Misleading
headlines
The headline on the money page recently read: The
leaner you are, the richer you'll get.
I immediately reacted with skepticism and wondered how that assertion
could possibly be true. Sure enough, the article did not support the
claims of the headline. The article was based on the report The
contribution of health to the economy in the European Union and
accompanying commentary
that found, among other things:
"Some
studies have examined measures such as height, which reflects health
in childhood, and body mass index, which provides an indirect measure
of health. All other things considered, taller people earn more
than average whereas obese people tend to earn less, although the
adverse consequences of obesity are greater for women than for men.
However, these findings could reflect biases linked to the social
acceptability of body images rather than a direct link to productivity."
So while the
report makes a case that greater overall health contributes to greater
productivity (and, presumably, a higher income), it most certainly
doesn't make a linear correlation between degree of leanness and the
amount of wealth acquired (as the headline would imply). This type
of headline promotes the "thin at all costs" ideal that
is prevalent in today's media. While I agree that we need to strive
for a healthful weight, this type of journalism promotes
guilt and contributes to disordered eating, in my opinion.
What's most interesting
is that the report (140 pages long!) looks at all kinds of issues,
including the contribution of mental illness, alcohol, smoking, etc.
to productivity and the economy. It's curious why the author chose
to focus so heavily (no pun intended) on obesity.
1. Massachusetts
involves the true experts -- students -- in decision making regarding
healthy school environments
The
report, Giving
Kids the Voice of Authority: Engaging Students in the Fight Against
Childhood Obesity, features the successes of student councils
in six high schools across Massachusetts.
Each
of the six high schools won a competitive $1,000 grant to participate
in the “Students Taking Charge” initiative, launched by
the Massachusetts Action for Healthy Kids Team. Through the initiative,
student councils evaluated student satisfaction with the nutrition
and physical activity options available to them, as well as their
satisfaction with access to health information at their schools.
Using
the survey results, student leaders developed advocacy plans and recommendations
for specific pilot projects designed to improve wellness, which they
presented to their schools along with more than 200 state legislators
and community leaders.
The
Massachusetts student councils also helped shape the “Students
Taking Charge Toolkit”, a unique resource that helps high
school students assess their school’s nutrition and physical
activity policies, and recommend and implement changes.
2. Reaching
the "tipping point" on eliminating trans fats
The news about
the harmful effects of trans fat is certainly not news at all.
In fact, most experts cite studies of the harmful effects of trans
fats dating back to the early
90's. When I was a nutrition student in the early 80's,
one of my professors warned us to avoid stick margarine. Seems the
rats in her lab who were fed margarine died much sooner than the rats
receiving vegetable oil!
The good news
is that finally, food manufacturers and restaurants are beginning
to take notice of the public outcry regarding artificial trans fat
in foods. Arguably the most effective action to date has been the
mandatory change to the Nutrition Facts food labels (which took effect
January 2006). Rather than display high levels of trans fats on labels,
the food industry seems to be responding by reformulating many items.
Hopefully, this trend will continue. In the meantime, look carefully
at food labels. You still need to look at the ingredient label to
detect “partially hydrogenated” oils, the source of artificial
trans fatty acids. Under current regulations, a food label can list
0 grams of trans fat if the amount per serving is less than .5 grams
so several servings of a food could add up to a few grams of trans
fat (and with trans fat, there is no minimum "safe" level
defined).
