Better Strap on your Hip Waders

'Cause I've got boatloads of quobesity for you to wade through.

Today's steam rises off a new product (not surprisingly endorsed by the Heart and Stroke Foundation's mis-information program's Health Check) called YoPRO.

Basically it's frozen yogurt with added protein.

The YoPRO website is a quobesity goldmine. It shouts out in CAPSLOCK,

"AT LAST, ICE CREAM IS A HEALTHY AND BALANCED SNACK!"

Why is ice cream good for you now? Let's ask YoPRO,

"As protein, calcium, potassium and iron, which are found in YoPRO, have been studied for many health benefits, this super premium, guilt - free indulgence is the perfect snack".

So what will this magical ice-cream do for you? According to YoPRO its ingredients will help with,

"Building immune system health

Facilitating healing of wounds after surgery or injury

Decreasing wasting tissues and speeding overall recovery during illness

Promoting healthy skin, hair and nails

Building and repairing muscles and tissues

Providing a source of energy

Muscle contraction

Nerve conduction

Building and maintaining strong bones and teeth

Helps to keep muscles strong (including your heart)

Assists in controlling blood pressure

Works with sodium to assist in maintaining proper water balance

Works with sodium to assist in proper nerve function

Is important for normal growth and building muscle

Delivers oxygen to every cell in the body

But my favourite quobesity by far comes from their FAQ page in the answer to the question,

"Is YoPRO high in calories?"

My answer's pretty simple - Yes. Bowl per bowl chocolate YoPRO has 30%more calories than Dairy Queen soft serve, 37% more than Breyer's All Natural Chocolate Ice Cream, and virtually the same number of calories as a Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar. But their answer is priceless,

"When looking at calories, it is important to look at where your calories are coming from. Are you getting any nutrients from those calories and is there a balance between carbohydrates, protein and fat?"

So I guess these magic health calories won't contribute to weight at all because they contain "balance" and "nutrients"!

So bottom line, if you think feeding yourself or your kids ice-cream as a snack is a good idea you might as well feed them YoPRO. On the other hand, if you think that perhaps there are snacks healthier than ice-cream, perhaps you should try something else.

Gee, what does this remind me of .....

Philadelphia Police "Reward" Kids with Pizza and Slurpees

Here's the plan.

A police officer sees a child between the ages of 7-12 do a good deed.

The officer issues the child a "positive ticket".

The ticket consists of a coupon for a free Slurpee, Wendy's Frostie, Applebee's child entree or a slice of pizza, teaching the child that good deeds are rewarded with junk food. Oh, and that junk food is therefore considered a good choice by someone children look up to - police officers.

Strange plan for a State where the 18% rate of overweight and obesity in its children exceeds the national average (a number that jumps to a truly frightening 27% among Philadelphian low-income 2-5 year olds).

Sheer genius.

Oy.

[Update: My wonderful wife just informed me that during Ottawa's kindness week, our police officers give out coupons for junk food to children too. Consider this post my shot across the bow, more to follow on Ottawa's "kindness" tickets.]

[Via Slashfood]

Dietitians of Canada Officially, Formally and Happily Sell Out

According to their vision statement, the Dietitians of Canada purports itself to be,

"the voice of the profession"

I think they forgot to mention they're also quite comfortable being the mouthpiece of Big Food.

While I recognize that physician groups aren't immune from conflict of interest (primarily stemming from Big Pharma), I know as a physician I'd be fairly uncomfortable to land on the Canadian Medical Association's website and find advertising there from drug companies.

Imagine my surprise when learning that the "Members only" section of the Dietitians of Canada (DoC) website does in fact have Big Food advertisements as evidenced in the screen captures below (click them to open them in a large window) where the first shills for President's Choice Blue Menu products and the second for eggs:



Apparently if you keep refreshing the page, new ads pop up.

But let's put internet advertising aside, we can chalk that up to poor judgment, (UPDATE - Poor judgment shared by the Canadian Medical Association where I also found some internet drug ads) I mean after all, it's not like it's a clinical practice guideline or a resource manual for the profession.

Ummmm, about the DoC professional resource manuals....

After a bit more sniffing on their website I came across this link to the Dietitians of Canada 2001 National Nutrition Month Resource Manual for Dietitians (I realize it's 2008, but this is still featured prominently on the DoC website and is one of many Fact Sheets explicitly endorsed and implicitly steered by Big Food).

Read through it and you'll find it was sponsored (paid for) by the Canadian Sugar Institute, the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency, the Dairy Bureau of Canada and Kraft. Ominously the Canadian Sugar Institute was referred to as an "internal sponsor" while eggs, dairy and Kraft were merely, "official sponsors".

