From the category archives:

Obesity in the News/Media

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Is fat fare at fast foods going too far?

by Kcurly on April 7, 2010

From cnn.com, further proof that we are all just killing ourselves with food. Good gracious!

(CNN) — In the midst of first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign against child obesity and chef Jamie Oliver’s prime-time TV initiative for cleaner cooking, a chicken chain is crowing about some aggressively fat-laden fare.

KFC’s long-rumored Double Down waddles into stores on April 12, boasting an ingredient list that prompted a copywriters’ caveat on the product’s Web page that it is “Real! No fooling.”

The bun-free (“so meaty, there’s no room”) sandwich features two pieces of bacon, two slices of melted cheese and “Colonel’s Sauce” – which KFC officials said is a “zesty mayonnaise” — slathered between two chicken filets, either original recipe (540 calories and 32 fat grams per KFC.com) or the slightly slimmer grilled version (460 calories and 23 fat grams).

Response from around the Internet ranges from Consumerist.com’s “mysteriously tempting (and potentially lethal)” and the Huffington Post’s “going too far” to the Lincoln Journal Star’s “fast-food-related crimes against humanity,” but KFC’s gamble on the Double Down’s outré appeal to calorie scoffers seems downright chicken in light of a new baseball concession pitched by the Toledo Mud Hens.

At a March 24 press conference, V/Gladieux Enterprises, the catering company that services Fifth Third Field announced a sundae, “Which is fifteen scoops of Toft’s ice cream served in a full size souvenir helmet for $25. It will serve 1 to 8 fans, you can enjoy by yourselves if you love ice cream or share with family and friends.”

A solo at-bat with the Fifth Third Fanatic Freeze would average 2,325 calories, based on a ½-cup scoop size — before a grand slam addition of whipped cream, hot fudge, rainbow sprinkles, peanuts, and cherries.

Dessert not on the roster? That same full-sized batting helmet can switch-hit as a bowl for cheese-drenched Fifth Third Nachos — a perfect snack after you’ve finished running the bases the approximately 341 times it would take a 150-pound person to burn off the aforementioned ice cream.

The Mud Hens and KFC’s Colonel are hardly the first food vendors to flip a big ol’ bird at the calorie cops. Here are a few that have flown outrageously afoul over the past few years.

Burger King: Meat’normous Omelet Sandwich

The King didn’t just come slinging a brand new portmanteau of “meat” and “enormous” with this limited-time item. Starting in 2005, the now-discontinued breakfast bomb came loaded with two eggs, one sausage patty, two slices of ham, three slices of bacon and two slices of American cheese on a long, toasted bun. That’s 770 calories, 47 fat grams and a near guarantee of waking up in a cold sweat from a food coma nightmare starring that creepy, plastic-masked King.

Taco Bell Chicken Ranch Taco Salad

A salad sounds pretty sensible, right? Depends on what you mean by “salad.” A cheeky 2009 commercial for the chain’s crispy tortilla-swaddled heaps of rice, beans, cheese, meat and additional tortilla strips defined the dish as “technically a salad” due to the presence of some lettuce shreds buried under the other ingredients.

The Bell’s 54 fat-grammed Chicken Ranch Taco Salad is the second most caloric item on the menu, weighing in at 910, but comes served, improbably, with reduced fat sour cream.

GCS Ballpark: Luther Burger

Baseball’s Best Burger In 2006, Sauget IL’s Frontier League baseball team, the Gateway Grizzlies paired up with Krispy Kreme Donuts to pay homage to the Luther Burger, popularized at Atlanta’s Mulligan’s restaurant.

The multi-meal mash-up consists of a thick, bacon-and-cheese-topped burger patty, stuffed inside a sliced, glazed donut. It’s estimated to weigh in around 1,000 calories with 45 grams of fat. It was declared by professional face-stuffer Adam Richman of Travel Channel’s Man v. Food to be “deliciously psychotic.”

Hardee’s: Monster Thickburger

Hardee’s CEO Andrew Pudzer told CNBC upon the Thickburger’s 2004 debut that the 1,320-calorie, 95-fat-gram sandwich was “not a burger for tree huggers.” After downing two 1/3-pound beef patties, four strips of bacon and three slices of American cheese stacked on a mayonnaise-slathered bun, it seems unlikely that many eaters would be able to summon the strength to walk outside to a wooded area — let along sling their arms around it.

The chain also offers a bun-free, lettuce-wrapped 1/3-pound Low Carb Thickburger, should one of those wacky health nuts insist upon coming along for lunch.

