Take a sugar challenge

[Maestro]

Why Katie Couric Wants You to Get ‘Fed Up,’ Take a Sugar Challenge

By ABC News May 8, 2014 12:49pm

Katie Couric has reported countless stories on the rise of obesity among Americans, particularly children, in her 35 years on TV, she said, but she never saw attention paid to why Americans were gaining weight.

“Once I started looking into it and hearing things like this generation of children is the first expected to live shorter life spans than their parents … I said, ‘You know, we have to do something about this,’” Couric said today on “Good Morning America.”

WATCH: Katie Couric Voices ‘Fed Up’ Film on Obesity Epidemic

What Couric did was executive produce and narrate a film, “Fed Up,” that takes an up-close look at sugar in the American diet. The film bills itself as the “film the food industry doesn’t want you to see” because of its no-holds-barred look at what the hidden sugars in foods do to your body.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/05/08/why-katie-couric-wants-you-to-get-fed-up-take-a-sugar-challenge/

-- ABC News 2014-05-08

[David48]

I enjoyed watching that.

From that short clip, I can't agree with all of it. but a reduced sugar intake is a desired outcome,

in a diet that has a high saturation of 'sugars'.

[JSixpack]

I enjoyed watching that.

From that short clip, I can't agree with all of it. but a reduced sugar intake is a desired outcome,

in a diet that has a high saturation of 'sugars'.

Ooooh. Pray tell what form does your authoritative disagreement take?

Most disagreements around here merely stem from a "don't really know anything about it but don't like it and don't wanna do it" mentality.

It's great to see the mainstream media w/ its "personalities" finally catching on to the sugar (and carb) epidemic.

[David48]

I enjoyed watching that.

From that short clip, I can't agree with all of it. but a reduced sugar intake is a desired outcome,

in a diet that has a high saturation of 'sugars'.

Ooooh. Pray tell what form does your authoritative disagreement take?

Most disagreements around here merely stem from a "don't really know anything about it but don't like it and don't wanna do it" mentality.

It's great to see the mainstream media w/ its "personalities" finally catching on to the sugar (and carb) epidemic.

Well ...

I just had almost 4 months in Thailand.

Over that time, I dropped 10 kilos ... yep ... 10 kilos!

Never dieted ... never even thought about food ... just worked my ass off.

Ate white rice till you could almost see it's polish on my forehead, enjoyed my beers and whisky too.

Before I posted what I did, I wanted to wait a month or two, back in the West, just to make sure I didn't Yo-yo back up. We all know that it's a problem.

I understand that large food companies try and develop our taste buds to an excess of sugar and fat. It's a cheap additive and a great perservative which gives their product a long shelf life ... thus profits.

But I get bored with the endless arguements that 'it's not me' ... 'it's the food ... it's them'.

Get off their ass, exercise, eat food like grandma made, eat less processed food and importantly, importantly remove those drinks. They are the hidden calories.

[JSixpack]

eat food like grandma made

Sure miss her chicken 'n' dumplings. They were to die for. But when you're a growing kid, not so much of a problem--you're growing vertically!

Fortunately we didn't eat a lot sweets in my family, as my father had a severe case of diabetes and wouldn't allow them, notable exception being during movies at a theater, thank god.

Today--no way.

[Tolley]

eat food like grandma made

Sure miss her chicken 'n' dumplings. They were to die for. But when you're a growing kid, not so much of a problem--you're growing vertically!

Fortunately we didn't eat a lot sweets in my family, as my father had a severe case of diabetes and wouldn't allow them, notable exception being during movies at a theater, thank god.

Today--no way.

The last few weeks I have started eating a few more carbs aka organic wheat bread not much mind you but lo and behold my nice flat stomach is getting a slight bulge.

the proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say

[Jingthing]

Thanks to the OP for posting news about the documentary FED UP.

The man behind FED UP is the esteemed endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig, author of the book

FAT CHANCE -- Beating the odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.

In my view Dr. Lustig is a good representative of the more modern wave of medical thinking about obesity. The old ways of looking at obesity are not apt in our current food environment.

More of an appropriate focus on HEALTH rather than just looking at how people look superficially fat. For example, the information that a huge percentage of "normal weight" people develop the same diseases associated with obesity due to food related causation ... Metabolic Disease.

To share some more information about Lustig's thinking I have included some paraphrased quotes of his from his recent interview on Bill Maher's Real Time.

I think there is a LOT of good information to digest there.

Predictably, the most controversial aspect of his views will be about the personal responsibly factor.

I see no value in a fresh "debate" about that ... been there done that 100 times on this forum ... his views I think are interesting regardless of how you personally feel about that aspect of it.

There is a safe threshold for SUGAR consumption:

6 to 9 teaspoons daily

In the U.S. the actual intake averages 22

(Note about the modern Thai diet ... surely they can compete with that!)

The same diseases that alcohol causes sugar causes as well (in excess) but generally children don't drink alcohol but they do eat lots of sugar

When the corporate food industry replaced fat with sugar -- the assumption was that a calorie was a calorie ... nothing could be further from the truth ... that's what the food industry wants you to believe.

If a calorie is a calorie then why would you pick on any particular foodstuff?

