Positive Thinking!

Salad Dressing

One of my fantastic clients who has done amazing on the Ideal Protein Protocol, gave me this recipe her daughter created for her.

Mindy's healthy salad dressing

1/2 cup Braggs apple cider vinegar
1 package stevia
1/4 tsp cracked pepper
1/4 t dill weed
1/4 t to 1/2 t basil
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/2 t parsley flakes
1/2 t real salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup olive or grape seed oil
Can add 1/4 t paprika

Whisk together
Keep in fridge in closed container.

PATIENCE

So Good For You - Peppers

Bell peppers are members of the Nightshade family of vegetables along with potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants. Like chili peppers, bell peppers originated in South America where seeds of a wild variety are believed to date back to 5,000 B.C. The various colored Bell Peppers all come from the same plant, but differ in their level of maturity:

Green Bell Peppers

Green bell peppers are harvested before they are fully ripe, one reason they are less expensive than other varieties. Green bell peppers will continue to first turn yellow and then red if they are left on the plant to mature. They have a slightly bitter flavor and will never have the sweet taste of their red, yellow and orange counterparts.

ORANGE AND YELLOW PEPPERS

More mature than green bell peppers, yellow and orange peppers have a fruity taste but are not as commonly found in local markets as green and red bell peppers.

RED PEPPERS
These are more mature than green, orange or yellow bell peppers. They are rich in carotenoid phytonutrients and contain almost eleven times more beta-carotene than green bell peppers as well as one and a half times more vitamin C. Red Bell Peppers have a sweet, almost fruity taste. Pimento and paprika are both prepared from red bell peppers.

There are also other varieties that have a more tapered shape and do not have the lobes characteristic of the green, orange yellow and red varieties.

COMPARISON BETWEEN 

GREEN, RED AND YELLOW BELL PEPPERS

Nutrient	Green	Red	Yellow
Vitamin A	12% DV	105% DV	3.6% DV
Vitamin C	137% DV	292% DV	282% DV
Beta Carotene	340 mcg	841 mcg	110 mcg

* Most other vitamins and minerals are comparable for the two varieties. All quantities and % daily values (DV) are based on one cup (92g) of raw bell peppers. A one cup measurement for other varieties is not currently available on the USDA database. No daily values for beta-carotene are currently available.

WILLPOWER

Telling yourself that you do not possess enough self-control to achieve a goal can be a self-fulfilling prophecy that may be holding you back from reaching your potential. Set challenges for yourself and practice your willpower skills like paying attention, mindfulness, and staying on task. The same goes for getting fit, with physical discomfort, we think, my body is telling me to stop because this is too hard, and actually, it's exactly the opposite. The only way to change those [inner] experiences is to go through them with a sense of commitment to your goal. Exercising on that treadmill or staying on that bike in spin class does get easier each time you do it. But it only gets easier when you're willing to tolerate that initial discomfort. With temptations everywhere it's hard to constantly say no and leave it all up to willpower. 

If you're ready to make your healthy lifestyle a priority, you've got to start with a strong foundation. Indulgences are necessary from time to time, but staying committed to a routine will help habits stick for long-term success. It may be a little bit of a struggle at first, but once you get into the groove, you'll wonder how you lived any other way. Feeling guilty about giving into the impulsive part of your personality or criticizing yourself after making a mistake is not going to help you attain your goals. Instead, celebrating your amazing strengths, like all that you are capable of handling, will help get you feel successful. The ability to say no to something is the hardest form of self-control. Turning your focus toward the positive by saying yes to what you most want to achieve gives you the power to keep moving towards your goal even when you are exhausted.

A great place to start when you're strengthening your willpower muscles is to first, set clear and meaningful goals and create a plan to achieve those goals. Start with the smaller goals to build your confidence and then move on to the bigger goals. Staying organized is the best way to be successful. Make a definite schedule for your workouts, free time and work time and stick to it every day. It's easy to miss workouts when fun plans pop up or you get busy at work. Having your schedule planned for the week will help you stay motivated and excited to exercise while knowing when you can spend time with friends and get your work done. Planning ahead will help you to make healthy choices naturally.  