Think the sponsors were just silent spectators?

Then how come there's giant pictures of dairy products throughout; 3 pages on encouraging Canadians to drink more milk (replete with a section on getting the lactose intolerants to drink milk too); and two pages devoted to encouraging Canadians to eat more eggs?

There's also messaging that sugar is a carbohydrate just like fruit and this great quobesity,

"With the exception of dental caries, there is no evidence to show that sugar causes health problems. There is no specific limit or recommendation to reduce the amount of sugar we are currently eating."

Did the Dietitians of Canada really just steer their members as the "voice of their profession" to educate the public that sugar doesn't contribute to health problems and that you can eat as much of it as you want and not worry?

Looking at the 2008 Nutrition Month page that details some information about sponsors, DoC spells out who'll they'll happily take money from:

"Food products and Manufacturers", "Food Retailers".

No real limitations there either - basically if you makes or sell a food that can conceivably fit in Canada's Food Guide, you're welcome to play.

Marion Nestle, world-renowned nutrition expert (don't believe me, click here and check out her rather ridiculous C.V.) on her wonderful blog What to Eat details the equivalent practice within the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Here's a recent excerpt with her call to action for her fellow ADA members (feel free to mentally swap DoC for ADA),

"Respected ADA colleagues: as long as your organization partners with makers of food and beverage products, its opinions about diet and health will never be believed independent (translation: based on science not politics) and neither will yours. Consider the ADA’s Nutrition Fact Sheets, for example, each with its very own corporate sponsor (scroll down to the lower right hand corner of the second page to see who paid for the Facts). Is the goal of ADA really the same as the goal of the sponsors–to sell the sponsor’s food products? Is this a good way to get important scientific messages to the public? ADA members: how about doing something about this!"

Now I know that I have many Canadian readers who are registered dietitians. What do you think about the involvement of the food industry with DoC?

[Hat tip to a concerned dietitian who threw the screen caps my way]

Treat High Cholesterol with Chocolate?

What? You didn't know you could do that?

Get with it.

Dove Chocolate, an arm of the Mars company, has created two new chocolate bars: Dove Vitalize and Dove Beautiful.

According to the press release Dove Vitalize,

"contains rich dark chocolate, plus energy-releasing B vitamins, the natural goodness of cocoa flavanols to help support circulatory health and plant sterols to help maintain a healthy cholesterol level"

While Dove Beautiful,

"contains smooth milk chocolate, plus skin nourishing vitamins C & E, biotin, zinc, and cocoa flavanols that help hydrate from within to support beautiful-looking skin"

Uh huh. Who needs Lipitor when you can simply eat chocolate?

Yeah, that's gonna help.

I think they ought to be named Dove Dummify and Dove Sucker.

For more, here's a video press release from Mars (designed to look like real news).



[Hat tip to Julie from It Must have Been Something I Ate and Dinner with Julie]

Front of Cookie Labeling!

So this is a follow-up post to my Stupidest Cookies Ever? post that looked at Voortman's Omega-3 Zeer-Ohs.

A kind reader (who'd like to remain wholly anonymous) was gracious enough to bring me an Omega 3 Zeer-Oh because lo and behold, printed smack dab in the middle of the fake Oreo (click the picture to enlarge it for a better look) are the words,

"Zero Trans Fats"

So Voortman's has basically thrown down the gauntlet here. I challenge anyone to find me a stupider (yes, I realize that's not a real word) cookie!

Dream of Becoming a Professional Gurgitator?

Well if you've got a Nintendo Wii, your dream may soon come true with the release of their Major League Eating: The Game title.

The game aims to bring you the world of competitive eating to the comforts of your own living rooms.

Why you ask? Why would anyone want to pretend to be a competitive eater?

Well according to the press release,

"Professional gurgitators have the grace of ballerinas yet the brute strength, mental focus, and intestinal fortitude to push their bodies and minds as hard as athletes in any other extreme endurance sport. Victory is sweet and defeat can be well, really, really messy. It's an experience we're proud to help bring into the home."

So it's on the Wii, will you have to swallow the controllers?

Nope. But you will have to,

"master a smorgasbord of offensive and defensive weapons including bites, burps, belches, mustard gas and jalapeño flames while cramming and chewing food at a world-class pace"

How lovely.

Nutella Goes Too Far

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority recently upheld 53 complaints about a Nutella commercial that tried to spin Nutella as healthy and good for children.

