Low-Cal Sweets Might Still Make Kids Obese

**kfrost06** · 08-08-2007, 10:39 AM

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Diet foods and drinks meant to help children control their weight may actually spur overeating and obesity, Canadian researchers say.

The study found that animals learn to associate the taste of food with the amount of caloric energy it provides. The researchers speculate that children who eat low-calorie versions of foods that normally have a high calorie content may develop distorted connections between taste and calorie content, resulting in overeating as the children grow up.

"The use of diet food and drinks from an early age into adulthood may induce overeating and gradual weight gain through the taste conditioning process that we have described," lead author and sociologist Dr. David Pierce, of the University of Alberta, said in a prepared statement.

In a series of experiments published Aug. 8 in the journal Obesity, the researchers found that young rats started to overeat when they received low-calorie food and drink. Adolescent rats did not overeat when given low-calorie items.

This may be because, unlike the younger rats, the adolescent rats didn't rely on taste-related cues to assess the caloric energy content of their food, the researchers said.

"Based on what we've learned, it is better for children to eat healthy, well-balanced diets with sufficient calories for their daily activities rather than low-calorie snacks or meals," Pierce said.

**kfrost06** · 08-08-2007, 10:46 AM

I've posted articles about obese kids before and I will continue to post them. It is becoming an epidemic and it's sad. What is a very simple answer is being made too complicated with these diet foods, understanding obese kids, and other b.s. The bottom line is, put down the video games, get off the couch and go out and play! Kids need to be more active, join a sports team, a neighborhood pick up basketball game, go to camp, ride your bike etc. I feel sad for obese kids, obese adults make me sick and obese adults w/fat kids make me mad. It will only be a matter of 2-5 years before McDonalds and Burger King, etc will be sued and blamed for the obesity problems.

Acountability?

**gixxerboy1** · 08-08-2007, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by kfrost06

I've posted articles about obese kids before and I will continue to post them. It is becoming an epidemic and it's sad. What is a very simple answer is being made too complicated with these diet foods, understanding obese kids, and other b.s. The bottom line is, put down the video games, get off the couch and go out and play! Kids need to be more active, join a sports team, a neighborhood pick up basketball game, go to camp, ride your bike etc. I feel sad for obese kids, obese adults make me sick and obese adults w/fat kids make me mad. It will only be a matter of 2-5 years before McDonalds and Burger King, etc will be sued and blamed for the obesity problems.

Acountability?

I agree with you. Parent should be held for some accountability. When is it child neglect or endangering the welfare of a child. We do everything else to "protect the children".

Also 1 sad thing is when i was younger we could ride our bike across town or disappear for hours and our parent felt we were safe. No parents are scared to let kids go to far. No saying they are wrong its just the world is a little scarier

**Hoggage_54** · 08-08-2007, 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by kfrost06

I've posted articles about obese kids before and I will continue to post them. It is becoming an epidemic and it's sad. What is a very simple answer is being made too complicated with these diet foods, understanding obese kids, and other b.s. The bottom line is, put down the video games, get off the couch and go out and play! Kids need to be more active, join a sports team, a neighborhood pick up basketball game, go to camp, ride your bike etc. I feel sad for obese kids, obese adults make me sick and obese adults w/fat kids make me mad. It will only be a matter of 2-5 years before McDonalds and Burger King, etc will be sued and blamed for the obesity problems.

Acountability?

Yep. Parental neglect goes a long way.

**Panzerfaust** · 08-08-2007, 03:58 PM

The typical American approach is to ignore any responsibility. We live in the age of scape goating.

The parents are never to blame, its always the teachers fault for their kids not learning, it's the fast food restaraunts fault for making kids fat, its this, its that.

It all starts at home. Goddamn fat idiots raising fat idiots.

**kfrost06** · 08-08-2007, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by muriloninja

The typical American approach is to ignore any responsibility. We live in the age of scape goating.

The parents are never to blame, its always the teachers fault for their kids not learning, it's the fast food restaraunts fault for making kids fat, its this, its that.

It all starts at home. Goddamn fat idiots raising fat idiots.

Well put! You have made some very good post lately. Like they say, great minds think alike

. Keep up the good work!

**max2extreme** · 08-14-2007, 08:39 AM

All restaurants are really to blame, not just fast food. Serving sizes have increased so much in the last 10-20 years. This is due to so many generic restaurants serving the same type of meal. So they decide to lure people to their restaurant by giving more food for cheaper prices. So in turn, their competition does the same thing, and hence we have these giant portions that yea, we can eat, but really don't need to but Americans want their money's worth, so if they pay for it, they're gonna eat it. In a lot of Europe, you don't find this problem because a lot of the restaurants are family restaurants with their own appeal. Not a lot of chains in a small radius.