Healthy Weight Week Awards for Healthy Body Image and Slim Chance

Healthy Weight Week features the  Healthy Body Image Awards and the Slim Chance Awards.  This is a brief overview of the winners from Healthy Weight Network. 

Healthy Body Image Awards

Awards presented to programs whose mission is to promote the importance of a positive body image. Education focuses on prevention and reducing the risk factors associated with poor body image and the obsession with thinness.

A Chance to Heal (ACTH). Their mission is to prevent the incidence and reduce the impact of eating disorders and promote the importance of positive body image by educating parents, young people, educators and healthcare professionals. A Chance to Heal Foundation was started in 2004 by Ivy Silver and her daughter Rachel. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization representing all eating disorders from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and body dysmorphia. ACTH serves the Delaware Valley with a wide range of programs and services aimed at high school girls and educators, parents and healthcare professionals.

Healthy Body Image curriculum. Developed for 4th to 6th grades, this school program was designed by Kathy Kater, LIC SW, a psychotherapist, author and consultant, specializing in body image, eating, fitness and weight problems. Students learn to develop positive body images, appreciate inner strengths over appearance, resist unhealthy messages on weight, appearance, fitness and food, and adopt the building blocks for a healthy lifestyle. The 11 sessions are based on Kater’s book “Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies Too! Second Edition" and a companion volume for parents. 

Body Rocks. Blog: Body Rocks

A peer education group, Body Rocks is devoted to positive body image and eating disorder prevention in schools and communities. Created by Ann Marie Perone, a teacher at Valley High School in Las Vegas in 2006, the club hosts Eating Disorders Awareness Week and other special events. Most recently a balloon release symbolically helped students send off negative feelings and self talk, and emphasized the benefits of positive body image and self esteem.

 

Slim Chance Awards

Awards are presented in the following four categories: Worst Gimmick, Worst Claim, Worst Product and Most Outrageous. Announcement of the Slim Chance Awards occurred on December 27, 2010.

WORST GIMMICK
Lapex BCS Lipo Laser
LipoLaser promoters promise: “Lose 3 ½ to 7 inches of fat in 3 weeks; proven inches lost, without diet or exercise. The LipoLaser is the only non-diet, non-invasive, pain-free way to lose inches of fat." Studies are missing to show this works. The company claims shining the lighted device on a pocket of fat gives results “almost exactly the same as exercise” only instead of “hormones opening the fat cells with exercise, the Laser light opens the fat cells right through your skin”, thus resulting in fat and weight loss.

The FDA classifies the device as an infrared lamp rather than a laser. The price range is about $1490 to $5000 for a program of nine, one-hour sessions. The LipoLaser received negative ratings on a few online diet review sites. One user states, "False Advertising, No Results, Will Not Honor Results Guarantee: The LIPO LASER treatment does not work. The business advertised that it could spot treat fat and liquefy the fat and drain it out of your lymph system with instant results and full results with a series of treatments. After finding out it didn't work and and being charged $2500 for this service (both my husband and I tried it and it didn't work for either of us), I called for our money back guarantee. DO NOT SPEND MONEY ON THIS!!!"

WORST CLAIM
Ultimate Cleanse states "the body must be detoxified regularly to get rid of wastes and toxins." Cleansing programs are often high-risk and contain powerful laxatives. Ultimate Cleanse combines cascara sagrada and a potent laxative. In 2002, cascara sagrada was  banned as an ingredient in over-the-counter drugs. The product allegedly cleanses five areas (bowel, liver, kidneys, lungs and skin) as well as bloodstream, cells and body tissues. There is no proven safe or effective dose for cascara. Long-term use may lead to potassium depletion, blood in the urine, irregular heart function, muscle weakness, finger clubbing and cachexia (extreme weight loss). Regular use is linked to increased risk of hepatitis and colorectal cancer. Though banned as a drug, cascara sells in dietary supplements through a legal loophole.

WORST PRODUCT
HCG Supplements HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is a hormone produced during pregnancy. It claims to reset the hypothalamus, improve metabolism and mobilize fat stores. There is no scientific evidence supporting HCG treatment as a weight or fat loss method. Advertisers claim, “You easily can lose 1 to 2 pounds per day safely! Shed Excess Fat. HCG resets your hypothalamus so your weight loss is permanent!” “HCG will melt fat permanently while maintaining muscle tone.” HCG does all this without exercise. The program requires a semi-starvation diet of 500 calories a day. The program often begins with a liquid fast detox period. Common short-term side effects include fatigue, headache, mood swings, depression, confusion, dizziness and stomach pain.