Nutella, with 2.5 teaspoons of sugar per tablespoon of spread, was promoted in the commercial to parents with a voiceover that extolled,

"Surprisingly, each jar contains 52 hazelnuts, the equivalent of a glass of skimmed milk and some cocoa"

with the next voiceover stating,

"Nutella releases energy slowly, so it can be part of a balanced breakfast"

Wow, do the math and you'll find that along with the 52 hazelnuts, each 400g jar of Nutella contains 60 teaspoons of sugar (that's roughly 1.5 cups of sugar - the same amount you'd find in 2 litres of Coca Cola (for the Americans, that's half a gallon)).

Nutella's defense?

According to their press release,

"We took the advice of independent expert nutritionists who; based on the Food Standards Agency "Eat Well plate" nutritional guidelines determined that Nutella Hazelnut Spread could form part of a balanced breakfast"

Made for Canada translation? The Food Guide made us do it.

What does Nutella Canada have to say?

"Mom's across Canada choose Nutella as part of a nutritious and delicious breakfast to give their kids a great start to their day!

Nutella combines the magic of these ingredients into a unique and yummy recipe that kids love. And with no artificial colours and no preservatives, it's easy to feel good about serving Nutella to your kids and helping them spread some energy"

I guess "energy" is Big Food speak for "sugar".

[Hat tip to Cathy in Edmonton for pointing me to the story]

Sign of the Times - Boy Scouts Healthy Eating Badge

If you're a Beaver Scout in the UK, check out the new badge - it's the Healthy Eating activity badge.

Not sure what it says about society. Maybe this is a great idea. Of course even if it is, it makes me a little sad.

Our world is spiraling faster and faster away from healthy living.

Even if you think it sounds like a great idea, what does the eager Beaver Scout need to do to get the badge?

According to ScoutBase UK he's got to:

1. Make a fruit salad
2. Make a healthy snack
3. Make two different sandwiches
4. List some unhealthy foods

Wanna know what they think a healthy snack is (emphasis is mine not theirs)?

"Examples of healthy snacks include omelette, salad, mini pizzas, strawberry smoothie, homemade meatballs, etc."

Yup, it's a strange world alright.

The Obesity Society President Elect in Bed with Big Food?

The flying pig that flew by my window yesterday morning appeared to be crying.

Apparently Dr. David B. Allison, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Alabama and incoming president of the Obesity Society, testified on behalf of Big Food in the Big Food vs. New York City lawsuit on mandatory calorie labeling.

Somehow not only did he argue that there is no credible evidence that providing customers with calories on menus would affect choice or obesity, he went further to state that placing calories on menus,

"would be ineffective and possibly even deleterious"

Allison's testimony was reportedly paid testimony which according to the Centre for Science in the Public Interest's Integrity in Science Watch newsletter, would be par for the course for Dr. Allison. They provided a link to 3 paged, single spaced document highlighting all of Dr. Allison's conflicts of interests with monies paid to him by Big Food and Big Industry as a whole. For shock value, I'll add the list below this post.

That there's no research to confirm that posting calories on menus will help is not a shock since it has only been over the course of very recent history where this has been suggested let alone tried. That it could be "deleterious" to provide consumers with information about calories is to my mind at least, a jaw-droppingly bizarre statement, and when coming from the future president of the Obesity Society, a dangerous one. Let me ask you Dr. President-elect - if there's no evidence to suggest that posting calories on menus would affect choice or obesity how is there enough evidence for you to make the flying leap that their posting would be, "ineffective", and possibly even, "deleterious"?

Can any readers out there give me some examples of how being more informed before making a decision lead to a potential for harm? While posting calories on menus certainly isn't going to eliminate overweight and obesity in one fell swoop, if you're concerned about your weight and notice that your appetizer has more calories than your main, or that your main has more calories than 3 Big Macs, it may in fact influence your decisions, may in fact give you a grounded education on calories and may in fact help you with your weight. More importantly, if consumers are interested in Calories, that of course will put pressure on Big Food to at the very least have some lower calorie menu options which again, those interested in watching their calories may choose.

My friendly, governmentally sourced email tipster (who forwarded me the newsletter) also included their own thoughts as to Dr. Allison's testimony. They stated that from the CSPI document it appeared as if Dr. Allison likely,

"isn't anti-calories on menus, he's pro-expert witness fees in lawsuits"

A sad day indeed.

