food museum blog

Nutri Nosh?

Pushing buttons to go from tv to dvd mode last night, I noticed that those chatty QVC people on Channel 3 were eating out of little plastic-looking dishes, with an array of Nutri System packaged items strewn below them on display. ( I had a vague recognition of this brand but knew nothing about it.)   A guy was rhapsodic over tortellini with red sauce , I think. Anyway,  one buys 28 premeasured, prepared breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts--last night for the low, low price of $239 as compared to $289---and then toaster ovens or nukes them for one's dining pleasure. And to lose weight.

Fresh veg, fruit and dairy are up to you to provide, according to the Nutri System guidelines. But there's the ballgame!  People are buying packaged "dead" food and then adding to it all the things they should be eating in a healthy diet anyway?

Apparently among the selling points are that you need not show up at a Center to be weighed and cajoled, your privacy is assured, and you can go on-line or telephone for support 24/7.  A woman who called in claiming to have lost over 100 pounds said that "nothing else ever worked."

I am happy for that person, and yet, sad. I wonder what happens when people leave the program? Do they maintain healthy weight? Do they know how to choose and cook food, and how much of it to eat, if the package isn't doing the thinking for them?

Astonishingly, TV Food Ads Aimed at Kids are Less Than Ideal

No big surprise here as we read in the Washington Post  that half the tv ads aimed at children in the US are for food, most of it in the lousy column. After analyzing 1600 hours of tv programming either specifically designed for kids, or likely to have a large child or teen viewing audience, the Kaiser Family Foundation discovered that " 34 percent marketed candy and snacks, 28 percent were for cereal, and 10 percent promoted fast foods. No commercials promoted fruit or vegetables. " ( Duh.)

In an ideal world young people would be fed well at home, never introduced to junky fast food, and tv would be an occasional diversion.

Tra la.

You can read more at the Kaiser site here.

( Cartoon from calorielab.com)

Oh So Sadly Heavy, and Yet, Less So Than Before

An AP story from last week started like this: "SAN NICOLAS DE LOS GARZA, Mexico - A man who once weighed well over a half ton left his house for the first time in five years Wednesday — wheeled outside on his bed to greet neighbors and see a mariachi band. "The sky is beautiful and blue and what I want is to enjoy the sun," said Manuel Uribe, who had once been certified by doctors as weighing 1,235 pounds. Though still unable to leave his bed, Uribe has lost 395 pounds since he began a high-protein diet a year ago. He now weighs about 840 pounds. "

Apparently 41 year-old Uribe was a heavy 250 pounds as a teen and just kept going. Since the summer of 2002 he has been bedridden,  fed and bathed by friends and family members. Just as with the American we first blogged about in 2004, Patrick Deuel, also a half ton fellow before gastric bypass surgery, we have to wonder why no one sounded an alarm at, say, 500 pounds?!

Incidentally, the original Patrick Deuel blog entry has elicited more comments, many of them removed for being utterly nasty, than any other topic here.  The latest on Patrick came in a year ago when he had a huge flap of fat surgically removed, in one swift moment losing another 81 pounds. After that point he weighed in at about 400 pounds.

Guess these guys fully comprehend now that it's much harder to take it off than to put it on...

Here's the close of that AP story:                                                                ( AP photo.)

" ( Uribe)  drew worldwide attention when he pleaded for help on national television in January 2006. Afterward, an Italian and a Spanish doctor both visited and offered gastric bypass surgery.

But Uribe chose to accept help from Mexican nutritionists working with the Zone diet. He says he will stick to that diet until he reaches his goal of 265 pounds.

"My goal is to leave the house on my own but I know that will be a long process," he said. Doctors say it may take between three and four years for Uribe to reach his goal.

Uribe said he plans to start a foundation to help overweight people get medical assistance and teach them about healthy eating habits."

Now quit fretting about that cookie you just ate and walk outdoors into the sun!

Spare the "Nutrition," Spoil the Child with Good Food

I was just listening to a woman from the Center for Science in the Public Interest speaking with Ed Schultz on his  radio show about children and obesity. Now we all recognize that this is a huge  ( sorry) problem in America, as well as in Britain and elsewhere, and much has been said and written about it. But this morning, after chat about changing what is in school vending machines, and an acknowledgment that  lunchrooms have slowly improved their offerings,  the speaker said something about "teaching nutrition" in schools.

Please, no. Turning the food thing into a nutrition lesson will kill off anyone's appetite. ( Except for those of budding biochemists, perhaps.)  Imagine the young eyes glazing over when asked to focus on good and bad fats, which vitamins do what, amino acids--huh?, and so on.  This seems to play right  into the "fear  food" syndrome that appears so bizarre to many Europeans.

Kids need to experience what good food really is--from growing their own veggies, to cooking up tasty meals full of variety, to sitting down with classmates and teachers and family and eating well. And cleaning up!

