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Stigma and shame block mental health treatment in Black community

As Dr. Sarah Vinson rotated through her first year of clinical work as a Child Psychiatry Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory, she quickly became aware that there are some significant roadblocks in getting people in the African-American community engaged in treatment for mental health problems.

Sarah Vinson, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

“Misinformation, a lack of trust in the system, racism, and financial circumstances are some of the forces that can create barriers to making appropriate decisions about seeking treatment,” says Vinson.

In order to take a step toward resolving the problem, Vinson created an online mental health outreach program targeting the Black community. The website serves as an anonymous resource for patients and their families, or anyone who is interested in finding out more about mental illness. Contact this psychologist if you need to consult with mental health professionals.

This user-friendly online program provides educational materials, offers links to professional organizations, lists mental health professionals and provides descriptions of different types of mental illnesses as they relate specifically to African-Americans. The website also includes an interactive forum where people can share experiences.

Expanding access to mental health resources is essential for addressing the unique challenges faced by the Black community, and programs like Brain Balance can play a crucial role in this effort. These programs offer a personalized approach to improving cognitive and emotional well-being, focusing on strengthening the brain-body connection.

By targeting the underlying factors that contribute to challenges such as attention issues, anxiety, and stress, Brain Balance helps individuals build resilience and develop skills to better navigate life’s complexities. This aligns seamlessly with the goals of online outreach programs, complementing their educational efforts with actionable, science-based strategies for enhancing mental health.

“The Black community’s traditional reluctance to discuss mental health and illness comes at much too high a cost,” says Dr. Vinson.

“People may be fearful of being misjudged by their churches and families, so they don’t discuss their problems,” she explains. “However, it is the support of family and friends that is largely responsible for a successful course of treatment, particularly when it comes to children and adolescents, or people with severe mental illness. Regrettably, when people access care without reinforcement from their loved ones, they often drop out before they are better.”

Untreated, mental illness can cause strained relationships, social dysfunction, and numerous other problems that can result in divorce, unemployment, and even suicide. Seeking help from professionals, such as Psychologists in Sarasota Florida, can be a crucial step in addressing these issues and improving mental health.

Dr. Vinson is the recipient of an American Psychiatric Association/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Fellowship, which provides funds for programming related to minority mental health.

Posted on April 2, 2012 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Media’s contribution to stigma

Photo credit: Julia Freeman-Woolpert

Tireless advocacy in the last decade by mental health professionals and people who are affected by mental illness has aimed to reduce the stigma of psychiatric disorders. To determine the influence those efforts have had on news media portrayals, Emory researchers studied newspaper articles using the terms “schizophrenia” and “schizophrenic” in the years 2000 versus 2010.

“The primary goal of journalists is to give fair, accurate and unbiased reports of news events that will be of interest to the public,” says study author Arshya Vahabzadeh, MD, resident psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine.

Arshya Vahabzadeh, MD, resident psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine says that people who suffer from a mental illness often internalize negative references, and develop coping mechanisms that become obstacles to treatment.

“A secondary goal is to capture the attention of readers and viewers,” he says. “Unfortunately, stories linked to a mental illness have been shown to strongly attract readers’ attention, and to contribute to unfavorable public conceptions of mental illness.”

According to the researchers, the decade from 2000 to 2010 was of particular importance to the study because as the new millennium began, attention increasingly focused on public awareness of mental illness, with mental health professionals, advocacy groups and governmental bodies targeting de-stigmatization of psychiatric disorders.

Vahabzadeh and his colleagues examined hundreds of articles that appeared in five major newspapers during a five-month time period during 2000 and 2010, searching for the terms “schizophrenia” and “schizophrenic”.

The researchers found that during that period in 2000, 7,114 articles were published in the five selected newspapers, 247 of which mentioned schizophrenia. During the same period in 2010, 4,397 articles were published, with 151 articles mentioning schizophrenia.

Although a larger percentage of the articles were published in 2000 than in 2010, the percentage of articles mentioning schizophrenia did not differ. Similarly, there was no significant difference in metaphorical usage of the term “schizophrenia” – using the term to describe conflicting decisions or illogical actions.

Of particular concern to investigators was that 60 percent of the human-interest stories in both time periods focused on highly emotive reports of violence, dangerousness and criminality. Murders committed by people with schizophrenia accounted for almost half of such articles. The authors did, however, recognize a smaller proportion of articles focusing on crimes and murder committed by people with schizophrenia in 2010 compared to 2000.

