OTC: Specialists in Obesity

The Drudge On Obesity

From: John Hernried, M.D.

            

And naturally society is to blame for all the obese that walk among us. It seems that there is apparently just too much darn choice for Canadians and we just can’t help ourselves.

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This sarcastic remark by Arthur Weinstein, a writer for the Canadian Free Press and The Drudge Report infuriates me. It’s from an article he wrote “Obesity Isn’t Rocket Science.”   He is responding to a physician from the Canadian Institute for Health Research who said there is no easy fix to the obesity epidemic because it is a complex problem akin to “rocket science.” Weinstein believes individuals are entirely responsible for their behavior and government should have only an informational role in helping.   From a public health standpoint, providing information without policy is futile. If simply providing information was the public health approach to influenza and Tuberculosis both diseases would be epidemics..

There is nothing complex about choosing to snack on carrot sticks rather than eat a bag of potato chips. Her reference to the complexity of obesity as far as it is caused by eating non healthy is a slam against the citizens of this country…

The fact is, the disease of obesity is complex and we live in a toxic environment.  I often talk about my patients being great “savers.” Research on the incredible complexity of appetite and energy control in our brain, intestine, liver and fat will unlock new treatments to obesity.  For the time being , we who treat it know  obesity is exacerbated by the convenience and availability of cheap, high-fat and high-sugar foods

Finegood’s statements are a good illustration of how some, especially those on the left, view their fellow citizens. When given a choice, other than abortion of course, some people will make bad choices and therefore the solution is to take that choice away.

I keep thinking of the documentary, “Supersize Me” where children recognize Ronald McDonald but not George Washington or Jesus.  Kids receive 10 messages for fast food on a daily basis and parents have, at best, one attempt at a message.  To think that this is “fair and just” and “free will” does not make sense.

Obesity isn’t a left versus right disease. Promoting that thinking isn’t going to alter the grim fact that we are rapidly gaining weight and suffering the health, financial and emotional consequences.  There is common ground here, and it would be nice if Mr. Weinstein found it instead of inflaming his readers by choosing sides.

That’s Entertainment

From: Maureen Allen, M.P.H.

         

No wonder it’s harder than ever to lose and maintain a healthy weight. Eating is now something to do, a diversion, an activity. Hunger is optional. Places and things to eat are advertised and promoted like skiing or going to the movies. “I can read a book, listen to music or eat a pizza.” And in our perfect world, you can do them simultaneously.

Marketing creates needs for things. If we see something often enough we’ll soon not be able to live   without it. Costco is a goldmine for the impulsive shopper. You eat free samples while filling your basket with quasi-food items like 1 pound muffins and giant cookies. Nutrition be damned – it’s such a good buy!

And when did marketing create the need for us to eat while driving? When McDonalds opened its first drive-through?   According to an article in the New York Times, the folks in Altamura, a small town in southern Italy, were ambivalent when McDonalds came to their town. They liked the jobs but not the golden arches erected near a 13^th century cathedral.  When a fourth generation baker felt it was an assault on the local culture, he set up shop next door hoping to benefit from the foot traffic.

His sandwiches made with foccacia, sausage, mozzarella and cardoncello, a local mushroom and a century’s old rustic bread were a hit. McDonalds began losing ground to the local fare and in a little under two years McDonalds closed up shop.

If they were awarding Olympic gold medals in Torino for good taste we’d have a winner.

How About a Side of Kanten With That?

From: Maureen Allen, M.P.H.

                     

It's only a matter of time until Tokyo’s latest diet craze hits our shores. And I mean that literally. Because it’s seaweed! The new diet food is Kanten - a gelatin made from ground-up seaweed. It’s promising to be the most popular Japanese export since Yu-gi-oh. Sound gross? Maybe, but it has no calories or fat and adds bulk and fiber to food. Think volume without the planning.

Kanten is available in threads or cubes at Asian grocery stores and on-line. After soaking it for about 20 minutes, it can be added to soups, sauces or desserts. Dieters lose weight without feeling hungry. If you’re fuller faster you’ll put down your fork faster too. Vegetarians prefer it to regular gelatin which is ground up animal hooves. Yum.

If Kanten’s not doing it for you, look no farther than California.  The Sonoma Diet and the Golden Gate Diet are gaining traction and their respective authors are hitting the airwaves. As you would imagine, wine is allowed everyday on the Sonoma diet. The Golden Gate diet contains no seaweed of any kind.

Still not inspired? Then how about the What Would Jesus Eat plan? God only knows what’s allowed on that diet.

The bottom line is most diets – even if they are quirky - will probably work as long as they are balanced and you stick with them long enough. The hard part is the weight management phase which lasts the rest of your life and doesn’t have a catchy title. Someone needs to write the maintenance manual. In all fairness, the Sonoma Diet does offer a life plan for eating and some of the others may also. But the true test of a diet’s success is long-term weight management. That’s where the rubber hits the road and the real work begins.