HBO's 'Weight of the Nation' examines the obesity epidemic

A compelling four-part documentary delving into the obesity epidemic sweeping the country is being aired on HBO and can be watched free by clicking here. A reporter wanting to write a series of stories on the issue would find "weight of the Nation" a good reference.

The program is divided into four parts. The first segment, "Consequences," looks at the scope of the epidemic and the ramifications of being overweight or obese. "Choices" looks at the science behind how to lose weight, how to maintain weight loss and prevent weight gain. The third part, "Children in Crisis," looks at how the problem is affecting American children, exploring the decline of physical activity, school lunch, the demise of school recess and how marketing of unhealthy food targets children. The final segment, "Challenges," looks at the major forces driving obesity, including agriculture, economics, evolutionary biology, food marketing, racial and socioeconomic disparities, physical inactivity, American food culture, and the influence of the food and beverage industries.

The documentary is on a detailed website that answers questions that range from "What is obesity?" to "How do I know if I'm overweight or obese?"

The project is a presentation of HBO and the Institute of Medicine in association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, with support from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and health insurer Kaiser Permanente.

Convenience, not expense, is making us avoid eating fruits, vegetables and other non-processed foods

A lack of convenience, not a high price, is the major obstacle to getting people to eat more fruit and vegetables, a study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition has found. The study analyzed the fruit and vegetable consumption in six low-income, mostly minority neighborhoods in Chicago.

"Participants who agreed that they had 'convenient access to quality' produce were more than twice as likely to eat the FDA-recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables," Sarah Kliff reports for The Washington Post. "Those who reported high cost as a barrier to the consumption of produce ended up eating just as much as those who didn't." (Post photo above by Barbara Damrosch)

The study seems to support New York Times columnist Mark Bittman's assertion that Americans are skipping nutritious food because it takes much more work to prepare, not because it's too expensive. "It's cooking that's the real challenge," he writes in a September 2011 column. "The core problem is that cooking is defined as work, and fast food is both a pleasure and a crutch." (Times photo by Daniel Borris)

Contributing to the problem, Bittman argues, is the addictive qualities of fast food and processed food: physically addictive, as a study by the Scripps Research Institute shows, and mentally addictive. Bittman cites David A. Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and author of The End of Overeating, who said manufacturers created food that was "energy-dense, highly stimulating and went down easy. They put it on every street corner and made it mobile, and they made it socially acceptable to eat anytime and anyplace. They created a food carnival, and that's where we live. And if you're used to self-stimulation every 15 minutes, well, you can't run into the kitchen to satisfy that urge."

The answer is in changing mindsets, Bittman writes, and getting "people to see cooking as a joy rather than a burden, or at least as part of a normal life." That takes education and changing the environment, which, he points out, has been done with tobacco. Cultural change can happen by celebrating whole foods, he writes. Political action would mean limiting "the marketing of junk; forcing its makers to pay the true costs of production; recognizing that advertising for fast food is not the exercise of free speech but behavior manipulation of addictive substances; and making certain that real food is affordable and available to everyone. The political challenge is the more difficult one, but it cannot be ignored." (Read more)

New regs could change way food industry markets to children

"The federal government proposed sweeping new guidelines on Thursday that could push the food industry to overhaul how it advertises cereal, soda pop, snacks, restaurant meals and other foods to children," The New York Times' William Neuman reports.

The guidelines, which were released by the Federal Trade Commission, target TV commercials, print ads, websites, product placement in movies, kids meals at fast food restaurants (Getty Images photo by David Paul Morris) and online games that serve to promote a product. "The inclusion of digital media, such as product-based games, represents one of the government's strongest efforts so far to address the extension of children's advertising into the online world," Neuman reports.

"Our proposal really covers all forms of marketing to kids, and the product packaging and the images and themes on the cereal boxes have tremendous appeal to kids," said Michelle K. Rush, a trade commission attorney. "The goal is to encourage children to eat more healthy foods because obesity is a huge health crisis."

Advertised food would have to be made of healthy ingredients, such as whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, or skim or 1 percent milk. They could not have high amounts of sugar, trans fats, salt or saturated fat. Cereals would only be able to have 8 grams of sugar per serving — they now often contain 12 grams — and salt would be limited to 450 milligrams per serving in packaged foods. A 15-ounce can of Chef Boyardee beef ravioli now has 750 milligrams.

Following the guidelines will be voluntary, but there will be pressure for companies to adopt them, Neuman reports. Those that elect to do so will have five to 10 years to revamp their products and marketing strategy.

A recent study in the American Journal of Public Health found that in 1997 to 2002 the average child saw about 4,000 television commercials advertising food each year. During Saturday morning cartoons, kids saw a food ad about every five minutes. Of that food advertised, about 95 percent of it was of poor nutritional value. In 2006, food companies spent almost $2.3 billion in children's advertising, the Federal Trade Commission found.

In response to the new guidelines, the food industry said it has "already taken significant steps to improve recipes and change the way it advertises to children," Neuman reports. (Read more)