They also could take pleasure in knowing where food comes from, who raises it, and what its  history is.  ( Yes, The FOOD Museum offers proven educational programs along these lines!)

Interspersed with all that, like green peas in basmati rice, could be inserted stealth nuggets about nutrition...

( Pic from www.newmexicokids.org/.../index.htm.)

Almost Acceptable--Girl Scout Cookies

A good while back I mused on the Girl Scout cookie thing in this blog--whining about the trans fats in said cookies.  Well now the GSers are back and trumpeting the almost no trans fats in their reconfigured products.

Here's the word from GS HQ

"For several decades, it was thought that partially hydrogenated oils–sometimes referred to as trans fats–were a healthier food choice compared with saturated fats. In recent years, data has emerged suggesting that, in fact, trans fats are not a healthier choice than saturated fats. Girl Scouts of the USA is proud to announce that all Girl Scout cookies are now "zero trans fat per serving" with the same great taste that has made them one of America's favorite treats over the years. While some "zero trans fat per serving" varieties of Girl Scout cookies were available in 2005 and 2006, this year all varieties will contain less than 0.5 grams trans fat per serving, which meets or exceeds the FDA guidelines for the "zero trans fat" designation.

Girl Scouts of the USA has worked diligently with our bakers over the past several years to address the issue of trans fats. We began listing the amount of trans fats one full year before FDA requirements went into effect. It is important to remember that Girl Scout Cookies are a snack food and are meant to be consumed in limited quantities within the context of a balanced diet. So that consumers can make an informed choice, the ingredients and nutritional profile of each variety are clearly listed on both the cookie box and the cookie order form."

It's noteworthy that more and more purveyors of cookies and snacks and such are taking pains to point out that these items are  " meant to be consumed in limited quantities within the context of a balanced diet. "

Apparently this concept is something many people have utterly forgotten or perhaps, in recent years, never knew...?

Fatter, But Not TOO Fat

According to  a Pentagon report, in 2005 American troops were fatter, and drank more--in a bingey way--than did their predecessors. Still, they are less fat than their fellow Americans, and somehow this is good news....Oh--and the troops are very much less fat than the people of the western Pacific islands of Nauru and Tonga. There, nine out of ten adults are overweight.

European Health Ministers Take On Obesity

Today's story by Maria Cheng from myway.com via Raw Story reports that:

"European health ministers from 53 countries approved the world's first charter to fight obesity on Thursday, vowing greater action against the epidemic of expanding waistlines across the continent.

The charter, approved in Istanbul, Turkey, was drafted by the World Health Organization in consultation with its European member states. It is the first real attempt to compel national authorities to take concrete action to combat obesity."

According to the article,  half of all Europeans, ( that's a large group of disparate people!,) and 20 percent of its children are overweight.

"One of the charter's more contentious inclusions is an obligation for the private sector to limit the marketing of fatty, sugary foods to children. It calls for specific regulatory measures to "substantially reduce" the advertising of unhealthy foods to children.

The clause implies that governments should introduce legislation regarding marketing to children, with an eventual move to adopting an international code of practice. In the past, the food industry has fought against such regulation, since it may eat into their profits."

When is the summit of the Americas on this issue?

On Wasted $$, Indentured Kids, Fatter People, Healthier Fats, Hungrier People

OK, let's see...In today's news, $160 million is being spent in the U.S. on "attack ads," leading up to the November 7 midterm elections. What a marvelous use of what some would consider a good deal of money.

Meanwhile, the NYTimes reports on the growing issue of child labor in Africa and elsewhere, many of them working in agricultural or food-related businesses.

The article is built around a hungry, 6 year-old new conscript , forced to work in a fishing village in Ghana.

"...the children are indentured servants, leased by their parents to Mr. Takyi for as little as $20 a year.

"Until their servitude ends in three or four years, they are as trapped as the fish in their nets, forced to work up to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, in a trade that even adult fishermen here call punishing and, at times, dangerous."

"A 2002 study supervised by the labor organization estimated that nearly 12,000 trafficked children toiled in the cocoa fields of Ivory Coast alone. The children, who had no relatives in the area, cleared fields with machetes, applied pesticides and sliced open cocoa pods for beans."

"The International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency, estimates that 1.2 million ( children) are sold into servitude every year in an illicit trade that generates as much as $10 billion annually. "

Back in the US, an article by two academics from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, posits that an extra one billion gallons of gasoline is used up each year because cars are transporting "fatter Americans."

And KFC, ( Kentucky Fried Chicken,) is phasing out trans fats by the end of April in most of its US outlets. According to this report in The Guardian,

"KFC previously resisted change - in June, the chain said it had been using the same type of oil for 50 years and did not want to tamper with Colonel Sanders's "finger lickin' good" recipe. But it was hit with a lawsuit from the non-profit Centre for Science in the Public Interest, which maintains that trans fats contribute to 50,000 deaths annually in the US. The class action was in the name of Arthur Hoyte, a retired doctor who said he had eaten KFC's chicken without being warned of the health risks.

