Still a Fast-Food Nation

Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and incredible inspiration to folks in and interested in the movement towards a functional food system, published the afterward to his book on the Daily Beast yesterday.

In the afterward/article, Schlosser shares some saddening news about prevailing fast-food advertising and sales and still-rising obesity rates. While pleased that his book remains in print ten years later, he points out that the atrocities within its pages are unfortunately not yet out-of-date as he'd hoped they would be. Thankfully, Schlosser is inspired and optimistic about the powerful food revolutionaries working hard to change the food industry into something that wouldn't sadden Upton Sinclair. Read the full article here.

Really?

I knew I should have stayed up for Saturday Night Live over the weekend. Kermit the Frog and Seth Meyers addressed the absurdity of the "pizza counts as a vegetable" ruling.

Great News on the Healthy Happy Meal Crusade

I know, I know.... having "healthy" and "Happy Meal" in the same title is oxymoronic. Just keep reading...

San Francisco lawmakers approved legislation yesterday limiting fast food chains' abilities to include toys in kids meals with excessive calories, sodium and fat. The law also requires that a serving of fruit or vegetables be included with each meal. So if all goes according to plan, these corporations will no longer be able to reward children for eating convenient, unhealthy junk.

Despite McDonald's Corporate representatives' claims that such a law would "take the joy out of the Happy Meal," the measure drew enough support to overcome an expected veto and I'm sure lots of us hope to see similar laws popping up (faster than McDonald's) nationwide.

New 2010 Dietary Guidelines

There is a lot of good stuff in here but it is a bit on the scientific side for a casual read so here are highlights from the 2010 Report of the DGAC on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans:

1. Reduce the incidence and prevalence of overweight and obesity of the US population by reducing overall calorie intake and increasing physical activity. A focus on life-stage approaches (pregnant women, children, adolescents, adults, and older adults) is necessary nationwide to help Americans meet nutrient needs within appropriate calorie intake. To achieve this, Americans should:

• Know their calorie needs. In other words, individuals need to know how many calories they should consume each day based on their age, sex, and level of physical activity.
• Significantly lower excessive calorie intake from added sugars, solid fats, and some refined grain products.
• Increase their consumption of a variety of vegetables, fruits, and fiber-rich whole grains.
• Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Consume smaller portions, especially of high-calorie foods.
• Choose lower-calorie options, especially when eating foods away from home.
• Increase their overall physical activity.
• Have access to improved, easy-to-understand labels listing calorie content and portion size on packaged foods and for restaurant meals (especially quick service [i.e., fast food] restaurants, restaurant chains, and other places where standardized foods are served).

2. Shift food intake patterns to a more plant-based diet that emphasizes vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. In addition, increase the intake of seafood and fat-free and low-fat milk and milk products, and consume only moderate amounts of lean meats, poultry, and eggs.

3. Significantly reduce intake of foods containing added sugars and solid fats because these dietary components contribute excess calories and few, if any, nutrients. In addition, reduce sodium intake and lower intake of refined grains, especially refined grains that are coupled with added sugar, solid fat, and sodium.

4. Meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

If you have a few minutes, definitely read the whole report.

Opinions on fast food toy ban

Just received this video from Daniel over at Newsy:



Love the comment from the Milwakee Journal Sentinal blogger, "We all know that in their natural state, children clamor for celery sticks. Back before the Happy Meal, in the healthy 1960s, most children being taken to McDonalds ordered the lentil soup."

Santa Clara bans toys in Happy Meals

When I was little, the Happy Meal toy was a magnificant, sought-after prize received on a special occasion in a folding box with some food my mom told me I had to eat before I could play with it. I can still remember my favorites: Fraggle Rock Friends, Transformer Chicken McNuggets Box, and those Garden Tools. Of course at that time a trip to McDonalds was treated as, well, a special treat. The McDonald's in our 'hood actually bordered a farm so we also got some farm animal visiting time. Today, it's hard to find a town in America without a bumper-to-bumper drive-thru line and dedicated traffic lights for fast food restaurants. In fact, you can't go more than 107 miles without finding one. But come on, Santa Clara. Beanie Baby craze aside, is it really because of the toys?

