Advanced Mediterranean Diet

But women now are also about a half inch (2.2 cm) taller, so that explains it, right? Not by a long shot. The author of the article below blames unhealthy food, too much of it, plus physical inactivity. Since 1960, women’s average weight is up 18.5%, and men’s up 17.6%.

Click the link below for details. I quote:

The average American woman weighs 166.2 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As reddit recently pointed out, that’s almost exactly as much as the average American man weighed in the early 1960s.

Men, you’re not looking too hot in this scenario either. Over the same time period you gained nearly 30 pounds, from 166.3 in the 60s to 195.5 today.

Source: The average American woman now weighs as much as the average 1960s man – The Washington Post

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: You wanna do something about it? Send my book to someone you love.

PPS: Men are also a half inch taller.

Pasta is made from wheat

The implications of this research don’t necessarily apply to diabetics and prediabetics. They may need to limit pasta consumption. For the rest, enjoy in moderation. From the Nutrition and Diabetes journal:

“The traditional Mediterranean diet (MeD), a healthy eating behavior model, might be the basis for establishing nutrition guidelines as an outcome of health policies. Its health benefits in primary and secondary prevention of chronic diseases has long been studied since middle 50s and confirmed by meta-analysis. Major components of the MeD are foods with high content of complex carbohydrates and fiber such as legumes, rice and cereals. The latter represent the main source of carbohydrates in the diet and in Italy, they are consumed mainly in the form of pasta.”

Source: Nutrition & Diabetes – Association of pasta consumption with body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio: results from Moli-sani and INHES studies

Overweight and obesity are increasing in U.S. adolescents, which may hamper their health as adults. Youths who follow a Mediterranean diet pattern don’t see as much increase in body mass index as others.

From the International Journal of Obesity:

“Among adults, the Mediterranean dietary pattern (MDP) is inversely related to body mass index (BMI) [i.e., as the Mediterranean diet is followed more closely, we see less increase in body weight.]. Data are lacking on adherence to the MDP among youth in the United States and whether the MDP is related to weight change in that group.”

Now we have some data, and it looks good for the Mediterranean diet.

In other words, if you want to keep your kid from getting fat, the Mediterranean diet will help.

Source: International Journal of Obesity – Abstract of article: Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern and BMI change among US adolescents

The quote above is from Bjorn Lomborg, writing in The Telegraph. My wife and I don’t buy “organic,” but you go ahead if you wish. Another snippet:

In 2012 Stanford University’s Centre for Health Policy did the biggest comparison of organic and conventional foods and found no robust evidence for organics being more nutritious. A brand-new review has just repeated its finding: “Scientific studies do not show that organic products are more nutritious and safer than conventional foods.”

Source: Think organic food is better for you, animals, and the planet? Think again