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Runners get thirsty: drink. Runners get hungry: eat. But, as with most things that seem idiot-proof, the most basic of basics, two of the most rudimentary bodily functions can often turn into a runner’s nightmare. I just finished an article for Competitor providing the perfect example of this: “Got Stomach Issues? You’re Probably Dehydrated”.

What’s interesting, and as you will learn from reading the article, it’s often not FOOD wrecking havoc on your stomach and intestines during your hard or long runs. It’s the (not) DRINKING thing that’s giving you a GI nightmare! Talk about a whodathunkit moment, right?

I’ve been a runner for years and years and still, learning that dehydration is the culprit to most GI problems, both the upward and the downward, came as a bit of a surprise. But if you think about it, it really shouldn’t be; let’s look at what happens when you run:

* Muscles working: Brain and body prioritize the hard-working muscles as the top-tier function at the moment.
* Body delegates: In moving the muscles to priority number one, the stomach, intestines, and anything digestive related gets bumped down.
* Blood to muscles: All the major blood-flow gets shunted to the muscles, leaving the stomach and delicate intestinal tissues simultaneously deprived of blood-flow. This lapse in blood causes slight damage. Aww, poor, intestines.
* Dehydration: Now water is INSANELY important to the body, it makes up darn near most of it, so NOT having enough water content in the blood stream exacerbates the damage caused to the already weakened stomach and intestines.
* The Backlash: Need I say more?

Runners experience those GI disasters, up and down, because the stomach and intestines are already deprived of blood-flow while you’re running and then on top of that if there isn’t enough water content in the body to begin with, they stage a major revolt.

Bottom line: It doesn’t matter what kind of food you’ve got in your stomach or intestines, if a runner isn’t hydrated, that food can’t be digested so it’s coming out…pick a direction.

Solution: Duh, Runners, stay HYDRATED! I jest, I jest, kind of…but the reality is, many times runners underestimate just how much fluids they need. What’s more, when I say fluids that includes more than just water: also electrolytes.

The tricky thing with hydration is, once you’re dehydrated and experiencing the effects of it you’re already on a sinking ship. Kind of like it’s too late at that point; that’s why it’s IMPERATIVE you stay in a constantly hydrated state and remain that way through the duration of your hard workout or long run.

Staying hydrated during long runs, and marathon geared workouts, means taking in fluids and replenishing those stores at a steady rate. Read the article for some awesome tips from Molly Pritz and Krista Austin, Ph.D., on how to come up with a personal hydration regimen.

See, you think relying on those little “I’m thirsty” cues is enough to keep you hydrated. But the truth is, especially for runners, by the time you FEEL thirsty you are already in a state of dehydration. So go chew, err sip, on that.

1) Had you been aware dehydration could be the culprit of you GI problems?

2) Especially in the heat GI problems become more common, how do you make sure to stay even more conscious of fluid consumption when it’s hot or humid?

3) An upset stomach after a hard or long run can be common too, and traced back to dehydration. What are some of your go-to ‘safe’ foods for restoring and repairing those muscles AFTER your runs?

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Oh what a difference running crazy amounts of miles in training makes. Come time for that post-race break those racing shorts…errrr, ‘shoes’ may be fitting a little differently!

Sunday morning deserves some running cartoonage! That being said, we can poke fun but one needn’t get TOO would up over some post-race ‘love’ weight, giving the body a chance to recover is incredibly important and your racing will be much better off in the long-term.

On the flip side there is a difference between recovery and gluttony…haha. As with most all things in running and in life, it’s all about balance. Now, pass this runner the Pop-Tarts!
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POST on fueling for races.
POST with tips on runners eating out.
POST on the importance of the 30-minute refuel window.
POST on timing your fuel to best support your running performance.

Get more Running Cartoons HERE!
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1) When it comes time to break after a race or season, do you eat differently?

2) What are some of the things you do to give your body some TLC to recover after hard races or between seasons?

