I posted most of this as part of a response to another thread but got to thinking maybe this would make a good "Zone Tip" in and of itself :


The following illustrates how OBESITY has become a WORLD WIDE HEALTH ISSUE, how much of the blame falls on the food industry, and, what a difficult, difficult, fight it's going to be to bring under control – let alone reverse. Clearly, by direct implication, it is going to be just as difficult – if not SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SO, TO DEAL WITH ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS.

---------------- Which is what concerns us here !

This is one of the best articles I have read regarding the impact of the OBESITY EPIDEMIC. Unfortunately - for most people it will serve as an "eye opener" as to the extent of this problem: For example, are you aware that over 70% of the U.S. population is clinically overweight, and, in spite of government initiated efforts to at the least simply get this trend to level off - is getting worse, or, that according to a recent government sponsored study – just completed in summer 2008 – if, existing nutritional trends continue, ALL AMERICANS will be clinically overweight within 40 years !

ABOVE ALL ELSE THIS SAYS TO YOU AND ME :

That - whether we know it or not, whether we realize it or not, whether we like it or not - the "deck is stacked against" anyone attempting to maintain a sensible diet - and – THAT, is why it can very much "feel" like WE, or anyone, who consumes, or attempts to consume, food, that is GOOD for your health, in AMOUNTS that are GOOD for your health, at TIMES it is GOOD for your health - have something wrong - with – US !!!



The article in it's entirety appeared in the Lancet - one of the most respected medical journals in the world. The people who wrote the article and the many quoted are among the most respected in their fields. Keep in mind this is not coming from some crank with an axe to grind against the food industry.




Here goes :



Fighting Obesity Will Involve Politics As Well As Medicine

By Jeff Minerd, MedPage Today Staff Writer
Reviewed by Rubeen K. Israni, M.D., Fellow, Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
September 29, 2005


Review

LONDON, Sept. 30-

Winning the battle of the bulge, which is now a worldwide conflict, will take more than simply convincing patients to eat less and exercise more. It will also require winning a political war against the food industry.

That is the take home message hammered home again and again by writers of a review article in the October 1 issue of The Lancet.

In many countries, excessive calorie intake -- encouraged by the restaurant industry’s aggressive marketing of large-portion meals loaded with fats, sugars, and salts -- has overtaken lack of exercise as the leading contributor to obesity and overweight, according to David W. Haslam, M.D., of National Obesity Forum in Hertfordshire, England, and W. Philip T. James, M.D., of the International Obesity Task Force in London.

The prevention and treatment challenges posed by the global obesity epidemic are “overwhelming,” wrote Drs. Haslam and James. The statistics, which are compelling, include these:
• An estimated 1.1 billion adults worldwide are overweight, including 312 million who are obese. Ten percent of children worldwide are overweight or obese.
• The number of deaths per year attributable to obesity in the United Kingdom is 30,000. That figure is ten times higher in the United States, where obesity may soon overtake smoking as the main cause of preventable illness and death.
• It is estimated that obesity decreases life expectancy by 7 years for a 40 year old. The risk of death of every unit increase in BMI remains substantial until age 75.
• Excess body weight is the sixth most important risk factor contributing to the overall burden of disease worldwide.

The only region of the world where obesity is not common is sub-Saharan Africa.

The spread of fast food restaurants -- and their marketing tactics -- to developing countries is partly to blame for the worldwide obesity problem, the authors said.
“Given the fixed energy requirements of a population, the only ways to promote sales involved provision of products with higher content of fats, sugars, and salts in larger portions, making them available everywhere, and promoting eating and drinking on the move since this distracts the normal appetite regulatory response,” they said.

To help counteract this phenomenon, doctors should advise patients not to eat on their feet, the authors said. Patients should also be told not to eat while watching television, as TV also interferes with cognitive control of food intake.
The medical community’s ultimate challenge, however, will not be managing patients but taking on the food industry, the authors concluded.

“The industrial interests, with powers exceeding even those of the tobacco industry, are on the alert and often acting to slow the drive for change by intense political lobbying at the highest level and by engaging in tactics well rehearsed by the tobacco companies,” they said.

Dr.Sam Gidding, of the A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and a spokesperson for the American Heart Association, particularly agreed with the article’s indictment of the restaurant industry.

