Childhood obesity strategy "lite"

A person who does not know that there is more sugar in low fat yogurt than in full fat or Greek yogurt is not well-informed.

Quick google presented me with this for same weights of different yogurts.

Full fat: 11g carbs and sugar
nonfat: 17.4g carbs and sugar
Greek: 9g carbs and sugar.

What is unclear about that? The calorific values are not much different from each other.

Info from here: healthyeating.sfgate.com/nonfat-yogurt-vs-fullfat-yogurt-6056.html

I've no idea how many teaspoons of sugar there are in things I eat because I don't measure sugar in teaspoons, nor am I particularly trying to avoid sugar. I judge sugariness by comparing similar products, just as I compare the cocoa content of hazelnut-chocolate spreads. Nutella is the best for that so it's not surprising it also tastes the best of the ones we've tried.

Things like bread I judge by their taste and texture. Bread that is cottonwoolly is texture and hyperwhite in colour is clearly not as nutritious as bread with a bit of 'bounce'.

The bounce test goes like this: get a slice of bread, squash it flat on your plate or board and see how much it springs back. If it stays squashed it's rubbish bread

Seriously, gransnetters, try it!

It's actually similar to the wool fabric test my sewing teacher told us. Someone on gransnet must have been told it apart from me....???

I think we come at this subject from different starting points, jess. I'm not going to blame anyone else for any unhealthy food choices I make. Nor am I going to blame other people who make unhealthy food choices for making the choices they make because I don't know their circumstances. But I'm not going to blame food producers or government either.

Consumer choice is the power tool here. If we don't use it, for whatever reason, it's our own look out.

And I still think that obesity is mainly caused by overeating. It doesn't matter what food is overeaten. I think overeating may not be something people can be blamed for either. Perhaps their bodies are not giving them the right signals? Which, if true, sounds like a medical problem to me or an evolutionary adaptation problem to our very success at food production.

Errrmmm, but it DOES matter if you're watching your weight, as does the total amount of carbs. The high fat yoghurt is a better choice than the high sugar one, because fat takes longer to metabolise and keeps you feeling fuller for longer.

Of course it matters which is the better nutrition, dd. And the full fat one or Greek is better than low fat because fat contains more nutrients than sugar as well as taking longer to break down so you are unhungry for longer.

But you don't have to know how many teaspoons of sugar there are in a helping according to my way of thinking. You just choose the one with the lowest or near lowest carb and sugar value. Comparative choices are all that's needed, not exact knowledge. And one makes comparative choices by reading labels.

I agree with you to a point, bags, but I DO think marketing has had a big effect. My huge bugbear is juicing, which has been sold along with a squeaky clean image. Very few people in the UK suffer from micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) deficiency, so they don't need the high concentration in juices. Juices are almost 100% sugar and are nowhere near as filling as eating fruit and veg and don't have the advantage of fibre content. They're often marketed as having 'no added sugar' - they don't need any, because fruit is usually very high in natural sugar and the body doesn't know the difference. I know a number of parents who wouldn't let their children drink fizzy drinks, but gave them big glasses of orange juice, because it's 'fresh' and 'natural', who seemed oblivious to the fact that the orange juice has more calories than Coke.

Yes, the marketing of crap science about fats and cholesterol. So I guess I do blame government a bit, and scientists for not fighting crap science enough.

I agree absolutely about juicing.

Gotta go and cook some dinner.

But no foods are inherently fattening, including cheerios
We had little visitors staying this weekend so I bought Cheerios, only one child wanted them and said that they normally had the chocolate or honey ones at home, not the plain . Served with full fat milk.
All the family are tall and skinny, the youngest members (all 8 and under) spent the weekend hurtling around, climbing trees and generally expending energy. I didn't see one of them on an ipad or other electronic device (although they do from time to time I'm sure).

I don't understand your statement that fat contains more nutrients than sugar. It doesn't. It's fat, just as sugar is sugar - they're both nutrients, but play different roles.

I think the idea of knowing how many teaspoons of sugar something has is dumbed down public health. As I've written above, I don't like the traffic light labelling system, because the traffic lights don't tell you how many carbs something has.

