In the journal Nature, a University of California team of experts argue sugar is as addicting as alcohol and tobacco, and products should be taxed to reduce consumption.

Central Michigan University Economics Department Chairman Paul Natke said people would react how they would react to any tax.

“Buyers don’t like it, sellers don’t like it,” he said. “One of the purposes of the tax is to discourage types of activities, and another purpose is to raise revenue.”

Natke said he believed people would consume less sugar because of the tax.

“My guess is the intent from the health professionals is to reduce consumption of sugar, which is a health problem in the U.S.,” he said. “And presumably the argument is it’s more costly to use sugar than other substitutes, although I’m not sure how much the tax is supposed to be.”

Registered Dietician Kati Mora, owner of Mora Nutrition, said people are still going to find ways to enjoy these types of foods.

“When we think about sugar, we are thinking that if we eliminate or have people eat less by incorporating this tax, then we’ll eventually see less obesity rates and we’ll see people adapting to healthier lifestyles,” she said. “But unfortunately, sugar isn’t the only cause to (an) obesity problem, so if we single out one nutrient, we often see that nutrient is replaced by something else that typically isn’t better for us.”

“Most Americans are consuming too much sugar on a regular basis, and by bringing this issue up, hopefully people are starting to rethink some of their favorite treats and beverages,” she said.

Mora said in the September 2011 issue of American Journal of Critical Nutrition, a study said the amount of sugar we consume is more than the recommendation, but there has actually been a decrease in the amount of sugar people have consumed from 1999 to 2008.

A large part of that study is because of people drinking less sugary beverages, she said.

On average, the recommendation for women is six teaspoons, which is equal to 100 calories from sugar of 25 grams of sugar.

For men, the recommendation is nine teaspoons, which is equal to 150 calories from sugar or 37 grams of sugar.

Roseville senior Paul Paonessa said college students would still find a way to buy sugary foods.

“I think it would affect kids more than college students, because the parents are the ones buying it,” Paonessa said.

Mora said not all food containing sugar is bad.

“Look for foods that are nutritionally dense and focus on getting enough vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lean meats,” she said. “There will be sugar in some of those foods, but as long as they’re not overdoing it on the added sugar and on sweets with nothing but sugar, then you should be OK.”

Mora said the tax would be like a quick fix, and what we really need is a long-term solution, such as teaching people how to eat healthy.

“By putting a tax on sugary food, making it a bad thing is kind of like a band aid on a bigger problem,” she said.

Shepherd resident Brandy Franklin individually jumps over a class of fitness participants while each of them hold a planking position during Fitness Bootcamp Thursday evening at the Morey Courts Recreation Center, 5175 E. Remus Road. (Victoria Zegler/ Staff Photographer)

Morey Courts is giving motivation to those who are serious about a New Year’s resolution of weight loss by offering a grand prize of $10,000.

The Slim to Win weight loss competition at Morey Courts Recreation Center, 5175 E. Remus Road, has 888 participants.

The event began Jan. 11  and will be ongoing until April.

Program Coordinator Andrew O’Brien said the participants must be at least 25 years old and a full-time Isabella County resident.

Bariatric surgery and such things are prohibited, he said.

“It’s a healthy community issue,” O’Brien said. “We’re hoping to see people commit to losing weight, and more important than losing weight is living a healthy lifestyle.”

Personal Trainer David Coles is assisting four participants in the competition. He does different circuit interval workouts, making sure participants are keeping their heart rates up throughout the entire workout.

“It’s a great incentive,” Cole said. “Just to get people coming into the fitness facilities and getting us more numbers.”

Cole said the $10,000 is a good motivation for the people that wouldn’t typically come in to work out.

Mount Pleasant resident and fitness instructor Barb Torpy takes part in a team exercise with one of her class participants during Fitness Bootcamp Thursday evening at the Morey Courts Recreation Center, 5175 E. Remus Road. (Victoria Zegler/ Staff Photographer)

O’Brien said many of the participants did not expect to win the $10,000, but it’s nice to have the incentive to push people to become healthier.

“Hopefully that’s what we’re going to be able to see,” O’Brien said. “It’ll be interesting to see the result.”

Mount Pleasant resident Gene Haymaker said the money was not a bad incentive, but he is doing the contest to lose weight for his wife.

“Our kids are at an age where they’ll be leaving the nest not too long in the future, and she wants me to be active enough to be able to do things with them,” Haymaker said.

Haymaker said his main goal is to lose the weight he needs to and said he wants to change his lifestyle.

“I think it’s excellent to focus on the aspect of health,” Haymaker said. “This window of people who have kids, with poor health only limits what we can do with our families and what we can achieve in our careers.”