The industry’s portion sizes and advertising “encourage people to eat beyond a rational capacity,” he said. Without government regulation to set healthy portion sizes, the problem is likely to continue, he added.
“People have forgotten that gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins,” Dr. Gidding said. “This article reminds us of that.”
Drs. Haslam and James have received support from Abbot Laboratories and served as investigators in clinical trials of Abbot’s obesity drug Meridia (sibutramine).
Primary source: The Lancet
Source reference:
Haslam DW and James WTP. Obesity. The Lancet. Advanced online publication September 29, 2005



***********


In the preceeding is mentioned :

... excessive calorie intake -- encouraged by the restaurant industry’s aggressive marketing of large-portion meals loaded with fats, sugars, and salts -- has overtaken lack of exercise as the leading contributor to obesity and overweight, ...



As an example of this:

Do You Know How Food Portions Have Changed in 20 Years?

Anyone eating on the run or at restaurants has probably noticed that food portions have gotten larger. Some portions are called "super size," while others have simply grown in size and provide enough food for at least two people. With this growth have come increases in waistlines and body weight.


See if you know how much the portions offered TODAY have increased compared to the portions typically served only 20 years ago by quizzing yourself on Portion Distortion I (2003) and Portion Distortion II (2004). You will also learn about the amount of physical activity required to burn off JUST the extra calories found in today's portions.


We hope you find Portion Distortion insightful and fun. We also hope that next time you eat on the run, you will think twice about the food portions offered to you.


Link to Portion Distortion I http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/...n&number=1

Link to Portion Distortion II
http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/...n&number=1

Thanks for sharing that, very interesting. And, I personally don't have a problem with you copy/pasting the article. I think, that as long as you give credit where credit is due, that it should not be a problem. I don't know if it breaks any copywrite laws, but I think that the author would be pleased to know that his information is getting out there.

To add to your message, I just wanted to share a few personal experiences. I was recently on vacation, to the women's national bowling tournament in Detroit. I went with a friend, and I have 2 experiences to share with you regarding our trip.

The first one was on the day we bowled doubles and singles. We were scheduled to bowl at 11, and we are required to be there 45 minutes before we bowl. Bowling this event takes at least 3 hours (minimum), and you are not allowed to eat during the event. They serve NOTHING in the bowling center that is healthy (well, they try, but their "healthy food" is certainly not Zone friendly). Anyway, I brought along a zone bar. In between events, we had a 1/2 hour break, and so I thought I could sneak in my bar. I stepped away from the lanes and stood back where the spectators were standing. However, one of the score markers approached me and reminded me that I was not supposed to be eating. Well, the point I am trying to drive home is that they don't give the bowlers any good options for food before the event, and yet they expect the bowler to perform well on the crap food that they serve.

Then, the other situation was with my friend. We were hungry, looking for a place to eat lunch. We had driven past a really nice Whole Foods, and I suggested that we eat there. She refused. She said that the food doesn't agree with her. I asked her what was wrong with the food, totally expecting her to say something about the gourmet seasoning or something like that. However, her response to me was, "because it is too healthy"!!

Cranberrycat,
All I have to say about your friend is WOW... I cannot believe she said that?! she will regret her unhealthy eating patterns in the long run.
I experience somewhat of the same things... none of my fiends want or eat healthy ... so it's hard for me to even go out and eat with them... It sucks not to be able to partake but i think my health and physical apperance is more important than a big mac!

HI There,

Yes - her remark would seem to be startling but if, in fact, there IS an obesity epidemic - it's not startling at all.

When I came to the realization/awareness of not only that there was/is an obesity epidemic but the fact it was very severe by "epidemic" standards - and - getting worse by the day, one day the thought dawned on me : "No wonder I feel like I'm "weird" for following a sensible/healthy diet - by implication, if the obesity epidemic is as prevalent as it is reported - I'm surrouned by it's members ! "

Personally it made a significant difference in my serenity with my diet.

For example, instead of feeling "uncomfortable" when everyone else was shoveling down the "nachos grande" and it was however inocuously noted I WASN'T - I felt "SORRY - FOR THEM".

... and the remark was EXPECTED.

