junk food

A recent study put out by the University of Michigan and the New York Obesity Research Center shows some striking similarities between junk food and drugs. Two studies were done, one where a group of 120 people were told to choose which foods were most associated with addictive-like eating behaviors and another using “hierarchical linear modeling” to find out which attributes caused these foods to become addictive.

Researchers showed people two photos side-by-side, one of a highly processed or fatty food and the other being a healthy food object, like a fruit or vegetable. The people were then told to choose which food they’d run into more difficulty with giving up or cutting down on eating said food. Most of the foods that were chosen had added amounts of refined carbohydrates which is what contributed to the “addictive” nature. The study found evidence that highly processed foods can be associated with “food addiction”. This is because they share characteristics with drugs such as their rapid rate of absorption and that you get the ingredients in the food in such high doses. The study stated that the next step in the research is the observe eating behaviors with these foods and factor in things like withdrawal and tolerance to find more conclusive evidence.

Evidence for highly processed foods being addictive in one way or another has been found. This could be found useful when it comes to helping solve the obesity problem in America.

“This is a first step towards identifying specific foods, and properties of foods, which can trigger this addictive response,” said Nicole Avena, the lead author of the study, in a statement, “This could help change the way we approach obesity treatment. It may not be a simple matter of ‘cutting back’ on certain foods, but rather, adopting methods used to curtail smoking, drinking, and drug use.”

Everyone on planet Earth needs food to survive, but people need to eat healthy foods to thrive. Many food companies have counteracted against government-issued dietary warnings for decades. In an article by alternet.org, an email chain published by the Agriculture and Health and Human Services Department revealed several tactics that food companies used to avoid negative research about the foods they produced. The exchanged was between Michael Ernest Knowles, former vice president of Global Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at Coca-Cola, and Alex Malaspina, a former Coca-Cola executive

One tactic that food companies used is creating their own studies. In the email exchange, Knowles said: “We have to use external organizations in addition to any work we directly commission.”

By funding their own research, the food industry could downplay the effects of their food on consumers health or shift the blame to another product altogether. Their findings are often advertised to overshadow government issued research.

Here in Sacramento, there have been government efforts to help public school students avoid eating junk foods. The Sacramento City Unified School District recently passed a new “Wellness Policy” to regulate what the students eat while at school. The SCUSD Board of Trustees unanimously voted yes on the policy. The aim

of the policy is to help students eat healthily and to curb obesity rates.

“We passed the wellness policy 3 months ago,” said Michael Minnick, Board Member for District 4 Of the Sacramento Unified School District. “We want to make sure that, at least on the school campuses, [the students] are eating healthy. We are also currently in the process of building a new central kitchen. Since we are a farm-to-fork community, we can bring in fresh food to our students.”

The food industry is a powerful force with many resources. To help people, sometimes the government has to step and regulate what the people eat. Sometimes, business and government works together, but when they do not, it is an ongoing war for dominance.

New guidelines from The American Heart Association are out now with its first ever statement on the issue of kids overconsuming sugar. They say children should limit their sugar intake to 25 grams a day. That’s just six teaspoons per day. The issue of concern is not with the natural sugar kids consume by eating fruits, bread, and many other natural sugar sourced items. The concern is the amount of added sugar that is added throughout the day. For instance, American kids and teens on average consume up to 90.5 grams of added sugars daily. That’s triple the amount recommended. Many kids are unaware of the extra sugar they are consuming through sodas, sports drinks, sweets, pizza, burgers, corn dogs, and cheeseburgers. A diet high in added sugar for children increases the chance that they’ll develop childhood obesity and or have high cholesterol that will result in other health issues in the future.

“We all consume extra added sugar without realizing it, parents need to help monitor their kids added sugar intake by limiting how many condiments such as ketchup their kids use, soda intake, not keeping sweets on hand in the home,” says Cassie McGrath a graduate student studying nutrition at California State University, Sacramento. “It’s all about creating healthier choices such as fruit smoothies, milk, and dark chocolate as healthy alternatives.

The city of Sacramento Unified School District has already taken precautions to help limit kids intake consuming unhealthy sugar and carbohydrates. They created nutritional menu plans that portions out how much sugar, and carbohydrates they can consume throughout the week. The goal is to teach kids how to consume added sugar in moderation, which could help the community health in the future.