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Revolutionize Modern Snacks

Reducing Incidence of Obesity in American Youth

WHITE PAPER

INTRODUCING HEALTHY VEGETABLE SNACKS TO REPLACE EMPTY CALORIES FOODS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYWith the prevalence of adolescent obesity approaching 20% in the United States, it is unfortunate that the effectiveness of pediatric obesity treatment is only modest in young children and declines in adolescents. It is estimated that children in the United States are spending 35 percent of their waking hours watching television, talking on cell phones and playing video games and statistically, very sedentary children have the highest incidence of obesity. The statistics on food advertising to children indicate that annual sales of foods and beverages to young consumers exceeded $27 billion in 2002; food and beverage advertisers collectively spend $12 billion annually to reach children and youth: more than $1 billion is spent on media advertising to children; more than $4.5 billion is spent on youth-targeted public relations; and $3 billion is spent on packaging designed for children. Fast food outlets spend $3 billion in television advertisements targeted to children.

The causes of obesity are multiple, interactional, and complex with many causal contributors: cheap calorie-dense food, the glitzy marketing of super-sized portions, few sidewalks in urban environment making residents car dependent, students being bused to school rather than walking; dependence on computers for recreation and television entertainment are contributing barriers to a child’s healthy lifestyle, all fueling the obesity crisis. Bureaucrats have followed the tenet that poor food choice interventions must involve an increase in an individual’s personal valuation of health and that by understanding adolescents’ perceptions towards food and nutrition along with factors that influence their food behavior, nutrition intervention models can be designed and adolescents can be convinced to follow them. Federally sponsored nutrition literacy training and exercise incentive programs intended to motivate a change in adolescent eating behavior are proving ineffective.

This treatise proposes engineering a low-cost nutrient-filled health-sustaining snack that competes with the nutrient-poor snacks readily available to teenagers and children, thus paving a true avenue towards achieving a decrease in the prevalence of obesity among American youth. Marketing the alternative snack to the snacking generation at a price that they can afford will circumvent the obvious resistance shown to the obesity prevention recommendations made by the United States Department of Agriculture, World Health Organization, Center For Disease Control and Prevention and other federal and state agencies. As a nation, we need to make solving childhood obesity a top priority.

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Revolutionize Modern Snacks: Reducing Incidence of Obesity in American Youth

Much of adult obesity has its roots in childhood; in fact, the principal predictor of adult obesity is childhood obesity. Obesity is a chronic multidimensional problem and is not only a measure of the amount of body fat in an individual. The World Health Organization established a simple inexpensive and reasonably objective method of indirectly estimating total subcutaneous and visceral fat content referred to as body mass index (BMI). For adults who have obtained their maximal height, a BMI of 25-30 kg/m2 is “overweight” and >30 kg/m2 is “obese”. It should be noted that BMI is not an accurate measure for everyone, particularly people who have much muscle mass (like athletes), elderly people with less muscle mass or people less than 5 feet tall...

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A practical definition of obesity is excess body fat sufficiently large to adversely affect good health or cause premature death. In an obese person as fat cells increase in size, the adipose tissue begin to produce bioactive substances, hormones, in excess of levels experienced by persons with BMIs less than 25. The presence of bioactive substances causes insulin resistance Type II Diabetes. The effects of accumulation of adipose tissue deposits vary as a function of age, ethnicity and sex.

Pediatric obesity charts have been developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that factor in the child waist circumference, sex , birth date (to get exact age in months), and age-specific clinical growth charts data to generate a BMI scale. The percentile curves generated apply to youth ages 2-20 years.

PEDIATRIC BMI CHARTS FOR GIRLS AND BOYS

The CDC chart identifies children possessing BMI in the 5th to 85th percentile as having “healthy weight”. BMI in the 85th to 95th percentile indicates “at risk for overweight” while 95th to 99th

percentile is recorded as “overweight” and greater than 99th is considered pediatric obesity. Research indicates that a decrease in daily energy expenditure without a concomitant decrease in total energy consumption is an underlying factor for the increase in childhood obesity. The use of

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the term “epidemic” is apt when applied to the prevalence of obesity in America. Among the tragedies of the current obesity epidemic is the increasing prevalence of obesity in the very young; obesity is evident in children in the first year of life.