3) Favorite thing you treat yourself to after a great race?

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Running and fueling the machine. In my recent article for Competitor: Nutrient Timing is Everything for Runners I really like the bottom line to everything my go-to sports nutritionist Krista Austin Ph.D. professes, “Food is a performance tool.” She teaches her runners to “eat to perform.”

Runners are human, of course, but at the same time it would be naive to ignore the fact that what goes into your body has a direct correlation to what it is able to give you right back. Thankfully, I also like that quick on the heels of that Austin also says, “However, my policy is that at least once a week every athlete should have a ‘fun meal’ where they don’t think too much about what they are eating and just enjoy fun food-the key is to watch the portion sizes.”

It’s all a matter of balance. Just as runners and training, balance, consistency, and the law of averages often wins out with their nutrition. That isn’t to say there aren’t times when the PERFORMANCE style of eating trumps the LIFE side of eating.

Case in point, the night before a race or the actual day of your race. Here is where, if you’re a runner, ignoring your taste buds and eating with your HEAD is the wiser choice. Austin has explained to me that Dathan Ritzenhein’s top pre-race meal of choice is plain, white rice. Is it his favorite tasting meal? Probably not, but you know what? He knows it sits well in his stomach, it will give him the non-complex carbs he’ll want in his system right before the gun goes off, and he knows it works. His race, his PERFORMANCE, is the priority. Taste buds can wait until after the finish line.

I’ve done numerous articles on runners and nutrition, a few you can revisit:

How Runners Can Stuff Their Faces at Restaurants But Still Perform at Their Best

Runners Going Gluten-Free: Could making the switch work for you?

The Post-Run Refuel: Why 30 minutes is your winning window of opportunity

My latest one is on nutrient TIMING and just how crucial WHEN you eat is when tied to your running performance. Read the original article, but here are some more tips I’ve got from talking to Austin:

* Think long term goals AND short term nutrition goals: With nutrient timing there are macro and micro cycles; the macro would be your BIG training goal, think an entire season or build-up for a marathon. Tailor your food choices and nutrition goals for that, but within each multi-week/month macro cycle fit in 3-10 day micro cycles. An example- A macro cycle would be if you’re training for a marathon, a micro cycle IN that would be a week where you’re focusing on building your speed with shorter intervals. For the micro cycle your eating would be different than in your longer/base phase.

* A second recovery window: We’ve all heard that within 30 minutes of finishing your workout you NEED to get protein and carbs back into your system. What I didn’t know was that there is ANOTHER window of time that is particularly important to refuel your stores: just before bed. Aim to get 20-25 grams of protein, preferably in the form of dairy (cottage cheese, milk), with some carbs. It’s been found the muscles will respond to this, and it also aids with sleeping.

* Marathoners and carbs: Yes, we need carbs as runners, but a mistake many marathoners in training can make is just over-doing the carbs. Meb Keflezighi has become more strict with his carb intake as he’s gotten older; he’s moved up in distance but switched some of those carb calories over to fats and protein and they help keep him fuller. He’s a lot more picky about the KINDS of carbs he eats, WHEN he eats them, and WHICH training phase he’s in.

For more information on how to time your eating so that it’s best fueling your running performance check out the article.

Food is fun, one of the BEST perks of being a runner is we have way more entitlement to stuff our faces. BUT there are times when we must stuff our faces with our brains…because in fueling our bodies right we can fuel them to perform at their optimum level. Read as: Run PR’s!

1) What is something you learned from either this post or from the article? If nothing care to share a tidbit of your own?

2) What is your go-to pre-race meal?

3) What is your go-to post-race meal or ‘fun meal’?

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The March issue GUARDIAN ANGEL KIDS magazine is available free online. This month it features stories, articles, and crafts on nutrition. The online magazine is in a flipbook format, so it's fun and easy to take a peek inside.

For a yummy, nutritious treat you can make yourself, try this recipe for Southwest BLT Rollups. You'll enjoy making them as much as eating them.