How Not To Cook Broccoli

F.Y.I.

Microwaving broccoli can destroy beneficial flavonoid chemicals,as well as some of the vegetable's nutrients, in particular vitamin C and folate.

Flavonoids left after:
Steaming       100%
Boiling             34%
Microwaving     3%

JUST DO IT!!

An excerpt from The Power of Discipline by Brian Tracy

Why are some people more successful than others? Why do some people make more money, live happier lives and accomplish much more in the same number of years than the great majority? I started out in life with few advantages. I did not graduate from high school. I worked at menial jobs. I had limited education, limited skills and a limited future. And then I began asking, "Why are some people more successful than others?" This question changed my life. Over the years, I have read thousands of books and articles on the subjects of success and achievement. It seems that the reasons for these accomplishments have been discussed and written about for more than two thousand years, in every conceivable way. One quality that most philosophers, teachers and experts agree on is the importance of self-discipline. As Al Tomsik summarized it years ago, "Success is tons of discipline." Some years ago, I attended a conference in Washington. It was the lunch break and I was eating at a nearby food fair. The area was crowded and I sat down at the last open table by myself, even though it was a table for four. A few minutes later, an older gentleman and a younger woman who was his assistant came along carrying trays of food, obviously looking for a place to sit. With plenty of room at my table, I immediately arose and invited the older gentleman to join me. He was hesitant, but I insisted. Finally, thanking me as he sat down, we began to chat over lunch. It turned out that his name was Kop Kopmeyer. As it happened, I immediately knew who he was. He was a legend in the field of success and achievement. Kop Kopmeyer had written four large books, each of which contained 250 success principles that he had derived from more than fifty years of research and study. I had read all four books from cover to cover, more than once. After we had chatted for awhile, I asked him the question that many people in this situation would ask, "Of all the one thousand success principles that you have discovered, which do you think is the most important?" He smiled at me with a twinkle in his eye, as if he had been asked this question many times, and replied, without hesitating, "The most important success principle of all was stated by Thomas Huxley many years ago. He said, 'Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.'" He went on to say, "There are 999 other success principles that I have found in my reading and experience, but without self-discipline, none of them work." Self-discipline is the key to personal greatness. It is the magic quality that opens all doors for you, and makes everything else possible. With self-discipline, the average person can rise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline, a person with every blessing of background, education and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity. "DO WHAT YOU SHOULD DO, WHEN YOU SHOULD DO IT, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!!!!"

Snacks and Veggies

Snacks and Extras

Turnip Fries -(Phase 1-4)

1 Turnip

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Peel the turnips, and cut into sticks or wedges.

Place into a large bowl, and toss with olive oil to lightly coat. Place seasonings in a resealable plastic bag, and shake to mix.

Place the oiled turnips into the bag, and shake until evenly coated with the spices.

Spread out onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, turn over then bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve immediately.  

(Walden Farms Ketchup Optional)

Zucchini Chips -(Phase 1-4)

3 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch chips
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt, pepper to taste 

*Phase 3 and 4 you can add 2 oz. grated parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss zucchini slices with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on in a single layer on a jelly roll pan. Roast 7 minutes. Turn zucchini over. Roast another 7-8 minutes.  

Kale Chips -(Phase 1-4)

Pre-Heat ovento 250°F

Rinse Kale and pat dry

Cut rib out of Kale

Lightly coat with olive oil

in mixing bowl 

Arrange on a baking sheet

Season with any of the following: Sea salt, Pepper, Paprika, garlic, ginger or Cyenne pepper, Red pepper flakes.

