The Thin End

In the 1950s, children played in the streets.  They ran around playing 'cowboys and Indians' or re-enacting some wartime exploits, or they pulled themselves around on make-shift carts made with pram wheels, or played games like hop-scotch.  We ran around in circles pretending to be this and that.  Now children play outdoors less and sit indoors more.  Were we healthier for it?  Many of the baby boomers, those born in the late 1940s to early 50s were obese in later life.  Their lifestyles changed as they moved into the consumer society.   They moved around less and diets, on the whole, became 'richer', but probably more unhealthy.  They were the baby boomers.  The majority of baby boomers are now obese in later life.   But for each subsequent generation, the age at which obesity sets in appears to be getting younger.  A recent study of Americans showed that obesity rates increased markedly for the baby boomers, be...

Food, food, and more food.  More and more television programs are devoted to food.  Some are pure entertainment, like Hell's Kitchen with Gordon Ramsey.  In reality, they are all entertainment, of course.  These shows can be a bit like watching the weather forecast behaviours can view but not take in any of the recipes - a cold front here, a dash of this and that.  Yet others have a semblance of the educational about them.  But do they influence our eating habits? Whatever their intention, they influence our approach to food.  But what about children? Can they make children hungry for fruit and veg? Television programs featuring healthy foods can be a key ingredient in leading children to make healthier food choices now and into adulthood. A new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior , published by Elsevier, found kids who watched a child-oriented cooking show featuring healthy food were 2.7 times more likely to make a ...