 I recently participated in a ‘debate’ about whether we should routinely weigh pregnant women. The debate, which I thought would make interesting fodder for this blog, was just published in the June 2015 edition of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. I’ll try to get permission to also post the other side, “Routine weighing does not solve the problem of obesity in pregnancy”, which is currently behind a paywall.
Gestational weight gain (GWG) outside of recommended ranges is a common and growing public health challenge. Since 2000, the percent of US women gaining weight during pregnancy in excess of current guidelines increased 3% – from an already high 42.5% in 2000-1 to 45.5% in 2008-9. In combination with the ~20% of women with inadequate gain, almost 2/3 of women are now gaining outside of recommended ranges.
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 With the recent news that the FDA has demanded that trans fats –fats found in margarine, and in many processed foods as partially hydrogenated oil -- be removed from the US market within 3 years, I was afraid that my mother had been correct in telling me to limit my fat intake while I was growing up. As a teenager growing up in the 1970s, she was coming of age when the first set of dietary guidelines called for Americans to limit how much fat they ate. This advice stuck with her through adulthood when she eventually became a mother and did her best to raise healthy kids.
 In 2014, Mexicans purchased 137 liters of soda per person – that’s more than 1 liter every 3 days. (Only three countries consume more soda per capita -- Argentina, the United States, and Chile). In 2012, sugary drinks accounted for an astounding 17% of total daily calories consumed among Mexican children and 19% among Mexican adults. Mexico also has the highest overweight and obesity rates in the world, coming in at 72% of its citizens as either overweight or obese, just above the US. In response, Mexico has aggressively implemented policies to address excessive sugary drink consumption and overweight/obesity. In January 2014, Mexican lawmakers implemented a tax of 1 peso (around 7 cents) per liter (about a 10% tax) on any non-dairy, non-alcohol drink with added sugar. Taxes like these are often referred to as “soda taxes” but usually cover more than just soda, as the Mexican tax does. They also passed a companion 8% tax on unhealthy snack food, covering “salty and other snacks, confectionery products, chocolate and products derived from cacao, puddings and flans, candy, peanut butter and hazelnut butter, ice cream, and popsicles.”
 What do Rob Gronkowski, Cindy Crawford, and newly crowned NBA champion Stephen Curry have in common? In addition to being famous celebrities, they are all part of Team FNV (Fruits ‘N’ Veggies), a new marketing campaign sponsored by the Partnership for a Healthier America. The campaign is seeking to market fruits and vegetables with the same tactics that companies use to advertise packaged foods. It is recruiting influential actors, athletes, and other celebrities to endorse fruits and vegetables as a product, much like the shoes, makeup, and other goods they normally promote.
 During the work week, I hastily eat breakfast while sitting at my desk checking my email and talking to co-workers. And when I eat dinner at home, I would love to say I am eating at my kitchen table without distraction – but in reality, I am eating at the coffee table with my laptop open or TV on. Occasionally (okay, more than occasionally), I also have my cell phone in hand or next to my plate. If you are eating a meal or snack while reading this, or have been to a restaurant recently and noticed the glow of a cell phone screen at the neighboring table, you can probably relate to my situation.
As unrealistic as it sounds to be mindful of every bite of food I eat, sometimes I wonder how my distracted eating habits are affecting my overall food consumption and hunger cues. As it turns out, research consistently demonstrates that the more distracted individuals are while they eat, the more calories they are likely to consume at both current and future meal times. |
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