During this past year, 2010, we received welcome news from media reports that obesity in the United States is not increasing at the rate that it has in past years. However, even a few extra pounds puts one’s health at risk. Family dinners are still very influential in helping children develop healthy eating habits as well as preventing at-risk behaviors. Teens, who were surveyed about their opinions, said they like having dinner with their families. Here are highlights about what the media said about family dinners, food, and fat.
Family Dinners
“The pumpkins have been brought inside, and it’s now the holiday season. We love this time of year, especially because of its emphasis on gathering with people we love.
“Dining together with family members during the holidays is a time of enjoyment and bonding, an opportunity to catch up on the news of each other’s lives.
“But a warm dinner with the family can make any night a comforting occasion, whether or not it’s cold outside. At this time of year, when families gather for traditional dining, they might consider the importance of regular meals together.” (Carolyn Campbell, “It’s time for dinner (with family,” Deseret News, Nov. 22, 2010, C-1.)
“I think that the common denominator is that these cultures [Southern, Italian, and Latin] still sit at the table and have dinner and eat with their families. That’s sometimes missing out there in America. People want that gathering together. The table is magical. When you’re at the table, you’re open and your defenses are down.” (Lidia Bastianich in “Let”s Eat,” Parade, Nov. 14, 2010, 5.)
“On the tenth anniversary of Family Day [A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children], newly released statistics form the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuses (CASA) at Columbia University show that teens who have infrequent family dinners—less than three per week—are more than twice as likely as teens who eat with their families at least five times each week to say they expect to try drugs in the future. Those same teens are twice as likely to have used tobacco and alcohol and 1.5 times as likely to have used marijuana. . . .
“Everyone knows that experts—and many parents—think eating as a family is important. But this year, for the first time, researchers decided to ask teens whether it matters to them. Even though teens are reputed to want to hang out with their parents about as much as they want to clean their rooms, 72% responded that eating dinner often with their parents is very or fairly important. However, only 60% of teens say they eat with their families at least five times a week. ‘Kids are actually looking for this daily ritual,’ says Kathleen Ferrigno, CASA’s director of marketing and director of Family Day.” (Bonnie Rochman, “Simple Fix: Family Diner Help Teens Avoid Drinking and Using Drugs,” healthland.time.com, Sept. 27, 2010.)
“Anything that reminds you of Mama, when you had her feet under your table, is a good thing. . . . The important thing is that you sit down and share time. Food gets us into situations we want to be in with our family.” (Paula Deen in “Let”s Eat,” Parade, Nov. 14, 2010, 5.)
Food
“Children imitate parents’ eating habits, for better or worse. Parents’ honest enjoyment of delicious nutritious foods will go a long way toward instilling similar habits in their children. And be mindful of portion sizes; they send visual cues about how much food is acceptable to eat in a sitting.” (Lora Beth Brown, “Moderate Your Meals,” BYU Today, Winter 2010, 21.)
“Thousands more children will have an opportunity to eat lunches and dinners at school and all school food is to become more nutritious under a bill President Barack Obama signed into law, part of an administration-wide effort to combat childhood obesity. . . .
“The new law aims to cut down on greasy foods and extra calories by giving the government power to decide what kinds of foods may be sold on school grounds, including in vending machines and at fundraisers. While the government has long had nutrition requirements for the free and reduced-cost meals it subsidizes, the new law expands those requirements to cover all foods sold during school hours. It does not apply to after-school events. . . .
“[Mrs. Obama] said it is ultimately the responsibility of parents more than anyone else to make sure their children eat right and get enough exercise, but that government has a role to play, especially when children spend so much of their time each day at school and when many of them get up to half their daily calorie intake from eating school meals. . . . I think that parents have a right to expect that their efforts at home won’t be undone each day in the school cafeteria or in the vending machine in the hallway.” (Mary Clare Jalonick, “Associated Press, “Nutrition law vital to children’s future,” sltrib.com, Dec. 13, 2010.)
“Some people believe that eating nutritiously means following strict rules. I believe we should eat well and in moderation, which means eating and enjoying a variety of foods. That said, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains should factor into any balanced diet.
“Be wary of soda pop and fried foods. Both provide extra calories and little nutritious benefit. Limit your intake of overly manufactured food; if you don’t recognize most of the ingredients on a label, consider eating something simpler.” (Lora Beth Brown, “Moderate Your Meals,” BYU Today, Winter 2010, 21.)
“A requirement tucked into the nation’s massive health care bill will make calorie counts impossible for thousands of restaurants to hide and difficult for consumers to ignore. More than 200,000 fast food and other chain restaurants will have to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards and even drive-throughs.
“The new law, which applies to any restaurant with 20 or more locations, directs the Food and Drug Administration to create a new national standard for menu labeling, superseding a growing number of state and city laws. . . .
“The idea is to make sure that customers process the calorie information as they are ordering. Many restaurants currently post nutritional information in a hallway, on a hamburger wrapper or on their Web site. The new law will make calories immediately available for most items.” (Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press, “Health law will make calorie counts hard to ignore,” deseretnews.com, March 23, 2010.)
Fat
“Lugging around a few extra pounds? One of the largest studies to look at health and weight finds that you don’t have to be obese to raise your risk of premature death. Merely being overweight carries some risk, too. . . .
“The latest research involving about 1.5 million people concluded that healthy white adults who were overweight were 13 percent more likely to die during the time they were followed in the study than those whose weight is in an ideal range.