As I'm sure you're aware, the big debate amongst nutritionists and doctors at the moment is about fat and carbs. The focus on demonising fat has meant that today most people eat more carbs than in the past and less fat, which many people think is what has fuelled current levels of obesity.

ps I have a nearly full packet of Cheerios left now - any ideas?
sitting next to the packet of Jordan's chunky nut cereal which I eat occasionally.
Better go and climb a tree

@Jalima

No idea! I used to mix Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies, which were going a bit soft, with melted chocolate, leave them to cool and then have little 'cakes', which have fewer calories than a fairy cake. I don't know whether it would work with Cheerios.

Just been looking at Gransnet food section. I think they should be good role models. There's a section on 'Baking with Gran'. How about 'Making fun salads with Gran'. I've also noticed that many of the recipes don't have nutrition details.

dd, animal fats are sources of vitamins, notably A, D, and K12. These are fat soluble vitamins. You cannot get these from plant sources. What we get from carrots is not vitamin A but beta-carotene which, depending on your metabolism, can be converted into vitamin A.

One can get synthesised versions of them, of course, but I prefer the real McCoy.

Surely the vitamins are vitamins. It's just that those vitamins are fat soluble. Vitamin E is also fat soluble.

I never bother too much about vitamins and minerals, because I eat a wide range of foods, apart from restricting carbs. I was tested for Vitamin D deficiency, but I don't have a problem. It's the fact that fat makes me feel fuller for longer and helps regulate glucose spikes which are the big advantages to me.

PS. Did you mean Vitamin K12?

Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble; you can get them from other sources then fats and oils, but need the fat for your body to be able to absorb them.
I suppose sugar may have trace minerals, especially the unrefined kind.

dd perhaps I'll just try them as a breakfast cereal (DH won't try them, very set in his ways, muesli in the summer, porridge in the winter [sigh]).

Anyway, we're digressing from the question of obesity. It annoys me when people get judgemental about toddlers eating a sausage roll, which as a meal substitute isn't that bad an option. However, the same people probably wouldn't bat an eyelid if they saw the same toddler drinking a carton of pure fruit juice and eating a small box of raisins, even though both will rot their teeth and could contain more calories.

Yes, sorry, meant B12.

Yes, but those particular fat soluble vitamins are only soluble in animal fats and don't occur in other foods. Vitamin E occurs in plant fats, such as wheatgerm and some seeds.

Fats are not just fats. They are part of a good diet. There's a reason why Eskimos love(d) raw whale blubber: it was good for them.

Fish and Chips is supposed to be a very well balanced meal (although no veg or fruit, but you could always have some fruit later!).
Watching the little ones hurtling around this weekend just made me think - it's lack of exercise that is the biggest culprit in the march towards obesity.
And I would hazard a guess that it is the additives and manufactured additives in processed foods that are to blame to a large extent. High fructose corn syrup (glucose), palm oil, hydrogenated fats - all cheaper to use in processed foods but what are they doing to the nation's health.

And, as you say, they keep you unhungry for longer than mere carbohydrates because they take longer to break down into sugars.

Some sweeteners are even thought to change hormonal activity, which can cause you to hold on to fat and lead to weight gain.
scientists ran several experiments on mice that yielded promising findings. First, they found that mice that drank water with the artificial sweeteners saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose developed glucose intolerance. Glucose intolerance is often a precursor to larger illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

Unsurprisingly, a group of mice fed just plain water didn't develop glucose intolerance, but neither did a group of mice fed water with regular sugar—strange, considering that high-sugar diets are at the root of many cases of type 2 diabetes.

I agree about the processed vegetable fats, jalima, and their being pushed as healthier than animal fats is what I meant when I referred to crap science. The other problem with palm oil is how natural forest is being cleared to grow it. Unethical as well as not a great food.

That is unethical, and endangering the orangutangs
www.ran.org/last_stand_of_the_orangutan_google_ad_a?gclid=CKTf9_7g1c4CFQIW0wodwRcD0Q

Endangering the orangutan and the health of our children!

I know fats are healthy, but they don't actually contain vitamins, which are separate. Sorry, I was being nitpicky.

The Americans use more HFCS than the UK, which is possibly why they're fatter. The food manufacturing lobby is campaigning hard not to have it included as a sugar, because it claims that fructose, which HFCS contains, has a lower GI than glucose.