WIN Wyoming and WIN the Rockies

Thought Bullets
for
July 2003 

The Shape We’re In
Highlights from series of articles in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

My Grandma sent me a series of articles on obesity that recently ran in the Cheyenne newspaper. Grandma is approaching her 90^th birthday, and it is very interesting for me to see the changes in our daily lives over the last nine decades through her experiences.

For this month’s thought bullets, I captured some of the highlights of the articles that I found to be the most intriguing.

• ". . . America has too much good food."

• "People who make the argument that obesity is a personal responsibility issue are usually white, wealthy, and well-educated."

- Mark Fenton, host of PBS’ program called "America’s Walking"

• Coordinated government intervention efforts have successfully cut smoking rates, reduced drunk driving, and increased the use of seat belts. Why can’t obesity be successfully addressed the same way? "The issue here is, we don’t have a particular enemy. It’s us against ourselves."

• Federal transportation studies indicate 75% of all trips less than a mile are taken by a vehicle. "The dilemma is . . . most people don’t know any other behavior than driving. They have to go through a cultural relearning." 

- Richard Killingsworth, director of Active Living by Design

• Fast foods sales for 2003 are projected to reach over $120 billion. Is it any wonder that 96% of schoolchildren can identify Ronald McDonald? The fast food restaurant industry feels they have been unfairly signaled out for blame in America’s battle with the bulge and Steven Anderson, president of the National Restaurant Association, argues they are "driven by consumer demand."
  
  "We’re not asking anyone in the fast food industry to go out of business. But serving nutritious foods must be given a priority in our culture, just like providing . . . safe buildings."

- Gail Woodward-Lopez, director of the Center for Weight and Health, 
University of California at Berkeley

• Doctors themselves say they need more sound advice to give their patients struggling with extra weight. "I was never taught about nutrition in Medical School. I think the thought was ‘You’re a fatso, so stop eating and you’ll be OK.’ [Obesity] was considered a character flaw."

- Dr. Nikhil Dhurandhar of Detroit

• Schools have become a primary battleground in the fight against obesity. Many school children ride buses to school where soda, candy bars and potato chips are available daily, but PE is only offered twice a week. Dr. Antonia Demas of the Food Studies Institute in Trumansburg, N.Y. is having great success with offering school children federally subsidized foods like lentils, brown rice and beans. Her program, called "Food is Elementary," is now offered in more than 100 schools. "When food is made in a way that’s fun and sensory-based, kids will eat anything that’s nutritious," say Demas.
  

Sources:
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne: June 1, 2003, pp. A1, A6; June 2, 2003, pp. A1, A10; June 3, 2003, p. A8; June 5, 2003, p. A12.

Compiled by Betty Holmes, MS, RD, Regional Project Coordinator, WIN the Rockies;  bholmes@uwyo.edu

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