Being overweight during childhood and adolescence increases the risk of developing high cholesterol, hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression and Type 2 Diabetes as a youth. The hospital costs alone associated with childhood obesity were estimated at $127 million during 1997–1999 up from $35 million during 1979–1981. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that an increased fat mass accelerates puberty in girls; girls with higher BMI reach puberty earlier than normal-weight counterparts.

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MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY

The statistics on food advertising to children indicate that annual sales of foods and beverages to young consumers exceeded $27 billion in 2002; Food and beverage advertisers collectively spend $10 to $12 billion annually to reach children and youth: more than $1 billion is spent on media advertising to children (primarily on television); more than $4.5 billion is spent on youth-targeted public relations; and $3 billion is spent on packaging designed for children. Fast food outlets spend $3 billion in television ads targeted to children.

Nutrient-poor and calorie-laden snacks are more available to the low income population than fresh fruit.

Adolescents are at risk for nutritional problems both from a physiological and a psychosocial standpoint because there is a dramatic increase in physical growth and development which creates a high demand for nutrients and energy. Psychosocial changes, such as the adolescent’s search for independence and identity, concerns about appearance, and active peer-pressure-driven lifestyles, can have a strong impact on nutrient intake and food choices. Nutrition and health educators find that implementing educational programs promoting healthy eating patterns to secure change in dietary behavior among adolescents challenging and frustrating. I. Mary Story and Michael D. Resnick, Adolescent Health Program, University of Minnesota investigated the opinions and views of adolescents and found that adolescents were knowledgeable about good health and nutrition practices, but they did not translate this knowledge into choosing nutritious food behavior. Adolescents revealed that their dietary behaviors are driven by lack of time, lack of discipline, and lack of a sense of urgency to do the right thing.

The primary appeal of junk foods, according to the students, is the taste. Most stated they liked and ate such foods despite the consequences of “getting fat,” “acne,” “bad health,” “poor nutrition,” “cavities,” and “getting sick.” The second most popular reason given for eating junk food snacks was that junk foods are convenient. Always seeming to be in a hurry, adolescents find junk food to be a necessary part of their busy lives. This choice is made despite the students’

understanding that junk food is high in sugar, fat and calories; high in additives; fattening and lacking nutritional value.Betty Ruth Carruth, et.al. at the University of Tennessee conducted a survey questionnaire which addressed adolescents' television viewing habits, snacking frequency and usual foods consumed while watching television, and frequency of

communication with parents and peers regarding food advertisements and food purchasing. Eight hundred and eighty seven students enrolled in 10th through 12th grades revealed that the most frequently consumed snacks were soft drinks, sweets, chips, and popcorn. Snacks purchased and consumed by adolescents were rarely discussed with parents.

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USDA RECOMMENDED FOOD CHART

Bureaucrats have followed the tenet that nutrition interventions must involve an increase in an individual’s personal valuation of health and by understanding adolescents’ perceptions towards food and nutrition along with factors that influence adolescent food behavior, nutrition intervention models can be designed and adolescents can be convinced to follow them. In 2003, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy set out to establish a basis upon which to frame the nutrition literacy problem in the United States. A scale that measures “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions was developed. The study revealed that 44% of adult Americans have “basic” to “below basic” level of health literacy and that health literacy was greatest for the high school graduates and post-secondary educated persons. People living below the levels of poverty have lower health literacy than those above it.

Federal and state organizations have invested heavily in supporting nutrition literacy:

1. The Family Nutrition Program is a free nutrition education program serving low-income adults; helping families, participating in the Food Stamp Program, stretch their food dollar and form healthful eating habits. This program is funded by the Food Nutrition Service’s branch of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) usually through a local state academic institution which runs the program.

2. Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program is a program that currently operates in all 50 states and in American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It is designed to assist limited-resource audiences in acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed behavior necessary for nutritionally sound diets, and to contribute to their personal development and the improvement of the total family diet and nutritional well-being.

3. Smart Bodies is a public-private partnership between Louisiana State Agricultural Center and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation which formed to promote nutrition literacy. It is an interactive educational program designed to help prevent childhood obesity through classroom activities that teach children healthful eating habits and physical exercise.