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Obamas under blast for putting kids on a “diet”

by Kcurly on February 4, 2010

Whatever your political affiliations, we can all agree that the nation is getting fat. And it’s starting from the crib these days. Here are the facts (source):

  • The number of obese or overweight children has tripled since 1980.
  • Over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years
  • Obesity-associated annual hospital costs for children and youth more than tripled over two decades, rising from $35 million in 1979-1981 to $127 million in 1997-1999.
  • For children born in the United States in 2000, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives is estimated to be about 30 percent for boys and 40 percent for girls
  • In a population-based sample, approximately 60 percent of obese children aged 5 to 10 years had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, such as elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin or blood pressure, and 25 percent had two or more risk factors.
  • Among boys, the highest prevalence of obesity is observed in Hispanics. Among girls, the highest prevalence is observed in African Americans.

This has gone way beyond a “problem” to a full blown crisis. The future of this nation may have a lot of threats, but this is going to the front of the line swiftly.

So, when I see the First Lady announce that their family doctor has told them that something is “out of balance” with her kids and she’s changing their eating habits, you would think this would be a good thing. President Obama also said that Malia had been getting “chubby”. (This blogger was not happy about that).

I agree that maybe chubby was not the right word to use for your daughter in front of the whole world, but let’s face it: The Obama kids live their lives in front of the world just as the First family always has. At least they are catching it now before it gets out of hand. More importantly, the First family is supposed to lead by example. Perhaps her openness about this issue will inspire other parents to examine their children’s lifestyles.

A lot of people are upset about Michelle Obama speaking so openly about her children’s weight. From this article:

While innocuous to some, this comment has set off both valid and not-so-valid criticism in the blogosphere—everything from calling the first lady well-intentioned-but-misguided to hinting that she could be tipping off her daughters’ future eating disorders. Even with one-third of American children classified as overweight or obese, several critics are far more concerned with Michelle Obama’s anecdotal use of her daughters.

Jeanne Sager, a writer for Strollerderby who admits to reading “everything through eating-disorder glasses” says she feels worried for the girls because their mother has “taken an extremely touchy subject out into the open.”

In a post that delineates the difference between what is accepted in “the eating disorder world” vs. “the outside world,” Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh of the Huffington Post writes, “I am sucker-punched to read that our First Family put their daughters on a ‘diet’ because they feared ‘obesity’ and no doubt will be lauded for it…This is not an eating disorder issue, however, and it should not be only us who know this and speak out about it. These are medical, social, and ultimately self-defeating errors in thinking that do harm to all children and all of us. I am very sad today.”

Ok, so for those of you wondering, here is the “diet”:

The first lady said that over the next few months she made some small changes that got her daughters back on track. No more weekday TV. More attention to portion sizes. Low-fat milk. Water bottles in the lunch boxes. Grapes on the breakfast table. Apple slices at lunch. Colorful vegetables on the dinner table.

OH…MY…GOSH…Has someone called Child Welfare? It’s just so obvious that these kids are being abused and starved!

Guess what, ya’ll? We are all on a diet. Some of us have a diet of cheeseburgers and ho-hos and some of us eating low cal and low fat. What I see is not starvation or the start of an eating disorder, but changes that will help those girls live healthier lives.

If the people who are so very concerned about any resulting eating disorders want to do something helpful, they could put the same anger and criticism they are channeling towards the Obamas to the media images that give young girls unrealistic body images. That is where the problem of eating disorders stem from…not a healthy diet and less television.

The First lady will be launching a childhood obesity campaign in a few weeks. I can only pray that it helps.

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Why Kcurly will never be on the Biggest Loser

by Kcurly on February 3, 2010

I’ve been on a Biggest Loser kick lately. In spite of the drama and strategically placed advertisements (I mean, aren’t commercials enough? Now I’ve gotta watch mini infomercials during the show!), it is inspiring to see those people lose weight.
It seems like a dream for most people to be on this show. However, for me…nah! Here are some reasons why Kcurly can never be on TBL.
  • Kcurly will never appear on national television in a sports bra. Those people have got some cojones! More than I do, that’s for sure!
  • Kcurly will never weigh-in in front of an audience. Someone would need to shoot me first and drag my carcass to the scale.
  • Kcurly does not like being yelled at. I get enough of that from my toddler.
  • Kcurly can not cry on command. I can be a big cry baby sometimes,but I swear those people cry every episode. I know that weight loss can be an emotional thing and, I won’t lie, I’ve shed a few tears here and there, but c’mon! Overweight people bawling their eyes out = Ratings magnet?
  • Kcurly will never be disappointed to “only” lose 6 pounds in a week. Example:

*Contestant steps on the scale*

Ally: You lost 4 pounds.

