Pouring on the Pounds

I just saw this video from NYC Health Department called "Pouring on the Pounds."

What do we think about this?

From the press release:

Last summer, the Health Department asked New Yorkers a bold question: Are you pouring on the pounds? The question – accompanied by an eye-catching image of a soft drink turning to blubber as it gushes into a tumbler – has appeared on subway posters, educational brochures and websites since the campaign started in August. Now comes the sequel – a cheeky Internet video that uses similar imagery to show how the empty calories in sugary beverages can add up. Over the course of a year, drinking one soda a day can make you 10 pounds fatter, fostering obesity and contributing to health problems such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease.

“Sugary drinks shouldn’t be a part of our everyday diets,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, New York City Health Commissioner. “This video is playful, but its message is serious. Sugar-sweetened beverages are fueling the obesity epidemic, and obesity is disabling millions of New Yorkers. If this campaign shifts habits even slightly, it could have real health benefits.”

The new video can be seen at nyc.gov/health. The Health Department is also posting it on YouTube – www.youtube.com/drinkingfat – in the hope that people will share it with friends and relatives.

Americans now consume an average of 200 to 300 more calories each day than we did 30 years ago. Nearly half of that increase comes from sugar-sweetened drinks which can pack as many as 16 teaspoons of sugar in a single 20-ounce bottle. The Health Department’s 2007 Community Health Survey found that more than 2 million New Yorkers drink at least one sugar-sweetened beverage each day – adding as much as 250 empty calories to their diets.

I would say, since governments are charged with footing the bill for health (ultimately), that they should have a role. If they aren't going to regulate the food industry's advertising, they are going to come out with campaigns that are equally compelling.

This is disgusting, but may very well be effective.

This is (partly) why you're fat

So, yes, genetics and ethnicity play a role.

And, yes, sedentary life style due to evolving technology and poorly designed urban areas that keep people inside plays a role.

And, Endocrine disruptors in some foods that may alter fats in the body can play a role.

There are many other theories.

But could we please call a spade a spade and admit that we have a SERIOUS problem. I know this is "touchy" topic for some, and that some people may get "offended," but the health of the nation is at stake and we are facing not a problem, but an EPIDEMIC. The Center for Disease Control has obesity in its top 10 (although last on its homepage) and if you haven't seen the frightening animated map of the nation, changing from light blues (<10%>30%) in 2007, you should take a gander. Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee are leading the pack with 32%, 30.3% and 30.1% respectively.

But what else is playing a role? FOOD! And not just food, but the kinds of food and the amount of food. You gain weight by eating more calories then you expel, seems like common knowledge. You would think.

So the actual reason for this post is: I just left my first class at MIT called Food Systems and the Environment where we were discussing the history of our food system and how we got to where we are today. And what is more obvious than ever, is that our system, as much as we feel comfortable in it, IT IS NOT WORKING. There is more food then ever before being produced and much of the problem lies in the distribution of that food and the knowledge transfer that is not occurring for one reason or another, to millions of people. So while most of the impoverished world is living on less then a dollar a day, we have websites popping up that infuriate me, and thus the reason for my post.

So here is the coup de grâce:

Brought to you by: This is Why You're Fat which received 1,520,464 hits since it was released on Monday and was sent to my by my friend Emily. This site collects photos of exhibitionist food endeavors. While many find this really humorous, I would argue that it is definitely a societal problem to act this way, while much of the world is going hungry. Call me the party pooper if you want, but I doubt many of these people have ever experienced actual hunger. So here are my "favorites"

Turbaconucken - A chicken inside a duck inside a turkey, all wrapped in bacon. (via nycfoodguy)


Giant Breakfast Burrito - A seven pound breakfast burrito stuffed with potatoes, eggs, onions, and ham bits, lots of cheese on top and smothered in red chile. (via dogsarefunyes)

The Meat Ship- Made from bacon, sausages, pastry, franks and pork mince. (via supersizedmeals)

Brick Of Cheese (via laist)

The fact of the matter is we have made this "okay," "cool" and even "funny." I would argue that this is not okay, global warming is not cool and hunger is not funny. And if you think the way we consume food in this country doesn't have a rippling effect through the world, then we are failing to educate people on the severity of the issues we face as the resources run out. I challenge people to change the cultural "norm" and challenge the "status quo."