To date, advancing “nutrition literacy” has done little to improve the eating habits of adolescents and low socioeconomic citizens. Adolescents view time as a major factor in choosing what they eat because they see themselves too busy to worry about food, nutrition, meal planning, and

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Responsibility for obesity is divided into behaviors characterized as individual and those attributed to the environment. Dr. Kelly Brownell, a Yale Obesity Center scientist and author of Food Fight, believes individuals are responsible for 40% of obesity and the environment is responsible for 60%.

eating right. Expressing these views, teenagers said, “People our age are so busy that we don’t have enough time to try to change habits.” “We don’t have the time – too many pressures.” “There’s a lot more than food that’s really important to us”. The fast food generation expects to eat a well-advertised meal within ten minutes of requesting it. There is little incentive to spend hours in a grocery store selecting and purchasing products that must be washed and cooked before it can be consumed. Today much of what is purchased in the grocery store is a pre-packaged frozen entree that can be micro-waved into a hot meal in less than 10 minutes.

Numerous parental influences shape the eating habits of youth through the foods they make available and accessible, the amount of time children are left unsupervised and their eating interactions with others in the social context. Studies suggest that parental food preferences directly influence and shape those of their children. Parents who ate diets high in saturated fats also had children that ate diets high in saturated fats. This is not merely due to the foods parents fed their children, but also the preferences in food selection that children saw their parents exhibit. Many taste preferences form during the window prior to learning to walk. Family meal time has been a time-honored convention in our society; however over the past two decades, family structure has changed significantly in the United States with an increase in single-parent families and home-makers employed outside the home. These factors profoundly influence family communalism especially eating meals together. In a Minnesota study, urban students tended to be more indifferent to family meals than rural or suburban youth. Although students valued the concept of family communalism, many stated that their work schedules, sports, and other extracurricular activities (or their parents’ schedules) often prevented sit-down

family meals. In the U.S. and abroad, globalization has been linked to fewer home cooked meals, more calories consumed in restaurants, increased snacking between meals, and increased availability of fast foods in schools. Children and adolescents are eating more food away from home, drinking more sugar-sweetened drinks, and snacking more frequently. Convenience has become one of the main criteria for American’s food choices today, leading more and more people to consume ‘away-from-home’ quick service or restaurant meals or to buy ready-to-eat, low cost, quickly accessible meals to prepare at home. Energy intake from away-from-home food sources increased from 32% to 55 %. Average portion sizes increased for salty snacks from 1.0

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Health and nutrition have been proven to have close links with overall educational success. Better nutrition has been shown to have an impact on both cognitive and spatial

The food processing industry, in industrialized nations, has grown to dominate the presentation and consumption mode of food. The food processing industry is a major part of modern economy, and as such it is influential in political decisions such as nutritional recommendations, agricultural subsidizing. In any known profit-driven economy, health considerations are hardly a priority; effective production of cheap foods with a long shelf-life is more the trend.

Type 2 Diabetes has increased dramatically in children and adolescents.

ounce to 1.6 ounces and soft drinks volumes from 12 ounces to 20 ounces. Children as young as seven months old are consuming soda.Debates about how and to what extent different dietary factors, such as, the intake of processed carbohydrates, total protein, fat, and low intake of vitamins/minerals, contribute to the development of hormonal disturbances such as insulin resistance has been on-going for decades. Virtually all obese people and most Type 2 diabetic individuals have marked insulin resistance. The association between overweight and insulin resistance is clear. Newer studies show that obesity also increases the body’s resistance to the hormone leptin. Leptin is a hormone that is synthesized in the stomach but acts on receptors in the brain where it inhibits appetite. Both insulin and leptin normally function as satiety signals to the brain. In obese people, insulin-leptin resistances reduce satiety signals and allow overeating. Several lines of evidence indicate an increased level of circulating insulin is a decisive factor in chronic inflammation, which is strongly linked to arterial micro injuries and clot formation, seen in heart disease and uncontrolled cell division, seen in cancer and is characterized by abdominal obesity, elevated blood sugar, elevated blood pressure, elevated blood triglycerides, and reduced HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol.

Fast food consumption is associated with inexpensive calorie-dense diets, and the price disparity between the low-nutrient/ high-calorie foods and healthier food options continues to grow. Fats and sweets cost only 30% more than they did 20 years ago, whereas the cost of fresh produce has increased more than 100%. Studies in Seattle supermarkets showed that foods with the lowest energy density (mostly fresh vegetables and fruit) increased in price by almost 20% over 2 years, whereas the price of energy-dense foods high in sugar and fat remained constant.

