Diet Myths That Keep Us Fat by Nancy L. Snyderman M.D

Author:Nancy L. Snyderman, M.D. [Snyderman, Nancy L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-45972-5
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2009-04-02T04:00:00+00:00

As doctors, we truly want effective ways to treat obesity successfully. But I worry that sometimes we look to pills or surgery to fix a problem instead of preventing it from developing. Let’s teach our children and teenagers now that these problems can be avoided. The only magic bullet out there: a daily routine that makes exercise and a healthy diet a lifelong habit.

Myth #7

Dieting Is All You Need to Lose Weight

In 2007 I reported on a remarkable experiment conducted in a small town—a battle plan for cities across the United States to fight obesity. The town of note is Somerville, Massachusetts, just two miles north of Boston. Occupying slightly over 4 square miles, Somerville, with its population of eighty thousand, is the most densely populated community in New England.

With its colorful clapboard homes, brick sidewalks, and idyllic street names, Somerville is an eclectic mix of blue-collar families, young professionals, college students, and recent immigrants from countries as diverse as El Salvador, Haiti, and Brazil. Somerville is known for its large number of town squares, which help mark neighborhood boundaries while also featuring bustling businesses and entertainment centers.

There is no lack of history in this New England town. Note, for example, that Paul Revere galloped through Somerville on the night of April 18, 1775, arousing the farmers to oppose the British on their way to Concord.

Somerville is also the birthplace of Marshmallow Fluff, a smooth, delectable marshmallow crème. Before World War I, a Somerville man named Archibald Query had been making it in his kitchen and selling it door-to-door, but wartime shortages had forced him to close down. By the time the war was over, Mr. Query had other work and was uninterested in restarting his business, but he was willing to sell the formula. Two candy makers and veterans of the U.S. Infantry, H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower, pooled their savings and bought it for $500. They turned the product into the international sensation that it is today.

As in many other cities across America, kids in Somerville are now overweight. But change is under way. More than five years ago, Tufts University researchers Chris Economos and Miriam Nelson enlisted the entire city to attack childhood obesity, not just in schools but in every part of the village. More fruits and vegetables were added to school lunches. Crosswalks even got a fresh coat of paint to encourage walking and biking. The goal of the researchers’ plan was to have Somerville children burn more calories through exercise and take in fewer with a healthier diet, for a total deficit of 125 calories a day. The innovative program marked an unusually aggressive response to the growing problem of childhood obesity, which has nearly tripled among U.S. teens during the past two decades.

I was intrigued by the results. After eight months, students in the first through third grades gained one pound less than students in similar communities. While it may not sound like a lot, this shift in weight gain over time will move many children out of the overweight category.

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