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HEALTH WATCH page 73
ommended as well," Dr. Chastain
says.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
How are parents to know if
their children are developing nor-
mally? Experts at the American
Occupational Therapy
Association say that even first-
time parents are pretty good at
spotting problems that could in-
terfere with a child's develop-
ment.
"Every youngster is unique,
but there are certain milestones
that help you look at your child's
development," says Leslie Jack-
son, a registered occupational
therapist.
Some common milestones in-
clude:
• At 1 month: frequently holds
hands in fists, kicks feet when on
back, looks at parents.
• At 6 months: moves toys
from hand to hand, sits without
support, repeats sounds like "Da-
Da."
• At 1 year: scribbles sponta-
neously, may take a few steps in-
dependently, says three to five
words.
Alison Ashton is a writer for
Copley News Service.
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POLISH AIRLINES
Polish
National
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(212) 338-9412
(312 ) 236-9013
/800/ 223-0593
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CRUZ HEARING AID SERVICE
We hear you!
Stop by or call Felix Cruz at 810-424-8450
• At 2 years: rides a tricycle,
drinks from a cup using one
hand, sings phrases of songs.
Parents who think their child
is not developing normally should
consult with their pediatrician.
FAT AMERICANS
Dire health warnings that ap-
pear in newspaper headlines al-
most daily appear to be having
little effect on the American peo-
ple who are, as a whole, getting
fatter.
"As a country, we're still gain-
ing weight. Studies show obesi-
ty is more prevalent now than
a few years ago," says Dr. David
C. Dale, editor in chief of Scien-
tific American Medicine.
Lack of exercise and a high-fat
diet are usually the culprits for
weight gain, which can lead to
such health problems as high
blood pressure, severe os-
teoarthritis, fatigue, depression
and even low self-esteem.
"Obesity is a very insidious
problem. People will say, 'Oh, my
mother was like this,' or just eat
the same as everyone else.
There's nothing wrong with me.'
But by gaining even a pound a
year, lots of people gradually be-
come obese," Dr. Dale says.
❑
Burn Fat, Not
Lean Body Mass
JACK WILLIAMS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
W
il ' e widely publicized re-
search in a recent issue
of the New England
Journal of Medicine
would seem to indicate we can't
win for losing weight, there may
be hope on the horizon.
A study by Gilbert Kaats at the
Health and Medical Research
Foundation in San Antonio,
Texas, indicates combinations of
certain nutrients may help solve
a dieting dilemma: the loss of
weight at the expense of lean body
mass.
Lean body mass — mainly
muscle — is the good stuff that in-
creases our caloric requirements
and enables us to burn calories ef-
ficiently.
Most calorie-restricted diets re-
sult in the loss of muscle, a major
reason dieters' metabolisms slow
to a crawl.
Dr. Kaats' study monitored
186 obese people — 75 percent of
them women — over a four-week
period. All were assigned a diet
appropriate to reaching and
maintaining a realistic goal
weight.
For example, a 190-pound
woman wishing to reach and
maintain a weight of 140 would
Jack Williams is a writer for
Copley News Service.
be placed on a 1,400-calorie regi-
men in which the fat content
ranged between 10 and 20 per-
cent, Dr. Kaats said.
All were encouraged to increase
physical activity without neces-
sarily becoming involved in a for-
mal exercise program.
Half of the subjects were placed
on a supplemental regimen in-
volving 600 micrograms daily of
chromium picolinate, 1,200 mil-
ligrams of Larnitine, and 1,500
milligrams of a citric acid natu-
rally found in garcinia — a berry
indigenous to Thailand and India.
The citric acid, known scientif-
ically as hydroxycitrate, or HCA,
was in a capsule called Brindall
Trim.
Those on the supplemental
regimen lost 2.84 pounds of body
fat. Those on the placebo lost less
than half that, 1.40 pounds of
body fat, over the four-week pe-
riod.
"The difference is highly sig-
nificant," said Dr. Kaats, who
presented his findings to a group
of bariatric physicians in Mexico
prior to submitting it to medical
journals:
"You have to be impressed
with anything that depletes body
fat with no adverse effect on lean
tissue," Dr. Kaats said. "What
you love to see is the same kind