Data collected in a 2009-2010 study performed by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey show that there is a significant difference in obesity prevalence by race/ethnicity. There are cultural influences and socioeconomic constraints, such as low levels of education and high levels of poverty that decrease opportunities for healthful eating and living. Links between low health literacy and poor health outcomes have been widely documented. The complexities surrounding the lack of positive response from teaching nutrition literacy are embedded in the social structure, the lack of information about food choices, the lack of understanding of

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nutritional information and its application to individual circumstances, as well as limited access to healthful foods are secondary to the convenience of acquiring a meal.

Culture is a system of shared understandings that shapes an individual’s perspective and provides meaning to rules for behavior that are normative – expected to be what everyone should do. Culture, unlike instinct, is learned; is distributed within a group such that everyone possesses the same knowledge, attitudes, and practices; thereby enabling members of the group to communicate with one another and behave in ways that are mutually interpretable. Shared understandings embodied by a culture include the perception of obesity and the extent to which the group views obesity as a problem. Culture contributes to disparities in childhood obesity in numerous ways. First, body image development occurs in a cultural context, and ethnic/cultural groups differ in their shared understandings as to valued and disvalued body image. For instance, perceived ideal body size for African American women is significantly larger than it is for white women, and African American men are more likely than white men to express a preference for larger body size in women. The mean BMI at which white women typically express body dissatisfaction is significantly lower than that for African American women. For many years African-American culture developed separately from mainstream American culture, both because of slavery and the persistence of racial discrimination in America, as well as African-American slave descendants' desire to create and maintain their own traditions. Traditionally-prepared “soul” foods tend to be very high in starch, fat, sodium, cholesterol, and calories – qualities once necessary for sustaining the physically grueling life of a captive worker in slavery-era America. Given that women typically assume primary responsibility for the care, feeding, and education of children, including the transmission of shared cultural understandings, the beliefs that women possess with respect to their own body image have implications for their perception of and response to the body image of their children.

Obesity, as defined by pediatric BMI charts, disproportionately affects minority youth populations: 21% African American adolescents ages 12-19 are overweight compared to 14% of white adolescents. In children 6-11 years old, 20 percent of African American children and 14 percent of white children were overweight.

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More than 2,500 years ago the physician Hippocrates, often called the father of medicine, recognized that people who were overweight were at higher risk for

sudden death.

It was in 1920s, that Herman Lay, a traveling salesman, helped popularize the potato chip snack from Atlanta to Tennessee. Lay peddled potato chips to Southern grocers out of the trunk of his car, building a business and a name that would become synonymous with the thin, salty snack. And as thin, salted, crisp chips, they are America's favorite snack food. The success of crisp fried potato chips also gave birth to fried corn chips, with such brands as Fritos and Doritos dominating the market. Americans today consume more potato chips than any other people in the world.

The current understanding of obesity by the public at large consists mainly of two positions. One position equates obesity with poor character, lack of self-control, laziness, and gluttony. It views obesity as the result of an individual's choice of behavior, like smoking or driving without a seatbelt, that has relatively little effect on others—a lifestyle choice. Reduction in body weight for its own sake is often associated with vanity or seen as a cosmetic issue. The other position sees obesity as a risk factor for heart disease or diabetes. In this view, a reduction in obesity is seen as useful in reducing the risk of other diseases.

Nutrition’s Role in ObesityThere is no argument against the belief that eating nutrient-filled foods sustains good health and helps avoid diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and obesity and establishing long-term healthful eating habits have a positive effect on the quality of life. However, Americans are eating more potato chips, more fatty meats, and more fried fast food than ever before. There are more fast food restaurants in this country per capita than at any other time in history. Studies show that the average American gets in excess of 40% of his calories from fat. In industrialized countries, traditional diets high in complex carbohydrates and fiber have been replaced with high-fat, energy-dense diets. Rural immigrants abandon traditional diets rich in vegetables and cereal in favor of processed foods and animal products. The newer, more improved, methods of food processing have blossomed despite clear scientific evidence that processing natural foods remove much needed nutrients.

Most interventions have used only health education, awareness, and behavior change approaches to improve individual and small-group behaviors, with minimal long-term success. Some organizations have worked with teachers, policymakers, and managed foodservice contractors to mandate improved nutritional content and increased nutritional resources in school cafeterias from primary to university level institutions. However, current medical education pays minimal attention to the problem of obesity, and even that is geared to the concept of obesity as a lifestyle choice rather than a physiological problem. Lifestyle modification is rarely taught to medical students, whether it be for smoking, drug abuse, alcoholism, or obesity. Obesity itself is usually the subject of very limited, often optional presentations. There has never been a federally-funded

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initiative to create a nutrient-rich snack priced to fit in the low income population budget; one that can successfully compete with aggressively advertised potato and corn chips.