MOST OUTRAGEOUS (2009).The horror of this find made it worth repeating this year. Pills spiked with powerful undisclosed drugs. In 2009, the FDA found so many diet pills secretly laced with powerful drugs that it was impossible for the Slim Chance selection panel to single out any, and could only group them together as “dangerous and outrageous.” FDA cited 69 weight loss “supplements” containing hidden, potentially harmful drugs or toxic substances, most imported from China, and says there may be hundreds more. In an analysis of 28 weight-loss products FDA found sibutramine (a controlled substance) in all of them; some also contained rimonabant, phenytoin or phenolphthalein. Sibutramine is associated with high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia, palpitations, heart attack and stroke, and the potency in the pills tested as high as three times prescription doses. Rimonabant (not approved in the U.S.), has been linked to five deaths and 720 adverse reactions in Europe during the past two years, and to increased risk of seizures, depression, anxiety, insomnia, aggressiveness and suicidal thoughts. Phenolphthalein is a suspected cancer causing agent. FDA warned consumers not to buy or use any of the 28 products. (For more information go to www.fda.gov and search “tainted weight loss pills.”)

Original article can be found at www.healthyweightnetwork.com. Francie M. Berg, MS, LN serves as chair of Healthy Weight Week. She is a licensed nutritionist, adjunct professor at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and author of 12 books. For bio information see:  http://www.healthyweight.net/media.htm


Her latest book "Underage and Overweight: Our Childhood Obesity Crisis – What Every Family Needs to Know” explores the facts behind the obesity crisis and provides a plan for raising confident healthy-weight children.

Francie M. Berg  fmberg@healthyweight.net
Healthy Weight Network
402 South 14th Street
Hettinger, ND 58639
701-567-2646

What is Beautiful?

Healthy Weight Week was created to increase awareness of positive body image, build self-esteem and recognize Beauty cannot be measured by a scale.

The video is a composition created from three sources,
each sharing a message about Beauty.

The first looks at the efforts women have gone through to be "beautiful"

The second is a fashion show raising awareness that beauty comes in all sizes. 

The final segment is from the Dove campaign on "Real Beauty".

Beautiful

Credits

What is Beautiful?
created by Cherish Manifold

Fashion for Everybody

benefitting Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee

Dove, http://www.dove.us/  

Acknowledging the Amazing efforts of Dove
to educate people about "Real Beauty".

"Campaign for Real Beauty"

"Dove Self Esteem Fund"

Apart of Healthy Weight Week

Sandra Frank, Ed.D., RD, LDN

http://www.dietitians-online.com/

http://www.weighing-success.com/

Self Esteem and Body Image

Apart of Healthy Weight Week

Fed Up Inc., helping build Self Esteem and a Positive Body Image

"Our mission is to prevent eating disorders by training students to become Junior Ambassadors who then educate peers and younger students about body image, self esteem and healthy living to create a world without diets and body bashing."  
   - Bridget Loves Livingston, founder of Fed Up Inc.

Fed up Inc is a Non-Profit group based in Los Angeles. They go inside “Hollywood” to get a close look at how media images are created.  They work with stylists, makeup artists, photographers, hairstylists, actors, singers, personalities, agents, producers, directors and people behind the scenes who create the art that is Show Business.  The goal is to help educate everyone on how media is created and encourage people to stop comparing themselves to these images.  Most importantly Fed Up is a grassroots campaign encouraging people to be their best individual selves.  

Perfect


Dangerous Messages

 

Body Image and Children

We can help children develop a positive body image and relate to foods in a healthy way. Here are some suggestions from Womenshealth.gov.

1. Make sure your children understand weight gain is a normal part of development, especially during puberty.

2. Avoid negative statements about food, weight and body size. Never tell your children they would be prettier and have more friends if they lost weight.

3. Allow your children to make decisions about food. Make sure plenty of healthy meals and snacks are available.

4. Compliment your children on their efforts, talents, accomplishments and personal values.

5. Encourage schools to enact policies against size and sexual discrimination, harassment, teasing; support the elimination of public weigh-ins and fat measurements.