Bake for 30 minutes

(Kale contains 3.5 carbs per half cup)  

Mango Sunrise - (Phases 1-4)
(raspberry mango gelatin)
Ingredients:
1 packet of Ideal Protein Raspberry Gelatin
1 packet of Ideal Protein Peach Mango Drink

Preparation:

Mix the Ideal Protein Raspberry Gelatin and the Ideal Protein Peach Mango Drink in a bowl. Refrigerate until solid. Will separate into 3 'Sunrise' colors  

Oatmeal Zucchini Muffins -(Phase 1-4)

1 package of Ideal Protein Maple Oatmeal
1 egg – beaten
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp of Stevia or Splenda
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2-3/4 of small zucchini finely grated (squeeze out excess juice) 2-3 oz water

Beat the egg in a bowl. Add Maple Oatmeal, baking powder, salt, Stevia, cinnamon, and zucchini. Mix and gradually add water until you have a good batter. Bake at 385°F for 20 minutes. Makes 3 regular muffins or 12-bite size. 

 

 Key Lime Tarts -(Phase 1-4)

4 + 1 packets of True Lime flavoring (approx. 1 level teaspoon)

A little Splenda or Stevia to taste

1 packet of Ideal Protein Vanilla Pudding

1 packet of Ideal Protein Maple Oatmeal

1 egg white

Mini-muffin baking tin

Non-stick spray  

For the filling: Dissolve one teaspoon of True Lime flavoring in approx. 3 oz. of water. Add a little Stevia or Splenda to taste. The taste should be sweet but tart. Add the contents of one Ideal Protein Vanilla pudding and mix well until smooth. No lumps. The consistency will be thicker than your normal pudding. Cover and refrigerate.

For the crust: Pre-heat the oven at 350 F. Mix 1 packet of Ideal Protein Maple Oatmeal with the egg white and 1-1 ½ oz (30-45 ml) of water, just enough for a stiff but manageable dough to form. Lightly coat your muffin tins with non-stick spray. Moisten your hands (if you don’t, the ‘dough’ will stick to your fingers) and form little balls using approx. 2-3 teaspoons of dough. Place one dough ball in each baking cup. Press dough down as thinly as possible across the bottom and the sides forming a little ‘cup’ (the dough will “poof” a little during baking). Bake for approx. 5 minutes or longer, if necessary. For crispy tart shells, remove them from the muffin tin and place them upside down on top of the tin and bake for a few more minutes until golden brown. If the cup cake shells are too thick, don’t bother as they will be too hard. Cool on a wire rack.

Take key lime filling out of the refrigerator and stir in the last packet of True Lime flavoring to give you’re filling an extra tangy Florida key lime bite.

2 egg whites whipped for meringue (optional) 

(3 tarts equal one IP serving) Recipe makes 2 servings

Rutabaga Fries - (Phase 1-4 1 Large)

1 large Rutabaga, peeled and cut into wedges or french fry sticks

1-2 tbsp olive oil 

2 tsp dried onion flakes

1 tsp dried garlic flakes

sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F

Placed peeled and sliced rutabaga in a large bowl and add the remainingingredients toss together until the fries are thoroughly coated with seasoning.

Spread fries on a non stick baking sheet



 Place in oven for approx 25 minutes, turn fries on baking sheet after about 12 minutes continue to cook until golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and serve immediately

Just don't buy the stuff!!!! This is SERIOUS!!!! 40 million people are clinically defined as obese. Among children, the rates had more than doubled since 1980, and the number of kids considered obese has shot past 12 million. 

The Sweet Lowdown: Exposing the Unhealthy Truth About Sugar

By Stephanie Schomer
Oprah.com   |   From the January 2013 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

What the doctor leading the charge against one of our biggest dietary enemies—sugar—wants you to know.
When you hear about a viral video on YouTube, you hardly expect it to feature a pediatric endocrinologist giving a biology lesson on high-sugar diets. But in the three years since the lecture "Sugar: The Bitter Truth," by Robert Lustig, MD, was uploaded to the site, it's had more than 2.9 million views and made Lustig, director of the University of California, San Francisco's Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health Program, the pied piper of healthy eating. Now, in his new book, Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease, he explains why he believes the massive amounts of sugar and processed food we consume each day are making us not only fatter but sicker, too. Today's generation of American children may end up being the first with a shorter life expectancy than their parents, but the problem isn't confined to the young: Obesity-related conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease are now among the leading causes of preventable death in adults. We talked with the doctor about how our diet is harming us—and how we can take back our lives.

