I watched the show again on Monday. I find the doctor/nutritionist whatever she is to be wholly unpleasant. I know they are taking a hard approach to people but I don't like her way of talking to these people at times.
I've watched it twice now and have to agree with your opinion of the nutritionist. I don't like her. Something about her tone I find unpleasant. The producers should have worked harder to find the appropriate host.
The computer predictions are terrible. What, did these people suddenly stop looking in a mirror? I guess if you are overweight, you are supposed to wear ratty clothes and not brush your hair.
I know they show the "You are DOOMED if you dare eat another Twinkie" age progressions. Do they ever show the "All your dreams will come true if you eat more tofu" age progressions?
I bet those progressions would show the kids as tall, lean and buff (6-pack, heck, maybe even an 8-pack!), smiling with Chicklet teeth, standing on a pile of money and wearing a tiara.
First, I haven't read the study, and do see where animal prodcuts would do that, but not strictly hot dogs. Secondly, Type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease, such as Lupus and many others, in which the body's antibodies attack the beta cells in the pancreas making it unable to produce insulin. It is in no way supported that this is brought on by diet or weight. It occurs in infants, and most people with the disease are diagnosed by age 15, though there are adult cases that tend to have a slower onset. Type two diabetes is often related to diet and obesity (though not always) in which the body either doesn't make enough insulin or can not use it's insulin effectively. Type two diabetes might be caused by consuming excessive calories with a diet high in meat. They are two different diseases with similar ramifications, but very different origins in the body.
I'm not sure if you read fully what i said about healthier options. There are healthier alternatives to a typical full fat all beef hot dog. 100 hot dog, which includrd fiber, little fat (from a ff dog or a white meat hot dog), and protien, abit high in salt, with an apple and some veggies for lunch is an okay meal for a kids. Maybe not everyday because it is so processed, but i don't think that it will lead a kid down a path to a life threatening disease which complications include a heightened risk of coronary heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, and amputation, in conjunction with healthier choices. Obviously, consuming large amounts of animal fat on a daily basis is bad, therefore eating a full fat hot dog a couple times a day is bad. I really don't think telling a child that eating a hot dog will give him a chronic disease is a good way of handling things. Kids are going to eat hot dogs. Maybe tell him he can have one of the healthier hot dogs. THat would be more effective and create a better transition. If you are going to say stop eating hot dogs, as a blanket statment because they cause diabetes, it would only be logical to cut out all animal products and biproducts which is not what they are doing on the show. I don't tend to read research from books unless I can previously find it in a medical journal, but I will look into it. I agree that it is ideal to cut out meat and animal products, but threatening a child with diabetes is taking it much too far. Animal prodcuts are high in fat, and a diet high in saturated fat is one of the things that are a factor in diabetes. Chances are if he continued his high calorie diet, with or without animal products he would still be at a very high risk for obesity related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Scare tactics do not work and are cruel with children. There are healthier alternatives (turkey dogs, chicken dogs, ff beef franks, veggie dogs) to beef hot dogs, which should be exlored before saying that a kids will get a disease from them. This doesn't just apply to hot dogs, it applies to most "kid" food. It can often be made much healthier than the most available version. Want pizza, take a whole wheat pita, slap some tomato sauce on it, put some low fat or fat free mozzerella on it, veggies if the kid likes, put it in the toaster over, an viola, you have a personal pizza for around 200 calories, a sensible, quick meal.
Yes you are correct I was thinking Type 2 and not type one, although the book addresses type one diabetes (although I am having a hard time remembering in what context since i finished the book a week ago). This book and the subsequent studies that he has done show a strong correlation between disease (heart disease, diabetes, and many different factors like cholesterol) are very strongly correlated with all animal protien (vs non animal protein). He seems to be a very distinguished scientist who was very involved in the scientific community and wrote many different articles for different journals. He addresses these issues in the book and I am sure if you check it out of your library you can check the sources in the back if you are skeptical. I am more fully tring to become vegan because of this book, it is by far the healthiest lifestyle to stave off things like heart disease, cancer. and diabetes. But if you dont believe me then by all means read the book! I highly reccommend it!
any excessive consumption of meat is detrimental to your health....protein sources are best to come from non animal products, maybe 2 or 3 times a week for one meal each is ok.., meat takes a long time for your system to break down and draws energy from your body to do so...
this may explain why alot of heavy meat eaters are frequently tired, same goes with too much fats.....
there are alot of veggie substitutes for the meats people favor, try em out, its generally low cal and yummy.....
My personal pet peeve is how they "age" the kids. On their current path, the kids wind up with bad haircuts, glasses, and frowns at 40. Most of the boys become bald, and they all dress like bums.
