Good News to Hear

We hope that you’ll be able to join us this Thursday for another friendly and convenient Pathfinder Produce market.  We’re open from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Pathfinder Village Commons.

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Although spring is a bit delayed this year, there are some genuine reasons to celebrate: First, a recent study suggests that the upward trend in child obesity may be starting to turn, and the Food and Drug Administration has proposed new labels that will be easier for consumers to understand.

According to a report in The Journal of the American Medical Association last week, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that obesity rates for young children, ages 2 to 5, dropped from 13.9% in 2003-04 to 8.4% in 2011-12.  No specific cause was cited for the drop, but it may be a hopeful sign that kids will live healthier and longer, especially as lifelong eating patterns are thought to form at this critical stage.  

A blog post on the Washington Post site offers some possible reasons for the drop: 

• Food assistance programs, like SNAP and WIC, have revised their funding to encourage families to buy more fruits and vegetables.

• New nutritional guidelines used by government programs are encouraging more water consumption, less sugar-laden drinks, smaller serving sizes, and limited recreational screen time. 
• More babies are being breast-fed (70.3% in 2000 up to 74.6% in 2008), which is thought to provide better nutrition to infants.
• Food companies are limiting ads targeting children (presumably for high-sugar, high-fat foods); between 2003 and 2007, the daily exposure for young children to food ads fell by 13.7%.
• National initiatives have promoted healthy eating among children, such as First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program.  Mrs. Obama has taken her message to the public by being on shows like “Sesame Street,” and appearing with celebrities and on late-night programs to help educate parents.

Unfortunately, the CDC study indicated that obesity rates for school aged children and adults didn't change (17% for youths, 33% for adults), and the rates went up for women 60+.  The First Lady and others are now working to bring changes to school lunch rooms, according to the Let's Move! site.  As part of a comprehensive effort, food marketing in schools will be curtailed to only those products that may be sold or served in schools.  And the school breakfast program will be expanded to serve 9 million kids in 22,000 schools; healthy breakfasts have been shown to boost math scores by 17.5% and to diminish disciplinary issues.

Another way to improve eating habits is to make it easier for people to understand what and how much they are eating.  Food labels may be getting a face-lift – the first since the 1990s – and will be in-synch with actual eating habits according to the Associated Press/NPR.  The new labels would reflect what people actually eat (a whole cup of ice cream vs. a half-cup on the current labels).  Calorie counts will indicate the entire contents of the can, bottle or package (FYI - a 20 oz. bottle of soda is actually 2 ½ servings, not one).  The new labels are under a 90 day review and comment period, and may take several years to implement.  More on the “portion distortion” that has become ingrained in American life can be found here.

Fat content will still be listed, but sugar content – naturally occurring and added sugars – will be more evident on the new labels.  According to the Department of Agriculture, added sugars contribute about 16% of the total calories in our diets each day.  That’s a really big number if you think about it. 

Until next time, be well.  We hope to see you at Pathfinder Produce this Thursday!

Lori