Cookie Monsters
Oreo promotion puts USDA on wrong side of obesity fight
By Amy Lanou, Ph.D.
This opinion piece was published July 11, 2004, in the
Tallahassee Democrat.
Did somebody miss the memo? Most Americans know the latest grim
news from the Battle of the Bulge. Simply put, we’re losing.
Teen obesity has now reached the highest level in history, and adults
are in even worse shape.
So why has one government agency just launched a campaign to convince
consumers to eat more cookies?
It’s bizarre but true. A few weeks ago, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture teamed up with Nabisco and the dairy industry to
launch a new promotional campaign: Spell M-I-L-K with specially
marked Oreo cookies and you’ll win $100,000.
Another milk-and-cookies sweepstakes—this one aimed at school
children—is set to kick off in August. Both are part of the
USDA’s dairy check-off program, which is aimed at boosting
milk consumption.
As a nutritionist, I’m dismayed by these campaigns. Who’s
calling the shots over at the USDA—the Cookie Monster?
There’s no great mystery about what’s making America
fat. We eat too much high-fat, high-calorie food. One recent study
found that junk food now makes up about a third of our diet.
If anyone doubts that Oreos fall in that category, please consult
the nutrition label on the package. Three small cookies deliver
160 calories, as well as a hefty dose of artery-clogging saturated
fat. Wash these sugar bombs down with a tall glass of milk and the
fat count climbs.
Keep in mind that the USDA’s own researchers have found that
three out of four children already consume too much saturated fat.
Dairy products and junk food play a key role in this excessive fat
intake, which can put kids at risk for serious health problems.
And the Oreo promotion is just the tip of the iceberg. Through
the check-off program, the USDA has touted Subway’s BBQ Rib
Patty Sub (840 calories and 38 grams of fat), and Dunkin’
Donuts’ Steak, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich (640 calories and
26 grams of fat), among many others. These efforts amount to an
obesity promotion campaign co-sponsored by major corporations and
the federal government.
Most disturbing, perhaps, is the way these promotions tend to target
children. For example, by airing commercials on kid-friendly networks
such as Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network, the USDA aims to induce
kids to push their parents to buy even more milk and cookies.
If poor eating habits simply packed on a few excess pounds, one
might shrug this off. But obesity has devastating health consequences.
Overweight kids are more likely to suffer diabetes and hypertension.
Obese adults are more likely to die of heart attacks, stroke, and
some types of cancer.
The grim outcome? Being overweight can shorten the life expectancy
of a 20-year-old by three to 20 years, according to one recent study.
Over at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, experts
now predict that obesity will soon pass tobacco use as the leading
cause of preventable death.
Who gets the blame for the unhealthy eating habits underlying America’s
weight problem? On that question, there’s room for debate.
Are personal restraint and parental responsibility the most important
keys to ending this epidemic? Or does corporate responsibility also
play a critical role?
But surely we can agree on one thing: The USDA shouldn’t
promote junk food. Our kids don’t need more encouragement
to eat unhealthful products—especially from the federal government.
Amy Lanou, Ph.D.,
is nutrition director of the Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine. Amy Lanou is also the author of Healthy Eating
for Life for Children. Have comments for the author? E-mail
Amy Lanou at pcrm@pcrm.org.
Posted July 2004
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