Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Texas 4th Graders get too many calories, not enough nutrition

Very interesting study released recently. It's just plain not enough to feed our kids any food available. What everyone should be concerned with is getting real nutrition to them. That means fruits and vegetables! Our food distribution system is currently not adequate for getting nutrition to everyone. There are some great organizations trying to change this including the Sustainable Food Center and Green Corn Project just to name a couple. Greenling hopes that as we grow, we can help build the distribution network necessary to get nutrition to everyone, even low income families. Snipet:

Low Income Fourth Graders Face Heightened Risk of Diabetes from Too Many Calories, Not Enough Nutrients

A Texas team studied the diets, weight, body mass index, and diabetes risk factors for a cohort of 1,402 fourth graders composed of Mexican American (80%), African American (10%), Asian (5%), and non-Hispanic white children (5%). Nearly 75% of the children lived in households with less than $20,000 income.

Almost half lacked adequate calories in their diet, yet 33% were obese and already, in the 4th grade, 7% had high blood glucose levels. Diets were composed of energy- and calorie-dense foods like cookies, chips, and ice cream, and were low in nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables.

The authors concluded that these children faced a high risk of developing diabetes and were in need of substantial dietary interventions, increasing in particular daily intakes of nutrient-dense foods.

Source: Roberto P. Trevino et al., "Diabetes Risk, Low Fitness, and Energy Insufficiency Levels among Children from Poor Families," Journal of the American Dietetic Association, November, 2008: pages 1846-1853

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