A recent study showed that children experience health improvement on a low-fat, high fiber diet. The results are not surprising, and this is welcome information since the news has been filled with so much inaccurate information about diet and health lately. The study was presented last week (March 2006) at the American Heart Association's annual conference.
The study's subjects were between the ages of 9 and 15, and were placed on a high-fiber, low-fat and low cholesterol diet that included lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and smaller amounts of lean protein. The results in only two weeks were incredible. Total cholesterol dropped 21%, LDL cholesterol dropped 25%, and insulin levels dropped 30%. Researchers also reported beneficial changes in adipocyte-derived factors, chemicals manufactured by fat tissue that are linked with plaque build-up in the arteries even in young children. Additionally, other fat-tissue derived risk factors such as leptin fell by 57%.
The study took place at the Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa in Florida. In addition to diet, study participants engaged in exercise for 2.5 hours per day. They were permitted to eat as much as they wanted of the foods provided.
This information is very important for several reasons. First, it shows how quickly children can experience health improvement if we just get serious about feeding them properly. The fact that there was no calorie restriction, but rather a focus on feeding kids filling foods that are calorie dilute as a way of reducing calorie intake was a refreshing contrast to some of the fat camps I've covered in previous articles that teach children how to restrict calorie intake and weigh and measure portions of foods they would be better off not consuming anyway.
Also, this research corroborates other studies that show that carrying extra body fat is dangerous. For many years, it was thought that fat was unattractive, bur not necessarily a health hazard. We now know that fat tissue produces inflammatory mediators and other chemicals that cause heart disease and other degenerative conditions. And this starts at a very early age.
In 2002, autopsy studies were published on nearly 3000 people between the ages of 15 and 34 who died of external causes. The autopsies showed that arteries were beginning to be clogged with plaque by the time kids became teenagers. In the absence of some form of intervention, those adolescents with plaque build-up will most certainly experience cardiovascular disease at a very early age - in their 20's and 30's, rather than later in life.
Let's hope that the traditional medical professionals at this conference took heed of this study and went home to start talking to patients about the importance of the right kinds of dietary change, as well as how quickly diet can help someone to overcome health challenges.
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