On the "right track", all the boys have shiny heads of hair, great clothes, fabulous teeth seen with their great smiles, great haircuts, and no glasses. I don't think that male-pattern baldness can be stopped with nutrition, or else my husband would be really, really hairy (he's 40, 6foot, 180-183 lbs, and an athlete, and has been all his life)!
I absolutely HATE the association they are making - that people with weight issues don't dress well or take care with their appearance, or even wear contact lenses.
This drives me NUTS!!!!
I've quit watching that horrible show.
I don't like the way they make the overweight children look sloppy and unkempt when they computer age them. I do not like the doctor/nutritionist and I dislike the scare tactics they use with the kids and don't even get me started on the force feeding that goes on with that program.
I also was not happy with the first episode when all the junk food was put in a pile in the hallway and left there to tempt the kids. Totally unfair to the children as well as the parents.
I'd rather watch better weight loss shows such as Taking It Off, X-weighted or The Biggest Loser.
I got a diet from this company that sells diet food online and their diet plan follows that promoted in "Honey, we're killing the kids" and it does work! I felt good when I was on the diet (more energy) and I lost 20 pounds in one month and I am in a power wheelchair because I have muscular dystrophy. Getting any exercise at all is very hard for me because of my condition, but others I talked to that did the diet who were just overweight and didn't have a chronic health problem like I do were losing 30 and even 40 pounds in one month. My suggestion is, follow their suggestions, they worked for me. Which makes sense, after all, they are promoting good healthy eating. We as americans eat way to much processed foods and it is making us fat.
Just to give another perspective....
I don't think it would nearly be as effective if they show the children as happy, well groomed, so to speak, overweight adults with a dazzling sense of style. Where would the shock factor be for the parents? I know I don't want to see my children end up with a weight problem, but if I could see what their 'worst case scenario' would look like in the future, I sure as heck would do everything in my power not to let that happen.....
I agree with everyone else on the utter ridiculousness of switching kids from fried chicken to tofu and steamed veggies overnight.
I -know- its possible to have tasty, nutritious, and low-cal versions of your favorite foods. The kinds of things I eat within my 1500 a day calorie limit - meatloaf (its sooooo good and easy), turkey burgers, pasta with faux cream sauce, pizza (homemade whole wheat crust, homemade sauce, little cheese, lots of veggies and some lean protein), oven-fried chicken, and fries (baked, with sweet potatoes). Some of the lowest-cal meals I make are things that taste fairly decadent - "cream" soups that are made creamy with low-cal veggie purees, fajitas (whole wheat lo-carb tortillas, lean grilled turkey or chicken and a ton of grilled onions and peppers, plus a dab of fat free sour cream and salsa). I do NOT understand why the nutritionist doesn't provide them with recipes that the kids have even the barest chance of liking.
My favorite trick is to combine some tried-and-true favorite (like low-cal meatloaf) with something new (quinoa, or kale, or something else super-healthy that I haven't tried). That way, theres a "good" part to the meal. Why not give the kids some oven-baked chicken tenders breaded in panko and then baked until crispy, and serving with something a bit more adventurous on the sides.
Its SO punative! I'm an adventurous eater, and I wouldn't eat most of what they're throwing in front of those kids and expecting them to eat without batting an eyelash.
Honestly, if I were a parent watching this show and we had some bad eating habits in our family, I would NOT be inspired to fix them - I'd be SCARED. Whereas if they showed the parents cooking healthy versions of favorite foods, and encouraging (rather than enforcing/demanding) their kids to get outside and exercise and cut down on TV - the kids wouldn't rebel nearly so much, and the parents watching might think "hey, I can do this" not "oh my god, I could never torture my kids like that".
I think its funny how the idea is that if your son eats sugar he'll grow up to have a funny haircut, wear geeky clothes, and get one ear peirced. But without sugar, well he's the next Ryan Seacrest.
I quit watching the show after them having the whole family out in the back yard basically doing a funeral for their deep fryer. This was sensationalism at it's best. The doctor/nutritionist is mean and many times the parents look angry and like they want to smack her.
There is a great show on the Food Network called "Just One Bite" The host helps parents to find ways to make healthy foods for their picky eater kids. The kids get to play games and discover new foods or different ways of having things they think they don't like. The parents and the host then take their cues from watching the video of the kids and come up with dishes that the family gets to try together.
This involves the kids and is a much more positive way to get them to learn about food, nutrition and trying new things.
Another good show is "Fixing Dinner". In this one the host comes into the families home, figures out what everyone likes to eat, what their schedules are like and helps them to plan meals and grocery shop. Each family member is assigned a night to cook ( or the kid's help night) and they work together as a team to get things done. The meals are simple and healthy and involve foods the family already enjoys. They do a run through of each family members night to see how the manage and are left 1 month's worth of recipes. At the end they do a follow up two weeks later to see how the family is doing.
I see these two shows as being much more helpful and constructive for people.
If that were the case I would be eating tofu for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
It works!
