Gov't: Carbs to Blame for Weight Gain

AP via Yahoo ^ | Thu Feb 5, 3:22 PM ET | DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer

[Nov3]

Gov't: Carbs to Blame for Weight Gain

Thu Feb 5, 3:22 PM ET

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By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA - Americans, especially women, are getting fatter because they eat much more of everything than they did 30 years ago, and carbs are the biggest culprit, the government said Thursday.

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In the year 2000, women ate the equivalent of one more large chocolate chip cookie every day — 335 more calories — compared to what they ate in 1971.

Men ate 168 more calories — slightly more than a 12-ounce Pepsi — each day, according to the study released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites).

"The majority of the increase in calories is from an increase in carbohydrate intake," said Jacqueline Wright, a CDC epidemiologist and study author.

And she doesn't mean fruits and vegetables. It's the cookies, bagels, chips, pasta and soda that are to blame.

The extra calories are leading to extra pounds and chronic health problems. Obesity rates jumped from 14.5 percent of U.S. adults in 1971 to 30.9 percent in 2000, said Wright.

The average intake for men grew from 2,450 calories in 1971 to 2,618 calories in 2000. For women, caloric intake grew from 1,542 calories to 1,877 calories during the same time period.

The government recommends about 1,600 daily calories for women and 2,200 for men, more for active people.

CDC officials did not say whether the study would affect the USDA's Food Pyramid, which recommends eating a diet heavy in breads and grains, which are high in carbohydrates. Wright said a federal panel examining general dietary guidelines will review the results of the study.

The idea that carbohydrates lead to a bigger waistline was long espoused by the late Dr. Robert Atkins, whose low-carb diet has been followed by millions of people.

On the Atkins diet, up to two-thirds of calories may come from fat — more than double the usual recommendation — and violating long-held government guidelines and most nutritionists' advice.

CDC officials said people should watch their overall eating and exercise habits, not just carbs. Previous federal studies have blamed eating out and larger food portions.

"Certainly if our calorie intake is increasing and our physical activities really aren't changing too much, then we're going to be seeing weight gain," Wright said.

The CDC remains concerned that Americans still eat too much saturated fat, a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.

The agency did offer a bit of hope in a separate study that indicates more Americans are making an effort to exercise. Only 25 percent of U.S. adults surveyed in 35 states and the District of Columbia said they did not exercise during their free time in 2002, down from 30 percent 15 years ago.

The federal agency's goal is to get that inactivity level down to 20 percent or lower, said Sandra Ham, a CDC health statistician.

"Physical activity levels have been improving," Ham said. "But there's still much more work to be done."

___

On the Net:

CDC study: www.cdc.gov/mmwr

[Nov3]

I wish Atkins was still with us to see this.

I like the chronic heartburn advertisement in the body of the article. Prilosec etc. does not want everybody on Atkins. Their market would go away!

[prion]

The government!? Would this be the same government that told us to eat a gazillion servings of carbs every day? The government that invented the food-freaking-pyramid?!

How's this for a headline: Me: government to blame for misleading dietary advice

Feh!

[lelio]

I like the chronic heartburn advertisement in the body of the article.

Those amuse me as well "If you've changed your diet and it doesn't help..." Yeah right. I bet 80% of the people using the drugs are overweight or continue to eat the same old foods.

Personally I find that if I cut out the carbs my heartburn goes away after a week.

[TruthNtegrity]

Ping!

[traumer]

I see ORANGE JUICE on sale everywhere...
Is it 'bad for you' too ? Is it Atkins related ?

Is the 'Orange Juice Association' involved to dampen that ?

[SamAdams76]

With each passing day, it seems that the low-carb (actually "normal" carb) diet gets more credibility while the high-carb diet pushed on us all these years by the giant processed food industries continues to become revealed for what it is.

April 1 will be my one-year anniversary of being on this diet. I now weight 107 pounds less than I did on April 1. This morning, I put on my backpack and walked over 10 miles. I fill my backpack full of books to add weight and also to have something to read when I take breaks. After about six miles, I popped into a Dunkin' Donuts for a cup of coffee (sweetened with Splenda, that I carry in my backpack) and took out a book to read. I then got back out on the road and stopped at the library to exchange some of the books in my backpack. I also stopped at the Post Office and the bank. It feels different walking to my errands instead of driving everywhere.

Never had this kind of energy when I was on that high-carb diet, as suggested by that food pyramid.

