It seems the British are eating too little. A draft report by the Scientific Committee on Nutrition says that the daily calorie intake recommended by the country’s health officials needs to be increased by as much as 16%.

The committee says the current recommendations of 2 000 calories for women and 2 500 for men needs to be revised as in its report it details a more accurate way calories can be burnt through physical exercise. The committee are, however, stressing that this is not a green light for individuals to go out and stuff their faces.

Understandably we can expect the British Health Department to make a big fuss about this report, as it’s quite risky telling people they may now eat 400 more calories a day – the equivalent of a cheese burger. Luckily the report first needs to undergo a 14-week consultation period before it can be taken seriously and before new recommendations can be considered by British health officials.

The draft report was only released to The Times and The Grocer magazine in the UK.

Celeb Diet Doctor…
Someone on the other side of the pond needs to get their head out of the sand and face reality. It’s like telling a smoker that they need to smoke more…

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A 4-year study by the American College of Sports Medicine, published in Health & Fitness Journal, reveals fitness trends for the coming year. The research, conducted through global surveys, does not report on fitness fads (often exacerbated by celebrity endorsements) and instead focuses on sustainable trends that have made a noteworthy impact on the industry as a whole.

Childhood obesity and how to effectively tackle it will become one of the biggest focuses in 2010. This increasingly growing problem will create a new commercial market while community-based organisations will be created to help address the fact that this new generation may not live as long as their parents or grandparents.

Sport-specific training also looks promising, as athletes will no longer remain dormant during their off-seasons, but will instead continue to work on their strength and endurance training in gyms and at commercial clubs. While serious athletes will be focusing on their off-season training, regular Joes will increasingly turn to Pilates – which could prove to be a very lucrative business for organizations and individuals who stock the specialized equipment that targets the body’s core.

Everyone, including the fitness industry, has been affected by the harsh economic environment, and personal trainers will have to find new and creative ways of retaining clients. Group personal training seems to be a good solution as it allows the personal trainer to work with two or three people at the same time, making economic sense to the client and the trainer.

Other trends include special programs for the elderly, core training, strength training as well as continuing fitness education through accredited associations and organizations, certifying fitness professionals.

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There’s nothing like a great song to give you that extra drive to push past the wall when you’re working your body hard in the gym or hitting the road outside. Fitness magazine have spoken to the leading trainers across America for the songs that really motivate their clients, and have compiled a list of top 100 workout songs.

Here are a few of the tracks trainers pump:
“Walk This Way” – Aerosmith
“So What’cha Want” – Beastie Boys
“Crazy in Love” – Beyoncé
“Don’t Phunk with My Heart” – Black Eyed Peas
“Since U Been Gone” – Kelly Clarkson
“Jumpin’ Jumpin’” – Destiny’s Child
“Get Ur Freak On” – Missy Elliot
“Lose Yourself” – Eminem
“London Bridge” – Fergie
“In Da Club” – 50 cent
“The Rockafeller Skank” – Fatboy Slim
“Feel Good Inc” – Gorillaz
“Where Are We Runnin’” – Lenny Kravitz
“Ray Of Light” – Madonna
“Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” – Michael Jackson
“Get the Party Started” – Pink
“When Doves Cry” – Prince
“Don’t Cha” – Pussycat Dolls
“Born to Run” – Bruce Springsteen
“Hollaback Girl” – Gwen Stefani
“Pump Up the Jam” – Technotronic
“SexyBack” – Justin Timberlake

So next time your workout needs a little something extra, maybe try changing your playlist to include a few of these songs.

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I’m sure everyone’s seen the commercial for the new Reebok Women’s EasyTone Rush SF Walking Shoe (above), but are the promises Reebok make reasonable? Likened to the FitFlop and NGR shoes, it is being claimed that EasyTones work and tone your muscles as you walk.

The balance pod system creates a “natural” instability when you walk, technically throwing your step off balance. Your leg and butt muscles then have to work extra hard to compensate for this movement, engaging your muscles more. Reebok have run tests that apparently verify the EasyTone works your butt 28% more and your hamstrings and calves 11% more than other sneakers. But do these kinds of exercise shoes really work?

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Remember that book, French Women Don’t Get Fat, written by Mireille Guilano in 2004, in which she rambled on and on as to how the fairer sex in France maintain their svelte figures even though the country’s national foods are pastries, cheese and wine? Well it seems French Women DO get fat.

According to a study by TNS Sofres Healthcare and pharmaceuticals company Roche, 26% of the women in France are classified as clinically overweight and 15.1% obese. The research, which was published this week, also noted that the male population has put on weight as well: 38.5% are overweight and 13.9% are obese.

While the French may not be in the same predicament as the Americans, over the past 12 years an average Frenchman (and in this case woman) gained 6.83lb and 1.85 inches around their waste.

“Obesity rates have really risen sharply in urban areas where there’s a concentration of sedentary jobs, public transport, less need to walk and a much greater availability of food,” Dr Marie-Aline Charles, one of the researchers, told Reuters Health. “We’re currently seeing in France the same levels of obesity as in the United States in the 1970s, so we’re about 40 years behind.”

So next time a smug Frenchman alludes to your not-size-0 figure, feel free to refer to this weighty study.