The following are the companies that Dr. Allison has signed in a document listing them as conflicts of interest due to received grants, monetary donations, donations of product, payments for consultation, contracts, honoraria or commitments:

Air Canada
Alabama Agricultural Land Grant Alliance (AALGA)
Allegheny University
American Bakers’ Association
American Dietetic Association
American Oil Chemists Society
American Psychological Association
American Society for Parentaral and Enteral Nutrition
Amgen
Amylin
Archer Daniels Midland
Autogen
Bayer
BioAnalogics
Biogen
Biognosis
BodyStat
Bristol Myers Squibb/Mead Johnson
Campbell Soup Company
Catalyst Communications, Inc
Celgene
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ciba Foundation
Coca-Cola
Consumers’ Union
Corning HTA/Covance
CuraGen
Current Drugs Ltd
Cytodyne Technologies, Inc.
Decision Resources
Elsevier Science Publisher
Entelos
Eon Labs Manufacturing, Inc.
Ergo Science
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology
Fertin Pharma A/S
Fisons Corporation
Fleishman Hillard, Inc
Food and Drug Administration
Gardiner-Caldwell Communications Ltd
Gemini
Gene/Networks
Genentech
General Mills
Genetics Institute
Genome Canada
Genome Explorations
Genome Therapeutics
Genset
Gerber Foundation
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Glaxo
Grey Health Care Group
Health Learning Systems
Henry A. Murray Research Center at Radcliffe College
Hershey
Hoffman La-Roche
IBC UK Conferences
Institute for the Future
International Association for the Study of Obesity
International Food Information Council
International Life Sciences Institute
Interneuron
InvaCare, Inc.
ISL Healthcare Group
Isotech
J P Morgan
Janssen-Cilag
Jenny Craig
Johnson & Johnson
Kelloggs
Knoll Pharmaceuticals
Kraft Foods
Lawrence Erlbaum Publishing
Lee, Smart, Cook, Martin, & Patterson, Attorneys at Law
Life Measurement Instruments
Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Lilly Research Labs
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Publishers
Lockheed-Martin
M&M Mars
Many Universities, hospitals, and not-for-profit research organizations (list available on request)
Marcell Dekker Publishing
Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C., Attorneys at Law
McGraw-Hill Publishing
McKenna & Cuneo, L.L.P., Attorneys at Law
Medical Economics (Thomson Healthcare)
Mediva Pharmaceuticals
Medlab, Inc.
Merck
Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Mitos
Monsanto
Nabisco
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders
National Institutes of Health
National Science Foundation
Neurogen
New York State Department of Health
Noonan/Rosso Communications, Inc.
North American Association for the Study of Obesity
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NutraSystems, Inc.
Nutratech, Inc.
Nutricia
NutriPharma (Scan Diet; Nutralet)
Original Marketing, Inc.
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals
Parenti, Falk, Waas, Hernandez & Cortina, Attorneys at Law
PAREXEL International Corporation
Paterson, MacDougall, a Toronto, Canada law firm
Pepsi-Cola
Pfizer Central Research
Pinnacle
Porter Novelli
Proctor & Gamble
Queens University, Canada
Rand Corporation
Research Testing Laboratories
Rexall
RW Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute
Schering-Plough
Sequana
Servier Amerique
Slim America
SlimFast Foods Company
Spadoro & Hilson, Attorneys at Law
Sugar Association
SuperGen, Inc
Tanita
Terrapin Technologies
The Cortland Group
United Soybean Board
United States Postal Service
V2, Inc.
Variagenics
Veteran’s Administration
VimRx Pharmaceuticals
W.B. Saunders Publishing Co.
Weight Control Digest
Weight Watchers International
Wellcome Trust
Wheat Foods Council
Wilentz, Goldman, & Spitzer, Attorneys at Law
Wyeth-Ayerst
Zeneca Pharmaceuticals

Revived ParticipACTION Program Sells Out to Highest Bidder

So a kind email tipster alerted me to this new development that Canada's newly resuscitated ParticipACTION program will happily sell its logo and name to apparently whoever ponies up with some cash.

So wanna meet the new dream team?

Wrap your brains around this one - ParticipACTION and Coca Cola have teamed up to help promote activity to Canada's youth.

Last Tuesday the Coca Cola Company proudly announced the launch of something called The Torch Leadership Program, the mandate of which is to,

"to promote healthy active lifestyles among youth"

which is Big Food double speak for trying to shift the blame for obesity off of caloric intake (from tall, cold glasses of sugar for instance) to a lack of caloric expenditure.

But get this,

"Coca-Cola has retained ParticipACTION, Canada’s authority on active living, to lead the design of the program and to coordinate its delivery across Canada."

Some of my international readers might be wondering by now, "What the heck's ParticipACTION?".