Additionally, despite the fact that people with schizophrenia are more prone to be the victims rather than perpetrators of crime, situations in which people with schizophrenia were reported as victims accounted for only 0.5% of the articles reviewed.

“People who suffer from a mental illness often internalize these negative references, and develop coping mechanisms that become obstacles to treatment,” explains Vahabzadeh.

“Negative perceptions also may result in problems for those who are successfully treated,” he says. “People with schizophrenia may encounter stigma when they attempt to integrate into society, build relationships, find employment and even housing. It is important for us as mental health professionals to look for opportunities to educate the media on ways to become a positive force to reduce stigma.”

Nadine Kaslow, PhD, professor and chief psychologist at the Emory University School of Medicine, whose mentorship inspired the study, says “This study provides invaluable information about the persistence of negative and unfounded portrayals of people living with schizophrenia to the public. It is imperative that everyone interacts with people living with mental illness respectfully and with compassion, and that they be welcomed members of our community.”

The study was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22108403.

Additional study investigators include Justine Wittenauer, MD, Emory University School of Medicine and Erika Carr, PhD, Yale University School of Medicine.

Posted on February 29, 2012 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Emory Cardiologist Helps Rank Top Diets

Laurence Sperling, MD

It’s a new year and shedding pounds is at the top of the resolution list for many Americans. To help dieters lose weight and jump start healthier eating habits, Emory Heart & Vascular Center cardiologist Laurence Sperling, MD served on a U.S. News & World Report panel evaluating some of the country’s most popular diets.

The rankings, released today, include U.S. News’ second annual list of Best Diets, featuring its first-ever ranking of Easiest Diets to Follow. It includes six other rankings first assessed and published in 2011: Best Diets Overall, Best Commercial Diet Plans, Best Weight-Loss Diets, Best Diets for Healthy Eating, Best Diabetes Diets, and Best Heart-Healthy Diets.

According to U.S. News, dieters who choose a diet at or near the top of the new Easiest Diets to Follow list are more likely to succeed in staying on their diet for the long haul. Weight Watchers took the top spot on that list, followed by Jenny Craig, the Mediterranean Diet, Slim-Fast and Volumetrics.

The five new diets added for 2012 are the Abs Diet, Biggest Loser Diet, Dukan Diet, Flat Belly Diet, and Macrobiotic Diet.

Big winners across the rankings included:

  • DASH Diet: ranked #1 in Best Diets Overall, Best Diets for Healthy Eating, and Best Diabetes Diets (tie)
  • Weight Watchers: ranked #1 in Best Weight-Loss Diets, Best Commercial Diet Plans, and Easiest Diets to Follow
  • Biggest Loser Diet: ranked #1 in Best Diabetes Diets (tie)
  • Ornish Diet: ranked #1 in Best Heart-Healthy Diets

To create the rankings, U.S. News turned to Sperling and the same 22 experts for Best Diets 2012 as it did for Best Diets 2011. The panel, which included nutritionists, dietitians, cardiologists and diabetologists, reviewed 25 popular diet profiles that were developed by reporters and editors at U.S. News.

“I can’t say enough about their commitment and hard work,” said Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. “They enabled us to provide meaningful, evidence-based rankings.”

Sperling is a professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and director of Emory’s Center for Heart Disease Prevention.

For a complete list of the new diet rankings, please visit:

http://health.usnews.com/best-diet

 

Posted on January 4, 2012 by admin in Uncategorized 2 Comments

Esophageal lesions meet their match

Field Willingham, MD, MPH

Once esophageal tumors establish themselves, a patient’s prognosis is grim and morbidity vast. But when lesions are caught early and removed, especially in the premalignant stage, the odds of survival markedly improve.

When a case calls for it, Emory gastroenterologist Field F. Willingham, MD, MPH, uses a hybrid approach to ousting superficial esophageal lesions. Superficial esophageal lesions are commonly caused by acid reflux disease, or GERD. GERD occurs when stomach acid flows into the esophagus and can lead to a condition known as Barrett’s esophagus, where the cells in the lower esophagus become damaged. This in turn can lead to dysplasia, or pre-cancerous cells.

But for superficial cancers, it is now possible to remove a portion of the lining layer of the GI tract, containing the tumor, with an endoscope.  This can help carefully selected patients avoid a major surgery. The technique, known as an EMR, allows the removal of superficial esophageal tumors and pre-cancer with an endoscope, a slender tube-like instrument.