6. Keep the lines of communication open between you and your children.

7. A parent is a role model, set an example by eating healthy and exercising.

Sarai Walker, the author of Building a Better Body Image states, "Include women of all ethnic and racial groups, age groups, sizes, abilities, and sexual orientations in your circle of friends. When we expose ourselves to the rich and varied experiences of all women, our narrow ideas about beauty and  bodies often change.

Rid the World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day January 18, 2011

Fad diets usually refer to unconventional eating patterns promoting short-term weight loss, usually with no concern for long-term weight control. These diets become quickly popular and just as quickly lose appeal. Fad diets generally disregard or refute what is known about the basic association between dietary patterns and human health. Extreme fad diets may lack energy, protein, vitamins and minerals essential for growing children.

How to Spot a Fad Diet

Does the food plan make any of the following Claims or Statements?
1. Recommends a quick fix solution.
2. Sounds too good to be true.
3. Recommendations based on a single study.
4. Recommendations that ignore the differences between people.
5. Requires you buy a product or the program will not work.
6. Eliminates one or more of the food groups.
7. Draws simple conclusions from a complex study.
8. Dramatic results questioned by established scientific communities (ADA, AMA, NIH, etc..)

This is an Example of a Fad Diet and it can Kill You!
The Tapeworm Diet 

Hollywood's Craziest Diets

These recommendations are NOT FAD DIETS.
The books represent healthy food plans and lifelong strategies to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

The Small Change Diet: 10 Steps to a Thinner, Healthier You

A Look at Weight Bias

During Healthy Weight Week, the issue of Weight Bias is addressed. The three videos reviewed look at this subject from the academic perspective, a personal view and government intervention. Though the videos discuss weight bias in relationship to overweight and obesity, the very thin often are a target of weight bias.

Weight Bias
Overweight and obese youth frequently are teased, harassed and mistreated because of their weight. Weight-related teasing ("weight bias") can have a damaging impact on both emotional and physical health. The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University (http://www.yaleruddcenter.org) created this video to help parents and teachers understand the severity and impacts of weight bias in school and at home and to present strategies to help combat this problem for overweight teens and pre-adolescents.

The video host is celebrity, model and activist Emme and features Rudd Center experts: Dr. Rebecca Puhl and Dr. Kelly Brownell. The obstacles overweight and obese youth encounter with weight bias is presented using expert commentary and dramatic representation.

Discrimination Against Overweight People

"My old suitemate inspired me to make this as my final project freshman year. When she broke out of her shell and felt good about herself, her personality really began to shine. Everyone we lived with started to see past her "big girl" exterior and opened up to her more. We had creative freedom wth our final project so I decided to look at various aspects of the discrimination against larger individuals."

Should Weight Discrimination Be Illegal?

One of the Winners of the
2010 "Love Your Body" Campaign

Sarah Neuser, Eagan, MN

The National Organization for Women Foundation ("NOW Foundation") sponsors the "Love Your Body" campaign. The posters chosen demonstrate beauty is not limited by body size, body type, ethnicity, age or physical appearance. 

Resouces:

1. Understanding Size Bias, a Conversation with Rebecca Puhl

2. The Canadian Summit on Weight Bias and Discrimination

Healthy Weight Week January 16 to 22, 2011

Today is the start of Healthy Weight Week. During Healthy Weight Week attention is focused on Lifelong Healthy Habits Self-Esteem; Weight Bias; Fad Diets and Gimmicks; Women’s Healthy Weight; Health at any Size and Professional Resources. The goals are to prevent eating disorders and weight problems.

What is Healthy Weight Week?

Frances M. "Francie" Berg, MS, LN is the founder of Healthy Weight Week. She is a licensed nutritionist, family wellness specialist and adjunct professor at the University of North Dakota School Of Medicine. Francie is the author of 12 books and the founder, editor and publisher of the Healthy Weight Journal (established in 1986).

Mission
"Healthy Weight Network (HWN) provides a critical link between research and practical application on weight and eating issues. Recognizing weight is a complex condition of increasing concern throughout the world, the HWN is committed to bringing together scientific information from many sources, reporting controversial issues in a clear, objective manner and the ongoing search for truth and understanding.

Recognizing weight is an easily exploitable health and social concern, the HWN is committed to exposing deception, reshaping detrimental social attitudes, and promoting health at any size. Our mission is to be a voice of integrity and insight in a field that has been much abused and neglected."