Could it possibly be because of... say... the super-low prices? artificial flavor induced cravings? convenience? Is eliminating the toy the solution or simply treatment for one symptom? The LA Times reports:

"...Happy Meal toys and other promotions that come with high-calorie children's meals will soon be banned in parts of Santa Clara County unless the restaurants meet nutritional guidelines approved Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors. "This ordinance prevents restaurants from preying on children's' love of toys" to sell high-calorie, unhealthful food, said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who sponsored the measure. "This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes. "Voting against the measure was Supervisor Donald Gage, who said parents should be responsible for their children. "If you can't control a 3-year-old child for a toy, God save you when they get to be teenagers," he said. Gage, who is overweight, said he was a living example of how obese children can become obese adults. But he questioned the role of fast-food toys. "When I was growing up in Gilroy 65 years ago, there were no fast-food restaurants," Gage said.The board, whose jurisdiction extends only to the unincorporated parts of the county, including much of Silicon Valley, voted 3 to 2 in favor of the ban after a contentious meeting that included more than an hour of testimony on both sides. In favor of the item were public health administrators, parents and doctors; opposed were fast-food franchisees, other parents, and fans of fast-food toys who said the promotions are often used to provide Christmas presents for poor children..."

I'm all in favor of food reform but would rather see an emphasis on the real roots of the problem and on a solution as opposed to South Park-style bans. Thoughts?

(Thnx x3, Neeks)

Cookie Monster to become Veggie Monster?

Last weekend, my little sister mentioned that the googly-eyed glutton on Sesame Street may be using his celebrity to fight the childhood obesity epidemic by trading in those chocolate chips for healthy servings of fruits and vegetables. As lovely - albeit drastic - as an idea as this is, it is not actually happening. Turns out, the rumor came about back in 2005 when producers decided to focus more strongly on sending positive health messages to their young viewers by adding segments about exercise and proper nutrition. Cookie Monster expanding his horizons to other food groups was just one part of the initiative.

PBS received letters and emails about the possible personality overhaul and an online petition even arose suggesting that folks boycott the "Veggie Monster" - but there was no such creature to protest. Can you picture the protestors on PBS's doorstep, though? Chanting: "C IS FOR COOKIE! THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!!!" stomping on bananas and snapping carrots over their knees? Too funny.

Anywho... Cookie Monster has since made appearances on the Today Show, Martha Stewart, and The Colbert Report to assure viewers that although he now enjoys an array of healthful snacks, cookies are still a part of his diet: "sometimes." The shift in the character's eating habits became a hot topic again last month when Sesame Street celebrated 40 years of programming (since November 10th 1969), making it the longest running children's program in television history.

So kudos to Sesame Street and their thoughtful initiatives. Cookie-lovers everywhere can calm down and rest assured that the Cookie Monster we know and love isn't going anywhere (thanks to a healthy, portion controlled, diverse diet).

Dr. Phil on the Childhood Obesity Epidemic

I am not a huge fan of the Dr. Phil Show. Not that I am working with much of a sample size (about three episodes in my lifetime), but it seems to me that the guy spends a lot of time talking in depth about problems and breaking people down and judging them, and not enough time discussing solutions. That said, I've got to tip my hat to him today for using the power of the visual medium that is television to put some pressure on adults and parents to take responsibility and combat the growing childhood obesity epidemic in America. The episode, found here, is sort of hard to watch but it's effective.

Tough To Digest

Yesterday, the NY Times reported about the Education Department's decision to ban bake sales in public schools as part of a new wellness policy aiming to reduce students' trans fat and sugar intake. From the article:

The previous regulations limited sales to once a month and allowed them at any time during that day, but they were loosely enforced. Officials say they will do more to monitor the new regulations.

“We have an undeniable problem in the city, state and the country with obesity,” said Eric Goldstein, the chief of the office of school support services. “During the school day, we have to focus on what is healthy for the mind and the body.”

Unsurprisingly, the rationale is getting a cool reception among students. At Fiorello H. La Guardia High School on the Upper West Side, students are used to having bake sales several times a month. Now, Yardain Amron, a sophomore basketball player, laments that his team will not be able to raise money for a new scoreboard.

Another La Guardia student, Eli Salamon-Abrams, 14, said that when the soccer team held a bake sale in May, his blueberry muffins sold out in 15 minutes. He said of the ban: “I think it’s kind of pointless. I mean, why can’t we have bake sales?”

Today, I ask: Is this really the best solution, Mayor? Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Bloomberg fan and definitely appreciate and applaud his efforts in this case as well as the case against plastic bags but I gotta say that a bake sale ban seems a bit misdirected. Perhaps it addresses a small symptom that may or may not mean obesity for some percentage of brownie bakers or buyers - but it certainly isn't the root of the problem.

EDUCATE these children. Granted, putting the lesser of snack evils in the vending machines and saying no to sodas are steps in the right direction, but steering kids away from baking and fundraising for their sports teams? Not so cool. Give a kid $5 for school lunch (healthy or not) and you feed him for a day. Teach a kid to cultivate, garden, harvest, cook, spice, BAKE, dice, mix, braise... put work into making something edible with real, whole foods and you feed him for a lifetime. Just saying.

