Australian study: Rich kids thinner

And lower class kids are fatter.  Whenever it is examined, social class is an important health predictor

RICH kids are thinner than their poorer classmates, who are more likely to grow obese in primary school, new research shows.

The Murdoch Children's Research Institute study of 4000 Australian children shows that disadvantaged kids who are overweight or obese by the time they start school are more likely to put on weight as they grow up.

Researchers tracked the children's weight from the age of four and five, to the age of 10 and 11.

It found 15 per cent preschool kids were overweight and 5 per cent obese.

By the age of 10 or 11, 20 per cent of the children were overweight and 6 per cent obese.

Rich kids tended to lose weight as they grew older, but those from poor families were more likely to remain chubby or put on even more weight.

Poor children were nearly four times more likely to remain "persistently obese" than their wealthier classmates.

The difference in weight between rich and poor children more than doubled between preschool and Year 5.

Lead researcher, Professor Melissa Wake, said disadvantaged children had "significantly higher" risks of growing overweight or obese.

"Clearly, targeting children with early overweight and low socio-economic background - particularly those from socially disadvantaged families - must be a top intervention priority," she said.

The research was part of the federal government's longitudinal study of Australian children, and was published today in the international journal PlosOne.

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Now that's a cheap way to lose weight - the BREATH DIET that takes just five minutes a day

Most unlikely -- but a randomized study would be needed to evaluate it conclusively

If you are struggling to stick to a diet of carrot sticks and lettuce leaves, news of the latest weight loss technique to be sweeping Japan could be music to your ears.

Former actor, Miki Ryosuke, claims to have lost two stone and five inches from his waist in seven weeks by following his Long Breath Diet.

Mr Ryosuke, 55, claims that followers of the diet just have to spend two minutes a day concentrating on taking long breaths and then exhaling aggressively.

The dieting guru says that he invented the diet by mistake while practicing breathing techniques in an attempt to reduce his back pain, Oddity Central reports.

While he was practicing the breathing techniques, Mr Ryosuke noticed that he was losing weight.

As a result of the discovery, he drew up the Long Breath Diet which involves the dieter taking a specific position before inhaling for three seconds and then exhaling powerfully for seven seconds.

Mr Ryosuke claims that people who practice this breathing technique for two to five minutes a day will see rapid benefits.

Oddity Central reports that there are two ways of practicing the diet.

The first involves tensing the buttocks while standing with one foot in front of the body and placing most of the body’s weight on the back foot.

In this position, the dieter is encouraged to inhale for three seconds while lifting their arms above their head.

They are then told to breathe out while tensing all of their muscles for seven seconds.

The second way of practicing the technique involves the dieter standing upright while tightening their buttocks and placing one hand on their stomach, and the other on the bottom of their back.

They are then told to inhale for three seconds before breathing out for seven seconds, all of the time holding in their stomach.

Jill Johnson, creator of the Oxycise, another weight loss programme based on breathing, told Oddity Central: ‘Fat is made up of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. When the oxygen we breathe reaches these fat molecules, it breaks them down into carbon dioxide and water.

‘The blood then picks up the carbon dioxide – a waste product of our bodies – and returns it to the lungs to be exhaled. Therefore the more oxygen our bodies use, the more fat we will burn.’

The Long Breath Diet is believed to increase a dieter’s muscle strength and to boost their metabolism by increasing their blood oxygen levels.

However, most experts believe that practicing it for just two minutes a day is not sufficient to see any significant weight loss.

Richard Godfrey, chief physiologist at the British Olympic Medical Centre, says the effectiveness of the technique is highly doubtful.

He said: 'Medium to high intensity work out - such as rowing, brisk walking, or running - over a long period is the only way to burn up fat and elevate metabolism.

'Deep breathing and gentle exercises for five minutes a day is not going to burn up enough calories to transform body shape.'

In fact, Professor Ian Macdonald, professor of metabolic physiology at the School of Biomedical Sciences in Derbyshire, warns breathing too deeply can do more harm than good.

'Inhaling and exhaling too deeply can disturb the balance between carbon dioxide and oxygen in the body needed to neutralise the blood. This can cause light headedness and even make someone faint.'

And, he doubts simply breathing will turn fat into fuel.

'Contraction of muscles caused by exercise mobilises fat stores. But it is only vigorous aerobic sport that triggers enough energy to turn fat into fuel. Deep breathing alone will burn up fat by two per cent at best.'

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