"The Biggest Loser is the biggest winner. He or she will also walk away with a healthier body and $250,000."

 

 

Lenneke Schrier

The American television channel 

NBC has found a new market with 

slim down.

 

 

In the U.S., every year $42 billion is spent on diet and health books; more than 1000 different diet books are now available. The U.S. government recently issued their sciencebased version of a diet book: Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Or, as Mr. Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services of the U.S. government, said: "Tonight only eat half the dessert. Then go out and walk around the block. And if you are going to watch television, get down and do 10 push-ups and 5 sit-ups." More than 65 percent of American adults are overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. increased more than 75 percent since 1980; nearly 31 percent of adults - over 61 million people - are obese, and the number of overweight children has nearly tripled since 1970. Obesity poses a major burden to the American health care system. It is an important risk factor for chronic diseases, including type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, and certain forms of cancer. Not only does it reduce life expectancy, it is also associated with stigma and discrimination. 

 

Why are Americans so fat? I will give you three F's to think about: Fast. Food. Not Fit. The new edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans is an important improvement on previous guidelines. It places stronger emphasis on the last two "F's" by focusing on reducing calorie intake and increasing physical activity. Unfortunately, the guidelines do not set limits for the amount of sugars and trans fat people should eat. This is a victory for food manufacturers, who successfully lobbied against this limit, since they rely on trans fat as an ingredient in many processed foods. The recommendation that will probably be most difficult to follow is that adults should do 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days to prevent weight gain - previous guidelines recommended 30 minutes. If I look at the long working hours of my American friends, I wonder whether they will have time for this. Moreover, other than sending out brochures and posting on websites, the government has not earmarked money for additional promotion of the Dietary Guidelines. But even if the guidelines do reach all Americans, would that be enough? Studies have shown that although popular diets as the Atkins, South Beach, and Weight Watchers Diet have increased in prevalence, the adherence to these diets is low. 

 

In order for the guidelines to be effective something else is needed: a change in the American eating culture. And that brings me back at the first "F" I gave you as food for thought: Fast. Not only does the American culture favor 'the bigger, the better' portions and 'the more, the better' free refills at restaurants, the American eating style is 'eating on the run'. Little attention is given to what is being eaten and the quicker one is done, the better. Eating more slowly actually has a physiological benefit: the body senses that food has reached the stomach and your appetite will decrease, hereby preventing you from overeating. And equally important, taking your time increases the joy of eating. To take the weight off the minds of future patients, health care providers, biomedical researchers and politicians, my recommendations would be to limit advertising and marketing of lesshealthy food to children and to educate them about healthy eating styles and the importance of exercise to ensure that they will be the 'Biggest Winners'. Because wouldn't it be sad if they grow up with warning labels on their lunch boxes saying: "Eating is a hazard to your health"? They should be able to say "I'm loving it!".