Detecting and removing esophageal tumors early is essential for a favorable outcome. Once tumors firmly establish themselves in esophageal tissue, the prognosis is grim and morbidity vast. In the past, a diagnosis of an esophageal tumor meant the removal of the esophagus and often the stomach. But now EMR can be used in tandem with radio frequency ablation.

In surgical situations in which radio frequency ablation is not feasible, Willingham and his colleagues are beginning to use an alternate technique, known as cryotherpay, in tandem with EMR. Cryotherapy involves freezing superficial cells to rid the esophagus of suspect cells.

“So, if the end of the esophagus is twisted, or if we can’t touch it with this balloon device, then we can use cryotherapy,” says Willingham. “We’re trying to kill the lining layer with the tumor cells without killing the deeper layer.”

Willingham and his colleagues are seeing evidence that using these very three very different, technologies in tandem or alone will provide patients with a better way to rid them of esophageal lesions while preserving their quality of life.

Posted on October 5, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Genetic alteration opens door to targeted treatment of rare tumor

A cross section of an epithelioid hemangioendothelioma

Emory pathologist Sharon Weiss, MD, was the first to describe an extraordinarily rare tumor known as an epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE). Thirty years later, researchers have identified a genetic alteration linked to this odd vascular tumor.

It’s hoped this newfound information will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of this tumor and hence development of a targeted treatment. None yet is available. However, these findings already have been used to develop a new diagnostic test for this blood vessel disease.

The research, published in a recent issue of Science Translational Medicine, was done in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute and led by Brian Rubin, MD, PhD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Institute and Lerner Research Institute.

The genetic alteration formerly in question involves a translocation between chromosomes 1 and 3, where chromosomes 1 and 3 exchange DNA fragments that are transposed onto opposite chromosomes. The result: the swapped DNA encodes a unique, fused gene that contains components from each chromosome. Because genes are translated into proteins, the result of this unique gene is a correspondingly unique protein, one thought to cause cancer.

Epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas comprise less than one percent of all cancers. Roughly 100 new cases are diagnosed in the United State each year. EHE are eccentric in their epidemiology, structure and aggressiveness. Slow to metastasize, they tend to occur in both young men and women when soft tissue is involved but occur mostly in women when the liver and lungs are affected.

However, it’s their peculiar structure that has so far made targeted treatment problematic, especially in the liver and lungs. “Instead of being one mass as you might expect with liver cancer, the patient with EHE often presents with little nodules throughout the liver,” says Weiss.

“The reason this occurs is that the growth starts in the liver’s portal vein, grows along its length, and then tracks out through the vessels. The growths blister out from the vessel creating these little nodules. Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma don’t possess the classic features of vascular tumors. In fact, EHE may have so many sites of involvement that the cancer can’t be cured, short of transplantation.”

Using EHE tissue samples gleaned from Weiss’s vast library, Rubin developed a genetic probe to detect the distinct chromosomal translocations in the tumor. The probe now serves as a powerful diagnostic tool of EHE and opens the door to understanding these tumors’ mechanisms.

“Once you understand the mechanism behind it, you can start trying to target those pathways in a therapeutic way,” says Weiss.

Posted on September 29, 2011 by admin in Cancer 1 Comment

Blood biomarkers may help predict risk in stroke and TBI


Biomarkers circulating in the bloodstream may serve as a predictive window for recurrent stroke risk and also help doctors accurately assess what is happening in the brains of patients with acute traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Michael Frankel, MD

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine, led by principal investigator Michael Frankel, MD, Emory professor of neurology and director of Grady Memorial Hospital’s Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center, are studying biomarkers as part of two ancillary studies of blood samples using two grants from the National Institutes of Health.

In the $1.47 million, four-year grant called “Biomarkers of Ischemic Outcomes in Intracranial Stenosis” (BIOSIS), Emory researchers are analyzing blood samples from 451 patients from around the country who were enrolled in a study known as SAMMPRIS (Stenting and Aggressive Medical Management for Preventing Recurrent stroke in Intracranial Stenosis), the first randomized, multicenter clinical trial designed to test whether stenting intracranial arteries would prevent recurrent stroke.

Researchers in the SAMMPRIS study recently published their results in the New England Journal of Medicine, showing that medical management was more effective than stenting in preventing recurrent strokes in these patients. Frankel’s BIOSIS research team is using blood samples from these same patients to continue learning more about the molecular biology of stroke to predict risk of a stroke occurring in the future.

“Our goal is to learn more about stroke by studying proteins and cells in the blood that reflect the severity of disease in arteries that leads to stroke. If we can test blood samples for proteins and cells that put patients at high risk for stroke, we can better tailor treatment for those patients,” says Frankel.

Patients with narrowed brain arteries, known as intracranial stenosis, have a particularly high risk of disease leading to stroke. At least one in four of the 795,000 Americans who have a stroke each year will have another stroke within their lifetime. Within five years of a first stroke, the risk for another stroke can increase more than 40 percent. Recurrent strokes often have a higher rate of death and disability because parts of the brain already injured by the original stroke may not be as resilient.

The other study, “Biomarkers of Injury and Outcome in ProTECT III” (BIO-ProTECT)” is a $2.6 million, five-year NIH grant in which Frankel’s team will use blood to determine what is happening in the brain of patients with acute TBI.  The blood samples are from patients enrolled in the multicenter clinical trial ProTECT III (Progesterone for Traumatic brain injury, Experimental Clinical Treatment), led by Emory Emergency Medicine Professor, David Wright, MD, to assesses the use of progesterone to treat TBI in 1,140 patients at 17 centers nationwide.

In the BIO-ProTECT study, Emory is collaborating with the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Michigan and Banyan Biomarkers.

TBI is the leading cause of death and disability among young adults in the US and worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year, leading to 275,000 hospitalizations, 80,000 disabilities, and 52,000 deaths.

Acute TBI leads to a cascade of cellular events set in motion by the initial injury that ultimately lead to cerebral edema (swelling of the brain), cellular disruption and sometimes death. Tissue breakdown leads to the release of proteins into the bloodstream. These proteins may serve as useful biomarkers of the severity of the injury and perhaps provide useful information about response to treatment.

Using the large patient group in the ProTECT III trial, the researchers hope to validate promising TBI biomarkers as predictors of clinical outcome and also evaluate the relationship between progesterone treatment, biomarker levels and outcome.

“If we can better determine the amount of brain injury with blood samples, we can use blood to help doctors better assess prognosis for recovery, and, hopefully whether a patient will respond to treatment with progesterone,” says Frankel.

Posted on September 20, 2011 by admin in Neuro Leave a comment

Personalized Medicine Day in Georgia

Governor Nathan Deal was joined by Ambassador Andrew Young, Georgia State Representative Calvin Smyre and Leroy Hood, founder of the Institute of Systems Biology, in formally proclaiming September 1, 2011 Personalized Medicine Awareness Day in the State of Georgia.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal presents Morehouse School of Medicine’s Dean and Executive Vice President, Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, with a state proclamation declaring Sept. 1, 2011 Personalized Medicine Awareness Day in Georgia.

The event at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) was sponsored by Georgia Bio; the Atlanta Clinical & Translational Science Institute (ACTSI, which is funded by the NIH and led by Emory University with partners MSM and Georgia Tech); and Iverson Genetics, Inc.

“The collaboration within the ACTSI between these three research universities is an important undertaking and an example of how it should be done,” remarked Governor Deal as he kicked off the day’s program.

A visionary in the personalized medicine field, Dr. Hood developed the DNA gene sequencer and synthesizer and the protein synthesizer and sequencer – four instruments that paved the way for the successful mapping of the human genome.

During his keynote address he proposed a revolution in medicine.  P4 Medicine – Predictive, Preventive, Personalized and Participatory – is a proactive (instead of a reactive) approach to medicine. The paradigm change will drive radical changes in science.

For P4 medicine to succeed, a cross-disciplinary culture with team science and new approaches to educating scientists, as is done through the ACTSI, has to take place. Dr. Hood predicts the human genome will be part of individual medical records in 10 years.

Leroy Hood, MD, PhD

“The vision of P4 medicine is that each patient will be surrounded by a virtual cloud of billions of data points. Advances in science and technology will reduce this enormous data dimensionality to simple hypotheses about human health and disease,” says Hood.

“The ultimate outcome is to create individualized patient disease models that are predictive and actionable. The shift to P4 Medicine will also require societal changes.”