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. " ~Author unknown, commonly misattributed to Charles Darwin

Calories...your right to know?

Photo by Center for Science in the Public Interest

The restaurant industry is diligently trying to avoid the implementation of the Calorie Count legislation that is trying to be passed in New York City and some cities in California. My question is, what do they have to hide? Well, obviously a lot.

For instance: this site tells us the 272 Fast Food Items Highest in Calories

I am personally COMPLETELY for this legislation. Opponents argue that there is no research to prove that it would make a difference. So what? In my opinion it is a right to know. I personally would use the information, and know from experience that the people I teach in my classes would consider the information in a food decision as well.

As the calories listings roll out in New York, it is interesting to hear how people are reacting to it. Most are flabbergasted at the amount of calories in their daily muffin or sandwich.

This article this morning from MSNBC was interesting to me. For those that don't care about their health, they will continue not to care and the knowledge won't make a difference. I think this legislation is for those who want to stay healthy. Good job New York City. I hope the rest of the states follow suit.

As our Student Nutrition Organization shirts during my undergrad at Texas State said:
"It's the Calories, Stupid"
Did I offend someone?

This website CalorieLab is a great resource on the calories in food if you don't live in New York. Happy eating!

Unhealthiest Drink in America!

Apparently there has been an internet buzz from Yahoo about the worst drinks in America. I would like to highlight the number one, which is the equivalent of eating 12 Krsipy Kreme donuts or 60 slices of bacon!

Congratulation to Baskin Robbins for their number 1 heart stopper:

Baskin Robbin’s Large Heath Bar Shake (32 oz)

2,310 calories

266 g sugar

108 g fat (64 g saturated)

73: The number of ingredients that go into this milkshake.

66: The number of teaspoons of sugar this drink contains.

11: The number of Heath Bars you would have to eat to equal the number of calories found in one Baskin Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake.

8-12: The average number of minutes it takes to consume this drink.

240: The number of minutes you’d need to spend on a treadmill burning it off, running at a moderate pace.

Most people would order one of these puppies in cahoots with a cheese burger and fries!

Oh and the ingredients list is quite entertaining. I like how "reduced-fat milk" is the first ingredient! What a releif!

Ingredients: reduced fat milk, heath bar crunch ice cream (cream, nonfat milk, caramel ribbon (corn syrup, sweetened condensed whole milk (milk, sugar), water, high fructose corn syrup, butter (cream, salt), propylene glycol, sodium alginate, salt, natural and artificial vanilla flavors, potassium sorbate (preservative), soy lecithin, annatto color, sodium bicarbonate, propyl paraben (preservative)) , heath® bar candy pieces [milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), salt, and vanillin (an artificial flavoring)), sugar, palm oil, dairy butter (milk), almonds, salt, artificial flavoring, and soy lecithin], sugar, corn syrup, toffee base (sweetened condensed whole milk, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, natural flavor, disodium phosphate, and salt), whey powder, cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, guar gum, carrageenan, polysorbate 80), fudge topping (corn syrup, sugar, water, hydrogenated coconut oil, nonfat milk, cocoa (treated with alkali), modified corn starch, salt, sodium bicarbonate, disodium phosphate, potassium sorbate (a preservative), natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin), jamoca ice cream (cream, nonfat milk, sugar, corn syrup, jamoca extract (coffee extract, sugar, potassium sorbate and methyl paraben (as preservatives)) whey, caramel color, cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, carrageenan, polysorbate 80, carob bean gum, guar gum), caramel praline topping (corn syrup, sweetened condensed whole mil, water, sugar, modified food starch, butter, salt, propylene glycol, natural and artificial flavor, sodium citrate, xanthan gum, lecithin, potassium sorbate and propyl paraben as preservatives), hershey’s® heath® milk chocolate english toffee (milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, nonfat milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin [an emulsifier], salt, and vanillin [an artificial flavoring]), sugar, palm oil, dairy butter (milk), almonds, salt, artificial flavoring, and soy lecithin), whipped cream (whipped cream (cream, milk, sugar, dextrose, nonfat dry milk, artificial flavor, mono & diglycerides, carrageenan, mixed tocopherols (vitamin e), to protect flavor, propellant: nitrous oxide).

For some more of the highlighted winners see:

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/5027/americas-unhealthiest-drinks-exposed/