Fat of the land

SIDEBAR  1

HEAD:

Four steps to a trimmer America

Though Dr. Marion Nestle, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University and Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, contends that overeating is largely to blame for the nation's skyrocketing obesity rates, she also acknowledges that solving the problem won't be easy.  Nonetheless, she says the following initiatives might help get the ball rolling:

1)       "Get television commercials for children's junk food off the air."

2)        "Create a federal agency responsible for nutrition education programs."

3)        "Adjust farm supports to encourage healthier foods."

4)       "Limit campaign contributions from corporate interests. It would create a more level playing field."    

SIDEBAR 2

No one can eat just one!

Ever wonder why that first cookie invariably leads to a second, and then a third? A few years ago, Dr. David Ludwig, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard University and director of the obesity program at Boston Children's Hospital, demonstrated that high glycemic foods, such as sugary breakfast cereals and hamburger buns, may actually make consumers hungrier after eating them. So , surprise! , they eat more.

When eaten alone or without much else, high-glycemic foods rapidly raise blood sugar, leading to a sequence of metabolic events that cause blood sugar to fall below fasting levels a few hours later, thus triggering excessive hunger and overeating in susceptible people -- or so goes Ludwig's theory, which was based on his studies of obese teenage boys.