Bananastock
DCL
We've begun to address widespread childhood obesity in this country but it often seems like too little too late considering that if massive changes aren't made than our nation will face a public health problem of epic proportions. This means increased healthcare costs across the board and diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer running rampant.
A new study confirms a conclusion that makes perfect sense. A reduction in childhood obesity, it turns out, is tied to a plant-based diet. It may seem obvious that eating low calorie fruits and vegetables is linked to reduced weight gain, but this study went further than that. It stated that specific plant-based food groups including grains, nuts, and nut butters were associated with a decreased probability of childhood obesity while animal products like dairy especially, were associated with weight gain. The study, published in Nutrition Journal, studied 1764 healthy kids and teens.
According to Food Navigator:
Several reasons may exist to explain why high nut and grain consumption is not associated with increased BMI, including boosting resting metabolic rate, enhancing satiety, and decreased intake of other foods.
Full fat dairy seems to cause more weight gain, on the other hand. Researchers also highlighted the importance of low fat dairy as well as plant-based foods. Foods like whole grains, nut butters, and nuts can be easy to prepare and they come at a reduced cost when you consider the cost of meat and cheese. But at a macro level they just aren't available in enough school districts.
School systems like LA County who recently got rid of flavored milk and breaded foods like corn dogs and chicken nuggets and replaced them with sushi and vegetarian offerings, seem to be getting the hint. Let's hope word spreads to other districts across the country.
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