obesity epidemic

Since 1999, the International Food Information Council Foundation has tracked the media coverage of the obesity issue.

Last month, I read an article with the quarterly tracking chart included.

Yikes!

The chart only went back to the year 2000 — in which there were about 4,000 articles published (annual rate of 16,000 per year!).

I would assume the numbers prior to 2000 are far lower — and, if you went back far enough in time, probably nonexistant.

Well, the number of articles has gone up each year since 2000.

Not a big surprise — but would you have quessed a THREE TIMES increase to about 12,000 articles (48,000 per year) in just four years!!

Is this crazy or what?

No wonder we have an obesity problem.

You may have seen the new movie called the “Secret.” It’s message — you attract what you think about. In other words, if you think good things are going to happen, they’ll likely happen (e.g., power of positive thinking). However, the opposite will likely occur also.

Maybe if we all thought a lot less about the “obesity epidemic” because we didn’t have to read as much about it, we would all lose weight.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of Finally, the Straight Scoop About Weight, Nutrition, and Fitness

One of the most controversial areas of nutrition research is related to salt intake.

Some researchers think that consuming too much salt creates all sorts of problems, while others think the concern about salt is overstated.

However, in general, most agree that a comprehensive reduction in salt consumption would not produce significant health benefits for a population.

Now a recent study suggests otherwise. Two Finland professors reported recently that a 30-35% reduction in salt intake over the last 30 years in Finland was associated with a 75-80% decrease in stroke and heart disease mortality in the population under 65 years.

The key word here is “associated.” These professors don’t have any data demonstrating that reducing salt intake causes these health benefits. Instead, they just discovered a relationship between salt intake and stroke/heart disease. It could be that the salt intake reduction had nothing to do with the improved health of the population in Finland.

However, they also discovered that the salt intake in the US increased 50% between the mid-1980s and the late-1990s — during which time the prevalence of high blood pressure increased. Doesn’t that prove that increased salt intake is a bad thing?

Well, in fact, no it doesn’t.

But, we hear this kind of misleading stuff all the time. Goofy associations are discovered by researchers and it gets presented by the media as cause and affect.

In fact, what was the headline for the article about this study? “Salt intake strongly associated with obesity.”

Yep, it turns out this same study found a link between salt intake and obesity in Finland. How do the researchers explain this finding? Their hypothesis is that increased salt intake causes increased thirst — and that this results in people drinking more sugary beverages, causing a marked net increase in calorie consumption.

And guess what? Until 1983, salt consumption in the US was pretty stable. But, since then, salt intake has increased and so has the prevalence of obesity.

So, there you have it — the answer to our obesity epidemic. All we need to do is cut back on using the salt shaker and we’ll all get skinny.

Allen Oelschlaeger
Author of Finally, the Straight Scoop About Weight, Nutrition and Fitness