Q: Was there something particular that inspired you to spread the word about the dangers of sugar and processed food?

A: In 2003 a 6-year-old named Juan came into my clinic in California. He weighed 100 pounds—he was wider than he was tall. I asked his mother what he was eating and drinking, and among other things she said he consumed many glasses of orange juice every day—which she thought was healthy. But when you're drinking glass after glass of orange juice, you're getting a lot of sugar with no fiber to help limit its absorption. Having to explain to Juan's mom that eating fruit like oranges is good but drinking sugary juices in large quantities is bad made me realize that someone needed to dispel our food myths in a way people will understand.

Q: Roughly 80 percent of all packaged foods in the United States contain added sweeteners. Sugar is everywhere—is it all that bad?

A: The problem is "refined sugar"—that is, the stuff like high-fructose corn syrup and regular table sugar, made up of glucose and fructose—which has been stripped of any nutritional value. Processed food is full of refined sugar, and it has detrimental effects: The fructose in it gets turned into liver fat, which can prevent the liver from processing insulin properly. This may lead to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, which puts you at greater risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

Next: The root of our sugar problem

Q: How did we get hooked on sugary foods to begin with?

A: We're biologically programmed to like sweets—our tongues and brains know that no food on the planet is both sweet and poisonous. It was a test for our hunting-and-gathering ancestors: If a food is sweet, it won't kill you. It's ironic because that's exactly what sugar is doing to us now.

Q: In your book, you say the widespread belief that "a calorie is a calorie" is one of the driving factors behind the obesity crisis. Why?

A: A calorie burned is a calorie burned, but the calories you eat don't all have the same impact on your body. Different foods can be either helpful or harmful depending on what they're made of and how much fiber they contain. Consider fats, for example. All fats release nine calories of energy per gram when burned, but omega-3 fatty acids can help lower your risk of heart disease, while trans fats may lead to heart disease and fatty liver disease. So one calorie of omega-3 is not equal to one calorie of trans fat. The same goes for proteins and carbs. It all depends on whether you're eating healthy or unhealthy forms of them.

Q: But isn't the bigger problem that we're simply eating more total calories than we were 30 years ago?

A: Not exactly. If you look at our fat intake as a percentage of total calories, it's actually decreased as the obesity pandemic has grown, largely because so much of our food these days is "low fat." Our protein consumption has stayed pretty level over time. But our fructose consumption has risen because of all the processed food we consume. When we eat a lot of sugar, liver fat accumulates and our body releases insulin to compensate. Higher insulin levels promote fat storage, which can lead to obesity and a host of other, potentially lethal, diseases.

Q: Why aren't our bodies better at regulating appetite?

A: Studies indicate that when we produce excess insulin as a result of our high-sugar diets, the insulin prevents leptin, a hormone that helps control appetite, from telling our brain that we've taken in enough energy. So in our head, we think we're hungry long after we're actually full. And we don't crave just any food—we go for the tasty stuff that's high in fat and sugar. It's a vicious cycle. Leptin resistance is what keeps people obese. Research suggests that this isn't about a leptin deficiency, because blood samples reveal that most obese people have plenty of it. The issue is that their leptin isn't working properly—if it were, they wouldn't be obese.

Q: Does stress eating play a part?

A: Yes. God knows I'm a stress eater! Researchers aren't sure excactly why the brain goes nuts for high-energy, dense food when we're stressed, but it does. So the more stressed out you are, the hungrier you get, and the more carb-heavy foods you eat—which in turn causes your insulin levels to rise even more. At the same time, the hormones released in response to stress direct your body to build up visceral fat, which you end up storing in the worst place possible: your belly.

