Fruit Juice Is Bad, Obesity Epidemic Gets Worse, and Sleep Deprivation Leads To Overeating

Dietary Factors Appear To Be Associated With Diabetes Risk

ScienceDaily (July 29, 2008) — Drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages or eating fewer fruits and vegetables both may be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas eating a low-fat diet does not appear to be associated with any change in diabetes risk, according to three reports in the July 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Diabetes rates continue to increase, particularly in developed countries, according to background information in the articles. By the year 2030, 11.2 percent of U.S. adults are expected to have the condition. Obesity is the strongest modifiable risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes.

In one study, Julie R. Palmer, Sc.D., of the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, and colleagues examined the association between type 2 diabetes, weight gain and the consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks and fruit drinks in 43,960 African American women. In 1995 and again in 2001, the women completed a questionnaire about the types of foods and beverages they typically consumed. A total of 17 percent reported drinking one sugar-sweetened soft drink each day, 32 percent drank one sweetened fruit drink each day and 22 percent had at least one glass of orange juice or grapefruit juice.

Over 10 years of follow-up, 2,713 of the women developed type 2 diabetes. Those who drank more regular soft drinks and fruit drinks—including regular soda, other fruit juices, fortified fruit drinks and Kool-Aid but not diet soda, orange juice or grapefruit juice—were more likely to develop diabetes than those who drank less of those beverages. Read more.


Study Suggests 86 Percent Of Americans Could Be Overweight Or Obese By 2030

ScienceDaily (July 29, 2008) — Most adults in the U.S. will be overweight or obese by 2030, with related health care spending projected to be as much as $956.9 billion, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Their results are published in the July 2008 online issue of Obesity.

“National survey data show that the prevalence of overweight and obese adults in the U.S. has increased steadily over the past three decades,” said Youfa Wang, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and associate professor with the Bloomberg School’s Center for Human Nutrition. “If these trends continue, more than 86 percent of adults will be overweight or obese by 2030 with approximately 96 percent of non-Hispanic black women and 91 percent of Mexican-American men affected. This would result in 1 of every 6 health care dollars spent in total direct health care costs paying for overweight and obesity-related costs.”

The researchers conducted projection analyses based on data collected over the past three decades from nationally representative surveys. Their projections illustrate the potential burden of the U.S. obesity epidemic if current trends continue. Read more.

Sleep Restriction Results In Increased Consumption Of Energy From Snacks

ScienceDaily (June 11, 2008) — Bedtime restriction in an environment that promotes overeating and inactivity is accompanied by increased intake of calories from snacks. This behavior may contribute to the increased risk of weight gain and obesity associated with short sleep hours, according to a research abstract that will be presented on June 11 at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

The study authors led by Plamen Penev, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago, followed 11 healthy volunteers who each completed two 14-day studies in random order at least three months apart. Studies were carried out in the laboratory with five-and-a-half or eight-and-a-half hour bedtimes and ad lib food intake.

According to the results, when bedtimes were restricted to five-and-a-half hours study subjects consumed more energy from snacks. The carbohydrate content of ingested snacks also increased for this group. Read more.