Think about this : Let's say you are hanging around with a bunch of heroine users. Don't you think THEY all would be acting like using it was the most normal thing in the world ?

Now let's take being in the company of people who are either overweight or obese or significantly obese. [ Your chances of being among people from one of those catagories by the way is over 70% ! ] They are going to be acting as if eating as much as you want of whatever you want - is NORMAL/OK/ACCEPTED. NOT behaving this way, to them, is ABNORMAL/STRANGE/WEIRD.


As you can suspect I have been following this "obesity epidemic" thing and just yesterday found out/discoverd that there is a program called the Obesity Education Initiative being run by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) which is part of the Dept of Health and Human Services.

I'm going to pull out some interesting facts from the "mission statement" quickly. As you can imagine there is a lot there. I encourage you to check out this page for yourself for the complete picture :

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/oei/oei_pd.htm


National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Obesity Education Initiative

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Origin and Purpose
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health launched the Obesity Education Initiative (OEI) in January 1991. The overall purpose of the initiative is to help reduce the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity in order to lower the risk, and overall morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD). In addition, reducing the prevalence of overweight/obesity will help to prevent or improve other diseases and conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea.


...The first "Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health," published in 1988, declared overweight and obesity to be one of the most prevalent diet-related problems in the United States

...the "Surgeon General's Call To Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity" noted that overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions among all population groups. According to data from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), an estimated 64 percent of the adult population is overweight or obese and 15 percent of children and adolescents are considered overweight


...

The Goals of the OEI

The primary goal of the OEI is to encourage the adoption of heart healthy eating patterns and physical activity habits that will not only help prevent or reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity and their related CHD risk factors along with sleep apnea, but also help reduce morbidity and mortality from CHD.

The OEI also supports programs and activities related to the Healthy People 2010 objectives regarding the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity. Examples of some of the objectives are listed below.




{Me, e.wALLY, talking now - and there is a very long list that follows for the "objectives" of the "Healthy People 2010" program }


Although OBESITY may not be a problem that you and I are having to deal with - we are certainly IMMERSED ON A DAILY BASIS WITH THE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR OF THOSE AFFLICTED, and thereby constanly affected by it.

E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

Wow, lots of interesting stuff in there! I have not had the time to "digest" it all. Your take on the "epidemic" and how those "abusers" feel that their behavior is "normal" is also a very interesting way of viewing it.

The problem that I see, is that we are surrounded not only by those people who "think" they are normal, but also surrounded by their food!

CranberryCat,


When you state :

The problem that I see, is that we are surrounded not only by those people who "think" they are normal, but also surrounded by their food!

... you couldn't be more accurate !

Since the "Surgeon General" report mentioned above the "Obesity Epidemic" has actually GOTTEN WORSE !

As I’ve mentioned in other posts - the fact that obesity has been classified by the Surgeon General as an "epidemic" is nothing to take lightly. A disease has to meet certain criteria to be identified as such. If you "Goggle" around "epidemic" "dept of Human Health and Services" etc., you will find that one of the cornerstones of the Dept's activities is the responsibility of being ever vigilant for "... potential threats to our nation's health ... to identify them ... and develop programs for dealing with them ... "

Consider this :

Smallpox, chickenpox, cholera, yellow fever, typhoid, and various influenza's have been classified as "epidemics" many times in our nation's history.

Just ten years ago we had the "West Nile Virus" classified as an epidemic.

When the Dept of Health and Human Services identifies an "epidemic" it IS VERY SERIOUS.

I've watched this thing develop and what is happening at the moment is that not only in our country, but organizations around the world - health organizations, government organizations, are recognizing the EXTREME COST not just in obesity associated health deterioration - but more importantly - the HUGE COST IN DOLLARS in related health care costs of the effects of obesity.

This is what is being focused on at the moment - and it has been discovered that these costs are STAGGERING.


And ... how this effects you and I in particular, and ANYONE trying to act on the thought that " gee - I ought to do something about my weight and diet" is the current "nutritional environment", the TYPICAL one a person would find themselves in - IS ANYTHING BUT SUPPORTIVE.

I have found the Zone Diet/Eating Plan on the surface "appealing" to the average person, will make sense fairly quickly to the newly initiated, can be grasped without too much trouble; however, when it comes to IMPLEMENTING it - on a 3 -5 times per day basis - THAT'S where by far is met the greatest challenge [ threat ].