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This runner has had burritos on the brain. That being said, tucking into a 5lb burrito bomb and taking off on a 5 mile tempo isn’t such a hot idea. Actually, going for any run after that may be iffy…

I’m more than open in sharing my runner stories of GI distress, gut woes, and tales from the poopy trails. HERE is a previous post and with lots of tips to tackling your own GI issues. Though I happened upon an interesting interview with Dr. Barry Schlansky, specializing in gastroenterology and hepatology, over at FloTrack.

Go read the article yourself, but here are some settling, and not-so-settling things I took away from it:

* Blood Flow Bottom Line: The root of many GI issues is how the body is delegating blood flow through the body during and after exercise. When we’re running our butts off the body’s first priority is to send blood to the muscles in order to fuel our exertion. The intestines are the low-men on the totem pole here and when they are deprived of adequate blood flow there is a bit of damage being caused. Without the adequate oxygen from the blood flow the intestines start to stage their revolt.

* Post-Run Gut Revolt: Sometimes the worst pains and episodes happen AFTER a hard or long run…talk about being chained to the lou for the rest of the day. I’m sure many runners can relate to this feeling, and Dr. Schlansky states it as much, “Right, the longer or more intense the workout is, it will increase the symptoms during and after the workout.” In short it comes back to the intestines not having adequate oxygen/blood-flow WHILE we are working out; then, once we stop working out and blood begins to get shunted back to these organs it’s almost like opening a flood-gate and the intestines aren’t prepared to handle such a quick supply of blood/oxygen. So, they then stage their revolt. “The influx of oxygen to the vulnerable ischemic (damaged from earlier lack of blood supply) tissues can result in a chemical reaction called “oxidation,” which is thought to be the basis for additional injury to tissues after exercise has stopped.”

* Endurance and Effort: Not surprising is that over 80% of elite marathon runners complain of some GI issues; this is both the upward and the downward. Unfortunately Dr. Schlansky is blunt, “I wish I could tell you “why,” but to be honest, at this point the associations are unknown.” (unsettling) Most likely the fact that running puts our guts through quite a POUNDING has a strong link, and “Additionally, researchers have hypothesized that friction between the organs and the lining of the abdominal wall with pounding exercise may cause irritation that causes symptoms.” As for effort, I’m no doctor but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that the fact that the harder we run, there’s got to be an extra level of ‘pounding/driving’ force shaking that sh*t up.

* Females: This really stinks, Runnerchicks, but woman are more apt to GI issues than the runnerdudes. He’s not able to give us a reason, but it’s probably due to differing hormones.

* Eating and Food: Burrito bombs aren’t recommended (duh) and it’s wise to seek out ‘blander’ foods, not too high in fat, not too spicy, not too beany or cheesy, nix the dairy, and so forth. Learn your ‘tummy trigger foods’ and avoid them. Also, timing your last meal is just as important so you can revisit my post on that.

* Iron and Anemia: Any extra blood loss from diarrhea, especially if it’s on a continual basis, can lead to iron deficiency/anemia. “Yes, because it is also possible to lose small amounts of blood in the gastrointestinal tract that is invisible to the naked eye but can result in iron deficiency,” says Dr. Schlansky. If you’re having a lot of GI issues it’s important to keep tabs on your iron levels, I know that runners who later find out they have celiac disease and are gluten intolerant, that because of all of their GI problems they are then anemic.

* Dehydration: Any kind of increased vomiting or diarrhea leads to fluid loss and dehydration, that’s why it’s so important to rehydrate yourself. (The issue there is if you’re running a marathon but aren’t able to take in any more fluids or gels…sadly, you’re kind of screwed at that point, that’s why it’s important to test out and try a bunch of different foods/supplements BEFORE your race to find one that works.) So with any kind of GI issue run make sure you’re extra mindful to replenish those fluid and electrolyte stores.

