Last week I had a physician ask me how
I can care for those who have “a completely self inflicted
illness”. He bluntly asked, what many have thought. But,
really what he did was underscore his own ignorance as to the
complexity of the physiologic and behavioral components of the
disease of obesity. The neurohormornal response that comes from
repetitive overstimulation of the midbrain from highly calorically
dense and palatable foods is a potent reward circuitry. Cognitive
restructuring while providing structured eating as we do at
Tidewater Bariatrics allows us to teach our patients how to
use their cognitive abilities to avoid the foods that have made
them obese.
Yes, on the one hand my patients have chosen
the wrong foods and many of my patients know on one level that
there are certain foods that are unhealthy, but they have no
idea just how lethal these foods are. When they equate availability
and finances with eating well, the cheap lethal foods win out.
Michael Pollen hit the nail on the head last month in his New
York Times Op Ed piece entitled “Big Food vs Big Industry”.
He writes that the “The American way of eating has become
the elephant in the room in the debate over health care…
Cheap food is going to be popular as long as the social and
environmental costs of that food are charged to the future.
There is a lot of money to be made selling fast food and then
later treating the diseases that fast food causes. One of the
leading byproducts of the American food industry has become
patients for the American health care industry.”
Research by three Harvard economists, David
Cutler, Ed Glaeser and Jesse Shapiro, concludes that America’s
growing obesity problem is largely attributable to our economy’s
ability to supply high-calorie foods cheaply. Lower prices increase
food consumption, often far beyond what is healthy. We have
completely lost our perspective on what normal eating is and
what size a normal portion is. Every week, the fast food industry
markets an even bigger bargain to entice the customer and underbid
the competition. Take for instance, the leading fast food chains,
McDonalds, Taco Bell, KFC, and Burger King all have dollar menu
items, most of which are composed of high calorie foods. It
is hard to make an argument for buying strawberries which are
$2.50 a pint when one can get a Whopper and fries for a $2.00.
As many have argued, I believe, the federal
government must start requiring the fast food industry to place
calorie and fat content for each item on the menu, just like
they do the price. By leaving the Big Food industry unchecked,
we will do nothing to help curb the obesity epidemic. What is
needed, is for the federal government to place a tax on high
fructose corn syrup drinks and high calorie fast foods. Additionally,
providing support to farmers to make fruits and vegetables more
affordable and available to all. The federal government subsidized
the creation of the big food industry and the mass marketing
of high fructose corn syrup in the 1970’s, now it is time
to pay for it’s treatment.
About Dr. Margaret MacKrell
Gaglione
Dr. Margaret MacKrell Gaglione is the Medical Director of Tidewater
Bariatrics in Chesapeake, a practice dedicated to the care of
overweight and obese patients. She is a board-certified internal
medicine physician and bariatric specialist. She can be reached
at (757) 644-6819 or www.tidewaterbariatrics.comnecessary for
lifelong success.
Margaret M. Gaglione, MD, FACP
757-644-6819
Email: doctor@twb4u.com
Always
Consult Your Physician before beginning any Diet or Exercise Program.