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There are six major classes of nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, minerals, protein, vitamins, and water. These nutrient classes can be categorized as either macronutrients (needed in relatively large amounts) or micronutrients (needed in smaller quantities). The macronutrients include carbohydrates, fats, protein, and water. The micronutrients are minerals, vitamins/phytochemicals.

Most processed snacks are carbohydrates with high glycemic index values. Glycemic index measures how much a 50-gram portion of carbohydrate raises a person's blood-sugar level compared with the control, 16 ounces of water. All carbohydrates are digested into glucose and the rise in blood glucose levels defines glycemic response. This response is affected by many factors: the quantity of food, degree of processing, the amount and type of carbohydrate and the cooking method. Good management of blood glucose level is one of the keys to lifelong health. Choosing low glycemic index carbohydrates – the ones that produce low glycemic response - reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Nutritionists have preached the benefits of a low-fat diet; stating that reducing the amount of fat in the diet is the key to losing weight, managing cholesterol, and preventing health problems. Research shows that the type of fat that is consumed is what is really important. “Bad” fats increase cholesterol and the risk of certain diseases, while “good” fats have the opposite effect. Saturated fat (bad fat) should be limited to 10% of calories consumed daily. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, cream, fatty meats and some vegetable oils -- coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils. Saturated fats elevate LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol, referred to as “bad cholesterol”. Saturated fats are often found in fast foods and inexpensive snacks.

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Each food is assigned an index number from 1-100, with 100 as the reference score for pure glucose. Typically, foods are rated high (greater than 70), low (less than 55) or moderate (56-69).

It has been demonstrated, conclusively, that appropriate exercise along with reduced glycemic index foods can reverse insulin resistance in overweight individuals and thereby lower blood sugar levels in those who have Type 2 Diabetes.

Dietary fats are found in both plant and animal foods. Fats play a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function. Fat helps the body absorb and move vitamins A, D, E, and K through the bloodstream. The body processes ingested fat into glycerol, which is converted to glucose and used as a source of energy. Omega-3 fats and essential fatty acids (linoleic and linolenic acid) have important roles in controlling inflammation, blood clotting, and supporting brain development. Conjugated linoleic acids are being studied and show an ability to reduce total body fat and increase lean body mass by 1% per week while increased resting metabolic rates. Dietary fat in excess of that used to supply energy is stored in the body as either "visceral fat" located within the abdominal cavity, beneath the wall of abdominal muscle, or "subcutaneous fat" located beneath the skin. Visceral fat was recently discovered to be a significant producer of signaling chemicals, hormone-like substances, which adversely affect the biochemical processes of the body.

Proteins are found in both plant and animal foods; they are composed of amino acids. Proteins are the building components of muscles, skin, and hair and enzymes that control chemical reactions throughout the body. Each protein is composed of amino acids. A diet rich in essential amino acids is particularly important during pregnancy, fetal development, lactation, early childhood growth, and recovery from injury. Most meats such as chicken contain all the essential amino acids needed for humans. Proteins participate in every process within cells acting as enzymes that catalyze biochemical reactions vital to metabolism. Proteins also have structural or mechanical functions in muscle, cell signaling, immune responses, cell adhesion, and the cell repair. Other amino acids are used to synthesize enzymes, hormones and signaling proteins necessary for biochemical processes that maintain life. Many proteins are involved in the process of cell signaling, transmitting chemical signals from one cell to another or acting as receptors, binding signaling molecules that induce a biochemical response in the cell. Antibodies are protein components that bind foreign substances in the body and target them for destruction. Some amino acids produced by protein digestion is converted to glucose and utilized for energy. The use of protein as a fuel is particularly important under starvation conditions.

Plants absorb/ uptake essential elements from the soil through their roots. Trace chemicals, identified as phytochemicals, are found in edible plants, colorful fruits and vegetables, seafood, algae, and mushrooms. They provide health benefits to the cardiovascular system, immune system and are helpful in the prevention and treatment of age-related macular degeneration (a major cause of blindness), and cataracts. Ingestion of these trace minerals serve to protect the rods and cones within the eye against the destructive effects of oxidation.

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Dietary minerals (also known as mineral nutrients) are the chemical elements that, when ingested, act as electrolytes that support biochemical reactions within the body.