And why is that ? Because we are surrounded by those infected with the obesity epidemic and the food industry and restaurant industry that is, at the moment, overwhelmingly supporting "them" and not "us".

E.Wally

If you like I have a number of articles on this that I have collected and more importantly edited down to only the pertinent/interesting information.

I don't think the Forums are a place to "paste in" an entire document so if you send me your email address I'm happy to attach a few and send them.

My email : ewally@verizon.net

If there’s a way to leave "attachments" for you through the Forum I'm not aware of it.

CranberryCat,

Here's something you will hopefully find very amusing and educational [ and maybe even entertaining !] that illustrates well the INSIDIOUSNESS nature of how OUR [everyone's ] diet has been impacted/is being impacted by the food industry :

I'm pulling out an excerpt from the webpage that will tell you more but basically what they are talking about and what it will lead you to are TWO "quizes" I guess you'd say that are very well done and fun to take - that underline how much the "typical portion size" of EVERYTHING has increased enourmously - and in a very short time period ...

... as maybe part of an "epidemic" ?


Portion Distortion!


Do You Know How Food Portions Have
Changed in 20 Years?

Anyone eating on the run or at restaurants has probably noticed that food portions have gotten larger. Some portions are called "super size," while others have simply grown in size and provide enough food for at least two people. With this growth have come increases in waistlines and body weight.


To see if you know how today's portions compare to the portions available 20 years ago, quiz yourself on Portion Distortion I (2003) and Portion Distortion II (2004). You will also learn about the amount of physical activity required to burn off the extra calories provided by today's portions.


We hope you find Portion Distortion insightful and fun. We also hope that next time you eat on the run, you will think twice about the food portions offered to you.


Link to Portion Distortion I http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/...n&number=1

Link to Portion Distortion II
http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/...n&number=1


E.Wally

Hi, E.Wally!

I also agree with you. ONe thing that you said which strikes a cord is with regard to implementing the Zone 3-5 times per day. Basically, staying consistent with it throughout the day, while being exposed to our "unzoned" environment out there.

Now, for those who are naturally organized, or the "type A" who do things perfectly all the time, the Zone is probably very easy, and there is no exceptions made to following the lifestyle.

However, there are those (like me) who live life from the seat of my pants. I rarely "plan" things out. If I do, it DOES make things work easier, but I am often disappointed if something comes up to derail my plans (and it generally does). So, no matter how much planning can be done, I often find myself stuck depending on my "environment" around me to help me catch my next meal or snack. And, as you well know, there are just not a lot of options available.

Funny, but I work in a hospital, but I would never dream of eating the hospital food! Talk about a zoneless meal!

Regarding your "portion distortion", I think I have seen that before! I will definitely take a look at it. THat is why I continue to keep my food block list on my fridge door, to keep my portions true to size!

Corresponding via this forum is fine with me, I have been quite short on time lately, and so I don't often get into my email (or even into this forum) as often as I would like.

CranberryCat,

You couldn't have said it any better when you pointed out the difficulty of "staying consistent with it throughout the day, while being exposed to our "unzoned" environment out there."

That is IMO the most difficult challenge a "newbie" to The Zone faces:

They simply don't realize just how incredibly the "deck is stacked nutritionally against them" - because the "outside" nutritional world is at least 90% "UNZONED" - as you put it.

Add to this that this "UN Zoned" environment is being used by people who,by government standards [ a BMI >30 ] over 70% are at least "overweight" and you have a true uphill battle on a daily basis.

As you point out - this situation is a challenge for the EXPERIENCED Zoner to negotiate !

Here's a link to a survey that was recently done in Health and Prevention Magazine rating chain restaurants on the nutritional quality of their offerings.

I found the article interesting, informative, and the information very useful. I printed out a copy and keep it in my car.

Since most of these chains are around here I find that I can quickly by referring to the article know what I am getting into to grab a quick "zone" meal or snack when too far from home.

I am fortunate to be in "UNO country" around here - they really have a very "Zone Friendly" menu.

http://eating.health.com/2008/04/23...o-eat-out/



HA ! I thought it was my imagination about hospital food being as bad as anything else !

