Laugh/Cry at food ads??

[Chuckanut]

This is a talk from a Canadian doctor who says he was dis-invited to talk to a food industry group. I would be laughing if I wasn't crying. I am not certain I agree with his conclusions on regulations, but I can see where parents could use some support in the form of better education and information.

What's a Food Industry to Do? - YouTube

[Dawg52]

I'm not for massive amounts of regulations either, but some tweaking to the laws against misleading ad's would be good. Or maybe the one's on the books should simply be enforced.

Better education is a must and there has been some improvements in that area. I saw a report on a local station about child obesity dropping by 13% here in Mississippi. Long long way to go, but a start.

Obesity Rates Falling | TIME For Kids

The cities and states with declining childhood obesity rates have followed the CDC’s suggestions. Philadelphia works with an organization called the Food Trust to connect schools with local farms and bring fresh vegetables to cafeterias. New York City has required chain restaurants to post calorie information on their menus. Mississippi created a program called “Fruits & Veggies: More Matters” to teach kids how to add healthy foods to their daily diets.

[Midpack]

Good video, it all comes down to 'we can't expect to be protected from ourselves.' Educating ourselves is the best approach vs expecting the food industry to police itself is unrealistic or expecting regulations to wholely protect us. Regs have a role, but they can't be THE answer.

I sure hope the decline in obesity is true and continues. Hopefully that stems from some improvement in people's knowledge (and acting on same) and some common sense regulation.

[Amethyst]

We are educating kids, but are they paying attention? It has been a very long time since I was in 6th grade, yet I still remember a whole section of "Social Studies" on "Things advertisers do to fool people," (we had to take a category, such as "Glittering Generalizations," and bring in magazine ads and describe TV commercials that used that tactic). I was only 10 but it made a big impression on me.

Amethyst

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I sure hope the decline in obesity is true and continues. Hopefully that stems from some improvement in people's knowledge (and acting on same) and some common sense regulation.

I know that obesity costs more in healthcare dollars per year, but what about total lifetime costs?

I wonder if the problem might be largely self-correcting and, in the long run, cheaper than end-of-life care.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords I know that obesity costs more in healthcare dollars per year, but what about total lifetime costs? I wonder if the problem might be largely self-correcting and, in the long run, cheaper than end-of-life care.

People have made the same argument about smoking, and there are reasonable articles pro and con, which makes it hard to prove...

[MooreBonds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg52 Obesity Rates Falling | TIME For Kids The cities and states with declining childhood obesity rates have followed the CDC’s suggestions. Philadelphia works with an organization called the Food Trust to connect schools with local farms and bring fresh vegetables to cafeterias. New York City has required chain restaurants to post calorie information on their menus. Mississippi created a program called “Fruits & Veggies: More Matters” to teach kids how to add healthy foods to their daily diets.

While I also agree that you need to address the root problems and not just throw more regulation on the matter, and while I am glad to see such changes made (some healthier options at schools, for example), I just wonder what the true data is when I read things like (bold italics is mine)

Quote:

Declining childhood obesity rates have also been reported in parts of Mississippi, the state with the highest obesity rate in the nation. The first drops in the number of overweight children came in a September report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The foundation works to improve health for Americans. New York City showed a 5.5% drop in the number of overweight children from 2007 to 2011. Philadelphia showed a 4.7% drop, and Los Angeles a 3% drop...

So there have been reports of obesity declines "in parts of" Mississippi? Did the state have an improvement overall, or did the rest of the state have higher obesity that more than offset some improvements in just a few parts of the state?

I wonder how much of this drop is due to the recession and parents having to tighten down versus drops due to healthier eating habits because it's better for you? True, an improvement is an improvement...but I don't know if it's a temporary blip that will reverse course as the economy improves.

Also, if you have 20% of children as very overweight or obese, and you have a 3% or 5% drop in the # of children in that category, the overall % that is overweight/obese is still large (19.5% or 19%), almost falling within the margin of error. If the trend is improving overall, I sure hope it continues.

[Midpack]

I would like to think having calories published prominently on menus will move the needle measurably, though I realize it won't affect everyone's behavior. It would seem harder for most people to order a Double Whopper meal with 1600 calories & 75G of fat right there on the menu - vs now when I suspect most of us know it's too much, but probably underestimate the actual nutritiion numbers. Here's hoping...