Tag Archive for: public health

Nutrition Education: The Best Solution

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The scientific paper about nutrition education programs from South America was an opinion piece derived from a student’s dissertation defense. It addressed nutrition labels in Brazil: the labels were too focused on the caloric content instead of the ingredient information.

The paper gives an example of two foods that have 97 calories but are vastly different in nutritional value. Chewy fruit-flavored candy had 21 grams of carbs, no protein, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, and no fiber; 14 almonds had 3.6 grams of carbohydrate, 3.5 grams of protein, 8.4 grams of healthy fat, and 2.1 grams of fiber. The almonds also had several vitamins and minerals while the chewy fruit candy had none.

The question is whether labels alone can change the nutritional health of a nation. Hard to say. Brazil came up with a simple public health approach using three recommendations:

  1. Choose whole, minimally processed foods
  2. Cook those foods yourself
  3. Eat those foods with other people

I think that’s an excellent approach. It means that people may have to shop a little more often and spend more time preparing food. But when you consider travel to get take-out or fast food, or the expense of food delivery, we can get better and fresher quality foods with fewer preservatives and more nutrition for around the same price.

Eating those foods with other people, at a minimum, means that families eat at least one meal together daily, possibly two if we include breakfast. The other possibility is to invite neighbors, friends, or other family members. We don’t have to fix feasts; just fresh, healthier foods that are simple to cook and share.

The Bottom Line

I think the Brazilian approach could work in the U.S. If we were to use the public health nutrition education program from WWII with an emphasis on the benefits of the foods for our health along with videos people could use to prepare the foods simply, and even scale that down to individual communities where small groups could learn how to shop and cook, we can change the health of the nation.

I also think it begins with parents: they’ll have to lead the way if they expect children to eat better. When we visited Paula’s cousin, who has three children under two (a toddler girl and identical twin baby boys), we remarked at the variety of food their daughter was willing to eat. Her dad said that she may be the only kid in preschool asking, “Excuse me, where is the hummus?” It may mean that parents will have to learn more about healthier foods and how to prepare them. I think it’s a small price to pay to improve their kids’ potential for better health.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Adv. Nutr. 2019;10:549–556.

Improving Nutrition in South America

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One of the problems today with public nutrition education programs is that there’s an important element that would prefer it not be done. In fact, food manufacturers are doing all they can to avoid any approach that may impact sales of high-fat, high-sodium, high-sugar, and highly processed food. I get it—they want to sell as much as they can. But to suggest that ketchup is a vegetable in the school lunch program doesn’t make any sense. I’m not going to comment further because that could take a month of Memos.

Instead let’s look at what some countries in South America have done to address nutrition as their obesity and related disease rates rise. One of the most controversial steps was taken by Mexico: the government put a 10% tax on high-sugar drinks, snacks, and sugary cereals that have limited nutritional benefit compared to total calories. It was not easy because the people of Mexico, much like the U.S., are against paying any more in taxes. But as of 2019, consumption of sugary sodas has dropped 12% in the poorest segment of the population and 5% in more affluent segments.

One of the most innovative approaches is used in Chile: foods high in added sugar, saturated fats, sodium, and high in calories have to place black stop signs on the front of package labels, and those foods can’t be sold or promoted in schools or promoted on television. Children have been educated about the meaning of the label changes and are steering their parents away from foods with black stop signs on the labels.

These radical approaches had to fight the food industry all the way, but the good of the people outweighed the profits of the industry. There may be a better way yet, and that’s what I’ll talk about Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/16/latin-americas-war-obesity-could-be-model-us/

How Can We Improve Nutrition and Public Health?

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I recently read a couple of articles, one from a newspaper and another from a journal, that talked about South American countries and how their governments should deal with the obesity epidemic and how some are approaching this issue. There may be lessons we can use here for us in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

Some historical perspective: the last public health initiative that actually worked well in the U.S. was during WWII. To direct more meat to the people fighting the war, the government enlisted any and all means to convince the public that organ meats were actually delicacies. Instead of a simple call to support the war movement, the pitch was to help consumers understand how organ meats such as brains, intestines, liver, and kidneys were nutritious. Along with that, they provided recipes for how to prepare these special parts of cows and pigs. It worked and those cuts were really considered delicacies. After the war ended, the special nature of these parts gradually drifted away.

In my opinion, that was the most successful public health education program ever done. When you consider all that’s been done related to educating the public about cholesterol, fat, trans fat, and sugar, nothing has ever gotten people to change their habits; the nutrition facts label is often more confusing that helpful. It’s obvious we need help, but what and how? We’ll take a look at what these countries in South America have tried on Thursday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet