Weight Watchers Group Meetings Blend Diet, Therapy and Spirituality
A new study shows Weight Watchers group meetings offer diet, therapy and spirituality.
According to the authors, “even if Weight Watchers advertisements make it sound as if it were only about weight loss, the social function of weekly meetings extends far beyond the tricks of the weight loss trade.”
The authors, Risto Moisio of California State University, Long Beach and Mariam Beruchashuvil, California State University, Northridge, interviewed female members and group leaders while observing at weekly Weight Watchers meetings.
“Pursuing weight loss is an immensely daunting project fraught with many troubles whether psychological, social or physical. To overcome these challenges, consumers turn to Weight Watchers,” note the authors.
“As consumers evolve into full-fledged Weight Watchers members, the support group becomes their therapeutic companion,” the authors write. “The presence of fellow Weight Watchers is equally therapeutic as it is spiritual: it transforms the support group into a greater, spiritual power that engenders therapeutic aid to members struggling with their diets.”
“The support group gives meaning to members’ at times trauma-ridden overweight condition, grants forgiveness for members’ weight loss failures, offers valued oversight and overarching guidance needed to make it through the trials and tribulations of the week, as well as casting the occasional weight-loss successes in a veneer of much-needed glamour,” the authors conclude.
With it’s 1.5 million members worldwide, Weight Watchers is the worlds’ largest support group.
The new study that shows Weight Watchers group meetings offer a blend of diet, therapy and spirituality is in the Journal of Consumer Research.
AHA Statement Urges Americans to Consume Less Empty Sugar Calories
A new American Heart Association scientific statement urges Americans to consume less empty sugar calories.
Americans are now eating 22 teaspoons of sugar each day and the AHA wants us to cut way back.
The heart group says most women should be getting no more than 6 teaspoons a day or 100 calories of added sugar. The recommended limit for men is 9 teaspoons or 150 calories.
Rachel K. Johnson, lead author of the statement, said it was time to give specific advice on how much added sugar Americans should be getting and not just advising moderation.
She said about 8 ounces of fruit-flavored yogurt has about 6 teaspoons of added sugar; 8 ounces of low fat chocolate milk has about 4 teaspoons and a cup of frosted whole grain cereal has about 3 teaspoons.
A regular 12 ounce soft drink has about 8 teaspoons of added sugar.
Johnson said calculating your sugar intake can be tricky as the government doesn’t require labels to differentiate added sugars from naturally occurring sugars but the biggest sources like soft drinks and sweets are pretty obvious.
To check for added sugar, watch for a variety of ingredients including sugar, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, molasses or evaporated cane juice on the label.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a database for the added sugars in some foods.
Johnson recognizes that sugar does play an important part in the taste of food. “If you feel like, ‘I just can’t live with this low amount of sugar in my diet,’ then what you need to do is up your energy needs.”
In other words, she said, get moving.
“We know for sure that if you are consuming excessive amounts of added sugar, you will add calories, which leads to weight gain, or you will displace other essential nutrients,” she said.
She noted if someone drinks their daily calorie needs in soft drinks, they will be maintaining their weight, but won’t be getting any nutrients.
The statement urging Americans to consume less empty sugar calories is published online in the American Heart Association Circulation Journal.
Senior Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy Dead at 77
August 26, 2009 by Nancy
Filed under Featured Story, News Talk
Senior Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy is dead at age 77. He died at his home in Hyannis Port after battling a brain tumor.
His family announced his death early this morning with this brief statement:
“We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all.”
On vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.,President Obama said he and the first lady were “heartbroken” to hear of Kennedy’s passing.
“An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time,” Obama said.
Senator Kennedy was first elected into the Senate in 1962 when his brother John was president. He continued to serve almost 50 years.
Earlier this month, Kennedy lost his sister, Eunice Shriver.
With the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, there remains only one living child of the 9 born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy. Jean Kennedy Smith is 81.
Senator Ted Kennedy is also survived by his wife, Victoria Reggie and 5 children.
