Archive for February, 2009
A new study came out this week in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrating what many of us have been saying for years. With dieting, it doesn’t matter what diet you are on, what matters is that you are eating less (or taking in fewer calories) than you are expending.
Calories In = Calories Out
If you eat more than you burn up for the day, you will gain weight.
If you eat less than you burn up for the day, you will loose weight.
Or in more technical terms, the conclusions of the published study:
Reduced-calorie diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasize.
The Study
In the study 811 overweight adults were randomly assigned to one of four diets with varying percentages of energy derived from fat, protein and carbs. Each of the diets consisted of similar foods and all met guidelines for cardiovascular health.
Participants were followed for a period of 2 years. They were also offered group and individual instruction sessions during this time.
The main outcome measured at the end of 2 years was the change in body weight. Among the 80% of participants who completed the study, the average weight loss was 4 kg (8.8 lbs.). A smaller percentage 14 – 15% experienced a reduction of at least 10% of their initial body weight. This study also found that attendance at group sessions was strongly associated with weight loss.
Resources:
Sacks FM, Bray GA. Feburary 26, 2009. Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates. New England Journal of Medicine. 360:859-873
Parker-Pope T. February 25, 2009. Study Zeroes In on Calories, Not Diet, for Loss: Fewer Calories (Carbs, Protein or Fat ) Are Called Weight Loss Key. New York Times.
Image: Modified Microsoft Clipart.
February 27th, 2009
I’ve pulled together links to prior entries that are dealing with Weight Managment, Weight Stereotypes and Weight Management Plans.
These prior posts look at many of the issues regarding our perceptions of beauty and weight as well as the impact of these images on our children.
February 26th, 2009
A new study published in January’s Issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine is demonstrating that the ratio of sodium to potassium may be more important than the amount of sodium or potassium alone.
Senior author Dr. Paul Whelton from Loyloa University Health System was quoted as saying:
There isn’t as much focus on potassium, but potassium seems to be effective in lowering blood pressure and the combination of a higher intake of potassium and lower consumption of sodium seems to be more effective than either on its own in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Potassium Rich Foods
In general, the more processed a food is, the more sodium and less potassium a food has. The diagram from the textbook Understanding Nutrition shows the differences in how much sodium vs. potassium are in food that has been processed or food that has not been processed.
One way of getting plenty of potassium is to be sure to eat a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables. Some examples of Potassium Rich foods:
One Banana – 400 mg Potassium
One Potato – 900 mg Potassium
One cup Spinach – 950 mg Potassium
1/2 cup Raisins – 600 mg Potassium
8 ounces (one cup) Orange Juice – 500 mg Potassium
Sources
Sohn E. February 23, 2009. Potassium to sodium ratio affects the heart: Consuming twice as much potassium as sodium might halve your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Los Angeles Times.
DocGuide. January 26, 2009. Low-Sodium, High Potassium is Effective in Lowering Blood Pressure. Loyola University Health System.
Cook NR, Obarzanek E, et. al. 2009. Joint Effects of Sodium Potassium Intake on Subsequent Cardiovascular Disease:The Trials of Hypertension Prevention Follow-up Study. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(1):32-40.
February 24th, 2009
While not normally a Nutrition topic, the eBook Living with Loss is a wellness topic. This eBook is a good resource for improving or maintaining wellness in the face of a loss, a death or a significant life changing event.
The Living with Loss By Understanding Grief eBook is a complementary resource that I helped write, design, create and get published as part of the Tuolumne County Working Group for Loss & Grief Education and Support.
The booklet was written by Dr. Dyer in 2008 with input from Working Group Members which included a cross section of those interested in Grief and Loss within Tuolumne County.
Download a copy of the eBook by clicking on the eBook image at the left or on the image in the right side bar.
You can find out more about the Living with Loss eBook and even view a smaller version of it on the Grief, Loss and Bereavement Blog.
February 19th, 2009
Two skills that many online instructor’s figure their students have coming into the course are knowing how to copy and paste information and also knowing how to save documents in different formats like .rtf or .pdf files.
The new version of Microsoft creates documents as a .docx format, which is only readable if the person has the latest version of Microsoft (or has the program to convert files). Another issue with Microsoft documents even just .docs it that they are more likely to transmit viruses.
The concern about transmitting computer viruses is the main reason that many instructors require that documents submitted as attachments (which will be opened by the instructor) are submitted as .rtf, .txt or .pdf files.
I found a couple of great online Video resources on YouTube with reminders about some basic computer skills that many online instructors figure their students already know how to do.
Take a look at Tips for Converting Documents and Tips for Copying and Pasting Information if you need a reminder in how to use either of these skills on the Online Success Page of this blog.
Image Source: Wikimedia. Control cut copy paste.jpg. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
February 19th, 2009
Just a reminder about the online lectures for the course.
You can find them in the right hand side bar under “Additional Online Links” or by following this link, Lecture Links Recorded Lectures.
All of the lectures for the course have been archived through CCC Confer so you can get them through your computer.
Here is a rather amusing comment from one of the online students this semester about using the Virtual Lectures:
“I just wanted to say I love the virtual lectures.
I have never had an on-line class with narrated power point lectures, its just like being in class. My daughter enjoyed it, too. She thought it was neat that my instructor was inside the computer. In fact, when I went to close my laptop she yelled, “No, Mommy! Don’t close that! Your teacher is in there!” (She tends to take things very literally) I am really looking forward to the semester. Thanks again.
February 16th, 2009
