Where oh where has my summer gone?! Classes start in T-20 days. Yikes! Does anyone else feel like the weeks are just flying by?
I’ve had several links bookmarked for quite some time that I’ve wanted to share. I had a number of conversations about obesity and food choices in the past few weeks. My ideas about how to solve this problem are constantly evolving, but am I set on the idea that a cultural changes needs to occur in America. The general public needs to place value upon food, and less upon material items like video games. But how bad must things become before this change occurs?
This is a pretty cool graph found in a NYTimes article last week, which shows the increasing prevalence of obesity over the last 10 years.
Where does your state rank? Does anyone else find it slightly alarming that 27% of the population is now considered obese? Or that the medical costs of obesity are as high as $147 billion per yer? That’s a lot people and a lot of dollars.
Where do food companies come in on this issue, are they really on the public’s side? I would guess that they are on the side of making money which may not always mean good things for the health of our nation. Here are the 10 things the food industry doesn’t want us to know.
- Junk food makers spend billions advertising unhealthy foods to kids. – Approximately $10 billion, actually.
- The studies that food producers support tend to minimize health concerns associated with their products. – Studies funded by food producers are seven times more likely to produce favorable outcomes about the health effects of consuming their product.
- Junk food makers donate large sums of money to professional nutrition associations. – The American Dietetics Association accepts money from Coca-Cola, which in turn allows the company access to ADA events and to decision makers in the food marketplace.
- More processing means more profits, but typically makes the food less healthy. – Turning highly subsidized crops (corn, soybeans and wheat) into processed snacks equals big profits. And high calorie content with little nutrition for the consumer.
- Less-processed foods are generally more satiating than their highly processed counterparts. – For example, a whole apple is packed with fiber and nutrients. When processed into applesauce or apple juice, nearly all of the fiber is lost.
- Many supposedly healthy replacement foods are hardly healthier than the foods they replace. – Recently, many vending machines that once sold soda were replaced with flavored waters and sport drinks, both of which contain a high levels of HFCs.
- A health claim on the label doesn’t necessarily make a food healthy. – Sort of like how Cocoa Krispies will increase your immunity. And something that contains whole grains does not make is 100% whole grain.
- Food industry pressure has made nutritional guidelines confusing. – I’ve recently started reading Food Politics by Marion Nestle, which details reasons why the government will not produce public literature that emphasizes eating less of something. Instead, they make statements like “Choose meats, poultry, and fish which will reduce saturated fat intake.”
- The food industry funds front groups that fight anti-obesity public health initiatives. – This one really shocked me. Ever heard of the Center for Consumer Freedom? I hadn’t. But they are funded by companies like Coca-Cola and often lobby to keep vending machines in schools.
- The food industry works aggressively to discredit its critics. – I’ll allow you to make your own judgment about this one. Here is what one group said about Marion Nestle (Professor of Nutrition at NYU). Things for me to look forward to?
Here’s the common sense bottom line: we need to eat less processed foods, and more fresh fruits and vegetables. But what can be done to convince the general public to do something seemingly so simple?
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Number three makes me think of how McDonald’s always seems to be a sponsor for the Olympics. How can fast food be a representing force for athletes? (I know, money, but it drives me crazy.)
I wish I knew the answer to your question. I think that while education is crucial, a lot of change needs to come from the government, who needs to stop taking money from junk food companies and junk food lobbyists. Taxes need to be implemented on crappy food, and that money needs to go towards education programs, healthcare, and subsidized healthy foods. And of course the school foods programs need to be revamped as well.
The thing I’m always wondering is how to reach the people who need it the most. I’ve thought about going into community health or health education, or even policy, but what is enough?
I love my state. It’s the least obese in the nation. Go Colorado! Great, informative post.
wow, what an interesting article! i think #3 surprised me the most, the rest, well, it’s a business and in the end, the all-mighty dollar wins. guess i just hoped the ADA would be different.
i’m not sure what the answer is, this is obviously a complicated issue and people choose their diet based on a LOT of reasons, not just their palate. (convenience is probably a huge part. plus old habits are tough to break.) it amazes me just how much sugar is in our diet though. i went on a sugar detox a while back, (absolutely NONE…with the exception of fruit) this meant i had to be diligent about reading food labels: this is when i found out EVERYTHING has sugar in it. no wonder we crave it so much!
ohhh i can’t wait for you to start school! you’re going to really really love your learning experience.
it’s SUCH a complex, multifaceted area. i personally gravitated towards adult behavior change and prevention with children in my career, and not towards policy and more macro solutions…but for a successful shift both need to happen. the sheer number of considerations that you have to think about with the why part (why don’t we do it?) makes program planning and implementation and success extremely challenging. cost and time are the most commonly cited reasons against wellness related living in my experience (not based on the research but anecdotally my experience professionally), general lack of motivation (i don’t like x,y, and z) and truly lack of education and then skills to follow through on the behaviors. we walk an interesting fine line between assuming people know too much and not enough….i could go on and on.
anyway, the truth is that the more dedicated, properly trained folks we have joining the trudge towards healthier living, the better we are.
in my, not biased at all of course, opinion.