Personalized Medicine Awareness Day celebrated the first-of-its-kind personalized medicine study, approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The study will determine the utility of genetic testing in calculating doses and reducing the incidence of adverse events associated with the initiation of Warfarin therapy. Warfarin is the world’s leading anti-blood clotting drug.

Researchers hope the study will provide data to demonstrate that individualizing treatment can improve patient safety and reduce healthcare costs, says Dean Sproles, CEO of Iverson Genetics, Inc., which is collaborating in the study with MSM and the ACTSI.

Governor Deal congratulated the ACTSI for leading the landmark Warfarin study with Iverson and is “proud that Georgia will be leading the effort.”

The Warfarin Study is led by ACTSI Senior Co-Principal Investigator Elizabeth Ofili, MD, MPH, director of the Clinical Research Center, chief of cardiology and associate dean for clinical research at MSM, and will engage 50 sites across the country and 7,000 participants. The first participant was recently enrolled at Grady Memorial Hospital.

“This study should help us understand how to use each patient’s genetic information to deliver a safer and more effective dose,” says Ofili.

Sproles noted, “The study is evidence of the growing role of genetics in helping doctors to develop optimal individual treatments for their patients.”

A panel including Emory medical leaders David Stephens, Fred Sanfilippo and Kenneth Brigham discussed and addressed questions like how to communicate ‘big science’ to the individual, how to move genetic testing to medical outcomes and who owns genome data.

“Personalized Medicine is the future,” stated Governor Deal. The presence of Governor Deal, Ambassador Young and Representative Smyre is a sign that policymakers are beginning to recognize that personalized medicine is not just a vision for better healthcare; it has the power to improve health and reduce healthcare costs.

Posted on September 9, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized 1 Comment

Smoking’s reach“ and risk“ even broader than we thought

Smoking’s link to lung cancer has been well-known for decades, but we are still learning about its cancer-causing effects on other organs.

An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) provides solid epidemiological evidence that smoking’s link to bladder cancer is even higher than previously believed. And, the elevated risk factor appears to be the same for men and women.

Viraj Master, MD, PhD

This is something I see in my practice every day, says Viraj Master, associate professor of urology, Emory School of Medicine and director of urology clinical research at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. The dangers of smoking are pervasive. Patients are often surprised to hear of the link between smoking and bladder cancer, but it’s there, and it’s a very real risk. If you notice irregularities with your urinary system, you may consider using a non-invasive bladder scanner available at Bladgo.com to get a scan image of your bladder.

The bladder may not be the first organ you think about when you think about the harmful effects of cigarette smoking. After all, when a person inhales cigarette smoke, the mouth, throat and lungs are the primary destination. But, a lethal change in the composition of cigarettes makes the bladder a target for cancer.

Written by researchers at the National Cancer Institute, the study explains that while there is less tar and nicotine in cigarettes now that in years passed, there also has been an apparent increase in the concentration of specific carcinogens, including a known bladder cancer carcinogen and tobacco-specific nitrosamines. The study authors also note that epidemiological studies have observed higher relative risk rates associated with cigarette smoking for lung cancer. Hence, to get rid off addiction and to prevent cancer, people can approach outpatient drug rehab NJ as they can assure a healthy lifestyle.

The take-home message, of course, is the same as it long has been “ don’t start smoking, and if you do smoke, stop, says Master. “We need to do everything in our power to both stop people from starting to smoke and to help those already addicted to stop.

Posted on August 22, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Brain tumor patient gives back and moves forward

Jennifer Giliberto

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

That’s the motto 36-year-old Jennifer Giliberto now lives by after recently welcoming a third child into the world. Late night feedings, diaper changes, mounds of dirty laundry and caring for two older boys (ages six and eight) would certainly be a challenge for most moms. But this mom is different.

Four years ago, Giliberto was diagnosed with a brain tumor – a slow growing Grade II astrocytoma located in her posterior right temporal lobe. The shocking diagnosis left Giliberto and her family with many choices and decisions to make.

Giliberto’s inspiring story was profiled on CNN on Aug. 16, 2011 in a special “Human Factor” segment, which takes a look at people accomplishing something significant after overcoming the odds.

The Long Road Ahead

After her second child was born in 2005, Giliberto began noticing a pattern of problems with her fine motor skills. Neurological testing revealed little, but an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) revealed a lesion and possible tumor in the brain. Follow-up MRIs over the next year showed no new growth, but in June 2007, a definite brain tumor was detected by MRI.