DIETARY MINERALS

Calcium, a common electrolyte, but also needed structurally (for muscle and digestive system health, bone strength, some forms neutralize acidity, may help clear toxins, provides signaling ions for nerve and membrane functions)

Magnesium, required for processing ATP and related reactions (builds bone, causes strong peristalsis, increases flexibility, increases alkalinity)

Phosphorus-essential for energy processing; component of bones Potassium-heart and nerve health Sodium very common in food Sulfur found in many proteins which make up skin, hair, nails, liver, and pancreas Cobalt is required for biosynthesis of vitamin B12 which is an essential vitamin for

humans. Copper required component of many reducing-oxidizing enzymes Chromium required for sugar metabolism Iodine required for the biosynthesis of thyroxine, thyroid hormone, and other

agents in glandular organs- breast, stomach, salivary glands. Iron required for many enzymes and for hemoglobin in blood Manganese(processing of oxygen within tissue Molybdenum required for xanthine oxidase and related oxidases Nickel present in urease Selenium required for peroxidase (antioxidant proteins) Zinc required for several enzymes such as carboxypeptidase, liver alcohol

dehydrogenase, and carbonic anhydrase

RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCE (RDA) IS 200 mg/day or GREATER

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B vitamins are a group of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and

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VITAMINS ARE VALUABLE NUTRIENTS

Vitamin generic name

Chemical name(s)

Recommended dietary

allowances

Deficiency disease Food sources

Vitamin A

Retinol, retinal, and beta carotene

900 µg Night-blindness, Hyperkeratosis, and Keratomalacia

Orange vegetables carrots, pumpkin, squash, spinach

Vitamin B1 Thiamine 1.2 mg Beriberi, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

Oatmeal, rice, vegetables, kale, cauliflower, potatoes, liver, eggs

Vitamin B2 Riboflavin 1.3 mg Ariboflavinosis

Dairy products, bananas, popcorn, green beans, asparagus

Vitamins are recognized as essential nutrients; deficiencies result in disease conditions, such as goiter,

scurvy, osteoporosis, impaired immune system, disorders of cell metabolism, cancer, premature aging, and poor psychological health Some vitamins function

as antioxidants and enzyme cofactors that help enzymes in their work as catalysts in metabolism.

are found in whole unprocessed foods. Processed carbohydrates such as sugar and white flour tend to have lower contents of B vitamins than their unprocessed counterparts. B vitamins are particularly concentrated in meat such as turkey, tuna and liver. Good plant sources for B vitamins include whole grains, potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers, beans, brewer's yeast, and molasses.

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics are advised to supplement thiamine (B1) because of the high prevalence of low plasma thiamine concentration and increased thiamine clearance associated with diabetes. Vitamin B9 (folic acid) deficiency in early embryo development has been linked to spina bifida, a spinal cord birth defect; women trying to become pregnant are encouraged to increase daily dietary folic acid intake.

Vitamin B9 Folic acid 400 µgDuring pregnancy is associated with birth defects

1,000 µgLeafy vegetables, pasta, bread, cereal, liver

Vitamin C Ascorbic acid 90.0 mg Scurvy 2,000 mgMany fruits and vegetables, liver

Vitamin D Cholecalciferol 5.0 µg–10 µgRickets and Osteomalacia

50 µgFish, eggs, liver, mushrooms

Vitamin ETocopherols, tocotrienols

15.0 mgMild hemolytic anemia in newborn infants

1,000 mgMany fruits and vegetables

Vitamin Kphylloquinone, menaquinones

120 µg Bleeding diathesis

For the most part, vitamins are obtained through eating food, however, microorganisms in the intestine — commonly known as "gut flora" — produce Vitamin K and Biotin. Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin with the help of the natural ultraviolet wavelength of sunlight and

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Vitamin Chemical Recommended Deficiency Toxic Food Generic Name Dietary State Level SourcesName Allowance

Vitamin A is synthesized from beta carotene, niacin, and the amino acid tryptophan. Vitamins are essential nutrients for the healthy maintenance of cells, tissues, and organs; they enable efficient use of chemical energy and help process proteins, carbohydrates, and fats required for respiration.