Well ParticipACTION is now a federally funded phoenix program that uses mass media to try to get Canadians more active and currently has been dusted and polished with clarion calls to its renewed role in the fight against obesity.

(To give you an idea of how effective ParticipACTION is at fighting obesity just look to its track record. Prior to its 2007 rebirth ParticipACTION ran for 30 years from 1970-2000, three decades during which obesity rates in Canadian children rose by roughly 300%.)

So if you were unlike me and in fact remained optimistic that ParticipACTION might help make a difference I'm sorry to deflate your bubble, but as evidence to support my contention that ParticipACTION just doesn't get it and almost certainly won't help do anything to stem the tide of childhood obesity in Canada, here's their quobesigenic quote from the press release,

"ParticipACTION is the national voice for physical activity in Canada. We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with Coca-Cola Canada on its program to get Canadians moving more and to fight rising levels of inactivity among youth"

That quote by the way is from Kelly Murumets, the President and CEO of ParticipACTION, and she wasn't finished yet as she went on to state,

"We applaud Coca-Cola Canada for their leadership in using their Olympic sponsorship to inspire Canadians to adopt physical activity and sport as a way of life"

Already this January ParticipACTION has sold its logo to Weston Bakeries literally to be slapped on Wonder Bread and to Neilson's Dairy to be slapped on 2% and lower milk products (if anyone sees the logo on chocolate milk, please send it my way).

Yup, quite the dream teams.

Perhaps next we'll see the Canadian Lung Association sell its logo to Marlboro to help launch a bold new initiative aimed at decreasing urban air pollution?

Remember, nightmares are dreams.

The McDiploma

No, it's not another report card scheme like the one I reported on a few weeks ago. Now, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority of England has awarded McDonald's restaurants the right to award the equivalent of an advanced high-school qualification as part of a governmental push to build skills in English youth.

Apparently McDonald's will train "students" in "basic staff management" and in their course work,

"cover everything the 7,000 managers of McDonald’s outlets across the country need to know for the day-to-day running of a McDonald's restaurant; from basic operational requirements to finance, marketing and HR."

Currently in England there are over 1,000 McDonald's restaurants.

Currently in England one in six 11 and 12 year olds is obese as are 1/4 of adults and as recently as two days ago experts in England predicted that obesity will soon be the number one cause of preventable death in their country.

Last week in England it was announced that 372 million pounds were being put aside to combat obesity.

Hmmmmmm, so let me get this straight England. Your country thinks obesity is about to become its number one preventable cause of death, your kids and adults are obese, there are tons of fast food restaurants all over and you've just pledged almost 400 million pounds to work on obesity treatment and prevention and yet you've also gone ahead and officially encouraged your country's obese youth to learn how to open more fast food franchises?

Brilliant?

The New Obesity Map

Boy this study had legs.

Researchers at the University of Alberta did a study whereby they mapped Canadian obesity rates in relation with fast food restaurant density.

What they found was

"was actually a fairly strong relationship, a strong correlation between the two, that those cities that had higher obesity and overweight rates tended to have a higher density of at least the larger fast-food restaurant chains, so there were more restaurants per person in those cities".

The media loved it!

You Want Size with That?
- The Toronto Star

Fast food fuels fat cities; As restaurant tally rises, obesity rates follow, study suggests
- The Toronto Star (must have been a later edition)

Survey Links Restaurant Numbers, Fat
- The Vancouver Province

Fast Food Helps Put Hamilton on Obesity Map
- Hamilton Spectator

Where's the beefiest?; Closest to the highest density of fast-food outlets, one new study into obesity in Canada suggests.
- The London Free Press

Obesity rates lower in cities with fewer fast-food restaurants: Study
- The Calgary Herald

Weight may be linked to geography: study
- The Daily News (Halifax)

'Obesity map' plots fattest, greasiest cities
- The Saskatoon Star

More fast-food equals higher obesity: research
- The Edmonton Journal

More fast food choice makes for fatter cities, study confirms
- The National Post

Study finds greasy cities create chubbier residents
- Times Columnist (Victoria)

Greasier the city, fatter its residents; New research. 'Strong relationship' between flab and access to fast food
- The Gazette (Montreal)

Cities with more fast food are fatter; Edmontonians thinner than us
- The Calgary Herald

Greasier the city, the fatter its citizens; Study links greater obesity to more fast-food outlets
- The Windsor Star

Fast food cooks up portly people
- The Edmonton Sun

More fast food = fatter folk
- Edmonton Rush Hour

When it comes to obesity, location matters
- The Globe and Mail

You Are What You Eat
- The Daily News (Kamloops)
- The Daily Courier (Kelowna)
- The Welland Tribune
- The Brantford Expositor
- The Belleville Intelligencer (I didn't make up that name)
- The Toronto Sun
- The Sudbury Star
- The St. Catherine's Standard
- The Simcoe Reformer
- The Penticton Herald
- The North Bay Nugget
- Cornwall Standard Freeholder
- The Record (Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo)
- Winnipeg Free Press
- Prince George Citizen
- Times and Transcript (Moncton)
- Woodstock Sentinel Review

Best part of this whole business?