Francie M. Berg, MS, LN
Healthy Weight Network, 402 South 14th Street, Hettinger, ND 58639
email: fmberg@healthyweight.net; website: http://www.healthyweight.net/

Every Girl Is Beautiful / Self-Esteem PSA

Do You Think I'm Fat?
A Public Service Announcement from the
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
For help visit http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

Susan Weiner RD, MS, CDE Nutrition Expert

Traveling the Internet and discovering the many talented dietitians is a wonderful experience.  I have learned about the numerous specialties, cultural diversity, advances in research, legislative news, current events, ADA campaigns, new recipes and I even made some new friends along the way.

This week my journey takes me to
Susan Weiner Nutrition.

“Beans are an inexpensive meat substitute, which can save money
and add years to your life. They are high in fiber, rich in vitamins,
antioxidants, and phytochemicals. Beans are the
versatile way to add protein and fiber
to your diet without busting your food budget.”

- Susan Weiner RD, MS, CDE

Susan Weiner is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and Certified Dietitian and Nutritionist. She is currently in private practice in New York. 

Experiences

1. Contributing medical producer for dLife TV and serves as a member of dLifes medical advisory board.  dLife - For Your Diabetes Life is an educational resource for people with diabetes as well as professionals in the diabetes community. 

2. Nutritionist and certified diabetes educator for the diabetes program TheBestLife.com, Bob Greene’s health and weight loss website. She provides articles to the site and is available to answer the “ask the expert” diabetes questions. Susan contributed  consultation in The Best Life Guide to Managing Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes (Simon & Schuster 2009). This book launched TheBestLife.com website.

3. Well respected lecturer for many professional organizations including the American College of Sports Medicine.

4. Susan was the official sports nutritionist for the American Diabetes Association Walk America program; as well as the Sports Nutritionist for the Elite Runners Distance Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid New York.

5. Featured guest on numerous radio and television shows including  the “1010 wins radio winning womens breakfast series” and Fox News. She has been interviewed on  various nutrition and diet topics. 

6. A valued contributor to many books on a variety of nutrition topics (primarily weight management and diabetes). Susan has written articles and has been quoted in several publications including Men’s Health, New York Newsday, Woman’s Day, Better Homes and Gardens, Fitness Magazine, Sports Illustrated for Women, Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Supplement and the New York Daily News.

7. Adjunct professor of nutrition at Queens College in New York for over 13 years and taught at the Academy of Applied Personal Training Education at Hofstra University.

8. Consultant and spokesperson for several food companies. 

Education and Certification

Susan earned her Masters Degree in Applied Physiology and Nutrition from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. Her dual masters degree in “Applied Physiology and Nutrition” afforded her the opportunity to practice as a nutritionist and exercise physiologist. She is certified in “Adult Weight Management”, through the American Dietetic Association.

                       Professional Affiliations
*The American Dietetics Association
*The American Diabetes Association, Professional Section
*New York State Dietetics Association
*American College of Sports Medicine
*American Association of Diabetes Educators
*National Association of Eating Disorders

 To learn more about Susan Weiner Nutrition visit any of the following links.

Website. Susan Weiner Nutrition
Blog. Susan Weiner Nutrition
LinkedIn. Susan Weiner RD, MS, CDE
Facebook. Susan Weiner Nutrition
Twitter. @susangweiner

January. National Birth Defects Prevention Month

Sponsor: The National Birth Defects Prevention Network 

Prevent Birth Defects

National Birth Defects Prevention Month is a time to raise awareness of birth defects and promote healthy pregnancies.

A birth defect is a problem that happens while a baby is developing in the mother’s body. One out of every 33 babies in the United States is born with a birth defect.

Many birth defects can be prevented. If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, these tips can help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby:

* Take a multivitamin with folic acid every day before and during pregnancy.

* See your doctor or midwife regularly as soon as you think you're pregnant and throughout your pregnancy.

* Make sure your vaccinations are up to date.

* Eat well and stay active.

* Avoid alcohol, smoking, and other drug use.

* Prevent infections from food and other sources.

Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Diet and exercise
Eat healthy and exercise regularly. Health problems are linked to weighing too much or too little before and during pregnancy. Your health is affected by what you eat and by your physical activity.