Contestant: smilie

Ally: So…how do you feel about that?

Contestant: Well, 4 pounds is fine…yeah, that’s great…but, well it’s just 4 pounds.

Contestant’s team mate: Yeah, 4 pounds sucks!

(At home) Kcurly: shocked

No, in all seriousness, I know that they are playing a game and pulling big numbers is important, but …dang!! You can’t just toss 4 pounds a week out the window. I can’t toss a pound a week out.

  • Kcurly would never leave her baby and hubby for months on end.

If I don’t understand anything else on that show, it’s how they can leave their families behind. I could do it if I were single, but not now. I also don’t understand what you tell your job. My supervisors would laugh in my face if I told them I needed time off for a reality show.

That being said I wouldn’t mind spending a week at the Fitness Ridge ranch.

Ahh, look at how neat it is!

Here’s more info on it.

  • Lots of physical activity (hiking, water aerobics, cycling)
  • Nutrition classes
  • Structured diet
  • Lovely hotel room

And heeeeere’s the prices!

The rates for The Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge are broken down into weekly increments. The more weeks you reserve, the lower the weekly price.

Current Rates

Private Accommodations: A guestroom all to yourself.

One Week: $1,995

Four Weeks: $7,200 ($1,800 weekly rate)

Double Occupancy Accommodations: A double occupancy guestroom. (We can try and find you a roommate)

One Week: $1,595

Four Weeks: $5,600 ($1,400 weekly rate)

Off-site Accommodations: You stay off-site in accommodations you arrange for yourself.

One Week: $1,295

Four Weeks: $4,400 ($1,100 weekly rate)

NOTE: Weeks do not need to be consecutive. You can purchase weeks at the multi-week rate and spread them out over a period of time

Eeek! Oh well, none of that in my future.

However, taking a look at this has inspired me to one day plan a vacation  where there is a lot of physical activity. I have never been hiking and would really love to see some beautiful locations.

  • Kcurly can never lose weight that fast…and keep it off. I just downloaded a “where are they now” episode of TBL and I see quite a few contestants have gained some of their weight back. One guy, Eric, gained it ALL back. I am convinced that this would be me. Despite TBL’s attempts to teach long term life lessons about staying healthy, I still firmly believe that it takes time to firmly embed those lessons and make them habit.

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New Series from TLC: One Big Happy Family

by Kcurly on January 3, 2010

So things have officially gotten sad in America.

The Cole Family

TLC, creator of many shoes about out-of-the- ordinary people, now has a new show about something that might hit a bit closer to home for a lot of us. Though a great majority of us might not be able to empathize with a family of dwarfs or parents with a house full of multiples, this new show touches on an issue that is slowly overtaking the American population.

The Cole family, out of North Carolina, weigh 1400 lbs collectively. In addition to just showing their everyday lives, it’s also supposed to record their journey of losing weight without outside help. View the following clip that I found on youtube:

I mean, really, TLC?

Did they say: “Let’s take the obese people to a waterpark where they can be scantily clad and we can fully showcase their fat rolls and manboobs. Then, let’s try to get them on a ride that there is no way in hell they can fit on.”

I’ve not watched the show, but I’m going to try to view it as soon as I can to make a complete judgement. However, from this clip, it looks like a joke. The mom says they’re going to work off pancakes at the waterpark. Once they get there, they eat more junk.

Though I understand that shows like this are meant to shed light on this very important issue, I can’t help but wonder what harm it’s doing.
First, the children in the series. I’m sure they already get made fun of for being overweight in the first place…now their classmates have even more material for their fat jokes. How is this helping their already fragile self esteem?

Second, this is obviously a serious disease in this family. It is a deepdown problem and needs some strong intervention, including some self education on nutrition. Pancakes with tons of butter for breakfast is not the way to go, folks! The situation presented in the above clip, the closeups of their mouths while they eat, and the focus on foods, gives the show a strong “sideshow” feeling instead of recovery.

Third, and this might be silly, but I hate that they are African American. I know that some statistics claim that 60 percent of AA men and up to 78 percent of AA women are overweight, so perhaps that’s the reason this family was chosen. The only good thing I can find in them being AA is that they are a complete family with a mother and a father, and they seem to have a good relationship.

I really, really feel sorry for them. I do wish them the best and hope that they get healthy. I also hope this show does not create even more problems for them in the long run.

What do you think? Have you seen the show?

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