The quote by the study's author, Dr. Sean Cash, a fine young economist that I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with a few years ago at an obesity think tank. When asked what to make of the study this was his quote,

"I wouldn't say our study proves anything"

You see, some cities with high densities of fast food outlets had low rates of obesity and some cities with low densities of fast food outlets had high rates of obesity. Moreover there are literally dozens if not hundreds of other variables that may have influenced the results and even if the relationship was solid, it doesn't answer the question of chicken or egg.

Gee, you sure wouldn't guess that from the headlines would you? Well maybe if you lived in Vancouver as the Dr. Freedhoff award for journalistic integrity goes out to one lonely newspaper, The Vancouver Sun. Here's their headline:

"'Obesity map' shows strong link to fast-food access; But study doesn't prove anything, creator says"

Don't move yet.

[Hat tip to Rob our fitness director for noticing Sean's quote]

Big Milk's Mouthful of Foot

For those of you who may be new subscribers one of my recurring features is something I call, "Quobesities".

I define a quobesity as,

"quotes that in one way or another embody what's wrong and hopefully, occasionally, what's right with relation to our attitudes and knowledge about weight and weight related matters."

Yesterday there was a beauty in the New York Times. This one was from Bruce W. Krupke, the executive vice president of New York State Dairy Foods, a trade organization paid for by milk producers. He was writing the Times to complain about their December 10th editorial piece, Junking Fat Food in Schools which detailed an amendment to the farm bill that called for the limitation of milk in schools to be low-calorie milk.

Why would milk be considered "junk food"?

Because frankly in some cases it is, like for instance the 3 Musketeers Slammers that I detailed in a previous post that at 340 calories provides your children with over 10 teaspoons of sugar and more than double the Calories of a can of Coca Cola.

So what did Mr. Krupke have to say?

"Senator Harkin has included in his amendment provisions to limit container sizes (the 16-ounce container sold in vending machines is outlawed), to eliminate whole and 2 percent milk, and to impose serving-size calorie restrictions. In his quest to dictate what can be sold in schools, milk has been caught up in his net.

Drinking milk is not contributing to children's obesity. Milk has essential vitamins and nutrients essential for good growth and health."

Damn that Senator Harkin and his evil "net", doesn't he know milk has nutrients!

Unfortunately in many cases vending machine milk also has added sugars, chocolate and insanely large serving sizes (like the 14oz, 340 calorie, 10+ teaspoons of sugar Slammers in the picture above that Mr. Krupke would apparently love to see increase in size by 2oz).

So can Mr. Krupke really believe that providing children with 16oz servings of sugar sweetened candy-milk is a healthy choice and one that doesn't contribute to childhood obesity?

Well, here is another quote from Mr. Krupke that probably does a better job at explaining his objections. This quote is from his article in the New York State Dairy Food Inc.'s September newsletter,

"Another example of policy shift was with the introduction of bills aimed at creating “healthier” food choices for kids in schools by mandating package size restrictions while tying them all into calorie and sugar limitations. These bills if passed would be a disaster for milk and ice cream companies. Fortunately our lobbying efforts combined with other groups kept the bill at bay."

Mr. Krupke, your touching concern for our children is duly noted.

Thank God for Fast Food.

Literally.

So here's an interesting societal statement.

Want to know what the 9th best selling book on Amazon.com's "prayer" category is, even though it's not even actually available yet?

It's Peanut Butter and Jelly Prayers by Julie Sevig and according to the press release ahead of its November 30th, launch, it's a book written for,

"the 21st century version of family mealtime"

So what exactly is the 21st century version of family mealtime?

Well, here's a prayer from the book that might help you figure that out,

"We want it fast, we want it now,
Thank you God, for the cow!
For Burgers, fries and all we chew!
For all who work at this drive-thru!"

Good lord we're in trouble.

[Once again, hat tip to Brad from the Canadian Obesity Network. Don't know if I've ever had back to back hat tips before]

Obesity - maybe your stomach is depressed?