I’m a sucker for a good poop read, so you should read the full interview done by Danny Mackey. Who is actually a super cool guy in addition to being smart. He’s also married to one smoking fast runnerchick, Katie Mackey, so he gets extra cool points.

1) What was your last GI disaster run? Can you link it back to one food in particular?

2) Do you have more GI issues going the up route or the down?
Down. I’ve never thrown-up actually during or after a run.

3) What foods have you learned are GI suicide for you? What is a ‘winning’ combo that’s worked?

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Every year around this time I admit to getting up a little on my runner’s high horse and thinking, “Gosh dang, you people, shut up about all those ‘Avoid Holiday Weight Gain’ articles the answer is simple: RUN!”

I’m not shy and fully own up to being a neurotic runner who does run every day, the holidays are no exception. And you want to know a little secret? One of the BEST perks of being a runner = eating like a runner = looking like a runner and not a sumo wrestler.

There is a little thing called balance, moderation, and then license to grub hard. That last one also applies to special circumstances (ie: holidays) where you eat foods and amounts (ie: foods in trough-sized plates) you wouldn’t normally…but that also circles back to the law of averages and your nutrition for the entire year.

So, Runners, I believe if we are then the kinds of runners who brave the weather, who don’t miss a day just because the gyms are closed (uhh, it’s called outside…hehe) or what the calendar says, let us all sit atop our little high horses and cringe at all those stupid article. Because the truth is we’ve solved the holiday weight gain conundrum…

Run.

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My article on dining out for runners also touches on the topic of nutrition, balance, and license to indulge: How Runners Can Stuff Their Faces at Restaurants and Still Perform at Their Best
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1) Do you do the eye-roll and head-laugh every time you read one of those ‘avoid holiday weight gain’ type articles or stories? Do you also realize that it’s usually rehashing the same obvious tips over and over again?

2) Do you adjust your running or dietary habits around the holidays? How do you keep balance?

3) What is your favorite type of holiday indulgence?

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If you’re reading this and wiping steak blood juice from your lips because you’re a runner and know how important it is to get that iron into your blood, then this post is JUST perfect for you! Actually, my latest article up on Competitor.com is ‘Iron Level Upkeep for Runners’.

I wanted to share a little more about anemia and iron levels for runners because it’s something that I’ve had to deal with myself and know just how sh*tty it feels to be running when your iron levels are sub-par. And since I’m not a certified smarty-pants and rather get my knowledge from good old fashioned experience and being able to leech all the information I can from the certified smarty-pants I’ve been lucky enough to work with and train under, here is where I can be a little more free with the advice if you know what I mean.

Let me cut to the chase and bottom line this for you off the bat: If you’re a runner you need to be taking iron supplementation in ADDITION to anything you eat. To be frank, every single world-class, competitive, and ‘runner’ runner that I know, be them man or woman, take iron pills, liquid iron, or get iron injections.

If you’re training as much as runners do, there is just no ‘realistic’ way to get the amount of iron necessary through diet alone. Some people have this thing where they don’t like pills or ‘fake’ things, I respect your beliefs, but at the same time you’re only doing yourself a disservice.

In the article I stress how if you don’t have a doctor experienced in working with competitive runners, they could be telling you that your iron levels are in the ‘normal’ range when, in fact, they are anemic compared to runner standards. The ‘average joe’ levels are not going to cut it, and if you get your blood tested and your ferritin is hovering around 20 ng/ml there is then a reason why you’re feeling like crap on your runs.

When I got my levels tested way back when, I was at a 9 and at that point was rejoiced to finally be able to have an answer as to why my running was feeling so dang hard. Weird right, that I was happy to be anemic, but the good news about low iron is that it’s one of the ‘easier’ things to fix once diagnosed.

