Forum Food - Ingredients & Functional Foods
OBESITY
‘Obesity is one of today’s most blatantly visible, yet most neglected
public health problems’ (World Health Organisation)
Obesity levels in the UK are continuing to rise and the government is now working
to try to improve the diet of the population and reduce the incidence of obesity
in the country.
Obesity does not kill directly, but causes health problems that can prove fatal,
of which diabetes and heart disease are the biggest complications.
It is also implicated in some cancers, stroke, hypertension, osteoarthritis and
high blood pressure.
Why the increase in obesity?
It is believed that two main factors are causing obesity levels to increase:
- Amount and type of food we eat
- Amount of exercise
Genetics, hormonal disorders and inherited syndromes are also implicated, but only
account for a small percentage of cases.
How can Forum Products help?
With the wide range of ingredients we offer in this area, through the years we have
gained a lot experience in formulating and giving technical support for products
that are reduced sugar, high in fibre, fortified, prebiotics, etc.
We also have a development lab kitchen on site to help our customer with initial
work.
Some of the ingredients we offer are:
- Oat Beta Glucan: oat beta glucan is a soluble fibre.
With approved and well established claims, it can help to lower the cholesterol
when part of a healthy diet. Oat Beta glucan also leads to satiety
reducing the amount of food we eat.
- High Oat Beta Glucan crisps: already extruded in three different shapes and flavours
to make it easy for you to include in a cereal
bar, snacks, etc.
- Sugar replacers: Litesse, Actilight, lactitol, and xylitol can
all help to replace sugar in the formulation – all provide reduction in
calories and are low GI.
In addition, Litesse and Actilight are soluble fibres and prebiotics.
- Fructose: a natural sugar, fructose is sweeter
than sucrose, allowing reduction in the sugar
content in the formulation, whilst still providing a clean labelling. It also has
a low GI and due to the way it is absorbed in the body, it provides satiety.
- Minerals: a wide range is available from Forum Products. It has
been demonstrated that certain minerals, such as magnesium, zinc and calcium, have
an effect on insulin sensitivity, body mass index, or hormonal balance,
etc.
In addition, while on a diet, some people may not achieve the required intake of
certain minerals. Therefore, foods for a specific diet often need to be fortified.
- Amino acid chelated minerals: it can be rather difficult or dangerous
to add certain minerals to food. This is because some minerals, such as iron, may
react with other ingredients in the formulation or cause side effects
in the consumer. Chelated minerals are not reactive, offer
better bio-availability and a better solution from a nutritional point
of view, as the amino acid is also used by the body.
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Weight Management
Millions of people are on diets spending vast amounts of money
on diet books, pills, drinks and food. The typical dieter very rarely meets their
target weight and is doomed to repeated failure, as many diets offer a quick fix
rather than addressing a healthy behaviour to food.
There are a number of weight loss plans available which can promote weight management
and help the dieter reach their goals. A weight loss of 10% would already help to
improve the health of the individual by reducing the health risks.
The GI Diet
The GI diet is a long term approach to weight management, with
the diet based on the glycaemic index of a food. The Glycaemic Index measures the
speed at which your body breaks down carbohydrate and converts
it to glucose.
Glycaemic Index Range
| Low GI | = | 55 or less |
| Medium GI | = | 56 – 69 |
| High GI | = | 70 or more |
The faster the food breaks down the higher the rating on the index. The glycaemic
index describes the type of carbohydrate in the food and its potential to raise
blood glucose levels. Blood glucose levels are determined by the GI
(quality) of the carbohydrate and the quantity.
Some Facts
The Statistics – Based on 2003 Data
- Obesity is responsible for more than 9000 premature deaths / year in the UK
- 22% of the adult men and 23% of the adult women population are obese
- 65% of the adult men and 56% of the adult women population are overweight
- More than 1.2 million children were obese in 2003 in the UK.
- More than 2.5 million children were overweight in 2003 in the UK.
Source: Department of Health Website
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics
Some Recommendations from the FSA
“When you're eating out or buying food that has been prepared for you, it's
often easy to have more fat, salt and calories than you realize. Although it feels
like good value for money when you get served a big portion, if you're trying to
eat healthily this means it's all too easy to eat too much or have lots more fat
and calories than you need to.”
Some of the choices recommended in the FSA website for a healthier diet are:
- Increase the amount of fibre we eat
- Cut down on sugar and saturated fat
- Try to eat less salt - no more than 6g a day
- Eat smaller portions
Campaigns from the governments and publicity around obesity have already led to
a number of launches in the UK
For further information on Obesity, contact Forum Food via the website contact form or below:-
Forum Products Ltd - Food Division
41-51 Brighton Road
Redhill
Surrey RH1 6YS
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 (0)1737 773711
Fax: +44 (0)1737 773116
Email: please use our contact form
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