The Trust for America's Health released their annual F is for Fat report this week. Guess what? We're still getting fatter. To be more precise, 16 states have become more obese and everyone else is holding steady in their chubbiness. 32 states have a diabetes rate over 8%. 9 states have a hypertension rate over 30%.What the hell?
I blogged on the 2010 report last year. I still find it baffling. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was supposed to work like this:
- Step 1: report comes out showing a hideous problem plaguing our culture.
- Step 2: the masses rise up, write letters, stage protests, have t-shirts made. Creepy guys use protests to pick up on cute co-eds.
- Step 3: either the government affects positive change or... Revolución!
That said, I took the t-shirt anyway because, you know, free t-shirt. But still, I was offended. Maybe I'll use the expansive piece of white cotton as a surrender flag when a fitter nation invades us and our army is too portly to fit in our tanks.
But I digress. The F is for Fat report makes a number of policy-based recommendations, including:
I know some of you libertarian-types might rankle at these suggestions, but we've got to do something. There are some areas, such as school lunches, where we need to get hands on about what kids are eating, but for the most part, these suggestions aren't of the nanny-state variety. They're about education. They're not about telling people what they're going to eat; they're about telling people what they can eat. I genuinely think ignorance is a huge part of the problem. I live in Southern California and work in the wellness industry, but I still encounter peers who think that meat is a good source of fiber and that marshmallows are healthy because they're fat-free.
We need to educate our country. Like the old Chinese proverb says, "Feed a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man that fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and lean protein, he'll eat less red meat and loses weight."
Or something like that.
Or something like that.
A-FREAKIN-MEN. I know from personal experience that education is VITAL, but not as important as harnessing the DESIRE to constantly self-teach. As an obese child and then morbidly obese teen, I had so many doctors and others give me misguided information (drink fruit juice and eat yogurts to lose weight). It wasn't until I realized that I was the best tool I had to understand nutrition that I lost the weight and began my continual self-revolucion. Unfortunately, we can't wait for everyone to reach adulthood to finally have this catharsis.
ReplyDeleteI know you've dealt with the problems regarding using the BMI to measure obesity. This morning when i read the article I knew you'd post about it soon; and I couldn't help but notice that the guide lines mentioned in the report are still the BMI.
ReplyDeleteNow i'm certainly not denying that there are serious problems with obesity in the US, but could you comment on how still using the BMI scale in reports like this affects accuracy?
Because when the media puts out articles on this report (as opposed to reading the actual report itself) it comes across as more hype than substance.
Seth - I thought about that. Generally, BMI stops working for people with a lot of muscle mass. Weightlifters, by BMI standards, are obese. Sadly, I don't think it's the buffness of the American public that's causing this problem - that would be rad though!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThere are also all those chronic disease numbers to consider: diabetes, hypertension, etc.
But ya never know. Maybe it is all hype. On one hand, I'm pretty convinced that faulty nutrition is an issue in America, so I'm okay with it being a little sensationalized. On the other hand, responsible reporting is important to me and I have a hard time with BS. What's a persnickety wellness journalist to do?
School lunches are a huge problem. The high school in my home town made all kinds of crazy regulations against "competitive" food, but still got to sell crap in the cafeteria. Clubs can no longer hold bake sales to raise money for sick puppies or kids with cancer, but the cafeteria still offers big gooey Otis Spunkmeyer cookies. What the hell? They played it off as a health initiative, but it was really about limiting the competition for students' lunch money.
ReplyDeleteThey still use BMI because it skews the numbers making the epidemic seem more, well, epidemic. A larger crisis = larger funding.
ReplyDeleteI'm 5'5 155, 13%BF and I'm overweight/borderline obese according to the BMI. My 14 inch guns can't being skewing the numbers that much.
I agree with the school breakfast/lunch thing though. Everything should be made from scratch. For most kids, that's the only real food they get all day.