Again, the article explains a lot about that, but what I’d like to share here is a little about my iron infusions and then some tips that since I’m not a doctor can’t just toss into other articles I write:

Iron Infusions:

*Process:

Sounds scary, and to a needle-phobe it wasn’t a trip to the Pop-Tarts store, but honestly, they weren’t that bad. I went in for three sessions on three successive days, each visit lasted for 3-4 hours hooked up to the IV bag and outside of the prick it didn’t hurt. It felt a little cool where the iron was going in, but that’s all.
*Nausea: What I WILL warn you about is that iron can make you feel a little nauseous and with a headache if you take a lot at once. A few hours after my first IV treatment I felt pretty sick; I went to bed and was fine the next day. The other two days of treatment I felt fine afterwards though. Everyone is different, some people may not even feel bad the first day, but I think because my levels were quite low to begin with and I hadn’t been taking any iron pills, it was a bit of a shock to my system.
*Blood Levels: I went from single digits and up into the 20′s pretty much within days. It was awesome, and as I took pills after that, my levels kept rising rather quickly.

Iron Pills:

*Commonality:

The vast majority of runners I know go the pill route, they are super easy. All you really need to be aware of is you need to take them with food (or you’ll probably feel sick) and take them with Vitamin C to help aid absorbtion. Try to not take them with calcium because that will block absorption a bit.
*Doses: I’d suggest aiming for around 60-70 mg per dose if you’re maintaining and just running a moderate amount. If you’re in high training and competing I’d say you should at least double that; when I was doing hard training I’d safely be having four 65 mg pills a day spread into two doses. People worry about iron overdosing, but unless you’re a kid or weigh 70 pounds you’re not going to die, probably just feel sick. That said it is IMPORTANT to note that I didn’t just go pound four pills off the bat, you need to gradually increase your iron intake, start with one pill a day for a week, add a second pill the next week but spread it out at least 6 hours and go from there. And you could stick to that amount, get your blood tested regularly and adjust your iron intake accordingly.

Iron Blood Levels:
*Runner Norm: Because of iron toxicity phobia people tend to be a little shy of sharing just how high they’d like their levels to be. I’d say that runners should aim to be at least around 70 ng/ml, and to be totally honest I’d say even try to stick around 100 if you can. Some people just can’t get that high, but going with the better safe than sorry logic, shoot for that.

If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them as a comment and I could do another post if there is enough interest. Low iron, known as anemia, is quite common in both men and women and it is incredibly crushing and frustrating to deal with as runners. Or, more correctly, it is brutal to deal with before you find out that is what you’re dealing with. From there, getting supplementation and into an iron maintenance routine is an easy way to get your running back on track!

1) Have you ever dealt with anemia? What was your experience like?

2) Do you take any kind of iron supplementation?

3) What ways do you then try to still get iron into your diet?

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3 Stars The Girl Who Cannot Eat Peanut Butter Sharon Chisvin Carol Leszcz 20 Pages   Ages: 3 to 7 …………. …………………. Back Cover:  The Girl Who Cannot Eat Peanut Butter is a rhyming story for young children about coping with food allergies. The girl of the title sometimes gets upset about having a food allergy, [...]

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I’m a runner who sweats like an elephant and drinks by the gallon. It may mean waking up in the middle of the night a half dozen times but at least I know I’m hydrated. The big H.

I’m still floored every time I hear runners talk about how they ‘hate water’ or the only liquids they consume is in the form of coffee. Soda doesn’t count either, and that could actually be making matters worse and dehydrating you.

Luckily thanks to savvy marketing and all that is the internet runners are getting all things water, hydration and liquids almost poured down their throats for them. Knowledge is key people and you’ve now got no excuse not to know:

* If you’re actually feeling thirsty you’re already in a mild state of dehydration
* Hydration works on consistency: Just like with your running and training, you can’t just never think of about your fluid and electrolyte levels until the morning of a race and pound the liquids. You have to be drinking consistently on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.
* Heat exacerbates things but… even in the dead of winter and running in a snow storm you still sweat and lose both water and electrolytes
* It’s more than water: Elecrtrolytes, especially sodium and potassium, are lost through sweat and you need to ensure to replenish these stores. These micro-nutritents AREN’T found in the water from your tap so you need to drink liquids that contain these.

