Posted By: Francis Koster Published: October 4, 2020

Do you know you eat enough plastic each week to make a credit card?

Imagine an evening (pre-COVID-19) where you take your family out to dinner and all order a family-sized meal of seafood gumbo full of clams, shrimp, and other delights.  Yous.  You may get more than you bargained for. Turns out that when someone throws a plastic bottle into the ocean, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces until it becomes invisible to humans – but it does not go away.^[1] Most of the plastic made in the world winds up in water where it breaks down into invisible but long-lasting pieces which gets eaten by wildlife.  The bodies of fish, clams, crabs, and other water critters consume these microplastics contain plastic they ate.  Bigger fish eat the little fish, you eat the big fish and when you eat the seafood, you also get a dose of plastic.^[2]  No charge will appear on your bill - but you will pay for it in your healthcare bills. If you ordered hot tea with dinner, things could get worse because a surprising number of brands of tea have plastic in the teabag dissolving astounding amounts of invisible microplastics into the hot tea water which wind up in your tummy.^[3],[4]

Posted By: Francis Koster Published: August 30, 2020

You and your kids have to weigh in on pollution

We pride ourselves for being a wealthy nation. It may shock you to learn that in this elite group, we rank 35^th in life expectancy. ^[1] Invisible things in our environment are dramatically impacting our citizen’s health. A major contributing factor to our nation's awful life expectancy is that 72% of all American adults are either overweight or obese – and the percentage is rising. Since 1960, the weight of the average American adult increased by 28 pounds! ^{[2], [3], [4]}

Posted By: Francis Koster Published: January 25, 2016

When Water is Offered at Lunch, Kids Drop Weight – Simple but Effective Intervention

When Water is Offered at Lunch, Kids Drop Weight - Simple but effective intervention? by Molly Walker, Contributing Writer As appeared in MedPage Today Installation …

When Water is Offered at Lunch, Kids Drop Weight – Simple but Effective Intervention Read More »

Posted By: Francis Koster Published: April 23, 2014

We Need to Have a Food Fight

We Need to Have a Food Fight

by Francis P. Koster, Ed.D.

Posted By: Francis Koster Published: January 10, 2012

A Different Way to Count Calories

A Different Way to Count Calories by Francis P. Koster, Ed.D. I thought I would spend a little time discussing how we can give a …

A Different Way to Count Calories Read More »

Posted By: Francis Koster Published: September 21, 2009

Placing Calories on Menus Leads 71 Percent to Order Lighter Food

Placing Calories on Menus Leads 71 Percent to Order Lighter Food by Francis P. Koster, Ed.D. When the City of New York passed a law …

Placing Calories on Menus Leads 71 Percent to Order Lighter Food Read More »

Posted By: Francis Koster Published: July 23, 2009

School System Reduces Childhood Obesity!

School System Reduces Childhood Obesity! Childhood obesity prevention in Massachusetts can serve as nationwide model 15% less weight gain among school kids A program launched …

School System Reduces Childhood Obesity! Read More »