As we all know by now cardiovascular disease is a pretty important topic in today’s health news being THE top cause of death in the U.S as well as worldwide. It accounts for 40% of all deaths in the U.S. which is more than all forms of cancer combined! Not that this should scare people because it seems scare tactics rarely work but I just wanted to list a few top risk factors for CVD (as in introductory):
Age
High Blood Pressure *
Diabetes*
High cholesterol*
Cigarette smoking*
When I started background research I couldn’t help but keep going back to how four of the five of these are modifiable or manageable(*). Three are commonly linked to one’s diet and the other is smoking which to me is a voluntary act. Sure, some of these have been found to have a genetic influence however even if you don’t smoke that would cut your risk factor by one! The main idea I’m trying to get across is diet can play such a large role in this very serious disease and killer. You can’t avoid getting older but you can try avoiding foods that lead to disease.
Fatty plaque of course is what we know causes the narrowing of coronary arteries leading to blocks causing Heart attacks and strokes. These plaques accumulate from adolescents which means what we have been eating all these years MAY eventually catch up with us later in life. This might be why they call CVD the “silent disease” with little to no symptoms besides high blood pressure and why heart attacks seem to happen out of now where.
Since fatty plaque accumulates from adolescents wouldn’t it seem logical to start our younger generations on healthy eating and educating them in order to make a dent in this possible health epidemic? Nutrition education to me doesn’t seem to be a fix all but I find it to be a step in the right direction for reducing High Blood Pressure, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol ultimately cardiovascular disease!
It gives me great joy to see some big names in America take on this task of educating children on making healthier eating choices. The biggest example is Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity. She targets implementing heather foods in school systems where children receive majority of their meals. Check out http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-first-lady-event-surgeon-generals-report for more information and her thoughts and goals for the campaign.
Another similar movement I’ve recently discovered is Jaime Oliver’s Food revolution. Take a look at this famous chief’s moving T.E.D talk (a bit long but worth it) where he talks about bringing in fresh foods from local farms into schools as well as nutrition education for American youth. On a side note: He’s not even American and he cares this much about a serious topic affecting so many Americans.
http://joshpremuda.com/2010/02/12/jamie-oliver-wins-ted-prize/
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Other than bringing fresh produce to schools, it's also equally important to remove junk food from school canteens. Parents should also be educated on what to feed their young children so that they may grow up with good eating habits.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Max! A huge problem with kid's eating habits is the fact that they are eating the way their parents eat! I come from a family of nutritionists and personal trainers,so I grew up just eating healthy habitually. When I found out in second grade that my friend got to eat super high sugar cereals (like captain crunch or fruity pebbles) for breakfast every morning- I was astonished! It was so unnatural to me to eat such an unhealthy breakfast. My mom did an excellent job of instilling these concepts into me at a young age. So I am completely supportive of educating children early on eating healthy.
ReplyDeleteOn another note- I had mentioned that I just got married. My husband is Mexican, and grew up on his mom's cooking- which is amazing. But he never had the concept of eating healthy, or even in a balanced way, until he met me. That was so surprising to me how clueless he was about food. He was just never educated in that way! Now that he's learning about how to feed his body, he loves it. He can't stand eating greasy food anymore, which is crazy.
I guess I'm just really encouraged by Michelle Obama's campaign, her website was awesome! I really believe obesity can be prevented EARLY!
Removal of fatty foods is also a great idea! I think education about these foods is the key however, mainly because you can take junk food out of schools but they will still be around when they get out of school and as they grow up.
ReplyDeleteWe need to educate them so that when they are unmonitored in the future they are going to make those healthy choices anyway, even when 'bad' foods are accessible. Everything in moderation!
Growing up with my mother as a dietitian, this topic is of much intesrt to me. I agree completely with all of you. It is extremely important for young children to understand the basics of essential nutrition. I relate to Kimmi with growing up without junk food in the house. None of my friends ever wanted to come to my house because my family never had any soda or potatoe chips. Today all of those foods that I grew up without eating actually never interest me. Not only does it never phase me to buy junk food at the grocery store but those foods actually upset my stomach now!
ReplyDeleteIt is also very important to keep the factor of excersize in mind when talking about preventing CVD. Keeping kids interested in being active is very important in how active they will be as adults, so let's start em' young!