I’ve done some previous posts on all things liquids HERE and HERE. Revisit those my friends but because this is crucial information I’m going to beat it into your heads. I’m also bringing it up because one fluid of choice that offers runners the chance to electrolyte enhance their water is Nuun. They contacted me after revamping some of their products and wanted me to give it a test. You can read my first review of them HERE. Let’s see what’s new, shall we?
Source
Nuun All Day Hydration

Premise:

Nuun comes in little tablets that you add to water, then watch it fizz and work it’s magic. Give it a shake or stir and your water is both flavored and infused with electrolytes.

Taste: There are a variety of flavors, I’d say my favorite was the Blueberry Pomegranate. Now, I’m also one of those people who has no problem drinking straight water, sort of a plain jane in the taste bud department. The Nuun tabs are a nice flavor perk but not overly sweet.

Cost/Damages: There are 15 tabs per little vial and 4 vials to a pack. When you order online a four-pack comes out to just under $30 without shipping.

What’s New: So Nuun All Day Hydration is widening it’s target audience to include whole families and the little kiddies. Hydration is IMPERATIVE for athletes but it’s still important for everyone, so let’s help cut out the crazy sugar w

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My friends wonder if I’ve lost my mind. I have so many projects on the boards at the moment that it will take six months of dedicated work to get the pile whittled down to a convenient size. No matter; I’ll never get bored.

During our workout yesterday, I threw out a suggestion for Sister and our workout partner. All three of us ladies rank in the senior set and workout three times a week together. We’d all began a nutrition journey a couple of months ago to improve our health, lose weight, and get fit. And we enjoy doing it together.

My suggestion created another book project, one that Sis and I have thought about for a long time. Enter our friend, who creates her masterpieces in the kitchen. Yep! You guessed it; a cook book.

Call me insane, but this is something that can be fun and done with others. Joint efforts usually make for great experiences.

I’ve never done a cook book before. I seldom do recipes for friends and family. Even so, after our discussion, we had the table of contents, the introduction, the recipe categories, and three creative cooks who’ve just been put on a new nutrition plan for life. Sis is our photographer for the project, too.

What better way to expand our horizons on this food journey than to write a cookbook of our favorite creations that draw from those foods we’re allowed to have?

Keys to the Recipes

Our mutual nutrition plan allows only Stevia FOS as our sweetener. On very rare occasions honey can be substituted in small amounts, or dark molasses. Anything using white flour, sugar/sugar substitutes—other than the above, or regular potatoes is verboten. The plan, which is used for pre-diabetics or diabetics in crisis, uses a low glycemic index approach to food.

Taking the restrictions in mind, as well as those foods required by the plan on a daily basis, we began cooking differently and thinking about food in a more mindful way.

Case in point: of fast foods, the only one we’ve found that actually doesn’t trip the alarm meter on this plan is Taco Bells’ hard-shell taco, supreme or not.

Whole grains, which include brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, millet and a few others, can be used without fear. Whole grain flour from this list is usable, too. And don’t forget the legumes. They constitute a major part of the plan, along with Greek yogurt, nuts, and seeds.

Everything we eat now–with rare exemptions–are unprocessed foods; organic where we can get them. We’ve pulled away from the artificial, chemically supported pre-processed foods.

Why a Cook Book?

As I said, Sis and I have been thinking about writing one for a few years; ever since we began making our own tasty egg rolls and stuffed wantons. At that t

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Continuing the series about Alternate Publishing.

Brain Child Press: Photo-Illustrated Books for Kids

Dr. Peggy Sissel-Phelan started Brain Child Press when she realized that there was a need for health and nutrition titles for kids and their parents. She immediately went for niche markets, selling her first title, A Visit to the Farmer’s Market, to the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program which provides food stamps, and health and nutrition information to low-income parents, infants and children. This is an example of a niche publisher who deliberately sidesteps bookstores in order to find her target audience. In this case, Brain Child targets young mothers who are just learning about nutrition for their infants.

