Doctors in the U.K. are now treating unborn babies in the womb for obesity by prescribing their overweight mothers a diabetes drug while pregnant. According to a recent report by the Daily Mail, there has been a rise in 11 lb babies (often nicknamed ‘sumo babies’) and this has prompted doctors to experiment with drug intervention to lower blood sugar levels and control fetus weight gain. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh are giving 400 obese expectant moms the oral diabetes drug metformin (Glucophage) to reduce the fetuses’ weight. Part of this theory rests on the problem of having too many large weight babies. These extra-large newborns have twice the chance of becoming obese adults, and their numbers have risen by 50 percent in the past four years. Obese pregnant women are at a higher risk of dying while pregnant, and their babies are more likely to be stillborn. What these experts are banking on is our society’s inability to change the way we live and eat.
The Obesity Epidemic, Should it be Battled with Pills for Unborn Babies?
The idea of using diabetes medication on pregnant women to control birth weight truly saddens me. Why isn’t the mainstream making real efforts to turn the obesity trend around before it’s too late? Many national experts are now suggesting that in a couple of decades 40-50% of Americans will be obese. They are basing their numbers on trends they are seeing. They claim overweight babies grow up to be overweight kids and adults having more overweight babies.
I believe the best way to tackle obesity is within the family through nutrition education. Healthy kids come from healthy families. The most vital tool for folks is a healthy lifestyle plan that isn’t dictated by a for profit food manufacturer, drug company, or government agency that is lobbied to make policies that favor their political donors. And the best practices are really the most common-sense ones.
Take the Guesswork out of Your Obesity Fight with a Healthy Lifestyle Plan
There are many beneficial diet plans that promote overall health. Here at Healthy-Family.org we’ve talked about using the Paleo Diet, Doug Kaufmann’s Anti-fungal diet, and Low Carb diet over the years. What do these plans have in common? They remove processed foods, starchy foods, and sugars from the diet and replace them with natural whole foods. Now there is a new kid on the block, too: The Lean and Healthy to 100 diet plan by Gordon Filepas.
“I don’t know how many more signs we need in Western society before we really get serious about our health,” says Gordon Filepas, author of recently published self-help book entititled: Lean And Healthy To 100, a guide for achieving optimal health based on studying cultures where long lives are the norm. He questions, “Are we really treating unborn babies for obesity?”
Filepas researched healthy cultures around the world and not only looked at issues surrounding diet and methods people use to lose weight, but also regarding longevity, lack of disease, and overall infant mortality rates. He found many common practices and characteristics in especially healthy cultures. They include:
• Calories: It’s not necessary to count calories; people in healthy cultures don’t! Once you give your body what it needs, you’ll naturally consume fewer calories. This puts significantly less stress on the digestive system and reduces the potential of ingesting toxins.
• Heavy on nutrients: Human beings evolved as hunters and gatherers who took every opportunity for caloric intake. In the process, a wide spectrum of nutrients became the norm, and that is what bodies still crave today.
• Focus on whole and unprocessed foods, fats, and oils: Examples include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and grains. Meat, which is usually the main dish in Western culture, is often treated as a side dish in the cultures Filepas studied.
• Limited toxins: This includes few, if any, pollutants from processed food, water and other beverages, medicine and air.
• A sense of purpose: Individuals from these cultures feel like they are making a difference beyond earning money, and tend to work long days, six days a week.
• Innate exercise: Virtually no additional form of exercise is needed beyond their daily activity.
• Alcohol: Every culture has alcohol. Healthy populations drink regularly, but in moderation. And, they take a greater sense of responsibility for their health.
• Traditional cooking methods: This means low-tech methods, absent of microwaves.
Filepas’ plan is similar to the popular Paleo Diet movement and the Doug Kaufmann diet which is designed to combat disease. But unlike paleo dieters, Filepas touts the use of enzymes and probiotics that are present in raw milk as wellness essentials. While Kaufmann also uses probiotics, Kaufmann focuses mainly on the management of parasitic organisms in the body through food choices. Filepas is comparable to Kaufmann’s belief and his philosophy is also closely tied to the health teachings of Dr. Mercola and the Weston A. Price Foundation. Filepas lost his brother and father to cancer and had a personal health scare in his teens prior to many years of research in healthy lifestyle and diet information. “I tell my friends, family and anyone who will listen: Whatever you hear about health in America, do the exact opposite and you’ll be much healthier than the average American,” he says. “Americans are bombarded with confusion and misinformation about health; it’s a life-or-death situation.”
Gordon Filepas
About Gordon Filepas
Gordon Filepas spent 20 years researching Lean And Healthy To 100, interviewing physicians, attending seminars, and reading medical journals and other health-related literature. He is the founder of TGM Partners, a consulting and investment firm. Filepas says he was motivated to learn more about the requirements for optimal health following the deaths of his father and brother within three months of each other. He hopes to ensure the good health of his family, including his wife of 25 years and three sons.