“ ‘Having a little extra meat on your bones—if that meat happens to be fat—is harmful, not beneficial,’ said Dr. Michael Thun of the American Cancer Society, senior author of the study.” (Stephanie Nano, Associated Press, “Study says even a bit overweight is risky,” deseretnews.com. Dec. 1, 2010.)
“The McVictim syndrome spins a convenient—and unhealthy—narrative on America’s emerging preventable disease crisis. McVictimization teaches Americans to think that obesity is someone else’s fault—and therefore, someone else’s problem to solve.
“The truth: In the vast majority of cases, obesity is a preventable condition.
So those of us in the medical community must be candid with overweight patients about the risks they face and the rewards of better health choices. But it’s also time for American policymakers to show the same level of candor.
“All things being equal, the simplest explanation is often the right one. And the simplest explanation for the dramatic rise in obesity rates—roughly doubling as a percentage of the total population in just a quarter-century—is the surge in our daily caloric intake. Excess food now, excess weight later. And Americans won’t make better choices if the McVictimization syndrome provides a convenient excuse to carry on as before.”( David Gratzer, “The McVictim syndrome could kill us,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 12, 2010.)
“Raise a glass of diet soda: The nation’s obesity rate appears to have stalled. But the latest numbers still show that more than two-thirds of adults and almost a third of kids are overweight, with no sign of improvement.
“According to government data from the years 2007-08, . . . the obesity rate has held steady for about five years, reflecting earlier signs it had stalled after steadily climbing.
“Dr. William Dietz, an obesity expert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cautiously called the results promising. ‘We’re at the corner; we haven’t turned the corner,’ he said.
“Not only are the vast majority of adults overweight, 34 percent are obese; and 17 percent of children are obese. Even the youngest Americans are affected—10 percent of babies and toddlers are precariously heavy. . . .
“Dr. J. Michael Gaziano, a cardiologist at Boston’s Veterans Affairs hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said getting the nation to turn the corner and reduce obesity requires changing many unhealthy behaviors and getting restaurants, schools, food manufacturers and communities to support the fight.” (Lindsey Tanner, Associated Press, “Obesity high but not rising,” deseretnews.com, Jan. 13, 2010.)
“The report [by researchers at George Washington University] is one of the first to calculate the economic toll of obesity on the individual, including both direct costs, like medical expenses, and indirect expenses, like lost wages and reduced work productivity. . . .
“The report found that obese women who work full time earn $1,855 less annually than non-obese women, a 6 percent reduction. By contrast, studies have found that the wages of obese men are not significantly different from those of normal-weight men.” (Roni Caryn Rabin, “Disparities: Obesity Costs Women More, Study Finds,” The New York Times, Sept. 27, 2010.)
“Take two of our most common obsessions–getting rich and getting thin–add a healthy dose of competition, and you get “The Biggest Loser,” the NBC reality show that pays $250,000 to the contestant with the biggest percentage weight loss in a season. Some winners have dropped close to half their body weight.
“Paying people to lose weight: You wonder why someone didn’t think of it sooner.
“Someone did, though not with such outsize rewards. Two years before “Loser” debuted, Joseph Champlavil, a doctor in Hampton, Va., began giving his patients cash prizes for weight loss. The grand prize each year is quite dazzling: an all-expense-paid trip to Las Vegas.
“But everyone who plays can win a little something, as Champlavil pays patients a dollar for every pound they lose.
“There’s a catch, though, Chemplavil keeps a clear glass cookie jar in his reception area, and if someone who has won cash subsequently gains weight, that patient has to put money in the jar. The penalty is the same as the prize, a dollar a pound. . . .
“Chemplavil is not alone in recognizing that many of us need a little ‘incentivizing,’ what insurance companies and big employers call their attempts to motivate people to adopt better health practices.” (Ranit Mimshori, “For a thin employee, a fat bonus,” The Washington Post, Nov. 30, 2010.)
“Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity . . . has become, in one of the more striking political stories of the past year, the latest battleground in the left-right culture wars. .
“And when you look a little deeper, it’s not surprising that a crusade seemingly beyond question would become a political battle. Interest that might feel threatened by Let’s Move include the fast-food industry, agribusiness, soft-drink manufacturers, real estate developers (because suburban sprawl is implicated), broadcasters and their advertisers (of sugary cereals and the like) and the oil-and-gas and automotive sectors (because people ought to walk more and drive less).
“Throw in connections to the health-care debate (because preventive services will be key to controlling the epidemic) race (because of differential patterns of obesity) and red state-blue state hostilities (the reddest states tend to be the fattest) and it turns out there are few landmines that Michelle Obama didn’t trip by asking us all to shed a few pounds. . . .
“The statistics are scary. The implications for children are heartbreaking, literally (obesity is associated with higher incidence of heart disease as well as diabetes) and figuratively. For the nation, it could be bankrupting. Obesity and its attendant ills already may add as much as $147 billion to health-care costs each year, one-tenth of the nation’s medical bill, a figure that is certain to rise. And the Army reports that one in four young people is too fat to serve.
“That’s why obesity is not a Democratic or Republican issue. Obama has merely extended and amplified a campaign that began under President George W. Bush; Bush’s last acting surgeon general Steven K. Galson, made obesity a signature issue, calling it ‘a national health crisis. . . [that] is driving up healthcare costs and crippling the fabric of our communities.” (Fred Hiatt, “How did obesity become a partisan fight?” The Washington Post, Dec. 26, 2010.)
