It's not very catchy, but fast food restaurants may as well update their greetings, considering the negative effects their food can have on our health, our hearts and, now, our livers.
In a new study, 18 slim, healthy Swedish men and women took on a fast food diet, eating meals from popular chains twice a day for four weeks while refraining from exercise.
At the end of the experiment, blood tests showed evidence that the subjects eating fast food had liver damage. They also had gained an average of 16 pounds.
The subjects were eating "an outrageously high amount" of calories, said Keith-Thomas Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Ayoob said the calorie intake was almost double the average daily caloric intake of most Americans, which is about 2,700 calories.
Studies have shown that a diet high in fat and calories — the magic recipe for delicious, greasy fast food — puts people at greater risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes, both of which can lead to cardiovascular diseases and heart failure. But the Swedish study, the goal of which was to double calorie intake and increase body weight by about 15 percent, showed that the liver is also at risk when you roll up to the drive-through window.
Source:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PictureOfHealth/story?id=4286176
Saturday, April 26, 2008
A Super-Sized Problem
"The extra fat is the big enchilada here, the equivalent of about three sticks of butter daily," Ayoob said. "The liver is basically using its compensatory mechanism to accommodate all this extra stuff."
The liver processes fats in the blood. Excessive calories and fats overload the organ, causing fat to build up in the liver cells and leading to liver damage.
The study echoes another experiment that received both attention and an Academy Award nomination. In the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock followed a strict fast food diet for 30 days, eating only items from McDonald's. He consumed an average of 5,000 calories each day, equivalent to about nine hamburgers, and gained 24.5 pounds.
This doesn’t seem to stop major fast food giants from crating more and more extravagant “fatty” burgers to the public. The national obesity ratio is not a problem for them, its all about dollars and cents.
The liver processes fats in the blood. Excessive calories and fats overload the organ, causing fat to build up in the liver cells and leading to liver damage.
The study echoes another experiment that received both attention and an Academy Award nomination. In the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock followed a strict fast food diet for 30 days, eating only items from McDonald's. He consumed an average of 5,000 calories each day, equivalent to about nine hamburgers, and gained 24.5 pounds.
This doesn’t seem to stop major fast food giants from crating more and more extravagant “fatty” burgers to the public. The national obesity ratio is not a problem for them, its all about dollars and cents.
White Castle fries up tasty fashion
Retailers say White Castle logo T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, wristbands and even briefs, have taken off with fashionistas and trend-starved teenagers on the hunt for a new fad.
"It started last summer with the logos of old baseball teams," said LaVelle Olexa, senior vice president of fashion merchandising at department store chain Lord & Taylor. "It's part of a whimsical trend in the contemporary market, an attitude that takes inspiration entirely from pop culture."
Marshal Cohen, analyst with NPD Group, agreed with Olexa's views.
"In part, it's the popularity of everything retro, but it also shows the power of culture over fashion," said Cohen. "The fashion inspirations lately are not coming from established designers but from the entertainment industry, from popular culture, music and the movies." Personally I don’t understand how a burger joint log could be considered fashionable
"It started last summer with the logos of old baseball teams," said LaVelle Olexa, senior vice president of fashion merchandising at department store chain Lord & Taylor. "It's part of a whimsical trend in the contemporary market, an attitude that takes inspiration entirely from pop culture."
Marshal Cohen, analyst with NPD Group, agreed with Olexa's views.
"In part, it's the popularity of everything retro, but it also shows the power of culture over fashion," said Cohen. "The fashion inspirations lately are not coming from established designers but from the entertainment industry, from popular culture, music and the movies." Personally I don’t understand how a burger joint log could be considered fashionable
Friday, April 25, 2008
The Blame Game
OK. This is an article I found at businessweek.com. I think this is the typical thing that the media AND lazy parents try to do. THE BLAME GAME. If its not Rap music or Marilyn Manson, its Video Games, its not any of the above, its fast food. Its always some bodies fault but their own. Listen, if your kids are over weight, its probably not a good idea to take them to get a happy meal 3 times a week because your too lazy to cook!
Fast Food Ads Fueling Obesity Among Hispanic Kids
(HealthDay News) -- The large number of fast food commercials on Spanish-language television in the United States may be contributing to the obesity epidemic among Hispanic youths, new research suggests.