Q: So what's the fix?

A: The obvious solution is to eat more fiber and less sugar, but exercise is important, too. It's not only the best stress buster there is—it's also something every single person can do to improve metabolic health, even if weight loss doesn't come along with it right away. For every molecule of sugar you absorb, you can either burn it, which doesn't require your body to make more insulin, or you can store it, in which case you need insulin. Burning it is the best option, and that's exactly what exercise does.

Q: What should we be eating?

A: Real food! That's it. If it came out of the ground, or it's from an animal that ate what came out of the ground, you're good to go. But if a human processed it in between, either something was added, usually sugar, or something was removed, most likely fiber and micronutrients like vitamins and minerals. The key for most people is reducing insulin, and to do that, you have to put back fiber into your diet and cut back on refined carbohydrates and sugar. If you're buying food that has a nutrition label, it's been processed. And if any form of sugar is one of the first three ingredients, consider it a dessert. When I was a kid, we had dessert once a week. Now we have it once a meal, and it's almost always processed. That's the problem. 

Moving Forward

10 Things You Must Give Up to Move Forward

If you want to fly and move on to better things, you have to give up the things that weigh you down – which is not always as obvious and easy as it sounds.

Starting today, give up…

1. Letting the opinions of others control your life. – People know your name, not your story.  They’ve heard what you’ve done, but not what you’ve been through.  So take their opinions of you with a grain of salt.  In the end, it’s not what others think, it’s what you think about yourself that counts.  Sometimes you have to do exactly what’s best for you and your life, not what’s best for everyone else.
2. The shame of past failures. – You will fail sometimes, and that’s okay.  The faster you accept this, the faster you can get on with being brilliant.  Your past does not equal your future.  Just because you failed yesterday; or all day today; or a moment ago; or for the last six months; or for the last sixteen years, doesn’t have any impact on the current moment.  All that matters is what you do right now.  Read Awaken the Giant Within.
3. Being indecisive about what you want. – You will never leave where you are until you decide where you would rather be.  It’s all about findingand pursuing your passion.  Neglecting passion blocks creative flow.  When you’re passionate, you’re energized.  Likewise, when you lack passion, your energy is low and unproductive.  Energy is everything when it comes to being successful.  Make a decision to figure out what you want, and then pursue it passionately.
4. Procrastinating on the goals that matter to you. – There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.  Follow your intuition.  Don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do.  When there is love and inspiration, you can’t go wrong.  And whatever it is you want to do, do it now.  There are only so many tomorrows.  Trust me, in a year from now, you will wish you had started today.
5. Choosing to do nothing. – You don’t get to choose how you are going to die, or when.  You can only decide how you are going to live, right now.  Every day is a new chance to choose.  Choose to change your perspective.  Choose to flip the switch in your mind from negative to positive.  Choose to turn on the light and stop fretting about with insecurity and doubt.  Choose to do work that you are proud of.  Choose to see the best in others, and to show your best to others.  Choose to truly LIVE, right now.
6. Your need to be right. – If you keep on saying you’re right, even if you are right now, eventually you will be wrong.  Aim for success, but never give up your right to be wrong.  Because when you do, you will also lose your ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.  ReadThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
7. Running from problems that should be fixed. – We make lifeharder than it has to be.  The difficulties started when… conversations became texting, feelings became subliminal, sex became a game, the word ‘love’ fell out of context, trust faded as honesty waned, insecurities became a way of living, jealously became a habit, being hurt started to feel natural, and running away from it all became our solution.  Stop running!  Face these issues, fix the problems, communicate, appreciate, forgive and LOVE the people in your life who deserve it.
8. Making excuses rather than decisions. – Life is a continuous exercise in creative problem solving.  A mistake doesn’t become a failure until you refuse to correct it. Thus, most long-term failures are the outcome of people who make excuses instead of decisions.
9. Overlooking the positive points in your life. – What you see often depends entirely on what you’re looking for.  Do your best and surrender the rest.  When you stay stuck in regret of the life you think you should have had, you end up missing the beauty of what you do have.  You will have a hard time ever being happy if you aren’t thankful for the good things in your life right now.  Read The Happiness Project.
10. Not appreciating the present moment. – We do not remember days, we remember moments.  Too often we try to accomplish something big without realizing that the greatest part of life is made up of the little things.  Live authentically and cherish each precious moment of your journey.  Because when you finally arrive at your desired destination, I guarantee you, another journey will begin.