This has to be one of the most ridiculous comments I've read in a long time to describe obesity and it comes from Dr. Nora Volkow the director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Dr. Volkow, in an editorial published in May in the American Journal of Psychiatry says that,

"some forms of obesity are driven by an excessive motivational drive for food and should be included as a mental disorder in DSM-V"

She then goes on to compare obesity with drug addiction with food of course being the drug.

Yes, let's add one more stigma to obesity and label it a mental illness and compare the obese to drug addicts. Brilliant! Helpful! Oy!

You know what should be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V (the bible of psychiatric disorders) as a mental disorder? Quobesity.

Quobesity occurs when a person, just because they eat, believes that they are experts in all things obesity related. Side-effects include ridiculous editorials and quotations that often manifest as blog entries here.

The comparison of eating behaviours and drug addictions is certainly not a new one, but it does have a fatal flaw - how many folks do you know whose addictions only exist from 4pm onwards?

The vast majority of food addicts (chocoholics, carb-addicts etc) will report that their addictive behaviours and struggles with food only manifest from the mid to late afternoon onwards. It is an exceedingly small proportion of these folks who struggle all day long. The all day long folks, if they meet certain criteria, may indeed have a diagnosable psychiatric condition entitled binge eating disorder, however to reiterate, in my experience, the vast majority of bingers tend to only do so from the afternoon onward.

Those same folks, when taught to eat frequently, not skip meals or snacks and include foods helpful with hunger prevention tend to see their binging disappear, in many cases literally overnight.

If Dr. Volkow is keen to make changes for the up and coming new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V (the bible of psychiatric disorders), might I suggest an exclusion criteria for binge eating disorder whereby the diagnosis cannot be given to an individual who skips any daytime meals or snacks.

For food addicts or binge eaters who might be reading this post - try this recipe to see if it helps minimize your addictive type behaviours. Worst case scenario you prove me wrong and you may indeed be a truly food addicted binge eater. Best case scenario, you regain control over what is most certainly a very frustrating and potentially demoralizing behaviour:

Breakfast within 30 minutes of waking, at least 350 calories with at least 15grams of protein

Eating every 2.5 hours with between meal snacks of 100-200 calories a piece with at least 8 grams of protein

Lunch of at least 300-400 calories with at least 15 grams of protein

Dinner of at least 400 calories with at least 15 grams of protein

For every hour of sustained exercise add an additional 100-150 calories that are primarily carbohydrate based.

Goodbye Supersize, Hello Hugo-size

In 2004, following the public backlash after the release of the movie Supersize Me, McDonald's discontinued their practice of promoting Supersized portions.

Well guess what? Starting this summer there's a new McDonald's Supersize in town and it's called Hugo.

A Hugo sized soft drink costs only 89cents, is 42oz in size (for us Canadians that means 1.25 litres) and contains over 400 Calories and 31.5 teaspoons of sugar.

Dayna Proud, a McDonald's spokesperson when cornered by the New York Times had this to say about the Hugo,

"People, I believe, tend to drink more during the summer"

and when asked if it were comparable with prior Supersized promotions stated,

"That’s not what this is about, you have to put it in context with the rest of our menu."

Certainly from the ad above, that context is meant to be to buy it alongside an ice cream sunday.

And why Hugo? Because it's meant to make you huge? Because it's so large it makes you want to give people hugs? Because of that character on Lost?

Lastly I wonder if McDonald's will offer apologies to all the Hugos of America whose respective "friends" and bullies now have a wonderful new way to make fun of them.

A Weight Loss Cult?

It's called the Weigh Down Workshop and since 1986 it has been held in over 30,000 locations around the world. Even more remarkable is the fact that out of this God based diet has grown an actual evangelical church.

I'll get back to the church in a moment, but first let me help you with the question, "How will God help me lose weight?"

Well according to the Weigh Down website,

"God is broken hearted over the fact that so many of His children have learned to run to the food instead of to Him for comfort, companionship, and acceptance."

"God does not care about what we eat, so we should no longer feel self-righteous about following any man-made rules. Instead, what God cares about is how much we eat; He cares very much about - and is displeased with - overindulgence."

"Typical diets have not worked because everyone is using man-made rules instead of God’s rules. God has never asked anyone to eat food off of a list, count fat exchanges, or take an appetite suppressant! Weigh Down doesn’t have any of those things. What we DO have is a future-a future to be filled and fulfilled. Hunger will be filled and appetites will be under control, given to God."

Ok, a little weird that these folks feel that God cares how much I eat, but to ask God to help them with weight loss, what's wrong with that?