Among American children, Hispanics have the highest rates of overweight and obesity.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center reviewed 60 hours of programming airing between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. (heavy viewing hours for school-age children) on Univision and Telemundo, the two largest Spanish-language channels in the United States. The stations reach 99 percent and 93 percent of U.S. Hispanics, respectively.
The stations averaged two to three food commercials an hour, with one-third of them specifically targeted to children. Almost half of all food commercials promoted fast food, and more than half of all drink commercials featured soda and drinks with high sugar content. The study was published in the Feb. 18 online issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.
"While we cannot blame overweight and obesity solely on TV commercials, there is solid evidence that children exposed to such messages tend to have unhealthy diets and to be overweight," lead investigator Dr. Darcy Thompson, a pediatrician at Hopkins, said in a prepared statement.
To reduce the impact of food commercials, young children should be restricted to two hours or less per day of TV, and parent should talk to their children about healthy diet and food choices, the researchers said. Children younger than 2 shouldn't be allowed to watch any TV.
The Hopkins team also recommended that pediatricians caring for Hispanic children should be aware of their patients' heavy exposure to food commercials and the possible effects of that exposure. In addition, public health officials should lobby policy makers to limit food advertising that targets children.
Among American children, Hispanics have the highest rates of overweight and obesity.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center reviewed 60 hours of programming airing between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. (heavy viewing hours for school-age children) on Univision and Telemundo, the two largest Spanish-language channels in the United States. The stations reach 99 percent and 93 percent of U.S. Hispanics, respectively.
The stations averaged two to three food commercials an hour, with one-third of them specifically targeted to children. Almost half of all food commercials promoted fast food, and more than half of all drink commercials featured soda and drinks with high sugar content. The study was published in the Feb. 18 online issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.
"While we cannot blame overweight and obesity solely on TV commercials, there is solid evidence that children exposed to such messages tend to have unhealthy diets and to be overweight," lead investigator Dr. Darcy Thompson, a pediatrician at Hopkins, said in a prepared statement.
To reduce the impact of food commercials, young children should be restricted to two hours or less per day of TV, and parent should talk to their children about healthy diet and food choices, the researchers said. Children younger than 2 shouldn't be allowed to watch any TV.
The Hopkins team also recommended that pediatricians caring for Hispanic children should be aware of their patients' heavy exposure to food commercials and the possible effects of that exposure. In addition, public health officials should lobby policy makers to limit food advertising that targets children.
Arby's owner to acquire Wendy's in all-stock deal
After at least two rejections, billionaire Nelson Peltz has finally succeeded in landing Wendy's in a $2.3 billion deal that would add the chain known for its square burger and chocolate Frosty dessert to his ownership of Arby's and its roast beef sandwiches.
Atlanta-based Triarc Companies Inc., owned by Peltz, said Thursday it will pay about $2.34 billion in an all-stock deal for the nation's third-largest hamburger chain started in 1969 by Dave Thomas. Wendy's had rejected at least two buyout offers from Triarc.
Thomas' daughter, Pam Thomas Farber, said the family was devastated by the news.
Atlanta-based Triarc Companies Inc., owned by Peltz, said Thursday it will pay about $2.34 billion in an all-stock deal for the nation's third-largest hamburger chain started in 1969 by Dave Thomas. Wendy's had rejected at least two buyout offers from Triarc.
Thomas' daughter, Pam Thomas Farber, said the family was devastated by the news.
Arby's Buys Wendy's
It was announced Thursday that Triarc owned Arby's fast food chain bought Wendy's fast food chain in a 2.34 billion dollar stock deal. Dave Thomas (deceased 2002) started Wendy's in 1969 and named it after his youngest daughter 'Melinda Lou' who was nicknamed Wendy. The Thomas daughters Pam Thomas Farber and Wendy are both upset by the sale, claiming that "It's a very sad day for Wendy's and our family" according to the Associated Press.An interesting line in the lengthy Associated Press article reads: Triarc said it will also change its name to include the Wendy's name. Does this mean that Arby's and Wendy's will be sharing a new name? I've sat here playing with trying to combine the name a little bit and their really isn't any way to combine these two old favorite names together unless Arby's would like to become Ardy's.
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