| August 2004 Missouri Regional Newsletter p4 |
| ACS News continued from p3 |
| Be active as a family. Encourage your children to be physically active for 60 minutes at least 5 days a week, and get moving yourself for at least 30 minutes, at least 5 days a week.
Suggestions to create physically active children and families Community changes to support a good diet and physical activity Protect yourself and your children from the sun during outdoor activities and don't use indoor tanning devices at all. Parents' Guide to Sun Protection A Glimmer of Community Support Since 2001, when the US Surgeon General called for action to reverse growing obesity rates, there have been positive community changes that affect children. Cigarette prices are rising out of teens' reach, smoke-free laws are rolling across the country, and teen smoking rates are dropping. Fast-food giant McDonald's, a favorite of children, has done away with "super-sized" food portions. And putting limits on unhealthy "competitive" foods has spread to school districts in 23 states at last count. New York City's school district, the largest in the nation, removed candy, soda, and other snack foods from school vending machines in 2003. Los Angeles schools began a soda vending ban in January and recently extended the ban to fried chips, candy, and other unhealthy snacks in vending machines or school stores. Has the tide turned on climbing rates of overweight and obesity among children? It's probably too early to tell because of a long lag time between behavior, surveys, and published reports. The latest figures come from last month's government report, America's Children in Brief. Authors say the ranks of overweight children clicked up another notch between 1999 and 2000 to 16% � huge, compared with 6% in the late 1970s. Published 8/01/04 Copyright 2004 � American Cancer Society, Inc. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/SPC/content/SPC_1_Schooling_Kids_for_a_Cancer-Proof_Life.asp |
| FYI HEALTH SERIES |
| Are Organic Meats Worth the Extra Cash?
Organic meats are at least 35% more expensive than nonorganic�are they worth it? by Julie Upton, R.D. Gone are the days when your grocery list could fit on a Post-It. Now that we're buying organic pork, free-range chicken, and grass-fed beef, we need a lot more paper for our lists�and for all those extensive new labels cluttering up meat packages. These politically-correct-sounding meats also cost more money. While most organic fruits and vegetables cost about 20 percent more on average than their nonorganic counterparts, organic animal products are at least 35 percent more expensive. So are these meats worth the extra money (and paper)? They are if you're interested in keeping yourself and your planet healthy. Since 2002, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has enforced strict standards for organic labeling. Foods with the USDA certified organic symbol must contain 95 to 100 percent organic ingredients. Organic livestock must be fed 100 percent organic plant-based feed, they can't be given any antibiotics or growth hormones, and they must have access to pasture. "Meeting organic regulations is rigorous, and inspectors ensure that every step is adhered to," says Michael Levine, president of Organic Meat Company, a division of Organic Valley of La Farge, Wisconsin. All of these stringent requirements do a lot to ensure the safety of organic meats. For example, the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria may in part be due to the fact that an estimated 70 percent of the antibiotics produced in this country are used for nontherapeutic purposes such as accelerating animal growth and compensating for overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on feedlots. Organic animals are also raised on a 100-percent vegetarian diet. This makes organic beef the gold standard for safety when it comes to mad cow disease, since mad cow is believed to be spread through feed containing infected proteins from other cows. There may also be a slight difference in the fat composition of beef and dairy products that are certified organic, making them a nutritionally superior choice. These products contain more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a beneficial group of fatty acids that cattle accrue when fed a grass-based diet. CLA aids fat metabolism and may play a role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers, explains Martha Belury, Ph.D., R.D., professor of nutrition at Ohio State University. continued on page 5 |