Short Changed by Empty Calories

Before coming to the US I used to eat a fair amount of junk food, it was quick, tasty and a cop out because yours truly is a lousy cook.  My soda intake?  We went through several of the litre bottles in a week, Coke, Diet Coke, Sierra Mist, Seven Up.  Veggies were mostly potatoes in various different guises.  My diet wasn’t healthy but I walked a lot and played badminton and that kept my weight down.  In 2001 we moved to Utah no exercise, no job and no motivation I piled on the pounds but I looked skinny compared to some of the population.  For the first time in my life I saw people who were fat above and below the belt.

So now you know I’m not a health Nazi my body isn’t a temple.  It’s gone from new sky scraper - all sleek and businesslike to listed building, ageing gracefully but in need of constant vigilance in case the roof falls in or something goes wrong with the plumbing.

So here’s my take on what’s wrong and maybe how to fix it.

For starters, the portion sizes in the US are out of control, all you can eat, endless, free refills, supersize and of course – the buffet.   The advertising of fast food after 8pm should be banned – you’ve just had dinner and now here comes a hamburger/taco/steak all glistening and shiny and your taste buds go ‘ping’ and you want to eat again.

Most of the food you eat wouldn’t have been classed as food a couple of generations ago.  I used to love chicken nuggets until I found out what goes into making them and don’t get me started on the evils of the twinkie.

Being overweight causes health issues, heart problems, digestive disorders, sleep apnea, types 1 & 2 diabetes.  So overeating is the problem what about solutions?

Regulate Food Advertising, make them pay to play but not on their terms.  Advertise fast food during the day and not on every ad break.  No fast food ads after 8pm.  The money this brings in could be used to build community gardens in every area, giveaway seeds to encourage people to grow their own vegetables.

Tax soda.  This is being widely considered by several states more as a revenue generator than a health concern.  The Time article (link is shown at the bottom of the page) suggests that putting 1 penny in tax on each teaspoon of sugar in a bottle of soda would up the price by 10c and generate 90 million dollars would could then to be used to fund obesity fighting initiatives.

Ban High Fructose Corn Syrup. This cheaper alternative to sugar is found in everything from breakfast cereal to processed meats, hfcs has been linked to obesity, although if you search the web you’ll find the hfcs people have been busy for every article saying its bad for you there’s one saying that’s rubbish.  If you want a persuasive argument try taste, sugar just tastes better, that’s why most of Europe still uses sugar.

Access to fresh fruit and vegetables.  There are areas in the US where lower income families have little chance of buying fresh produce and the selection at convenience stores is expensive and inferior quality.  What they can get on every street corner is cheap, empty calories for only a dollar.

Overhaul fast food.  There’s a difference between junk food (empty calories) and fast food (fresh, nutritious and made in front of you) Mediterranean, Asian and Indian which are good for you and full of flavour should be encouraged as a healthy substitute.

In conclusion I’d like to end with a joke. 

How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb.

Only one but the lightbulb has got to want to change.

And that could be the biggest problem, changing the national mindset.  In UK hardly any one over 35 would be seen dead in a McDonalds unless they had a child in tow.  In the US it is not uncommon to see seniors 65 and older chowing down on a burger as part of their daily routine. 

Michael Pollan – The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defence of Food

Food Inc

Supersize Me

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/advertising_marketing/food_ads.cfm

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2001013-2,00.html

http://www.diversityinc.com/platform/1757/images/31317284.pdf

School Yard Politics with a side of Media Madness

Politics is a system of checks and balances, the party that lead the country are shadowed by their opposite numbers in the party of opposition.  They shadow the minister in question to make sure he (or she) is doing their job properly and call them on it if they aren’t.  At least that’s the way it works in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malta – all have elements of the system used by the UK.

It’s not like netball, where the opposition player’s job is to mark their player, block them and if possible knock the ball right out of their hands.  At the moment that seems to be the US system.  This country just came out of the deepest recession since the great depression (some of us think we’re still in it) according to a bunch of economists and rather than pull together and get the country back on track all the Republicans and
Democrats want to do is fight with each other.  Actually the Republicans are more like the schoolyard bully the Democrats are Millhouse who has just lost his glasses.  President Obama needs to start kicking ass and taking names of donkeys and elephants alike.  Why isn’t he doing that?  How is it that just one old, overfed, sleepy senator can filibuster a bill and what the hell is pork?  I’d never heard of pork in terms of politics before moving here and why are there so many old dudes in the senate and congress and the house of representatives, is there no retirement age?

From an outsider’s point of view (green card, not resident so therefore can’t vote) the system is broken.  The obvious answer would be to raise taxes, how else can the government be fiscally responsible and yes I pay my taxes federal and state.

