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Eat Right, Earn an iPod

Posted by Zonk on from the sign-me-up dept.

TheMster writes "The BBC is reporting on the UK government's latest policy to tackle obesity - through offering iPods and XBoxes to pupils. The lucky lads and lasses of 29 Glasgow secondary schools will be part of the pioneering scheme, which utilises the newly introduced swipe-card canteens to create a system of the 'better you eat, the bigger the treat'."

2 of 380 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Interesting by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Rmemember,

    Eating healthy foods is not just for those who are obese.

    I was 6 foot tall and weighed under 8 stone for a long time (into my 20s). Thankfully now I am more stable and have gained a few stone, but I know I'm not the only one.

    I too hope it works, and that there aren't any side effects.

    Another slight side issue, there is a famous English chef called Jamie Oliver, he has pushed for better school meals (because currently they are utter shite), and it is having major effects up and down the country, and those kids who have changed their school diets also push for better food at home.

    I don't think in the majority of cases this will be a problem.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
  2. Re:Outside food by MolBiolDoc · · Score: 5, Interesting
    There was an interesting study done with overweight kids in a metabolic unit that says a lot about how we eat and what it is doing to us. They split the kids into two groups, fed them all exactly the same amount of fat, carbohydrates, and protein during regular meals, but let them eat whatever they wanted between meals (and recorded it).

    The difference between the two groups was high vs. low glycemic index....in other words, one group got carbohydrates that were absorbed fast (think prepared foods, instant oatmeal, etc.) and the other good complex carbohydrates (e.g. steel cut oats). Remember, the absolute composition of the diet was otherwise the same.

    The kids that ate the simple sugars ate 500 - 600 more calories a day between meals, since the simple sugars induce a "stress response" and induced the urge to eat prior to the next meal. Those unhealthy snacks prime susceptible kids to eat more, and 500 calories/day in 7 days (3500 cal) is another pound of fat.

    In Australia, they have the glycemic index on food labels. Our kids could benefit from that here.