HAS FAT BECOME PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE?
By Bonnie Marcus
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What
is going on in this world? Eating has been converted into a scientific
experiment. The joy of eating has been replaced by the fear of
becoming fat. One can no longer eat and derive pleasure from eating.
Enjoying food has almost become shameful. Eating foods that have
a high quantity of fat like butter, french fries, ice cream, cashews
and chocolate, require apologies. It feels that if you enjoy eating
foods deemed fattening you have to excuse your behavior and confess
that you don’t eat these high fat foods too often. Or maybe
explain that you’ll be at the gym soon burning them off.
What happened to eating food because you like the taste? Why are
our taste buds being governed by the calorie content of food?
Why are we empowering foods with curative properties and embracing
low fat products? They certainly don’t taste good and who
can say that they are better for your health. Eating is one of
life’s greatest pleasures. Why deny or deprive yourself of
foods that you like for foods that don’t give you the same
satisfaction. I think the key to maintaining your weight is selecting
foods that satisfy you. Use the discipline that you’ve acquired
from years of watching your weight to keep the portion sizes balanced
so that your weight can be maintained. Eating should be a pleasant
experience.
And what is going on with children and teenagers? In women’s
pursuit of slimness and looking good, their DNA connections are
obsessed with ultra thinness. There are more and more children
at younger ages suffering the consequences of third generation
weight watching. Kids as young as seven years old talk calories
and fat content. Some are so au courant they know how many grams
of carbohydrate, protein and fat are in a food. Food is stigmatized
as fattening or healthy, good or bad. Some foods are even called
sinful, punishable by hours of aerobic exercise. Will power is
perceived as an elite trait and having it is regarded as a status
symbol. Mothers and kids alike are in awe of those who control
their weight, empowering the joys of skinniness to ridiculous
perceptions. Every magazine dedicates sections to body image as
an enhancement to acquiring personal satisfaction. Talk shows
provide forums to demonstrate how to overcome being too fat or
too thin. We are inundated with testimonials on how celebrities
overcame anorexia and obesity. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t
do the best we can to keep our bodies within a range or size that
feels good, but we have to evaluate the cost this has on our psyches
and what effect it is having on our children. We have created
obesity and anorexia. They are man made diseases with man-made
remedies. The only problem is that they are potentially deadly
and even if you manage to keep your weight within range, your
attitude toward food is damaged and that of your kids. Let’s
bring back the passion to eating so that our children can grow
up without fat phobia.
Bonnie
Marcus is a dietitian with experience in nutrition counselling
for children and adults. She has taught nutrition at the university
level to students with science, non-science and exercise science
backgrounds.
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