To me this underlines just how PERVASIVE the "UN Zoned" world is !

The hospital that I am closest too and almost always use is truly superior in many ways - I consider myself fortunate to have it nearby. One day I happened to be in the vicinity of the pharmacy and noticing it's shear HUGE size and extraordinarily active use I also noticed coincidentally directly across from it - the office of the staff nutritionalist.

First note that I said "staff nutritionalist" as in SINGULAR - meanwhile across the hall there were at least 10 people working right at the counter of the pharmacy.

I would estimate the total square footage of the nutritionalist's office was about 250 - the pharmacy about 2,500 minimum [ that I could see }.

What does that tell you about the nature of how medicine is practiced ?

Lot's of "interventional" capability - minimal "preventional".

E.Wally

Funny, you mentioned the size of the pharmacy and the size of the nutritionist departments. Similar to my hospital. On any given day, there is only ONE dietician working to consult on up to 25 patients. However, there are a number of pharmacists (not sure how many work during the day, but there is a whole team of pharmacists and techs to cover the same 25 patients. That really says a lot about where the focus really is in our health care industry.

CranBerryCat,

Yes, I am not surprised that my observaion of the relative space and resource dedication between the "nutrition" function and the "pharmacy function" at ALL hospitals must be about the ssme,

It is truly a revealing easy to observe reflection of the basic nature of how medical treatment has evolved in the U.S.

It is overwhelmingly INTERVENTIONAL and mimimally at best PREVENTIONAL.

A "diet" such as The Zone is obviously "preventional" so anyone using it as an approach to health and wellness will find themselves - whether they realize it or not - at odds with their "nutritional environment" and those, almost everyone else, that use it.

E.Wally

Cran
Berry
cat,


Meant to mention that in going through "cardiac rehab" got to know many of the nursing staff and it was during this period that I stumbled across the Zone and a general awareness that there was much to my surprise very little emphasis on the DIET of us attending the cardiac rehab program.

ONe of them who was "tuned in" to the importance of diet - if, you figured this out and sought her out, in talking about it told me that first of all it wasn't my imagination at all that there is/was little attention focused on the importance of diet.

She told me that if a physician was educated prior to about 1960 they typically would have been required in ALL of their EXTENSIVE medical education and training to have taken ZERO courses in nutrition !!!

If educated after about 1960 - ONE !!!


Think about this.

E.Wally

Here's yet another example of the incredilbly BAD nutritional advice/information that is "out there" in our UN-Zoned World :

It would be funny if it weren't for the fact this was published in the New York Times on PAGE TWO !!!

Folks, we are talking about arguably the most widely read newspaper in the world !!!

If THEY can't get it right or at least a some remote facimile of "right" as far as basic nutrition goes ...



One of the greatest challenges facing anyone attempting to follow The Zone diet while immersed in an UNZoned World - are the people around us and their misguided impression of nutrition,

Now along comes this little gem of nutritional advice :





This is from PAGE 2 OF THE NEW YORK TIMES - FIRST PARAGRAPH AT THE TOP OF PAGE 2

MONDAY JULY 7, 2008

[ and I directly quote ]

[Headline } LEAVE THE STICKY BUN, TAKE THE GRANOLA

Nutritionalists say that eating habits play a big part in how players fare on the green. So if you're trying to look like Woods or Nicklaus, skip that midround hot dog and beer. "If you're having a social round of golf maybe that's O.K., but if you want to play well, those are completely nonsensical choices," one nutritionist said. "Throw the hot dog away and eat the bun; that has carbohydrates."

Bill Penington, On Par



[end of paragraph, end of quote ]


WHAT FRICKIN HOPE IS THERE !

E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

one nutritionist said. "Throw the hot dog away and eat the bun; that has carbohydrates."


********** The New York Times

***************TOP of PAGE TWO


Is this a new "low water mark" for nutritional advice ?

E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

... and the answer is : MAYBE - MAYBE NOT !

******** Seems the Boston Globe, in an effort to not be outdone by their esteemed friends down the road in New York have come up with :


Home / A&E / Food / Restaurants

Set to flip in Massachusetts

Fast-growing burger chain planning for 3 restaurants soon, 7 more by mid-2009

July 12, 2008


If you want a salad, go somewhere else.

That's the concept behind Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a fast-growing national restaurant chain that plans to open its first three restaurants in Massachusetts ...

Putting a new spin on the biggest segment of the restaurant industry - burgers and fries - is the key to the strength of the Five Guys brand, Balzer said....

..."We don't serve salads. We serve hamburgers," McGuire said. "We don't pretend to be healthy."



[ end of excerpt ]


I was hoping that if you go to the link [below ] to the complete article you would be able to view the page as it appeared in The Globe - featuring the photo of the employee flipping hamburgers and the quote below but you only see a summary of the article.

The actual article + large featured photo appears on

THE LEAD PAGE OF THE BUSINESS SECTION ...

... THE FEATURE ARTICLE ...

... page is DOMINATED by 5x7 photo of employeee of Five Guys with a burger.

,,, BELOW PHOTO IS CAPTION :

"A company official said: 'We don't serve salads. We don't pretend to be healthy'"


***Perhaps the ",,,Putting a new spin on the biggest segment of the restaurant industry ..." they mentioned, is being honest for the first time that incorporating such menu items as "salads" is little more than 'lip service'/a pretense of having anything to do with a "nutritional" menu ?



***Perhaps we should admire their honesty ? ***

I would suggest that they are, if anything, PROUD TO NOT HAVE A HEALTHY MENU ...

It can certainly be said they are not hesitent to FLAUNT IT.

Perhaps a new "low water mark" indeed.


Here's the link to the actual article :

http://www.boston.com/ae/food/resta...achusetts/


REMEMBER - IF YOU WANT A SALAD - GO SOMEWHERE ELSE

E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

I am a doctorate student that uses journals for references all the time. You are not violating copyright laws if you are giving credit to the authors and publishers of the work. If you find it online, you provide the link where you found it. You may want to check the front cover of the journal or home page of the website to see if they have anything specific on copyright laws. However, most journals, especially medical ones, expect people will be using the material for reference and are honored to have their material used in this manner.

Tara,

Thank you for the insight.

E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

... and it's only getting worse my friends :

[ article from N.Y.Times web site ]


What's Online

Supersize Comeback for Fast Food

TWO years ago, KFC was trying to market its fried chicken parts as a healthy alternative to pizza and burgers.

Bob Garfield, writing in Advertising Age, ranted that the company had been misleading in its effort to sell America on the health benefits of its "chicken-flavored doughnuts."

It would be better for KFC, Mr. Garfield wrote then, to market to people who didn't care about the health risks - including those who proudly spurned them.

As described this week by Business Week Online, both KFC and the competition seem to have taken Mr. Garfield's advice - and there seem to be more health-unconscious consumers than anyone could have guessed. "Americans are eating hamburgers, doughnuts, French fries and fried chicken like never before," writes Pallavi Gogoi.

Given how intensely the food industry was scrambling just months ago to pander to low-carbers and South Beachers, it's startling to witness the sudden collective decision to pander instead to supersizers.

Other chains are increasing their offerings of artery-choking fare, with great success.

What's going on here?
"Fat is mainstream, which is why everyone has become complacent," Marion Nestle, the author, nutrition professor and food-industry critic, told Ms. Gogoi. "What used to be considered pudgy before isn't even worthy of a comment today."

In fact, she adds, KFC is thinking of going back to its original name: Kentucky Fried Chicken.

E-mail: whatsonline@nytimes.com.


[end of article from NY Times web site ]

I WENT BY A NEW KFC UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND ON ONE SIDE OF THE BUILDING - IT'S BACK :

"KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN" - proudly displayed once again.

... and you don't think it's getting worse ?

E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

Did you ever see a skinny Colonel Sanders? LOL!

Again, thanks for sharing, E. Wally!

CranberryCat,

... or how about that guy that always selling the diabetic suppliies on TV !

Have you noticed not only has he apparently gained even more weight - they're showing him more from the "belt line up" in what is suspected a subtle ploy to make you think beig "just like him" is perfectly normal.

I'll have to look and see if I can find where I read that.


Although it may seem on the surface to be an innocuous thing for KFC or Kentucky Fried Chicken [ whoever they are ] to switch "name promotion" you have to consider how much that cost them to do !!!

You are talking millions !

