As a UCLA professor and researcher who contributes to the science behind the anti-diet movement, I feel the need to weigh in. My research reveals that restrictive weight loss diets are not effective for long-term weight loss. But I think the problem comes when people equate “diet to lose weight” with “eat whatever you want.”
They’re not the same, but the solution is to quickly turn around and say, “So you better watch what you eat!” I don’t think it’s a warning. I think how we got to this point is that everyone is focused on weight and obesity, when the real focus should be on actual health markers like blood pressure and triglycerides, not health as measured by Body Mass Index. Health professionals can and should shift the focus to healthy behaviors such as exercising, eating more fruits and vegetables, reducing stress, and sleeping well. Fat shame occurs when you focus on weight. When you focus on downstream health or upstream behaviors, health can improve, regardless of the number on the scale.
A. Janet Tomiyama, Los Angeles
The author is director of the Diet, Stress and Health Laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles.
I applaud The Post and Examination for their articles calling attention to influential dietitians who mislead the public with messages that suggest that all foods are equal and that trying to address excess body weight is misguided. I also agree with the article’s critique of alliances between dietitians and the food industry. The dietitian code of ethics makes clear that nutrition and dietetics practitioners should “refrain from accepting gifts or services that potentially influence, or appear to influence, professional judgment.” It bothers me that many influencer dietitians violate their own codes of ethics, and I believe these violations need to be addressed.
I also wish the article had drawn a sharper line between influencer dietitians and the majority of practitioners. Influencer dietitians make up a small percentage of the more than 112,000 registered dietitians in the United States. It must be acknowledged that the majority of dietitians work in clinical settings and are quite meticulous.
Second, using one person’s (Jaye Rochon’s) anecdotal experience to suggest that the anti-diet approach is always wrong does not adequately address the complexities and nuances behind why some dietitians try to help their clients get off the yo-yo dieting treadmill. , to mix metaphors. I have counseled thousands of clients on weight management over the past 27 years, and it is clear to me that there is no single effective approach to weight management. Some customers need to stop “dieting,” but that message needs to be personalized and delivered in moderation.
Mark Glen, St. Joseph, Minn.
Author, College of St. Benedict and St. He is an adjunct professor in the department of nutrition at St. John’s University.
There are a lot of things that bother me about The Post’s April 5 article on dietitians and the food industry. Let’s start with the title. Calling processed food companies “Big Food” seems disturbingly to rhyme with “Big Pharma.” People who can’t afford to buy organic bok choy and hand-churned chevre from a goat with a first, middle and last name don’t need to feel bad about it. And there’s a difference between dietitians who include convenient processed foods as part of one’s nutrition plan and unscrupulous drug dealers who offer opioids to everyone for free.
There’s also the way the article paints dietitians with a broad brush. Leading with the image of dieters “lining up to climb into a giant yellow General Mills cereal box and dig into a bowl of plush Cheerios” seems to undermine the profession, encouraging readers to doubt sound food advice and confirm their worst fears.
Worst fear? This is obesity. For many years of my life, being fat was scary to me. I loved this article back when I was eating 1000 calories a day and exercising excessively while devouring Michael Pollan’s books. But thank God I’m not that sad girl anymore. I am a fat woman who is also successful, fulfilled, and actually full.
There are many things worse than looking like me: You could be a dictator, clip your toenails on the carpet, or spend decades of your life destroying your mental and physical health trying to reach an “ideal” body weight. You might miss out on Costco samples because you don’t want to be the fat kid eating in public. You might skip birthdays because you don’t know how to tell your friends you can’t have the cake. You can develop any of many serious medical problems due to irregular nutrition.
I promised myself that dieting wouldn’t give me any more time after losing 15 years of hating myself. Fat people do not owe health to anyone. They do not owe anyone a body that someone else finds acceptable. And they definitely don’t owe you any more time to miss out on the good moments in life because they can only worry about being skinny.
Hannah Landers OrganSamarkand, Uzbekistan
The Post’s front-page article about impressive dietitians collaborating with food companies got my blood boiling. What General Mills and the unethical dietitians who support their disinformation campaign are doing is disgusting. Telling consumers that they should eat too much processed food is more than a disservice. Dangerous.
Consider that diabetes and heart disease are two of the leading causes of death in the developing country of Ecuador. The Department of Health has responded with a “red light” food labeling system to indicate to consumers which foods contain the most sugar, fat or salt. I find the Ecuadorian food labeling system very useful when I visit and shop here. The United States should continue to label foods more prominently, especially when it comes to exceeding daily recommendations for added sugar and salt consumption. I hope Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and the Food and Drug Administration prevail and help us move beyond Big Food’s deceptive practices.
Caren Madsen, Silver Spring
Send Mr. Will to the principal’s office!
Regarding George F. Will’s April 4 column, “School choice is a success in Arizona. We hope it continues like this.”:
As an unashamed liberal, I have generally found George F. Will to be a logical conservative whose reasonable arguments often deserve consideration. So I was disappointed to see him join the ranks of those making incendiary accusations against public education. I won’t discuss his choice of school. What I would argue strongly against is his statement that during the pandemic, “Children who were relegated to ‘remote learning’ opened their laptops at home and parents heard indoctrination presented as learning.” claim
This is an irresponsible statement to make without evidence. I taught in public schools in Maryland for 44 years. My wife had a second career as a special educator. Whether I’m introducing “A Wizard of Earthsea” to a middle school class, “Beloved” to a senior honors class, or purchasing “And Tango Makes Three” for my elementary school library, I’ve never tried to “indoctrinate” any students or groups. students. I’ve also never seen a colleague do this.
Beyond ensuring that every student, regardless of grade level, has a solid foundation in the basics, the purpose of instruction is to Negative tell young people What to think. The purpose of public education is to teach young people. How to think for themselves. This often means presenting a wide range of ideas. In his column, Mr. Will never tells us how he feels about the force-feeding of these children with open laptops. What bad ideas did their parents hear and fear?
The language Mr. Will uses in this editorial is the kind of language that fuels unnecessary conflict in school districts across the country. This is the kind of rhetoric that makes teachers-in-training think twice about pursuing a career in education. The decision to quote an unnamed music educator—speaking of music conservatories rather than public schools—”Mediocrity is like carbon monoxide: You can’t see it or smell it, but one day you’ll die” is both misleading and risky. Why would Mr. Will urge his conservative readership to revolt against teachers when he could encourage them to help rebuild the public school system?
Richard Parker, Clarksburg, MD.
I am a Montgomery County elementary school substitute teacher. I was confused by George F. Will’s reference to the mystery of teachers in his latest school choice column. What did I miss? During my 35 years of student change in grades K-5, I have at times felt like a sympathizer, an empath, a cheerleader, a caregiver, a health aide, and oh, yes, most importantly, an educator. I never felt powerful or mysterious. I think the mystery is a myth.