Participants will have the second weigh-in Feb. 18, which will narrow it down to the top 10. A month following the weigh-in will narrow it down to the top four, O’Brien said.

April will be the final weigh-in and the announcement of the grand prize of $10,000.

O’Brien said there will be a second chance prize in August of $3,000. That will be awarded to the overall winner who has lost the highest percentage of body weight at that time.

“It only improves the life of the community all the way around,” Haymaker said.

What began as a dream vacation to the Bahamas quickly turned into a nightmare for Gabriella Serraiocco and her cousin, Marina Mancini.

Serraiocco, a Detroit sophomore, and Mancini, a high school student from Clinton Township, left for the Bahamas on July 30th.

Less than 24 hours into the vacation, the two were in trouble.

Mancini invited Serraiocco to go with her and her family to their annual lobster fishing trip in the Bahamas. The two took Mancini’s family’s private plane and stayed at a marina where two yachts were stationed.

The two were returning from a party on a golf cart when they decided to prevent some littering.

Serraiocco’s cousin on a different golf cart drove recklessly and broke off a piece of his cart. Serraiocco and Mancini stopped to retrieve the broken piece while the others drove on.

Several Bahamians stopped them, begged for money and began harassing the girls.

“At this point we had alcohol in our systems and were scared out of our minds,” Serraiocco said. “We finally jumped back onto the golf carts with hopes of just getting back to the marina safely and away from these people.”

Mancini’s cousin was driving the golf cart carrying Serraiocco and Mancini, and as they were speeding away, they came upon a sharp curve. The driver braked and turned right at the same time. The golf cart flipped onto Serraiocco’s side and dragged the two girls through cement, gravel, asphalt and other debris. When the vehicle finally came to a stop, the girls were trapped.

“We tried to lift the golf cart off of ourselves, but we could not do it,” Mancini said. “(Serraiocco) was screaming. I was in shock and I did not feel anything wrong with my legs.”

Soon, help was on the way and Serraiocco was freed from under the golf cart, but the damage had been done. Both suffered numerous injuries and burns to their legs and bodies.

“I noticed a deep hole in my left ankle and couldn’t help but touch it for reality’s sake,” Serraiocco said. ”My legs were soaked with blood from the thigh down.”

The girls were taken by yacht four hours across the ocean to Miami. From there, they took the family’s jet to Boca, Fl., for medical attention. When Serraiocco’s mother, Maria, saw the injuries her daughter had received, she was in utter disbelief.

“I could not believe my eyes when I first saw the injuries, however, I worked in the medical field for 14 years and was thankful that she still had legs,” Serraiocco’s mother said.

Both said they have been nursed back to health, but still struggle with day-to-day activities, like walking, moving and even yawning.

“It hurts to just have my legs bent at a 90-degree angle or even when I yawned,” Serraiocco said. “It’s crazy how much we take for granted until something life-threatening happens.”

Mora is a registered dietitian who graduated from CMU in December 2010 with a master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics.

Mora started her business, Mora Nutrition, last September. Unlike traditional businesses, Mora largely utilizes the internet to create a following and attract clientele.

“We provide a wide array of online nutrition services that allow our clients to interact with a registered dietitian right from the comfort of their own home and on their own schedule,” Mora said. “We also offer food journals and meal planning tools on our website which allow for people to eat healthy, happy and in style.”

Mora also has a blog, Around the Plate, that she runs with three dietetic students from CMU. The blog focuses on hot topics to talk about each week, she said.

“We also feature other food and nutrition bloggers and host giveaways from time to time,” Mora said. “It’s a lot of fun and a great place to talk about nutrition.”

Alpena senior Jennifer Lamb works as an intern for “Around the Plate.”

When Mora came to speak to the Student Dietetics Association, Lamb could relate to the members’ shared career goals. Lamb also hopes to complete her master’s degree and open a private clinic.

With not knowing where she would like to live in the future, Lamb said establishing herself online is a good first step.

“I like how she did her setup with the website and her blogs have gathered a lot of attention,” Lamb said. “I want to start with technology and networking, using Facebook and Twitter to generate attention.”

In-person consultations are also available. These are by appointment because Mora currently does not have office space.

Most consults are for medical-based conditions, where she works with a client to modify habits. Diabetes and weight management are most of her referrals.

“If someone has a nutrition concern or just wants to eat healthier, we can meet one-on-one to achieve their goals,” Mora said. “I also work with people who have a medical condition that requires special dieting.”

CMU P.L.A.Y.s in Finch Fieldhouse is intended to inspire children to maintain a healthy lifestyle through at least 60 minutes of daily activity, said Dorr senior Lindsey Lear.

“I think it’s a great idea, child obesity has been becoming a big issue so I believe getting kids out to play with CMU athletes is a way to show some great role models that hopefully inspire kids to become more active,” Lear said.