While taking the watch and wait approach to determine if the tumor would grow, she became involved with the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation (SBTF) as a volunteer. She focused her efforts on raising money to support critical brain and spinal tumor research. She also met Emory neurosurgeon Costas Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD.

Hadjipanayis, an assistant professor in Emory’s Department of Neurosurgery, would soon become Giliberto’s physician. He confirmed her diagnosis and recommended surgical removal of the tumor.

Costas Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD and patient Jennifer Giliberto

On August 18, 2008, at Emory University Hospital Midtown, Hadjipanayis removed Giliberto’s brain tumor. “Jennifer underwent a craniotomy and had a gross total resection of the tumor, with no complications,” explains Hadjipanayis, who is chief of neurosurgery at the hospital. “She spent one night in the neurosurgical ICU and her recovery afterwards went well.”

Then he encouraged her to embrace life and live it to the fullest. Giliberto has taken her doctor’s orders to heart, and lives life with a new purpose than before.

Giving Back

To support and encourage other brain tumor patients, Giliberto serves as a patient and family advisor at Emory University Hospital Midtown. She visits with hospitalized patients and their families who are in similar situations as the young mother of three.

“This has been a very fulfilling experience and an outlet to give back,” says Giliberto. “Being a patient is lonely, even when you know you have support. Working to assist other patients and families and improve a system goes a long way to ease that lonely journey of the patient experience.”

Patient and family advisors also work to improve hospital processes and procedures from a patient perspective.

She also serves as vice president of the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation, continuing the mission to raise funds for research. The SBTF consistently funds innovative brain tumor research at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute.

And she is a devoted wife and mother.

Moving Forward

Last year, when Giliberto and her husband decided they would like to expand their family of four, she consulted with Hadjipanayis. He, once again, encouraged her to live life and move forward. They did, and their youngest child was born in July 2011.

While Giliberto has remained stable since her surgery in 2008, she continues to have MRI’s every six to nine months to check for any tumor recurrence. Astrocytomas, even once removed, can recur and can also become cancerous.

But for now, it’s on with life as she knows it – stable, moving ahead and enjoying every day with a new sense of hope.

And as for the small stuff – Giliberto’s learned there’s just no reason to sweat it at all.

Posted on August 17, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized 2 Comments

Americans cutting sugar – but it’s still not enough

In America’s battle against obesity, there is some good news. According to a study conducted by Emory researchers, Americans consumed nearly a quarter less added sugars in 2008 than they did 10 years earlier.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in July 2011, found that the consumption of added sugars, such as those found in sodas, sports drinks, juices and sweetened dairy products, decreased among all age groups over a decade. The largest decrease came in the consumption of sodas, traditionally the largest contributor to added sugar consumption, according to Jean Welsh, MPH, PhD, RN, study author and post-doctoral fellow in pediatric nutrition at Emory University School of Medicine.

“While we were hopeful this would be the case, we were surprised when our research showed such a substantial reduction in the amount of added sugar Americans are consuming,” said Welsh. “We’re hopeful this trend will continue.”

So, why the change? One of Welsh’s partners in the study, Miriam Vos, MD, MSPH, an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Emory University School of Medicine, and a physician on staff at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, attributes much of the shift to public education.

“Over the past decade, there has been a lot of public health awareness about obesity and nutrition, and I think people are starting to get the message about sugar,” says Vos. “We’re not trying to send a message that sugar is inherently bad. It’s more that the large amounts of sugar we consume are having negative effects on our health, including increasing our risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

The study interpreted data of 40,000 people’s diets collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over 10 years.  From the surveys, researchers were able to calculate how much added sugar – that is sugar that is not originally part of a food – that Americans are consuming. In 1999-2000, the typical person’s daily diet included approximately 100 grams of added sugar, a number that had dropped to 77 grams by 2007 and 2008.

While the study shows that the amount of added sugar Americans are consuming is lower, it doesn’t mean the amount is low enough.

“The American Heart Association recommends that we get about five percent of our calories from added sugars,” says Vos. “In 1999 to 2000, people were consuming about 18 percent of their calories from added sugars. Over 10 years, that amount decreased to 14.5 percent of our daily calories, which is much better. But, clearly, 14.5 percent is still three times more than what is considered a healthy amount. We’re on the right track, but we still have room for improvement.”

Posted on August 15, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment
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