Phytochemicals have been researched widely over the last decade and found to have major roles in maintaining good health. They are antioxidants and have been found to prevent inflammatory injuries within the veins, arteries and capillaries, decrease molecular free radicals that initiate cancerous processes. Polyphenols are a subtype of phytochemicals that have become of interest in the battle against obesity. It is a water soluble compound that is found in vegetables and fruit; most notably pomegranates and green tea leaves. This compound is most easily recognized by its tendency to turn fruit and some vegetables “brown” quickly once the skin has been removed; good examples are sliced apples and shredded carrots. Several studies have shown that a group of polyphenol antioxidant compounds found in grapes, green tea, soybeans and red wine may lower the risk of cancer. Other polyphenols, such as quercetin in onion extract, are able to increase the intracellular concentration of glutathione by approximately 50%. Glutathione is an essential cellular molecule with an important role in oxidation-reduction processes that reduces the risk of cell injury and cancer formation. There is now evidence that polyphenols are helpful in mediating diabetic retinopathy (a major cause of blindness)

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Family Sources Possible benefits

FlavonoidsBerries, herbs, vegetables, wine, grapes, tea

General antioxidant, oxidation of LDLs, prevention of arteriosclerosis and heart disease

Isoflavones (phytoestrogens)

Soy, red clover, kudzu rootGeneral antioxidant, prevention of arteriosclerosis and heart disease, easing symptoms of menopause, cancer prevention

Isothiocyanates Cruciferous vegetables cancer prevention

MonoterpenesCitrus peels, essential oils, herbs, spices, green plants,

Cancer prevention, treating gallstones

Organosulfur compounds

Chives, garlic, onionscancer prevention, lowered LDLs, assistance to the immune system

Saponins Beans, cereals, herbsHypercholesterolemia, Hyperglycemia, Antioxidant, cancer prevention, Anti-inflammatory

Capsaicinoids All capiscum (chile) peppers Topical pain relief, cancer prevention, cancer cell apoptosis

A study performed at the Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh looked at the effects of green tea consumption on a group of students between the ages of 19–37. Participants were asked not to alter their diet but to add 4 cups of green tea per day for 14 days. The results showed that short-term consumption of commercial green tea reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, body fat and body weight. These results suggest a role for green tea in decreasing cardiovascular risk factors.

For complete good health, adequate amounts of water must be consumed. Recommendations for the quantity of water required for maintenance of good health are six to eight glasses of water daily. The current European Food Safety Authority guidelines recommend total water intakes of 2.0 liters per day for adult females and 2.5 liters per day for adult males. These reference values include liquids from drinking water, other beverages, and from food. About 80% of our daily water requirement comes from the beverages we drink, with the remaining 20% coming from food. Water intake varies depending on the type of food consumed; fresh fruit and vegetables contain liquid more than cereals and nuts.

Eating a variety of fresh, whole, unprocessed, foods have proven favorable for one's health compared to diets based on processed foods because consumption of whole-plant foods slows

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PHYTOCHEMICAL GROUPS AND COMMON SOURCES

digestion and allows better absorption, there is a balance between essential nutrients, calorie content and natural fiber which better regulates appetite and blood sugar. Fiber from whole grains lessens spikes of insulin release and therefore reduces the complexities of managing Type 2 Diabetes. The United Healthcare/Pacificare nutrition guideline recommends a whole plant food diet and using protein only as a condiment with meals. A National Geographic cover article from November 2005, entitled The Secrets of Living Longer, studied three populations, Sardinians, Okinawans and Adventists, who generally display longevity and suffer a fraction of the diseases that commonly kill people in other parts of the developed world. The recommendation coming out of the study was that everyone should "Eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains" to enjoy the benefits of a long disease-free life.

In general, whole, fresh foods have a relatively short shelf-life and are less profitable to produce and sell than are more processed foods. Thus, the consumer is left with the choice between more expensive, but nutritionally superior, whole, fresh foods, and cheap, usually nutritionally inferior, processed foods. Because processed foods are often cheaper, more convenient in storage, and more available, the consumption of nutritionally inferior foods make up a greater proportion of the diet of lower-income individuals. In U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) studies, female recipients of food assistance had more energy-dense diets, consumed fewer vegetables and fruit, and were more likely to be obese.

In a 2010, CDC report, it was estimated that there are 67 million obese and 85 million overweight Americans and it predicted that if no action was taken to affect the obesity trend, 60% of men, 50% of women and 25% of children would be obese by 2050. Accordingly, direct costs caused by obesity are estimated to be $4.2 billion per year and forecast to more than double by 2050. In adults (ages 20-74), obesity was measured at14.5% in 1980 and 30.4% in 2000. Diabetes prevalence, clinically linked to obesity, increased 53% in the same period. In 2002, health costs among obese adults averaged $1,244 more per person than for normal-weight adults.