I laugh every time I see a product with a bogus claim. (I actually saw frozen veggies in some sort of buttery syrup advertise that they boosted immunity–as if they’re somehow more magical than other veggies.) The thing is, people buy into it. My husband does. He’ll get something simply because it says “Made with whole grains.” Sure, there’s whole grains in there–way at the bottom, like an afterthought.
The food label is another mess. I just read this study about food label use and effectiveness and it’s interesting because people who use the label (nutrition facts, serving size, ingredients list) eat healthier diets. But only about half of all people surveyed even used it. The researchers say it’s because the label is so confusing–and it its. If you’re interested, here’s a link to the abstract: http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223%2810%2900527-4/abstract
Great informative post! I agree we have a serious problem on our hands – it just seems like such a large one to take on! Some of those facts are really shocking, like how the food industry actually pays to fight anti-obesity initiatives – WHAT?
Good topic. I think there are a few solutions we need here. One is that fresh and healthy food needs to be less expensive, especially compared to the overprocessed options. A family or individual on a budget may not want to choose Kraft Dinner but may have to if its the cheapest choice. Even in a fast food restaurant (because lets be honest sometimes convenience is key) there should be cheaper options for health conscious people. A salad that is a few dollars more then a combo with a burger fries and drink is going to get over looked if money is a determining factor.
In addition I think education is also a huge part of this. If people are taught/shown how to make low cost meals that are healthy and easy they may be more inclined to do it in my opinion. They also need to know why healthy food is so important and that its more then just a weight thing which is what the media tends to focus on. I see thin people eating poorly because they think they are getting away with it and its downright scary!!
I could go on forever about this….
Those obesity statistics are ALARMING. Despite the prevalent amount of accessible information about healthy diet/lifestyle, people STILL aren’t getting the message! This needs to change!
It is very disturbing to me that the ADA accepts money from Coca Cola. This is a perfect example of how large corporations are dictating policy in our country. Gah!
Enjoy your last weeks of summer! When do you come to DC?
Oklahoma is sadly way up in the obesity rankings. I blame it on a bad lifestyle and the state isn’t very “outdoor activity” friendly.
And I’ve always read that if a food has to make a health claim..then it’s probably not that healthy.
I’m sad to see my home state of Missouri as one of the worst… but it sounds about right from my observation of the 22 years I lived there…
Sometimes I wish people would just listen to reports like this. A little education would go a long way!
You bring up some really great points! Welcome to the world of public health.
haha It’s a tough fight, but can also be fun…as long as you don’t get discouraged along the way. I can’t wait for you to start your classes and to hear about how they’re going. You seem so much more focused on what you want to do with this degree than I was going in, which is really going to help!
Anyway, it’s sad that the food industry and the public health industry are sort of at war. It’s messed up that we can’t both profit from providing everyone access to real, healthy food. Unfortunately, that kind of food doesn’t seem to make them money. And since “big food” has so much of it, they’re going to use it to fight back with everything they’ve got. You’re right — in order for real change to be made, we need to have a cultural shift.
I really like your posts because you always post such informative information! Number 3 makes me sick, I was really happy when a lot of doctors pulled out of the ADA when Coca Cola joined up with them.
I feel bad because I think a lot of the nation is just misinformed. And people don’t understand how things work.
I keep wondering how things will be when I have kids, and how I can keep them away from eating and drinking crap. Hopefully I can set as good of an example as my parents did for me.
Healthy claims on labels for foods that are clearly unhealthy drive me nuts! I hope that eventually some type of law is put in place to rid packages of those kinds of labels. I think it can be so confusing to consumers…
unfortunately obesity rates in SC are pretty darn high. yuck. i’m from massachusetts originally and they are in the top leanest states. woohoo!!!
Re: your last comment on my blog…thank you for your compliment. and i agree, i love competing w/ boys. my muscles will never be as big as theirs but we can be just as hot!!