IT IS AN EPIDEMIC!!

Obesity and its consequences spreading rapidly around the world

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 Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The World Health Organization says 80 percent of American adult men were overweight, along with 77 percent of women. 

By JIM LANDERS

Washington Bureau

jlanders@dallasnews.com

Published: 19 January 2013 10:43 PM

Clogged arteries and sedentary lifestyles have replaced germs as the world’s leading killers. Where hunger once held much of the world in its grip, the 1.6 billion overweight and obese now outnumber the malnourished by nearly 2-to-1.

The United States clearly has a weight problem. The World Health Organization says a third of American adults were obese in 2008, and 69.4 percent were overweight. Two years later, WHO said 80 percent of American adult men were overweight, along with 77 percent of women. Obesity accounts for at least $150 billion a year in American health care spending.

But obesity is spreading more rapidly in other parts of the world. Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, along with many Pacific island nations, are fatter than the United States. (Most of the adult population of Samoa is obese; in 2008, 46.3 percent of Egyptian women were obese.) Mexican women are heavier than U.S. women, and once the latest data is sifted, Mexican men may eclipse U.S. men as well.

Much of the turnaround reflects advances in public health. In 1900, pneumonia, tuberculosis and childhood diarrhea were the leading killers of Americans. Those were replaced by noninfectious diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and cancer.

That transition has now occurred worldwide. The most recent WHO statistics show that in 2008, 63 percent of deaths around the world were caused by noncommunicable diseases — and that 80 percent of them occurred in low- and middle-income countries. By itself, obesity kills 2.8 million people a year, and it is the fifth-leading risk factor for death worldwide. (The top four risk factors are high blood pressure, tobacco use, raised blood sugar and physical inactivity.)

Some health specialists call these diseases of affluence or civilization. But they place an enormous health care cost burden on society, and lead to many premature deaths as well, WHO officials say. Mexico, for instance, expects the cost to treat obesity-related illnesses like type-2 diabetes will nearly triple by 2017, to $73 billion.

“Yes, we’ve eradicated some of these diseases. Most nations are no longer starving. Nutrition is available for everyone,” said Deborah Clegg, an associate professor of nutrition at the UT Southwestern Medical Center. “But good and healthy calories are not available to everyone.”

Countries across the world are trying to come to grips with this major shift in public health. Japanese companies require employees to undergo annual physicals that include waistline measurements. Men over 33.5 inches and women over 35.4 inches count against the company. If too many fail the test, the firm has to increase its contributions to public health care for the elderly.

Several countries tax soft drinks and other sugared beverages. Mexican legislators introduced a bill last month that would add a 20 percent tax to the cost of such drinks. In 2011, the average Mexican adult consumed 728 servings of Coca-Cola, according to the company’s statistics. (The average American consumed 403 servings.)

China’s Health Ministry has asked Dr. Kenneth Cooper of Dallas, founder and chairman of Cooper Aerobics, to explore the introduction of FitnessGram testing among its schoolchildren. Cooper says Ross Perot kicked in $2 million to help pay for a computer system to aggregate the results.

“He told me, ‘I believe what you are doing to improve the health of their children is the most beneficial thing we can do to improve relations with China,’” Cooper said of Perot.

“Ten years ago, they didn’t have any obesity in China. None at all,” Cooper said. “Now it’s jumping fast. They’re sharp enough to know they are seeing the handwriting on the wall.”

The problem is as simple as it is difficult to solve, said Todd Whitthorne, president and CEO of Cooper Wellness in Dallas. Too many calories in, and too little physical exertion to burn them up.