Good news

Tara Parker-Pope, for the NY Times, recently reported that American children seem to be shifting towards healthier menu choices. While burgers and fries unfortunately remain top sellers to the 13 and under crowd, it seems that the healthier options on fast food menus do in fact follow the corporate motto of "giving people what they want." From Parker-Pope's post:

...The findings, based on survey data by the Chicago market research firm NPD Group, follow a report last year that childhood obesity appears to have hit a plateau after rising for more than two decades. That finding, reported by The Journal of the American Medical Association, has been greeted with guarded optimism, and it remains unclear whether efforts to limit junk food and increase physical activity in schools have had a meaningful effect on the way children eat...

...Among the losers in the year ending March 31 were colas (down 10 percent), chicken nuggets and strips (8 percent), French fries (7 percent) and hot dogs (6 percent). Winners included soup (29 percent), grilled chicken sandwiches (26 percent), yogurt (21 percent), carrots (9 percent) and fruit (6 percent)...

Join the discussion here.

Add it to the file...

We really do have to be aware of everything we put in, on and around our bodies these days, huh? I've posted about dangerous chemicals in skincare products and preached against bottled water, but have never touched upon the widely researched dangers of chemicals found in the plastics and the dangers association with their absorption. And since the most recent danger seems to be a connection between the phthalates used to make plastics more pliable (think rubber duck toys and water/baby bottles) and childhood obesity... well... we better take a look at this.

Jennifer Lee, for the NY Times' City Room, offers a great overview of the latest research and talks to leading researchers involved with the Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem" study in her latest post:

...The chemicals in question are called phthalates, which are used to to make plastics pliable and in personal care products. Phthalates, which are absorbed into the body, are a type of endocrine disruptor — chemicals that affect glands and hormones that regulate many bodily functions. They have raised concerns as possible carcinogens for more than a decade, but attention over their role in obesity is relatively recent...

...The findings may presage a new approach to thinking about obesity — drawing environmental factors into a central part of the equation. “Most people think childhood obesity is an imbalance between how much they eat and how much they play,” Dr. Landrigan said. But he thinks the impact of endocrine disruptors on obesity could be more significant than many people believe. “Most people think it’s marginal,” he said, paling in comparison with diet and exercise...

These phthalates are EVERYWHERE, folks. From vinyl siding to perfume. Ugh.

Really??

If ever you are feeling down, might I suggest visiting the grocery store with your nuclear family. It is sort of like going back in time. If you're lucky, your mom may even buy you the most awesome, roaring, LED T-Rex key chain you never knew you wanted. Another perk: You get to discover silly food-like-substances, like the one pictured below, and their equally absurd (and upsetting) marketing strategies.


There is so much that I want to say about this but perhaps it is one of those cases where a picture is worth a thousand words. But seriously, who thought this was a good idea?

No home-made chocolate chip cookies for kids in California

Kids at Piedmont High, in Piedmont California, had a pretty disappointing bake sale this year due to the July 2007 implementation of guidelines that were passed by lawmakers in 2005 . The guidelines require that snacks sold during the school day contain no more than 35 percent sugar by weight, derive no more than 35 percent of their calories from fat, and no more than 10 percent of their calories from saturated - thus turning traditional bake sale items, like cupcakes, caramel apples and lemon bars, into contraband.

Read the full story in the NY Times. It is important to teach children healthy habits but even I think this is going a little far. President of the California School Nutrition Association, Stephanie Bruce, said quite simply, “It concerns me we’re not teaching moderation.”

I'm all for ridding the schools of soda machines and Twinkies, but I think a healthy relationship with food, one that is developed in the kitchen, encourages planning and preparation, fosters tradition, and brings people in the community together, shouldn't be against school policy.

NY Times most emailed...

Tara Parker-Pope writes candid and valuable advice about how to have success diversifying your children's diet in the article The Six Food Mistakes Parents Make that appeared in yesterday's special: Good Health Guide. I took a little heat for my comments about an interactive feature addressing childhood obesity that the Washington Post put out last week so I am happy to praise a similar piece in this post. And clearly I am not the only one as this has quickly shot to the top of the "most emailed" list.

Here are the six mistakes:

1.) Sending children out of the kitchen
2.) Pressuring them to take a bite
3.) Keeping good stuff out of reach
4.) Dieting in front of your children
5.) Serving boring vegetables
6.) Giving up too soon

As a former (famously) picky eater of a child I have to say, these are good tips. Absolutely read the entire article though. The experts cited have some really great ideas based in some solid research.