The Centre yesterday dropped the case and its executive director, Michael Jacobson, praised KFC: "What are McDonald's and Burger King waiting for now? If KFC, which deep-fries almost everything, can get the artificial trans fat out of its frying oil, anyone can. Colonel Sanders deserves a bucket full of praise."

Remember that $160 million?    

The number of hungry people in the world is increasing by 4 million per year

U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization

(Rome, October 30,  2006) Ten years after the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome, which promised to reduce the number of undernourished people by half by 2015, there are more hungry people in the developing countries today – 820 million – than there were in 1996, according to a U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization report released today  Noting that promises are no substitute for food, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf today called on world leaders to honor a 10-year-old pledge to halve the number of hungry in the world by 2015.

From the World Hunger Education Service.

(AP photo of KFC employee devouring newly healthified fried foods.)

A Healthy Pol Governs Himself

I came across a brief interview with Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in the October 23 Sports Illustrated. He was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003, lost 110 pounds over two years, and became a  runner.  ( At left, Huckabee in 2002, and 2005.)

In answer to the question "Do Americans want skinny politicians?" he said: "I think they want healthy politicians. Leaders cannot ask of others what they themselves are unwilling to do, and without doubt Americans need to be healthy. America is a lot like an NFL football game. You have 22 people on the field who really need rest and 70,000 people in the stands who really need exercise."

According to his official website, " In March 2005, Huckabee completed the Little Rock Marathon, and has since completed the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. and The Road Runners Club of America named him its Southern Region Runner of the Year, and he was named USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week for the country. Huckabee's fourth book, "Quit Digging Your Grave With A Knife And Fork," was released by Time Warner Book Group in May..."

How did he transform himself? By changing his diet and  beginning to exercise. Today he has no sign of Type II diabetes.

This excerpt is from Life Extension Magazine:  "Gov. Huckabee knew he wanted to get healthy, but simply had no idea how to succeed. His break came when he was approached by a close advisor and cabinet member about a weight-loss program offered at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Led by Dr. Philip Kern, a renowned endocrinologist whose research specialty is metabolism, the UAMS program approaches weight loss in the context of permanent lifestyle changes, anchored by healthy eating habits and balanced nutrition.

In the program’s first phase, patients are put on a largely liquid diet of prepared soups and nutritional supplements. The idea is not only to eliminate sugary and high-glycemic-index foods from one’s diet, but also to effect a dramatic change away from typical eating habits. According to Gov. Huckabee, “It worked for me because I didn’t have to think, plan, or fret about what I could or couldn’t eat. I needed that intense ‘breakaway’ from having to choose my food until I changed me enough to make smart choices.” Having been broken of their former eating habits and educated about more healthful food choices, patients on the UAMS program eventually return to eating solid foods.

While the UAMS program was a big part of his success, Gov. Huckabee is quick to point out that there is no “secret” to weight loss, nor is he partial to one type of diet over another. After all, he notes, “weight loss comes back to this simple truth—fewer calories in (consumption) and more calories out (exercise).”"

Next month Huckabee, co-chair with Bill Clinton of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, will run in the New York City Marathon.

Fat Americans Redux

The non profit group Trust for America's Health reports that obesity rates have risen in 31 U.S. states, despite increasing focus and money being spent on what to eat, what not to eat, how to cook, exercise, and live. Top three fatty states are Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia. Colorado, Hawaii and Massachusetts were the trimmest states, according to the report. TAH is actually calling for more government-funded research into creating better obesity-prevention programs.

What?!  How difficult is this!?   The word is in, long since, people. Move more, eat less, turn off the tube, take pleasure in a wide  range of foods, stop snacking, say "no" to fast food joints, send your kids outside to play, toss out processed foods, reject supermarket blather, drink loads of water, buy locally whenever possible, stand up and prepare and cook fresh food, and sit down to enjoy meals with family and friends. Oh, and if you're not vegan ( and if you were, you would not be fat) eat full fat plain( good quality) yogurt, about half cup a day.

Frankly, my dears, each and every adult in this country has to wake up and take charge of his/her own health and well-being and that of their kiddies.  Because endless more research and programs will never make a dent without personal responsibility. ( OhmygawdIsoundlikeaconservative..................a real one.)

On the other hand, The FOOD Museum could use an infusion of funding, so maybe we could turn this common sense understanding of obesity into a mega-funded research project!

p.s. We know that there is a segment of the U.S. population that is hard-pressed to get access even to a supermarket--only mini marts exist in their neighborhoods. For them eating better is exceedingly difficult indeed.

p.p.s.  Evidently bad eating habits, quite likely inspired by the American fast food model, now abound around the world. So says the International Congress on Obesity, now convened in Sydney, Australia, in this AP report.

( Drawing from Slate.com)