An arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed may pose health risks to humans who eat meat from chickens that are raised on the feed, according to an article in the April 9 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.
Roxarsone, the most common arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed, is used to promote growth, kill parasites and improve pigmentation of chicken meat. In its original form, roxarsone is relatively benign. But under certain anaerobic conditions, within live chickens and on farm land, the compound is converted into more toxic forms of inorganic arsenic. Arsenic has been linked to bladder, lung, skin, kidney and colon cancer, while low-level exposures can lead to partial paralysis and diabetes, the article notes.
Use of roxarsone has become a topic of increasing controversy. A growing number of food suppliers have stopped using the compound, including the nation's largest poultry producer, Tyson Foods, according to the article. Still, about 70 percent of the 9 billion broiler chickens produced annually in the U.S. are fed a diet containing roxarsone, the article points out.
Complicating the issue is the fact that no one knows the exact amount of arsenic found in chicken meat or ingested by consumers who frequently eat chicken. "Neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the Department of Agriculture has actually measured the level of arsenic in the poultry meat that most people consume," according to the article.
The National Chicken Council, a trade association that represents the U.S. chicken industry, claims there is ,no reason to believe there are any human health hazards, associated with the use of roxarsone.
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The guidelines also recommend that: First-line treatment for overweight and obese adults should consist of diet changes and regular exercise, supported by behaviour change; if unsuccessful, treatment with medications or bariatric surgery should be considered; Starting at 10 years of age, overweight or obese Canadians should undergo screening that would include tests measuring levels of fasting glucose, HDL (the good) and LDL (the bad) cholesterol, and triglycerides (a form of fat in the blood) levels. Furthermore, they should be monitored at regular intervals; Patients participating in weight management programs should be provided with education and support in behaviour modification techniques as an add-on to other lifestyle modifications; Programs to promote healthy, active living and to prevent overweight and obesity should be implemented in schools to reduce the risk of childhood obesity; these include interventions to increase daily physical activity through physical education class-time and opportunities for active recreation; "Screen time" (e.g. television watching, and video or computer games) should be limited to less than two hours per day to encourage increased activity and less food consumption, and to limit exposure to food advertising.
"We hope that our recommendations will have a major impact on guiding health care practitioners to work with their patients to help them understand that weight and body shape is not a cosmetic issue but a medical issue," says Dr. Denis Drouin, Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at Laval University in Qubec City and a member of the CPG Expert Panel.
"Canadians must be alerted to the fact that their weight and body shape can have a serious impact on their long-term health, and that they need to act now to lessen their risk of heart disease and diabetes. Even a modest loss of 5% to 10% of body weight, or a few inches from the waist, can result in significant health benefits."
As there remain major gaps in knowledge regarding treatment and prevention, the guidelines also recommend areas for further research to optimize management and to reduce the prevalence rate of overweight and obese individuals in Canada.
The recommendations range from the need for population based data and more research on the biological, social, cultural and environmental determinants of obesity, to new research on effective treatment strategies, policies and interventions.
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