I first met Peggy at a Literary Festival, where she calmly told me that her first title had sold over 100,000 copies. A brilliant business woman, she has built a thriving niche publishing business.

You sell to alternate markets. Could you tell us about your best selling book and where it sells best?

My children’s photo-illustrated picture book “A Visit to the Farmers’ Market” is extremely popular. First published in 2007, a Spanish edition came out in 2008. In the past five years I have sold around 100,000 copies of the book (English and Spanish combined.) The original version was 7×8.5, saddle stitched (stapled). Last year, after requests for a bilingual version, I produced it. In doing so, I took the opportunity to revise the book’s layout to be 8.5×8.5, which is one of the standard picture book sizes in the trade, and I began to put it out in perfect bound format. I made this choice because I wanted to have access to Ingram’s Lightning Source POD service, and because you cannot apply for a Library of Congress number for a stapled book. I was also thinking about trying to get it in bricks and mortar book stores (it does sell on Amazon.)

The idea of bookstores is a new thing to me because from the very first my intention was to sell to niche markets. Having worked in health, education, and social service , settings, I not only knew there was a demand for the book, I was also very familiar with and had contacts in some very large market segments: WIC, Head Start, Cooperative Extension, health departments, Ag in the Classroom, etc. In fact, the book took a long time to produce (I did all photography and layout along with the text) so in that time (4 years or so) I pursued the market research and generated bigger and bigger contact lists. The agencies I listed above, along with schools, Farmers’ Markets, universities, and others have purchased quantities ranging from 1 to 8,000 at a time.

Because you sell in large numbers, you use traditional printers to get the best prices, instead of selling POD. Where do you go to find great printers at great prices?

I am a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). They provide various resources that can help you find printers. The membership maga

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By Mark Hanson

We are failing to deal with one of the most important issues of our time – in every country we are getting fatter. Although being fat is not automatically linked to illness, it does increase dramatically the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other so-called non-communicable diseases. We are starting to see very high rates of these diseases in some places, sometimes affecting 50% of the population. Even in some of the poorest parts of the developing world, where such disease itself is not yet common, we nonetheless see warning signs of its arrival. There is great concern that it may soon outweigh the burden of communicable disease such as HIV/AIDS. The humanitarian and financial cost of this non-communicable disease in such parts of the world will be unbearable, and made even worse because the risk is passed across generations, so children born today and tomorrow will have a bleak future.

It seems that we don’t know how to tackle this problem, because current attempts are obviously failing and obesity continues to increase. Governments, doctors, and even NGOs seem to have adopted the same strategy – to focus on our sins of “gluttony and sloth” and to transfer the responsibility for slimming down to each of us as individuals. Of course it’s true that we can’t get overweight unless we eat more than we need to, and the wrong types of foods, and get too little physical exercise. Our biology did not evolve to protect us from obesity and its consequences in today’s sedentary world with such easy access to food. But why is it that we find it so hard to lose weight and, if we do shed the kilos, it seems very hard not to put them back on again?

What we are missing is a focus on our early development. We’re just not adopting the right approach to the problem. And it seems that the generals who are leading us in this global war on obesity and disease have adopted the wrong strategy, and they stick resolutely to it as if they were wearing blinkers. They blame us for the failure to win the war, for our greed and laziness; they blame parents for letting their children get fat; they blame the food industry for peddling unhealthy food, and so on. As if we choose to be fat. It’s important to realise just how limited this way of attacking the problem is on a global scale. Does the little girl force-fed before marriage in Mauritania have any choice in her life? Does the 12-year-old child bride in rural India have any choice when she becomes pregnant and drops out of school? Does the little toddler in Detroit have any choice when his mother feeds him French fries? Does the little boy from Tonga whose mother had diabetes in pregnancy have any choice about developing obesity? Does the little girl in Beijing have any choice in being an only child? And yet every one of these scenarios, and many more, sets that little child up to be at greater risk of becoming obese and to have non-communicable disease.