The other huge influence in this country is the media and that used to be a good thing but with the advent of 24 hour news, there are certain networks that make stuff up and repeat it enough times that the population starts to believe it.  Are you listening Fox, CNN, MSNBC. 

Also the news personality?  What the heck is that all about, the news is not a show, it is supposed to be information, not speculation, supposition or fiction, simple facts, not dressed up in opinion.  Just straight facts.   Oh and one more thing, if a media pundit or a politician says something in range of a camera or a microphone it is recorded for posterity, time stamped and dated.  If you flip your position we’ll know.

Unless dear reader you can convince me otherwise I’ll continue to get my news from the BBC World Service and Comedy Central. 

Democracy – Discuss.

Let’s start with a question.  What is a democracy?  You may think you know, I thought I did.  I’ve lived in one democracy and I’m currently living in the land of the free – another democracy.  Turns out there is more than one kind of democracy, there is direct democracy and representative democracy not to mention deliberative and the rest but I’m more interested in the first two types.

Direct Democracy, we all have a say, a referendum if you will.  So lets say the government wants to go to war, or introduce poll taxes, or get a handle on immigration, or join the exchange rate mechanism, they hold a referendum and the people’s voice are heard.  Great in theory not so much in practice.  All four of those scenarios played out in the UK while I was living there and the populace were treated like children, the decisions were made for them and it still rankles with many today.

Representative Democracy, the people elect men and women to represent their views in government.  Each elected member talks to their constituents and votes in their constituents’ best interests on subjects which will affect them directly, again great in theory, in practice the elected member votes either along party lines or allows money or ‘gifts’ to influence his or her judgment and if they don’t fulfill their obligations you can’t fire them.  There are mavericks but they are few and far between.  The essence of democracy, from the greek word demokratia meaning ‘rule of the people’ or ‘people power’ gets lost in the shuffle.

So I didn’t come from a democracy, not a true democracy anyway.

First Do No Harm – Really???

Let’s get this out of the way first, I am not nor have I ever been a medical student.  So of course I’ve never been to medical school but what I can do is treat a headache, minor burns, bruises, the common cold, take preventative measures to boost my immune system etc, etc.  But I don’t resort to the local pharmacy counter to do that.

Question 1:  How many single courses of a prescription drug have you taken in your life so far?  Just sit and think for a minute.  If you can count those prescriptions on two hands you’re in the minority.  The majority are on multiple drugs at any one time – in the last decade the percentage of US adults (aged 60+) taking five or more drugs simultaneously has risen by 70% and that’s according to the official CDC figures I found for 2007-08.  The percentage of US children under the age of 12 taking five or more prescribed drugs was 1%. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db42.htm#multiple%20prescription  )  which is 1% too many.  I mean did you ever take anti depressants or add medication when you were a kid?

Question 2: Have you been affected by side effects, gone back to your Doctor and rather than be put on another drug they’ve prescribed something else to treat the side effects of the drug you are currently on.  There’s a name for that, polypharmacy or a prescription cascade.

Question 3: Do you know which country has the most legal drug use per capita.  I’ll help you out, it’s this one.  Big Pharma just loves the US.

Our society has the unfortunate tendency to trust Doctors in white coats and while there are some Doctors who treat the whole person, it is pretty rare to find a Doctor who doesn’t zero in on the one symptom, treat that – usually with drugs – and then treat the next symptom when it arises and so on.  This causes a cascade of problems all stemming back to the original prescription, which is like placing a band-aid over a gaping wound. The problem is still there, buried but untreated.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t trust Doctors, if you have chest pains, or a lasting blinding headache or abdominal pain or suddenly lose the sight in one eye get yourself to an emergency room.  Your body gives you pains for a reason, an early warning system that something isn’t right.  Screenings are important too, early detection could save your life. 

Just remember the process of seeing a Doctor is a little bit like an interview, you have the right to research your symptoms (hypochondriacs should use caution before hitting Web MD) and have an intelligent conversation about what the Doctor thinks is wrong with you and what treatment options there are, and drugs shouldn’t be the first resort. If you get to the last resort, discuss possible side effects and drug or food interactions and it should be a two way street. If you feel pressured or patronized take a step back and if necessary ask for a second opinion.

Sources

British Medical Journal (Oct 97)

Australian Prescriber (Feb 08)

If you have an issue with this article then good – lets talk and not in a ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about’ way. More in a ‘will this new information help change your mind kind of way’.  Go ahead, enlighten me, but make sure you provide measurable stats or reputable trade publication articles (BMJ, AMA to name just two), or websites to back up your comments.