Nothing.

Interestingly however, the Weigh Down Workshop actually spawned a church called the Remnant Fellowship (130 worldwide and growing) and on the Remnant Fellowship website they describe the role of the Weigh Down workshop as,

"The Weigh Down Workshop Productions creates the Bible material for its members and is the evangelistic arm to these Churches that are now scattered across the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia."

Now I'm no cult expert, but Rick Ross is and The Rick Ross Institute has a collection of articles regarding the Remanant Fellowship including some which detail how the church apparently teaches that over eaters court eternal damnation.

Oh, and did I mention that the Church was featured prominently in the beating death of an 8 year old by two of its members? Apparently the Church is a big fan of corporal punishment for children. They funded the defense of the two parishioners Joseph and Sonya Smith who were each given life plus 30 years for the death of their son who prosecutors said was kept locked in a wooden box and confined to a closet for hours at a time before he died in October 2003 from a blow to the head. The Church has stuck by the convicted parents and have set up a website to help pay for their appeal.

So let me get this straight, their version of God hates over eaters and damns them to an eternity burning in the fires hell but has a soft spot for child abuse?

I think I like my version better.

The Oxymorons at White Hat Brands

Pop quiz time (let's see if you've been paying attention):

1. Would recommending that children consume an additional 80 Calories per day help combat childhood obesity?
   
   
2. Would recommending that children consume an additional 4 and 3/4 teaspoons of sugar per day help combat childhood obesity?
   
   
3. Would recommending that children take a daily multi-vitamin help combat childhood obesity?

The answer of course to all of those questions is a most emphatic, "NO!".

Perhaps someone should tell that to the oxymorons over at White Hat Brands, a new corporation trying to hitch itself to the childhood obesity prevention/treatment bandwagon.

Amazingly the thing they're trying to hitch is in fact an 80 Calorie, 4 and 3/4 teaspoons of sugar containing, vitamin enriched juice which according to the quobesity that is their press release is,

"specificially formulated to help combat childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes among preteens".

Really? Pushing sugar and Calories into children by using cartoon logos and a website targeting children who can't discern truth from advertising will help combat childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes?

Hopefully discerning Mom's and Dad's will use Google to help them find this blog's commentary on this atrocious product and its parent company's shamelessly misleading statements about their Dog on it! fortified juice beverages.

The Shrek Saga Continues

Just a quick update.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has temporarily halted its Shrek public service ads aimed at childhood obesity.

Temporarily?

According to the article I read, US Department of Health Spokesman Bill Hall says they plan to,

"pop them right back up there as soon as the hype for the movie dies down in six weeks or so"

Want to know why it's only a temporary halt?

Because apparently the US Department of Health and Human Services feels it's wrong for their spots to serve as advertisements for the Dreamworks movie, but apparently they don't care if their spots serve as advertisements for McFlurries, something that the Shrek McDonald's campaign is selling.

So basically the US Department of Health and Human Services is uncomfortable with the thought that their anti-obesity campaign might serve to promote the movie whose success they're banking on for recognition, but have no issue with the fact that their campaign might serve to promote the notion that dining at McDonald's is a healthy, US Department of Health and Human Services endorsed choice.

Smart folks those - very clear thinkers.

Fighting Childhood Obesity with Donuts?

Oh the hypocrisy.

An article in the New York times last month discussed the odd coupling of Rachael Ray (celebrity Food Network chef) with Bill Clinton's Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

The Alliance's mission?

"To eliminate childhood obesity and to inspire all young people in the United States to develop lifelong, healthy habits."

On the Alliance's homepage as I type this is a picture of Clinton laughing with Rachael.

Rachael should be the one laughing, one of those evil cartoon villain I pulled the wool over the good guys' faces laughs, because Rachael's other other job is being a corporate shill for.....wait for it....Dunkin' Donuts.

In Dunkin' Donutss press release announcing Rachael as their new brand representative, Dunkin' Donuts' Brand President Robert Rodriguez has a lovely quote,

"Rachael's philosophy of creating quality meals quickly and without pretense for busy people living busy lives is the same driving force behind the Dunkin' Donuts brand."

Well I guess it's true that donuts are quick and without pretense, but meals?

What does Rachael have to say,

"Me, I don’t want to talk about obesity. I want to talk about how fun healthy food is, period."

Donuts sure are healthy - they are a perfect fit for fostering the lifelong healthy habits the Alliance is hoping to instill in America's children.

Brilliant move Bill.


[Hat Tip to Jack from Fork and Bottle and bottom picture to Gallery of the Absurd]