The "message" is that "FRIED" is back in !!! After a brief period of getting a "nutritional black eye" the American public has apparently voted with it's belly once again.

It's one thing for a company to perceive a shift in perception of their product - it's another when the shift is so significant they are willing to spend millions to make sure they are "positioned" to capture that shift.

E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

Oh, yes! Wilford Brimley!

Did I happen to mention my own hospital cafeteria? Now, wouldn't one think that the hospital should have healthy choices in the cafeteria?

Well, they DO go by the FDA food pyramid, and so they THINK that the menu is healthy.

But, what is one to do when the only VEGGIES being served are "potatoes" and "corn"?

Actually, I had a friendly argument with the dietician once regarding the status of corn. She insisted on it being classified as a vegetable; however, I felt it should be better classified as a grain.

Well, I will tell you that I don't eat there. I "brown-bag" my lunch every day!

CranberryCat,

I know exactly what you are talking about !

Of all things I was in the mountains for a weekend ski trip as a birthday present for me. One morning for no apparent reason we could ever eventually determine I started sweating profusely. Having had heart disease one knows that could be one of the "warning signs" - so -

instead of going skiing for the day I went to the hospital ! [ Happy Birthday }

Other than the sweating I felt fine. They did a cardiogram and the doctor told me it looked basically ok but there was a slight "irregularity" that he didn't think was anything but because of my history he would like to admit me and run some tests just to be sure.

OK - so while my family goes off skiing for the day I sit in my room - which overlooked the mountains and the ski area my family was at and waited for the results.

So they bring lunch in.

The chicken is FRIED !

and the carbs are mashed potatoes and a bannana on the side !!!!

desert is Jello - not sugar free - and with whipped cream !


So I call the nurse back and ask her if the kitchen is aware of why I am there ?

I tell her I'm not eating any of it - what else is available ?

She comes back - what she brought in was basically it because I wasn't in my room until the kitchen was shutting down.

So I tell her either they bring me something that is not dangerous to my health and feed me the lunch that they are certainly going to bill my insurance for or I am not going to pay the bill.

she leaves and comes back. "Ok what would you like - they'll try and make it"

All the tests came back negative, I saw my cardiologist when I gor back and no one could figure out what the attack of "sweats" was all about.

When I discussed the "lunch" scenario with him he said that his cardiology group and another attached to the local hospital had the same issues and had to put up a big stink to get the cafeteria to come around to a "heart friendly" menu for cardiology patients.

Like I say - "Do you see what we are up against ?"

... from the "END" Zone

E.Wally

ewally@verizon.net

Unfortunately, sounds all too familiar!

Oh, the banana "seemed" healthy to them. No fat, and has lots of potassium!

So, what DID they end up serving you, in the end?

We had a similar struggle a few years ago. One of our physicians was "getting the picture" and had some patients who were having success on the Atkins diet (right church, wrong pew). When his patients were admitted to the hospital, he had a struggle with the dietary department to get them to serve his patients a low carb/high protein diet. The dietician was angry because the Atkins goes against everything she was taught about diet/nutrition.

Anyway, they did resolve it by calling it a "carb controlled" diet (which is what our diabetics are on now). The doctor is responsible for ordering the number of carbs that a patient can have. However, there is still no emphasis on the proper type of carb on the plate (and so the patient can STILL end up with a banana).

CramberryCat,

On a wild hunch there WERE some EGGS around I asked for 4 egg whites scrambled with lots of peppers and a side of broccoli and/or cauliflower and/or spinach and an apple, or peach, or apricot - they could bring any or all of the above.

Got a lovely broccoli and pepper scramble, side of broccoli, and an apple and a peach !

******************

As to dieticians I have found that they often are the worst to deal with ! Unfortunatley they were typically "educated" through a curriculim that was spawned along with that old perverted "food triangle", have like human nature is prone to cause - become "set in their ways" and The Zone or quite frankly any other diet that causes them to have to re-evaluate their medical knowledge they very strongly resist considering them at the least " a nusiance" to their day.

I have found very few dieticians who have even a rudimentarty knowledge of any of the "current" variations.


I have also found them, for some reason, very closed minded about even discussing diets such as The Zone - just the mention causes them to "circle the wagons" !

Agree!