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Time to Think Outside the Box

History holds dramatic examples of the adverse effects of food processing on a population's health: BeriBeri Epidemic among people subsisting on polished rice (removing the outer layer of rice removes the essential vitamin, thiamine). A deficiency in thiamine causes BeriBeri. In the late 19th century, infants in the United States developed Scurvy. The sufferers were being fed milk that had been heat-treated, as suggested by Dr. Louis Pasteur, to control bacterial disease; pasteurization is effective against bacteria, but it destroyed essential Vitamin C. The deficiency of Vitamin C resulted in the disease Scurvy.

First Lady Michelle Obama is leading with the banner calling for intervention against the increasing obesity trend among America’s youth. In a speech to congress, she stated that the obesity situation has become very serious, especially in black communities. She fears that today's children "might be the first generation in history on track to lead shorter lives than their parents." The recent explosive introduction of processed foods has overwhelmed the body's ability to maintain homeostasis and an obesity epidemic is raging. Processed foods have an inferior nutritional profile, high glycemic index starches, high sodium salt content, low fiber content, and saturated fatty acids.

GETTING THE JOB DONE Chips made from sliced or pureed root vegetables are ideal for adolescents who need to lose weight, as well as, those who are at risk of being obese. There is an inherent sweet, starchy, vitamin-laden goodness in all vegetables. Root vegetables are among the best diet choices for weight loss and healthy weight maintenance because they have such low energy densities and directly absorb minerals and other nutrients from the soil. The "hot" flavor associated with turnips makes them particularly well suited to mixing and matching with other root vegetables. Slightly sweet and super crunchy, white sweet potato taste very similarly

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to the popular Lays potato chip, parsnips are mild and earthy and beetroot has a strong salty quality to it after being baked .

According to Mayo-Clinic, root vegetables are a source for high fiber, low fat and low calorie nutrition. The presence of fiber facilitates the consumption of fewer net calories because its bulk triggers feelings of satiety. Root vegetables’ natural sweetness emerges when they are roasted, soften and begin to caramelize. The calorie values for raw and roasted vegetables are the same. The white potato, “Irish potato”, the “French Fry potato” is a root vegetable and it is second in human food consumption only to rice. The white potato’s nutrient value is much less than other root vegetables. Vitamins and minerals not present in the white potato and processed corn snacks can be found in alternative root vegetables, all of which are the starchy roots of plants

Vegetable Calories Carbohydrates (grams)

Fat(grams)

Fibers (grams)

Sugar(grams)

Roasted Carrot

30 7 0 2 3.5

Cup of Parsnips

100 24 0.5 0 0

Large Radish 1 0.5 0 0 0

Onion 60 14 0 2.5 6.5

Roasted Turnip

50 11.5 0 11.5 0

Roasted White Potato

275 63 0.5 6.5 3.5

Roasted RedSweet Potato

160 37 0.25 6 11.5

Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the United States and all parts of the public and private sectors must take action. Working with National Institute of Food and Agriculture, a nutritious chip and other “hand-held” foods can be developed, presented to the target population and the cost subsidized to ensure that the products reach the target population until the market is established.

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. Federal participation in the popularization of a commercial product is not new. Notorious is our government’s participation in the advancement of the use of tobacco products among military personnel. United States included cigarettes in rations of deployed soldiers starting in 1917 (World War I) and continued until1975 (Viet Nam War). The federal assistance requested in this treatise provides an opportunity for America to ameliorate the legacy of tobacco habituation by providing support for the development of an affordable healthy snack and actively promoting healthy eating habits among adolescents at risk for obesity. War must be declared against “obesity” because America’s future is being threatened.

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3 THINGS THAT MUST BE DONE

1. Develop a delicious recipe for a nutrient-mineral rich crispy snack using root vegetables rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants working with a land-grant university Nutrition Department proficient in applied nutrition science and product manufacturing.

2. Secure federal assistance with packaging, marketing and distributing the nutritious snack to ensure that the products are affordable by the target population.

3. Establish agreements with chain stores most often located in low- income neighbors, to stock and sale product thereby increasing the potential for the products to be consumed by adolescents most at risk for obesity.

TO INTERRUPT THE GROWING OBESITY TREND AMONG AMERICA’S ADOLESCENTS

ENDNOTES

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