“Our world has changed. We eat differently, we work differently and we don’t move very much. We’re not only eating more, but we’re eating more that’s inferior from a nutrition standpoint,” he said. “Poor-quality food is what’s ultimately causing this increase in obesity.”

WHO estimates that 45 percent of Chinese men are overweight or obese, along with 32 percent of Chinese women.

The weight gains coincide with a change in Chinese lifestyles. A third of Chinese adults no longer get sufficient exercise (30 minutes of moderate activity five times a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week).

And there is much more to eat. In 1989, 14.7 percent of Chinese got 30 percent or more of their calories from fat. By 2006, that had climbed to 44.7 percent, according to Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina and author of the book, The World Is Fat.

In the same time period, fast-food restaurants have popped up all across China.

Westernization

The slogan of Yum Brands, Inc., which includes Dallas-based Pizza Hut as well as KFC and Taco Bell restaurants, is “Serving the World.” The company has 38,000 fast-food outlets globally, including 740 Pizza Huts and 4,043 KFCs in China.

Company chairman David Novak told investors last month that the company plans to add 600 restaurants a year in China, and more than 150 next year in India.

“We are literally everywhere, and we have tremendous opportunity going forward,” he said.

Yum’s chief nutritionist, Jonathan Blum, was not available to comment for this article. The company instead released a statement:

“We believe that all food can be part of a balanced diet if eaten in moderation and balanced with appropriate exercise. Yum Brands was the first company to eliminate trans fats, we led the effort to put calorie information on menu boards and we continue to reduce sodium levels in our products.”

Popkin says restaurant and food companies have a greater responsibility.

“Our food industry has done a very good job of trying to convince everyone that this isn’t a problem of their ads for fast food, or the vending machines in schools or that every movie and every TV show is selling the stuff upside and down, but that it’s people’s responsibility,” he said. “We’re about the only country that’s gone in that direction. Most every other country says it’s the environment that’s changed.”

Clegg of UT Southwestern sees a strong correlation between the rise of obesity and the westernization of foreign cultures — “Burger King, Starbucks and the like.”

It’s also affecting countries with a reputation for resisting the lure of fast food — like France.

“I just got back from Paris,” Clegg said. “Parisians who would sit down and have a fabulous meal have now jumped on the McDonald’s bandwagon. They’re in and out of fast-food places. It’s no longer the same type of cultural environment.”

Clegg said she was “shocked” to see how many Starbucks outlets are in Paris, a city with a reputation for fine, small cups of coffee.

“I was really honestly shocked to see people going for a tankard of coffee with whipped cream … and really, really high sugar content.”

Combating the fat

To combat this trend, governments around the world have tried a variety of strategies.

Two years ago, WHO published a list of 12 recommendations to protect children from the heavy marketing of foods high in fats, sugar and salt. The European Union warned companies to cut back or face regulation. Such ads are down 29 percent.

Colombia is building bicycle paths and banning all but bikes and pedestrians on certain roads on Sundays. Mauritius’ government prodded cooking oil makers to switch from palm oil to soybean oil. (Total cholesterol concentrations fell significantly.)

In New Zealand, WHO reports 64 percent of adults are overweight or obese, while 48 percent don’t get enough exercise. Primary care physicians include a discussion of the benefits of exercise with their patients and write up a “green prescription” of agreed goals for improvement. The prescription is faxed to the patient’s local sports foundation, where exercise specialists call the patient at least three times to see how it’s going.

WHO says New Zealand is getting results with this approach. Among patients followed by testers, the number of calories burned increased by more than 1,200 a week.

“There are really an enormous number of things going on by other countries, while the U.S. has hardly any,” Popkin said. “We may have talked about it in nutrition circles, but our government has been unwilling to take on anything seriously.”

It’s no mystery why, Clegg said.

“People believe it’s their right to have a piece of chocolate cake, independent of what the consequences are.”

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