[Nov3]

OJ is full of sugar. There are a lot of berries that make good juices. I personally like a hand full of frozen blueberries, a little water and a little splenda in the blender. Yummy but it stains badly. Don't let your 3 year old loose with a glass!

[vharlow]

Ditto that. On Atkins for about 6 weeks now, and I no longer need the Nexium. I don't have heartburn if I cut out the carbs. Of course, I noticed the other night at a restaurant when I grabbed a small piece of bread that I had terrible heartburn afterward. So there may also be something to the "sensitivity" to wheat glutens or something like that causing my heartburn. It's telling, though, that if I stay away from bread, I have no heartburn.

[Nov3]

You have lost more, faster than anyone I know. My wife frequents the LowCarb message boards and there are some amazing stories there too. I need to get out and walk more. With my 2 children (10 months and 4) I feel like there is no time. However every time I take time to walk my work output goes up - dramatically. I just need to do it.

[Nov3]

Ditto that. On Atkins for about 6 weeks now, and I no longer need the Nexium. I don't have heartburn if I cut out the carbs.

My wife had horrible heartburn when we went on "Protien Power" (Atkins). She was getting prescription meds and nothing was helping. Almost immediately it was gone.

[Yaelle]

I saw the ads for "low carb" orange juice too on TV, so I went to the store and read the label to see what they did to it. They put more water into the product, which effectively lowered the carbs, and then they added Splenda to make up for the less sweet taste.

I think these low carb products are all CROCKS. The good L-rd gave us fruits and vegetables, and I believe it is far healthier to consume them as they were, in reasonable quantities, than to put all this fake stuff in their place.

Counting carbs is a great way to lose weight. Stick to NORMAL foods, the less processed, the better, anad make sure that most of your carbs come from healthy fruits and vegetables, and some whole grains too.

Atkins and the other companies are all using the low-carb craze now to make the most ridiculous products in the world.

Low carb syrup! Low carb bread! Low carb orange juice! Low carb candy! What a joke. Just stay away from those high carb things and only eat "treats" on special occasions! The highly fake-sugared low carb products are like the cardboardy low fat products of the last 20 years.

What next??

[traumer]

"They put more water into the product, which effectively lowered the carbs, and then they added Splenda "

And let me guess - the price went.....

... up :o)

[appeal2]

More important than just low cars are serveral other Atkins theories that have been vindicated over the past several years. He believed that hyper-insulinism, the present of too much insulin in the blood was a major cause of cancer. Low and behold, 2 years ago, a study showed that women who were hyper-insulin and had suffered from breast cancer were 8 times more likely to suffer from a relapse of cancer.

He also believed that too much carbs, leading to excessive blood glucose would lead to early death. Low and behold it was found that rats eating a low carb, low glucose diet experienced dramatically increased life spans.

He also believed that increased homocistene levels in the blood was a much more important indicator for uture heart disease than cholesterol and tri-glicerides. And sure enough, a recent study showed this to be the case and that such a condition was easily remedied by high doses of vitamin B.

History will show Robert Atkins to be way ahead of him time and a leading pioneer on correcting the excesses and health problems of the modern diet, rich in refined carbs and sugar.

I think Dr. Atkins is looking down on us all with a big smile on his face. Thanks you.

[RJS1950]

My zantac-a-day and acid reflux has virtually disappeared since I went low carb.

[Hank Rearden]

The federal agency's goal is to get that inactivity level down to 20 percent or lower, said Sandra Ham, a CDC health statistician.

Considering that the government level of inactivity is about 90%, that's kinda ironic.

When the government gets spending below 20%, I'll pay attention. Until then, the parasites can go pound sand.

[lelio]

Ditto to your dittos. That's why I keep some pepcid complete around for those times I would like some bread. But I went from needing one or two a day with my "normal" diet to one a week after going low carb.

and I no longer need the Nexium

Does the purple pill cost a buck each? Congrats on saving $300+ a year (and that's just direct monetary costs).

[prion]

The food pyramid was wrong, but it never recommended eating processed carbs, which are the real problem.

The base of the pyramid is usually depicted as bread and cereal. That's pretty darned processed.

[prion]

Not whole grain bread and cereal, which is what was actually recommended.

No, it just says "breads, cereals, rice, and pasta." (This from Pueblo).

(Oh, yeah...6-11 servings of pasta is good dietary advice).