by Sharon Gloger Friedman for Boston Health News Examiner
Researchers at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute found a drop in obesity rates among Massachusetts infants and preschoolers, reports the Boston Globe.
The study, which analyzed the electronic medical records of nearly 37,000 children from birth to age 5 in Eastern Massachusetts, was recently published in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers reported the percentage of obese girls under age 6 dropped from 9 percent to slightly less than 6 percent from 2004 to 2008. The percentage of obese boys under age 6 fell from nearly 11 percent to a little less than 9 percent during the same time period.
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Dr.Wilson replies:
Although this trend is encouraging, we need to consider that the scientific definition of obesity is excessive body fat, a body composition issue. Using weight and BMI as proxy measures for obesity is problematic. Because I have always measured the body composition of my patients, I know that many patients lose too much lean body mass with traditional calorie-restricted diets even as they lose weight.
Recent research has suggested that what you eat is more important than how much you eat. Excessive fructose primarily from sugar and HFCS is the driving force behind insulin resistance and central obesity. When you throw high glycemic carbohydrates into the mix you end up with magnified glucose spikes that can eventually trigger a chronic brain dysfunction disease called Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. Because the brain plays a key role in auto-regulating fat stores, people with CARB syndrome start to store extra fat at any caloric intake.
What’s even worse is they can develop up to 21 brain dysfunction symptoms that can interfere with their ability to learn at school. To maintain normal body composition and brain function, children should limit their intake of sugar, HFCS and high glycemic carbohydrates.