This gives industry something to hide behind in terms of avoiding BLAME.

Sugar went from condiment to diet staple and in the process we've gotten sick.

The problem is there are three myths that need to be debunked:

1. It's about obesity.

It's not about obesity.

It's about chronic metabolic disease and thin people get it too.

It's called TOFI.

Thin on the Outside Fat on the Inside

40 percent of normal weight adults in America have this.

They have the same diseases as the obese do. They get type 2 diabetes ... they get hypertension ... they liver disease ... they get heart disease.

Insides are obese. Might as well be obese (you can see this from the scanner).

2. A calorie is a calorie.

NOT TRUE

Sugar much worse same way as booze.

3. It's about personal responsibility

How can newborns get it then... when we don't have the knowledge ... the label doesn't tell you the truth.

There is personal responsibility and there is CORPORATE responsibility.

Corporations are taking NO responsibility.

Suggestion please -- please do not get hung up on the often emotional "debate" about personal responsibility. I think most people with common sense understand there is a huge range and complexity with how much personal responsibility is involved.

For example a newborn born obese has no personal responsibility for her condition.

A 50 year old wealthy man who has an elite education has the personal power and choices to have a lot more personal responsibility.

The gist of what Lustig is saying is that the food industry could do a lot more to HELP the masses with these issues ... and they just aren't interested.

[robblok]

Thanks to the OP for posting news about the documentary FED UP.

The man behind FED UP is the esteemed endocrinologist Dr. Robert Lustig, author of the book

FAT CHANCE -- Beating the odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.

In my view Dr. Lustig is a good representative of the more modern wave of medical thinking about obesity. The old ways of looking at obesity are not apt in our current food environment.

More of an appropriate focus on HEALTH rather than just looking at how people look superficially fat. For example, the information that a huge percentage of "normal weight" people develop the same diseases associated with obesity due to food related causation ... Metabolic Disease.

To share some more information about Lustig's thinking I have included some paraphrased quotes of his from his recent interview on Bill Maher's Real Time.

I think there is a LOT of good information to digest there.

Predictably, the most controversial aspect of his views will be about the personal responsibly factor.

I see no value in a fresh "debate" about that ... been there done that 100 times on this forum ... his views I think are interesting regardless of how you personally feel about that aspect of it.

There is a safe threshold for SUGAR consumption:

6 to 9 teaspoons daily

In the U.S. the actual intake averages 22

(Note about the modern Thai diet ... surely they can compete with that!)

The same diseases that alcohol causes sugar causes as well (in excess) but generally children don't drink alcohol but they do eat lots of sugar

When the corporate food industry replaced fat with sugar -- the assumption was that a calorie was a calorie ... nothing could be further from the truth ... that's what the food industry wants you to believe.

If a calorie is a calorie then why would you pick on any particular foodstuff?

This gives industry something to hide behind in terms of avoiding BLAME.

Sugar went from condiment to diet staple and in the process we've gotten sick.

The problem is there are three myths that need to be debunked:

1. It's about obesity.

It's not about obesity.

It's about chronic metabolic disease and thin people get it too.

It's called TOFI.

Thin on the Outside Fat on the Inside

40 percent of normal weight adults in America have this.

They have the same diseases as the obese do. They get type 2 diabetes ... they get hypertension ... they liver disease ... they get heart disease.

Insides are obese. Might as well be obese (you can see this from the scanner).

2. A calorie is a calorie.

NOT TRUE

Sugar much worse same way as booze.

3. It's about personal responsibility

How can newborns get it then... when we don't have the knowledge ... the label doesn't tell you the truth.

There is personal responsibility and there is CORPORATE responsibility.

Corporations are taking NO responsibility.

Suggestion please -- please do not get hung up on the often emotional "debate" about personal responsibility. I think most people with common sense understand there is a huge range and complexity with how much personal responsibility is involved.

For example a newborn born obese has no personal responsibility for her condition.

A 50 year old wealthy man who has an elite education has the personal power and choices to have a lot more personal responsibility.

The gist of what Lustig is saying is that the food industry could do a lot more to HELP the masses with these issues ... and they just aren't interested.

They are only interested in making money, the thing is healthy food is for many people not as apetising as bad food. Also its is more expensive, so food companies want to sell a lot and don't care about the results. But how is this different from alcohol and tobacco sales ?

(children and unintelligent people excluded) should take charge themselves and are responsible themselves. When I was younger and people went to restaurants less (yes going to restaurants seriously impacts your chances to loose weight) and mother cooked vegetables and some meat people were a lot less fat. I lived in a village not a city so also that showed (choices in restaurants ect).

Later more and more precooked meals appeared in the supermarkets, those aren't that good either.

People are in general lazy and want food that taste good so they go for the easy options / precooked meals and restaurants and then complain when they turn fat.

Also drinking more sugary drinks like cola and such really impacts weight loss, when growing up mom and dad regulated that because they were expensive, later on more money was available and more of that crap was being consumed. Now I know the stuff is bad but i still at times drink it. Its called own responsibility for putting stuff in your mouth when you know its not good for you and you still do it.

I am all for being able to eat drink smoke get high but don't come moaning that the results of that are not nice.. at this day and age people know what is bad for them and if they still do it its their own mistake.