Lear is in charge of designing T-shirts, public relations and working with the registration forms for the event. Forms will go out to students in Mount Pleasant public schools on April 5 to get a final head count.

She said children can run through the stations at their own paces and will receive goodie bags with a CMU P.L.A.Y.s shirt, blow-up ball and other items to keep them active at home.

Lear said representatives from CMU athletics will include members of the basketball, baseball, football, volleyball teams and others.

She is one of five group members running the event as their main assignment for COM 401: Capstone in Communication.

The group members enjoy their time together and have worked hard putting it all together, California senior Ross Somerville said.

“Once we figured out what we wanted to do it started to become a lot more fun,” Somerville said. “We’re doing very well and it all feels so organized. By the time April 16 rolls around we should be seeing a very successful event.”

Sterling Heights senior Tara Turkington said the group is committed to fundraising to ensure success. The group is set up in the weeks leading up to the event in the Down Under Food Court in the Bovee University Center to sell T-shirts for $10 and cutouts for $1. A karaoke fundraiser will be held April 9 at The Cabin, 930 W. Broomfield St.

“I took charge of contacting as many people as I could for the event,” Turkington said. “It is so important to me to get out there and encourage children.”

The Clio senior said he really enjoys eating fast food because it tastes good and he rarely has time in his busy schedule to cook.

“My fiance and I live in East Lansing,” he said. “I commute to CMU two days a week and have classes all day long. I don’t have time to drive home and cook something. I’d say I probably eat out about six or seven times a week and each meal costs $7 or $8.”

Najat Yahia, assistant professor of human environmental studies, said in an e-mailed statement most students eat fast food because it is affordable, tasty and convenient.

Womack estimated he spends about $130 or more per month on fast food.

He said it gets expensive quickly, but the convenience is “worth the cost.” He really likes Taco Bell, he said, and eating at Buffalo Wild Wings.

“Just because I go out a lot doesn’t mean I always eat unhealthy food,” Womack said. “I try and monitor calories and I usually avoid eating greasy foods.”

Health risks

Eating fast food on a regular basis, Yahia said, can lead to increased health risks in addition to obesity.

Illustration by Chelsea Kleven

“The fats in fast food are mainly saturated and trans fats, which tend to increase blood cholesterol level,” she said. “High blood cholesterol level is a risk factor for heart disease.”

Additionally, Yahia said fast-food meals are packed with sodium, which increases the risk of hypertension or high blood pressure.

Many students drink a lot of soda, Yahia said, which are “empty calories,” providing no nutritional value. An over consumption of calories can lead to the development of metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes, she said.

“The key is balance food intake with physical activity,” Yahia said. “Portion size does matter. Overeating is a major contributor to overweightness and obesity. Eating a well-balanced diet with a physically-active lifestyle will prevent risk of developing obesity and other chronic illness.”

Yahia suggests students pay attention to nutrition labels when buying food to increase awareness of any unhealthy additives.

An average meal at a fast-food restaurant often far exceeds the fat dietary guidelines for an entire day, she said.

Elway Pegg, a Dearborn graduate student, said he eats fast food three to four times a week.

“I think once a week I’ll go to (Buffalo Wild Wings) or something like that,” he said. “Some weeks I go out more often and some weeks I buy less.”

For on-campus students, he said fast food provides something different from repetitive residential dining.

“I think most students are just so used to eating fast food that they don’t give it much thought,” Pegg said. “It tastes good, it’s inexpensive, but it adds up quickly if you’re not careful. A lot of students just have a mentality where they don’t worry about long-term health effects.”

People who gain weight tend to eat more junk foot and comfort eat, said Najat Yahia, assistant professor of human environmental studies.

“The freshman 15 is myth because if you follow a healthy lifestyle, (students) will actually lose weight,” she said.

Layne Davis, fitness and wellness assistant director, said most students won’t gain 15 pounds their freshman year, they will more likely gain around 5 pounds.

“It’s such a big lifestyle change,” Davis said. “They are used to parents cooking dinner and being active in high school sports. Then when they get here, they usually don’t get involved in sports.”

Yahia also said the environment change is a big factor, and stress and loneliness can cause weight gain.

“They eat for some kind of comfort, from juggling with their courses, being away from home and not eating home-cooked food,” she said.

Davis said the key to avoid gaining freshman weight is to start building healthy habits with daily exercise and paying attention to what you eat. She said the problem for most students is they don’t realize the amount of calories they consume.

There are also other ways to develop healthier habits, Yahia said.

Walking 60 minutes five days a week is good way to start getting active.

“Eating with friends does help as well, because you eat less,” she said.