Here are a few important guidelines for healthy eating:
• Eat lots of vegetables, fruits and whole grains such as whole wheat, oats, barley and brown rice. These are excellent sources of the vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber you need every day to feel your best.

• Eat less of the foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, such as meat, poultry and whole milk dairy foods (low-fat dairy is okay). Saturated fat and cholesterol are strongly linked to heart disease, cancer and obesity.

Regular physical activity helps control weight, strengthen your heart, and give you more energy. It also reduces depression and relieves stress. It’s a good idea to exercise at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes.

Alcohol and drugs
Drinking alcohol or taking any type of legal or street drugs during the early weeks of pregnancy can hurt your unborn baby. That’s when the brain and other organs are forming.

If you drink alcohol, so does your unborn baby. Alcohol abuse during pregnancy is a leading known cause of mental retardation. If you are considering a pregnancy, it’s best to stop drinking alcohol before you conceive.

Cocaine, crack, heroin, amphetamines and other street drugs can badly hurt your baby if you use them while you are pregnant. Your baby could suffer lifelong health problems. Get help to stop using drugs before you become pregnant and stay clean.

National Folic Acid Awareness Week January 2 - 8, 2011

The National Council on Folic Acid (NCFA).
The mission of the National Council on Folic Acid (NCFA) is to improve health by promoting the benefits and consumption of folic acid.

National Folic Acid Awareness Week is January 2-8, 2011. The NCFA sees these seven days as a time to focus the attention on what folic acid is and why it is important to women of childbearing age.



Healthy Food Choices for Folic Acid

Messages from the NCFA

1. Educating all women, especially Latinas, that folic acid can help prevent birth defects of the brain and spine should be a priority in 2011.

2. Women of childbearing age should take a multivitamin with folic acid every day and eat foods fortified with folic acid, in addition to a healthy diet.

Nutritional habits
1. Although all enriched cereals and grain products in the U.S. are fortified with the B-vitamin folic acid, only one-third of U.S. women of childbearing age consume the recommended amount from their diet. Taking a multivitamin with folic acid everyday is a key way women can get the recommended amount of 400 mcg.

2. Be prepared before pregnancy. Women need folic acid, even if not planning to become pregnant, since 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned. Taking folic acid before pregnancy reduces the risk of birth defects of the brain and spine, called neural tube defects (NTDs), by up to 70%.

Message to the Hispanic community
Hispanic babies are 1.5 to 2 times more likely than others in the U.S. to be born with an NTD. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that Latinas in the U.S. consume the least amount of folic acid and have the least knowledge about folic acid among racial or ethnic groups.

Lifechangers: New Year's Diets to Trust

"Extra" Lifechangers Dietitians Keri Gans and Cher Pastore are breaking down new ways to lose weight for 2011 that actually can work!

 

January 2011 Wellness NewsTopics for Journalists, Writers, Educators and Bloggers

Current  News, Resources and Events in Nutrition, Food, Health, Environment,
Safety and Disability Rights. Encourages awareness and inspires ideas for
Journalists, Educators, Consumers and Health Professionals.

Wellness News

January Highlights

Birth Defects Month, Natl

Poverty in America Awareness Month, Natl

Celebration of Life Month

Blood Donor Month, Natl

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

Glaucoma Awareness Month, Natl

Mentoring Month, Natl

Personal Self Defense Awareness Month, Natl

Quality of Life Month, Intl

Radon Action Month, Natl

Thyroid Awareness Month

Coffee Gourmet Month, Intl

Fat Free Living Month

Family Fit Lifestyle Month

 

Fiber Focus Month, Natl

Lose Weight, Feel Great Month, Natl
Retail Bakers Month
Shape Up US Month

Bread Machine Baking Month

California Dried Plum Digestive Month

Hot Tea Month, Natl
Oatmeal Month
Soup Month, Natl
Wheat Bread Month

Mail Order Gardening Month, Natl
Clean Up Your Computer Month, Natl
Self help Group Awareness Month

1-8 Natl Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
2- 8 Natl Folic Acid Awareness Week 
9-15 Home Office Safety and Security Week
16-22 Healthy Weight Week (18th Annual)

20 Women’s Healthy Weight Day

17-23 Natl Fresh Squeezed Juice Week
18 Rid the World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day
24-28 Clean out Your Inbox Week