I absolutely love this interactive infographic on the NY Times website. I think Edward Tufte, talked about frequently on our blog, would approve.
School lunches are a hot topic right now as Americans are discovering and, sometimes, acknowledging the importance of diet and nutrition at a very young age. Sites such as The Lunch Box, Farm To School, and the School Lunch Initiative are bringing good information to the table. And do not forget Michelle Obama – she is the go-to lady on school lunch reform! (I still want to be invited to help with the garden one day, Michelle.)
I recently read this Op-Ed on the CNN site, thanks to a friend. Etzioni calls it quite like it is, pointing out that most adults keep the same body shape throughout their adult lives. Etzioni is not simply referring to bone structure but to weight. While some adults yo-yo on the scales due to dieting, they frequently return to their original shape/weight, before the dieting. Case in point, Oprah.
How can I tell? Because studies show that, despite all the public health campaigns, diet books, diet doctors and diet pills; despite millions of Americans spending inordinate amounts of psychological energy fussing about their body mass; whatever weight they take off, they put on again. Not all people, but about eight out of 10, according to a report in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Etzioni calls for all those involved in policy making to focus instead on children for, in children, you can combat the problem before it ever really begins.
The lesson of all this is that the physicians, dietitians and other public health professionals who determine our health care policies should shift most of their efforts to working with parents. They should not focus on reducing the parents’ body mass, but that of their kids.
Reforming the food that schools provide in their lunch programs, cafeteria and vending machines, and ensuring that gym classes are not canceled as schools face tight budgets, pays off more than focusing on obese and overweight adults.
Although I do not wholeheartedly agree with the idea of giving up on adults, I do agree with Etzioni with regard to making school age children the main focus. If they learn to make healthy choices as children, studies show they will continue making healthy choices as adults. In other words, they will not eat brown sugar in front of the television as I did.
