Junk Food Linked To Weight Gain In Schools? Apparently Not

Despite a tripling of obesity rates in US schools over the last forty years, and an increase in junk foods, candy and sugary drinks availability in schools, a new study claims to demonstrate that the two are not linked - put simply, the study researchers say that junk food at school does not appear to be associated with higher obesity and overweight rates. The study has been published in Sociology in Education, and was authored by Jennifer Van Hook, a Professor of Sociology and Demography, and doctoral student Claire Altman.



Prof. Hook said:

"We were really surprised by that result and, in fact, we held back from publishing our study for roughly two years because we kept looking for a connection that just wasn't there."

Prof. Hook and Claire E. Altman gathered data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999. The large study tracked the children all the way up to eighth grade. The researchers focused on a sample of 19,450 kids during the years 2003-2004 (fifth graders) and 2006-2007 (eighth graders).

Junk food was available in 86.3% of the eighth graders' schools and 59.2% of the fifth graders'.

Even though the percentage rise in junk food availability and accessibility from fifth to eighth grade was significant, the obesity/overweight rates in the two age groups remained pretty much the same. In fact, (obesity/overweight) rates dropped as the children got older - from 39.1% in fifth graders to 35.4% in eighth graders.

Van Hook said:

"There has been a great deal of focus in the media on how schools make a lot of money from the sale of junk food to students, and on how schools have the ability to help reduce childhood obesity. In that light, we expected to find a definitive connection between the sale of junk food in middle schools and weight gain among children between fifth and eighth grades.

But, our study suggests that - when it comes to weight issues - we need to be looking far beyond schools and, more specifically, junk food sales in schools, to make a difference."

The authors believe that authorities need to focus on the home and family environments, plus other broader non-school environments, if they want to tackle childhood obesity effectively.

Van Hook explained:

"Schools only represent a small portion of children's food environment. They can get food at home, they can get food in their neighborhoods, and they can go across the street from the school to buy food. Additionally, kids are actually very busy at school.

When they're not in class, they have to get from one class to another and they have certain fixed times when they can eat. So, there really isn't a lot of opportunity for children to eat while they're in school, or at least eat endlessly, compared to when they're at home. As a result, whether or not junk food is available to them at school may not have much bearing on how much junk food they eat."

According to the findings in this study, combating childhood obesity/overweight is most effective when younger children are targeted.

The authors wrote:

"There has been a lot of research showing that many children develop eating habits and tastes for certain types of foods when they are of preschool age, and that those habits and tastes may stay with them for their whole lives," Van Hook said. "So, their middle school environments might not matter a lot."

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

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Choosing Nature Over Danger

Human beings have been fascinated by the concept of beauty since time immemorial. What is considered beautiful differs between societies and cultures. However, individuals will still work hard to appeal to the visual senses of everyone who beholds them. In the past, before the onset of cosmetic products, women used crude ingredients to make themselves fairer and more appealing. In modern days, individuals are willing to spend thousands of dollars in an effort to make themselves more beautiful.
 
Unfortunately, women all over the world became obsessed with beauty and the power associated with it. Beautiful women were more likely to get married to wealthy men who will take care o them. Also, beautiful women are more likely to get employment in certain industries. This obsession led to the notion of 'no pain, no gain', in which women were willing to go through extremely painful and dangerous procedures in order to become beautiful.

In the past, women were made to believe that a small, wasp-like waist is beautiful. These women often tied corsets tightly around their waist. This would make it difficult for them to breath properly and most women suffered fainting spells as a result of this. In ancient China, women were made to believe that big feet are ugly. These women would therefore tie their feet when they are young in order to prevent them from becoming bigger. This procedure is extremely painful, and activities such as walking would be excruciating. Women in other parts of the world applied toxic mercury on their skin in order to make them fairer.

These days, women have been made to believe that skinny and tall is beautiful. Young girls all over the world are trying out dangerous diets and diet pills. Others have developed unhealthy eating disorders such as anorexia. Women have died on the surgeon's table while trying to get liposuction in order to remove excess fat from their bodies. Others have gone through a painful procedure that involves breaking the bones in their legs in order to make them taller.

It is quite sad that people have resulted to such extremes in order to look beautiful. What most of these people do not realize is that beauty also has a psychological aspect. This aspect involves loving and accepting oneself. Most men will agree that there is nothing as beautiful and as attractive as a confident woman.

Furthermore, there are a lot of natural tips that can help an individual to look more beautiful. Drinking plenty of water can help to make the skin more radiant and it will definitely help the individual to age gracefully. Fruits and vegetables are essential for firmer and healthy looking skin. Individuals should also get plenty of rest at night as this will keep their skin looking younger and they will also feel better.

There are also a lot of natural products that use safe ingredients. Such products are available in various stores and websites and they can help a woman to have beautiful skin, hair and nails without causing them any pain. Women should always remember that though beauty is desirable, they do not have to risk their health or lives in order to achieve it.

I am an avid researcher who loves writing on a number of topics including health, fitness, beauty, sports, travel and leisure among others.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7476047

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Tips To Looking Beautiful Throughout Your Lifetime

What women stress most about within their lives could be their look. For anyone who is like the majority of women, you might have thought of how you look all of your life. All of us want to look their very best, there are a few methods for you to stay looking your very best through your lifetime. Better yet, you will discover simple ways to do it. Here are a few easy tips you are able to incorporate into your life so that you always put your best foot forward.
 
Begin by enhancing your diet. You are already aware that you should eat "healthy". Which means many different things to each person, based on whom you ask. One individual might find a Primal diet to become healthy, someone can be a vegetarian, while others adhere to a low-fat diet. You need to try eating in a manner that is sensible for you personally. Should you feel great everyday, maybe you are eating the proper foods. For anyone who is sluggish throughout your day and also have unwanted weight, you must modify your diet plan. Eating the right foods will help you feel so much better.

It is important to consume a lot of water. I am sure you may have heard that as well, however, the reason why it is very important is because the body consists of mostly water. You lose water while urinating, sweating, plus your daily activity. In addition, the tea and coffee you consume each morning, along with the alcohol you drink socially, act as diuretics, which cause you to lose water. Lacking the necessary water in your body, your skin will begin to look dull and dry. The skin is also more prone to wrinkle and flake. When you get enough water, your skin is soft and appears younger. Try to drink around 8 to 10 glasses each day.
Get moving. You have likely been told you need to exercise, however, you may not understand that you can do many different things to exercise. Being active is essential for a lot of reasons. such as circulation, heart health and more. In order to keep yourself moving it is important to find a way to move your body in ways you like. For just one person, it may be joining the gym. Another might enjoy taking a walk or just dancing. What ever activity gets you up and active will certainly help you stay looking beautiful.

Dress appropriately. Many women, as they age, are lured to wear clothing that the younger generation are wearing. They may be attracted to plunging necklines and hip hugging pants, and become frustrated when they can no longer fit those clothes. The simple truth is dressing younger than you happen to be only accentuates how old you are. A person looks a lot more fresh and lively in clothes that fit you and also are appropriate to your age.

Maintain positivity. Above all else, beauty is really a frame of mind. Should you feel good, a person looks good. That maybe true of each and every woman on earth.
Begin using these ideas to stay beautiful within your entire life; beauty could be yours at all ages.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7478711

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