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We all know that eating our food slower, taking the time to really enjoy it instead of just wolfing it down makes us feel fuller quicker. A recent study has found a scientific explanation for your mother’s clichéd warning.

“Our study provides a possible explanation for the relationship between speed eating and overeating by showing that the rate at which someone eats may impact the release of gut hormones that signal the brain to stop eating,” says lead researcher Dr Alexander Kokkinos to Reuters Health in an official statement.

The study, which is yet to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, observed 17 healthy men when they were each given generous portions of ice cream under two different circumstances. In the first circumstance, the men were to finish the ice cream within 5 minutes, and in the second they were given smaller portions to eat over a period of 30 minutes.

The researchers from Athens University Medical School in Greece and the Imperial College London in the United Kingdom found that under the second, slower-eating circumstance, the men produced higher levels of the hormones peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide 1. Both these hormones are released to signal the brain when you’re “full”.

Eating slower at meal times could be used as a way to control your appetite and ultimately your weight. Kokkinos told Reuters that this could be the scientific proof behind your mother’s warning that gobbling down your food will make you fat.

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The city of New York’s health department has announced that the nationwide calorie-labeling initiative is not as effective in curbing the nation’s obesity crisis as the government hopes it will be. In fact, the program may even be futile.

The health department compared data of 10 965 purchases in 13 restaurants in 275 areas in the spring of 2007 with that of 12 153 purchases in the same restaurants in the spring of 2009. Little changed in the number of calories that were actually consumed in the restaurants, even though the calorie information was made visible. What’s worrying is that only 56% of the restaurant patrons said they actually noticed the information, and even more alarming is that only 15% said they took the information into account when placing their orders.

The findings of this latest study were presented by Dr Lynn Silver, the assistant commissioner for the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, at an Obesity Society meeting in Washington. Although the calorie-labeling project didn’t show much change at chain restaurants, a difference could be seen at coffee shops: the number of calories ordered decreased by 10%.

Celeb Diet Doc..
Personally I don’t see why calorie labeling would work at restaurants. The overwhelming majority of food is highly processed and full of calories so there aren’t many smart choices available anyway. It would be like choosing between low tar and standard cigarettes.  A better idea is just post a surgeon general warning on every fast food joint “SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Quitting Junk Food Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health.

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It seems we may soon have a new fitness trend on our hands, the StreetStrider. Recently featured on The Biggest Loser, the exercise machine is a mix between a bicycle and an elliptical. It may see pretty complicated to ride, but it sure looks like fun once you’ve mastered it; part cycling, part skiing, part jogging.

The StreetStrider offers a pretty great cardio workout and high-calorie burn rate; The Biggest Loser contestants recorded between 700 and 1 000 calories burned per hour. But it’s not only great for getting your heart rate up, the muscles groups targeted to get  the machine moving include those in your arms, legs, back as well as your core.

Described as the mobile elliptical, the StreetStrider comes with a pretty big price tag: $1 999.

Celeb Diet Doc…
Looks like fun!

Ok, so apparently there are quite a few foods that can help you lose weight and shed excess pounds. A new study has just added tomatoes to the already long list.

While it’s a no brainer that fruits and vegetables are more likely to help you stay healthy than processed foods, researchers from the University of Reading have found that tomatoes can assist your weight-loss program because the lycopene found in them make you feel fuller (causing you to eat less).

Participants in the small study were given bread filled with cream cheese, enriched with carrot and enriched with tomato, and were asked to note how full they became after eating each. The results showed that the bread enriched with tomato was the most filling. A possible reason? Lycopene reduces your appetite hormones, hence the full feeling.

Although the study was only conducted with 17 participants, lead researcher Dr Julie Lovegrove told the Telegraph that the results were “statistically significant”.

Celeb Diet Doc..
What a ridiculous study? Bread filled with cream cheese doesn’t sound like a recipe for weight loss! I wouldn’t make any conclusions based on a study of only 17 participants. It also leads to a false mindset that weight loss is based on fat, carbs, protein… or in this case lycopene. Remember a lot of these “studies” are funded by companies looking to sell product. Oh and btw, tomatoes will help with weight loss..  as long as it’s not processed into say bread filled with cream cheese. LOL!

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Scoffing down that cheese burger or polishing off the last of those fries may make you feel satiated for now, but it could lead to depression later down the line. A new study shows that individuals who eat too much junk food tend to manifest depressive symptoms.

The study, which was published in the November issue of The British Journal of Psychiatry, noted that of the 3 486 male and female participants who ate the most high-fat foods, 58% were more likely to display signs of depression 5 years later. Dr Eric Brunner, one of the researchers, told The Daily Mail that diet seems to play an independent role in an individual’s mental health when taking exercise and lifestyle into consideration.

“If your diet is high in foods that make blood sugar levels go up and down like a yo-yo, then it’s not good for your blood vessels and is bound to have an effect on the brain,” Brunner told the news paper.

The researchers said a healthy diet plays a protective role in that the high levels of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables guard you against depression, just like folate in veggies like broccoli, cabbage, spinach, lentils and chickpeas. Fish is also high in polyunsaturated fatty acids.

So it’s finally been scientifically proven that eating a healthy, balanced diet not only improves your physical disposition, it also improves your mental one.

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