Preparing snacks at home will also help with avoiding unhealthy options on the go. Yahia said eating breakfast is extremely important and correlates with a healthy Body Mass Index.

Monroe junior Koren Burns said the freshman 15 was not something she had a problem with.

“It really depends on the person and how active they are,” Burns said.

Burns said she only gained about three pounds, mostly due to her inactivity.

She has since found several ways to combat college lifestyle-related weight gain.

“I’ve found that not eating as many carbs, drinking water and not pop or juice, is a good way to be more healthy,” she said.

Burns said she had some advice for incoming freshmen to enjoy similar success.

“Eat salad at every meal in the dining hall, don’t drink pop, or overindulge in food, walk and ride your bike to class and go to the Student Activity Center,” she said.

If you want to tan, she said, it’s important to consider the alternatives before opting for harmful Ultraviolet rays.

“It can be a simple lotion or spray that gives them the same result without the risks,” she said. “Skin cancer prevention should start as early as possible.”

Yang said the risk of sun tanning is long term and that skin damage due to sun exposure does not show until years later.

Her presentation, “Sunbathing & Tanning Beds: True Cancer Risks or Just Hype?” included an array of statistics about skin cancer. About 25 students attended.

Yang said some sun exposure is good for health, but just a small amount is needed to produce vitamin D. Excessive sun exposure leads to skin damage such as wrinkles, uneven skin tone and age spots.

Fewer than 33 percent of people in the United States regularly use sun protection, Yang said. She advises people to wear SPF 15 or higher even on cloudy days to prevent damage.

Grand Ledge freshman Sara Walker said the presentation helped her realize she should wear sunscreen more often.

“When I go out, I don’t re-apply sunscreen, and that’s not good,” Walker said. “I always knew that indoor tanning wasn’t safe. With outdoor tanning, you need to be more careful. I never really thought about it.”

Angie Dalton, Residence Life coordinator for Fitness Facilities and Wellness, said she thought the presentation was an educational experience for students.

“As I go around campus, I see students who are clearly tanning and they’re concerned about how they look now,” she said. “It’s important to show them the effects of their actions and how they’ll affect their health in the future.”

Two local doctors said new national guidelines for mammography, which changed from age 40, should not be a cause for concern.

The United States Preventive Task Force looks at different issues in American health and recently looked at issues in mammography.

Dr. Ahmad Hakemi, a physician assistant program director at Central Michigan University, said these are simply guidelines done by a United States independent agency and, when making these guidelines, it looks at cost effectiveness and saving lives.

“Studies show the number of lives we save are miniscule compared to the mammograms given. The issue with younger mammograms is they aren’t as accurate because most of what they find is benign,” Hakemi said. “Starting at 40, there’s a one in 250,000 chance that it will be cancer.”

The inaccuracy of mammograms before age 50 was another area of concern that shaped the new guidelines. The task force noted the increased worrying and unnecessary tests that are the result of the early mammograms can do more harm than good.

Dr. David Howell, medical director for radiation at Norval K. Morey Cancer Center at Central Michigan Community Hospital, 1221 South Drive, said screened mammography in women reduces the death rate by 15 percent, compared to people who do not get screened.

Howell said much of the guidelines come down to complicated math. The task force found that in women ages 40 to 49, one death is prevented in 1,900 women annually screened for the 10-year period.

The guidelines are saying the Task Force has found this small difference, but it is not certain if that difference is worthwhile, leading to the change in guidelines.

‘Valid’ guidelines

Howell said he realizes the subject is sensitive with all the emotional personal stories and anecdotes seen in the media. It is hard to grasp the concept that not everyone needs a mammogram before age 50 when people have automatically assumed breast cancer equals death, he said.

With only a slight increase in death reduction for women ages 40 to 49 who receive annual mammograms, Howell said women who do not feel this small percent warrants a yearly mammogram until age 50 should not be stigmatized. Hakemi also agrees.

“I feel these guidelines are valid, it just depends on the woman and her risk factors,” Hakemi said.

Both doctors said women with an increased risk of breast cancer in their family should begin mammograms earlier than those without risk factors.

Though people are concerned with possible changes in insurance coverage, nothing can happen immediately.

“This is just information being put out. Nothing has been said that woman can’t get mammograms at 40, and nothing to say that insurance won’t cover it,” Howell said.

Free vaccinations to healthy students are available from 2 to 4 p.m. today in Foust Hall 249, according to an e-mail from University Communications.

If any additional doses are left, they can be administered Thursday during normal vaccination hours.

The vaccination can only be given to students who are between the ages of 17 and 24 without chronic diseases or those who are between 25 and 49 without chronic health diseases who are health care workers, first responders or who are caring for children younger than 6 months old.