistant. That’s where the heart issues begin.
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