Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta!: New year, new start!

What did my grandmother always say? “There’s nothing new under the sun.”
As we settle into this New Year, I originally intended to give you the low-down on the latest, breaking research related to nutrition and healthy living in the year 2012. So I did some perusing of scientific publications, meta-analysis, peer reviewed journals and all that fancy, boring and statistical sounding stuff and what I came up with was interesting, but not really new. Okay, maybe new to the scientific world, but not to our grandparents — and great grandparents. Not new at all in the sense that the conclusions and recommendations are mostly to adapt aspects of the lifestyle that many of our ancestors had — and many of our neighbors in other parts of the world continue to have.
What does the latest, greatest research show about the most common health problems in our society — you know the big ones that reduce our life expectancy and quality of life and threaten to bankrupt our healthcare system? I’ve mentioned them before — cardiovascular disease, obesity and cancer. Here are the top ten changes you can make in 2012 (if you haven’t already) that will add years to your life and life to your years:
1. Walk. The studies are conclusive. Exercise like brisk walking 20-30 minutes a day is like a magic pill that should be prescribed by all physicians. In older patients it has shown to reduce symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s by 50 percent! For people at risk for diabetes it reduced progression to diabetes by 58 percent. Post menopausal women had 40 percent reduction of risk of hip fracture when they walked regularly. It reduced anxiety in patients by 48 percent and 30 percent of patients suffering from depression were relieved of symptoms (Evans, 2011). Among folks who are obese regular exercise, like walking, decreases a range of health risks associated with obesity even if they don’t lose weight (Blair, 2011).
2. Eat more fruits and veggies. Regular consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and some of the functional declines associated with aging (Rui Hai Lui, 2003). They also fill you up with nutrient dense, low calorie goodness so you feel fuller and are less likely to eat as much of the higher fat, higher calorie foods.
3. Reduce the size of your portions. “Participants who were unknowingly eating from self-refilling bowls ate more soup than those eating from normal soup bowls. However, despite consuming 73 percent more, they did not believe they had consumed more, nor did they perceive themselves as more sated than those eating from normal bowls.” (Wansink, 2005). The number one reason people eat too much — the size of their portions.
4. Eat a good breakfast. One study conducted by Harvard researchers found that students who ate breakfast were “…significantly more attentive in the classroom, earned higher grades in math, and had significantly fewer behavioral and emotional problems” (Kleinman, 1998). Studies also show that people who are trying to lose weight have more success when they eat a healthy breakfast (whole grains, fruits and vegetables). “Eating breakfast is a characteristic common to successful weight loss maintainers and may be a factor in their success (Wyatt et al, 2002).”
5. Practice energy balance. “Calories in” need to equal “calories out” — and that is just to maintain your weight. To lose weight you either need to cut back the calories you consume or burn more of them by being more active, or a combination of both. It’s as simple as that.
6. Eat more whole grains. Researchers at Imperial College London conducted a meta-analysis of 25 studies involving almost two million people (and 14,500 cases of colorectal cancer) to assess the links between colorectal cancer and both whole grains and total dietary fiber. They concluded that there is a credible “dose-response” relationship between whole grain consumption and reduced cancer risk; they estimate that eating three or more servings of whole grains per day lowers colorectal cancer risk nearly 20 percent. (Aune et al, 2011) Whole grains also make you feel fuller (in a good way) so you are less likely to overeat.
7. Eat less red meat. Men and women who eat higher amounts of red meat and processed meat have a higher risk of dying from , , and other causes compared to those who eat less according to a new study. (Sinha, 2009)
8. Turn off the T.V. (computer, Ipad, video games, phones) while you eat. Study after study shows the nutritional and many other benefits to a family when meals are eaten together around a table and not in front of the TV. When you focus on what you are eating, and are not distracted by something on the screen, you will eat less. Also, communicating with your family has all kinds of added benefits!
9. Get 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous exercise. You can break this up into 10 minute intervals, as long as it adds up over the week. The benefits are numerous and have been proven time and again. Make sure you get mostly cardio but at least two days a week do some strength/resistance and stretching exercises (Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 2008).
10. Quit smoking. This is a no brainer when you read all of the evidence. It may not be easy to quit, but it sure is worth it! Studies have shown that smokers who quit at about age 30 reduce their chance of dying prematurely from smoking-related diseases by more than 90 percent. Studies also show people who quit at about age 50 reduce their risk of dying prematurely by 50 percent compared with those who continue to smoke. Even people who quit at about age 60 or older live longer than those who continue to smoke (Peto et al, 2000 and Doll et al, 2004).
Pretty obvious, even simple. It really shouldn’t take hundreds of research studies to convince us these are good habits. Yet even with all the evidence, most of us don’t do it.
I was so proud of our community this past week as nearly 1,000 motivated people registered and weighed-in for the Annual Biggest Loser Challenge sponsored by the City of Brownsville, the UT School of Public Health and a host of businesses and organizations.
Yet as I filled out forms and chatted with folks, I was surprised at how many people wanted us to hand them a diet, a specific plan that would assure they would shed the pounds. When we tried to give them the general recommendations (listed above) it was as if they tuned out. It sounded too easy, too obvious. Yet most of us don’t follow these guidelines — if we did 80 percent of the Valley would not be overweight or obese, 30 percent would not be diabetic. Let’s make 2012 the year of healthy, lasting changes, not fad diets or unused gym memberships.
Keep the changes small and simple. Follow the recommendations above — we have hundreds of chances to make healthy decisions. We don’t have to be perfect, but move in the right direction because Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta! (Your Health Matters!)

Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta! is a community-wide campaign of the University of Texas School of Public Health promoting individual, environmental and policy change to reduce obesity and associated diseases. Watch our weekly television segments in Spanish on Thursday mornings at 8:00 a.m. Televisa/Vallevision. Follow Brownsville’s Biggest Loser Challenge at https://bbl.cob.us.