Food Nannies Hawk the Hawkeye State
By Sandy Szwarc
Published 03/16/2005
TCS
Like newspapers across the country, the Des Moines Register has published a special series addressing the "obesity crisis." The Register series, which began last Sunday, was entitled "The Losing Battle" -- appropriately named, just not in the way the newspaper believes.
The weight loss industry faces a losing battle selling their diets and bariatric surgeries among residents there. Iowans are known for their old-fashioned common sense and aren't getting on board with the panic over their body weights and the need to lose weight being marketed. The Register, however, has. And their series offers consumers across the nation an eye-opening illustration of obesity doublespeak at work.
Iowans don't know that obesity is a deadly medical condition, the Register tells readers. Writer Anne Carothers-Kay reports that 60% of Iowans are either "overweight" or "obese." This "bad news," she notes, makes Iowa the 15th-most obese state in the nation. According to reporter Jennifer Dukes Lee, this is a "crisis."
But is it?
-snip-
Showing posts with label obesity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obesity. Show all posts
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Friday, September 03, 2004
Mikey Doesn't Like It
Mikey Doesn't Like It
By Sandy Szwarc, R.N., B.S.N., C.C.P.
Published 08/21/2003
My goodness. I'm amazed by Michael Fumento's reaction to my recent series on Tech Central Station, which he calls an "Oxford English Dictionary-length propaganda feast." If I were to condense it into a Cliff Notes' version, what I said was so simple: We all need to get regular physical activity, eat normally and nourish our bodies with a variety of foods (plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy, proteins, with a balance of indulgences). And this, rather than trying to be a certain weight, is the key to good health.
Incredibly, Fumento says following this advice will kill you -- "believe her and die."
He characterizes me as part of the "fatlash movement," which he equates with Big Tobacco. This struck me as odd, but I think I see what he was trying to get at. Lawyers and politicians made a fortune on tobacco settlements and they're eager to make another big score. They've now targeted the food industry, but before they can exact a settlement, they need victims ... lots of victims. To create them, a deadly obesity crisis must be fabricated. Fumento, himself, can tell you how it works. Years ago, in an article, "How the Media and Lawyers Stir Up False Illness," he described how easy it was to "wreak havoc in America" today by fabricating a health scare crisis, "particularly if the suggestion is made by your doctor, then your lawyer, and then the newspapers." The secondary gain behind these claims? "It's big bucks," he wrote, "which is where lawyers come in."
In another insightful article about SARS, he also helps us understand the whys of concocting "killer" diseases and panic. "It does sell papers," he wrote. Plus, "there's fame, fortune and big budgets" at stake. "The U.S. government and various universities have also seen these faux plagues as budget boosters."
But for some reason when it comes to the subject of obesity, all this good sense vanishes. In his response to my series, he makes his case by trotting out the same flawed and deceptive arguments and contorted research at the core of the envisioned big food settlement. He misquotes, sidesteps troublesome evidence, and even employs a peculiar research tool.
-snip-
By Sandy Szwarc, R.N., B.S.N., C.C.P.
Published 08/21/2003
My goodness. I'm amazed by Michael Fumento's reaction to my recent series on Tech Central Station, which he calls an "Oxford English Dictionary-length propaganda feast." If I were to condense it into a Cliff Notes' version, what I said was so simple: We all need to get regular physical activity, eat normally and nourish our bodies with a variety of foods (plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy, proteins, with a balance of indulgences). And this, rather than trying to be a certain weight, is the key to good health.
Incredibly, Fumento says following this advice will kill you -- "believe her and die."
He characterizes me as part of the "fatlash movement," which he equates with Big Tobacco. This struck me as odd, but I think I see what he was trying to get at. Lawyers and politicians made a fortune on tobacco settlements and they're eager to make another big score. They've now targeted the food industry, but before they can exact a settlement, they need victims ... lots of victims. To create them, a deadly obesity crisis must be fabricated. Fumento, himself, can tell you how it works. Years ago, in an article, "How the Media and Lawyers Stir Up False Illness," he described how easy it was to "wreak havoc in America" today by fabricating a health scare crisis, "particularly if the suggestion is made by your doctor, then your lawyer, and then the newspapers." The secondary gain behind these claims? "It's big bucks," he wrote, "which is where lawyers come in."
In another insightful article about SARS, he also helps us understand the whys of concocting "killer" diseases and panic. "It does sell papers," he wrote. Plus, "there's fame, fortune and big budgets" at stake. "The U.S. government and various universities have also seen these faux plagues as budget boosters."
But for some reason when it comes to the subject of obesity, all this good sense vanishes. In his response to my series, he makes his case by trotting out the same flawed and deceptive arguments and contorted research at the core of the envisioned big food settlement. He misquotes, sidesteps troublesome evidence, and even employs a peculiar research tool.
-snip-
The Truth About Obesity
The Truth About Obesity
By Sandy Szwarc
Published 07/14/2003
TCS
In the fight against obesity, we're told: 'Being fat is simply a matter of energy balance. It's easy to lose weight, just eat 3,500 calories less than you burn and you'll lose a pound. We've become a fat nation because we're eating more than ever before, and too much fat and junk food, and not moving.'
Of course, the real message is one of blame: 'You fat slobs! You are irresponsible, lazy, gluttons. You wouldn't be fat if you just didn't eat so much (or so much fat, sugar, and junk food) and got off the couch!'
If it were only that simple.
-snip-
By Sandy Szwarc
Published 07/14/2003
TCS
In the fight against obesity, we're told: 'Being fat is simply a matter of energy balance. It's easy to lose weight, just eat 3,500 calories less than you burn and you'll lose a pound. We've become a fat nation because we're eating more than ever before, and too much fat and junk food, and not moving.'
Of course, the real message is one of blame: 'You fat slobs! You are irresponsible, lazy, gluttons. You wouldn't be fat if you just didn't eat so much (or so much fat, sugar, and junk food) and got off the couch!'
If it were only that simple.
-snip-
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