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Fathers parenting style blamed for fat kids
Yet another reason to add to the growing and contradictory list. Another study blamed strict mothers, or maybe TV, or even busy parents. - Tall buildings make slim people
The Med Journal Watch blog points to a study of New York and obesity. People who live in crowded urban situations are thinner. Unsurprising given that suburbia is built for cars not people. - Fancy restaurants have calorie-dense food too
NY Mag compares the calorie count of "fancy" food with that of a Big Mac. It's a no brainer. Of course food from fancy restaurants is high in Calories. Chefs generally aren't interested in substituting flavor for calorie count. - Diet and Cancer
Two large studies looking at links between diet and cancer show that fruit and vegetable intake is the key to avoiding cancer. This is an enormous subject - and something worthy of some serious consideration. Just how much does our diet of processed food contribute to cellular degradation. - Meridia doesn't work very well
A 12 week trial of sibutramine (Meridia) on obese teenagers showed no additional benefit.
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So permissive fathers have overweight kids. I'd be curious to know if this parenting style, if true, would lead to increased drug and alcohol abuse.
Brian
ReplyBrian, I remember wondering the same thing on the post about the obese British kid that the authorities were threatening to take away. The mother said (I paraphrase) "he eats three times what a normal child would eat, but if I don't give him food, he'll just whine all night". I was shocked by that comment and wondered if the child was "whining" about not getting money for drugs or alcohol, if she would give in just the same. So I think you have a good theory there.
ReplyRE: Nice restaurants have calories, too.
Read Anthony Bourdain's book, and you'll see just how much calories they add. Why does restaurant food taste better than yours? Fat, sugar, and salt. How do they get their steaks to glisten? Butter. Why are the mashed potatoes so good? A stick of butter per 4 potatoes.
Butter. Butter. Butter. Butter. Butter. Butter. Butter.
His point is that you go to restaurants to EAT and enjoy that experience. No one goes out to eat healthily.
ReplySometimes I wonder how they can do these studies... My common sense comes up with the same results...
Anyone out there want to pay me to think and write articles on the obvious? :D
ReplyI like to eat out, and it always annoys me that more restaurants won't put just a little more effort towards a few healthy but tasty dishes. You don't have to drown everything in butter and rich sauces.
Cooking at home is fine, but time consuming. And it's hard to have ready access to fresh herbs and exotic spices and other ingredients that restaurants can buy in bulk. I'd be willing to pay restaurant prices more often if there were more places that would offer whole grains and healthy oils and good sized portions of fresh vegetables that aren't drowned in butter. But even in the SF bay area (a gourmet paradise), so many restaurants feed you like it's still the fifties.
ReplyBrian,
ReplyTotally agree with your comments. I sometimes wonder who does this sort of research and how on earth do they come up with some of their conclusions. I joined diet blog because I have started a diet myself and began my own blog Fry">http://www.fryitordiet.blogspot.com/">Fry It Or Diet
I would appreciate any helpful tips or advice you may have.
Kind Regards John.
Brian,
ReplyTotally agree with your comments. I sometimes wonder who does this sort of research and how on earth do they come up with some of their conclusions. I joined diet blog because I have started a diet myself and began my own blog Fry It Or Diet I would appreciate any helpful tips or advice you may have.
Kind Regards John.
There was an earlier study by Boston University comparing four styles of parenting (authoritarian, permissive, neglectful and authoritative) which found that it wasn't permissive parents who had the highest rate of overweight kids, but the authoritarian parents!
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/117/6/2047
"The report from Boston University School of Medicine also found that the fewest weight problems occur among children whose parents are 'authoritative' -- having high expectations for self control but respectful of a child's opinions and who set clear boundaries."
ReplyRe: Fancy restaurants have calorie-dense food too
The point of a meal at a place like Per Se is decadence. I wouldn't expect it to be in the range of what your average healthy meal would be.
It is interesting that you can cut out 720 calories (or 1.5 of the 4.5 "Big Macs") by simply skipping the bread and butter. That makes the whole experience, with wine, chocolates and every other yummy course around 1700 calories. Not great but not bad for a one time splurge surrounded by healthy eating.
Reply