But new research is uncovering many things that will give us new tactics and strategies for the war against obesity and non-communicable disease, and so we’re hopeful. We now know that we will have to give much greater focus to the mother and unborn child. We may well have to give emphasis to the lifestyle of the father as well. And most importantly of all, we’re starting to realise that behaviours such as propensity to exercise, or appetite and taste for certain foods, which we previously thought to be based on individual choice, have a large constitutional component – in part based on inherited genes, in part on epigenetic changes to gene function in response to the developmental environment, and

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If you viewed the television show that debuted last night starring Chef Jamie Oliver you are probably as appalled as I am. I was shocked to see and hear what the FDA thinks our children should be eating everyday. It is time for us to "wakeup and smell the coffee".


If we are using our heads we know what healthy eating is and we don't need the government to decide what we should be eating or feeding our kids. Truly disturbing was the realization that we are raising a generation of children that can't even identify common vegetables. Have we handed over the job of raising healthy children to Fast food restaurants, food manufacturers, and government agencies? U.S. citizens were once fiercely independent and, though not always correct in everything they did at least, they didn't turn the health of their kids over to strangers.


Find out what is in the food your children are eating at school. Don't trust that the schools are doing the right thing, make sure they are feeding your children healthy foods. Make sure they are eating the food and not throwing it away. I use to believe the government and all of its agencies were looking out for our well being. I was very naive, and yes, gullible. Ordinarily I am not a rebel, blasting everything the government does, but in this case at least I must shout "PARENTS WAKEUP!".  I am not a health nut, but I don't believe the twenty or so ingredients on most food labels that I don't recognize as food are good for us. I don't think our government knows what is healthy for us, if they did they wouldn't keep changing the food pyramid and altering the advice they have been giving us.


These days I find myself craving fresh, simple foods that don't come in a box and are not packed with chemicals, fats, sugars and salt. The goal of fast food restaurants and manufacturers is to fill their wallets not worry about our health. The proof of that is in television commercials that keep telling us that larger sizes and more fat are better even as we are hearing about an epidemic of obesity in this country. I urge parents, working or not, to take a look at what you are feeding your family. Unhealthy eating is shortening our children's lives. Fast food and packaged convenience foods are prepared in a way that will make them appeal to the taste buds and feed you quickly with little work or preparation on your part. We accept that because usually both parents are working and time is at a premium.   But...


Fresh healthy foods should be a family affair. Let the first parent to arrive home start the dinner preparation. Enlist the help of the children in the preparation and table setting, etc. The second adult to arrive home should join in the

4 Comments on No Wonder Our Children Are Obese!, last added: 3/31/2010

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L. Diane Wolfe said, on 3/27/2010 1:00:00 PM

I agree 100% with you! As a total vegan, I am very conscious about what I eat.
The growing trend in obese, inactive kids is frightening...

Shari Lyle-Soffe said, on 3/27/2010 3:07:00 PM

Diane

To be fair, it isn't easy to change this kind of unhealthy eating if it is what you are used to. But it can be done if you are determined to raise healthy kids.

Thanks for looking in.

Shari

Susanne Drazic said, on 3/29/2010 6:23:00 PM

Hi Shari, thanks for sharing the link to the GAP Family Blog. They have some yummy recipes that both kids and adults can enjoy.

Great blog post!

Cheryl said, on 3/30/2010 7:31:00 PM

Our school district has had a wellness policy in place for a few years now. I always chuckle when I see things like waffle sticks on the menu. How can that be part of the wellness policy--fat covered in sugary syrup?

I have one daughter who prefers chocolate to anything else and one who eats healthy with little prodding. Until recently, I didn't eat many fruits and vegetables, but if I want my junk food junkie of a daughter to eat healthy, I must set a good example.

I don't trust the government or any other organization to tell me what's good for us. I rely on common sense and ingredient labels.

Cheryl

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