A Big Fat Crisis (35 page)

Yet if we care about our population and want everyone to be able to enjoy a healthy life free of chronic diseases, we need to make a normal, healthy weight attainable for the majority. We should not be unrealistic about what most people are capable of when the food environment is constantly tempting us. As long as we allow foods to be promoted and served in a way that routinely puts patrons at risk, most of us will not be able to defend ourselves. Instead, every day will be a struggle and feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, and shame will continue among the overweight and obese. Just as we don’t tolerate seeing people go hungry, we should not tolerate conditions that create misery from exposure to chronic disease risk factors, including impulse marketing and excessively large portion sizes.

12. Won’t regulation make people less responsible?

Some make the argument that all modern methods, technology, and devices make people lazy and less responsible. Will repairing a road
make people drive less safely? Does giving people birth control devices or pills make them more promiscuous? There are always unintended consequences of every change, but we have to judge based upon the results that prevail. Repaired roads probably reduce more crashes than they cause, birth control probably prevents more unintended pregnancies than the absence of birth control, and labor-saving devices probably lead to greater happiness and productivity. While some public health regulations may be excessive, the majority protect people from exposure to conditions that could put them at risk for many negative outcomes.

Regulations that address the food environment could protect people from factors that lead to diet-related chronic diseases, and will help people be more successful in their efforts to reduce the incidence of those diseases and control their weight.

13. Is there anything worse (or better) than living in a nanny state?

Nannies do not deserve the bad rap they have been getting. Although there may be a few bad apples, most nannies are caring and loving and highly skilled at protecting their charges. For example, Mary Poppins was a fun-loving, model nanny, and one of her trademarks was portion control. She recommended just one spoonful of sugar (to help the medicine go down). This amount is unlikely to lead to chronic diseases. Without a nanny, every day, too many people are exposed to servings with sixteen or more spoonfuls of sugar (the amount in a twenty-ounce soda). We might all flourish and be healthier with more nanny wisdom and support. We should no longer consider “nanny” a pejorative term; it should be a badge of honor.

Acknowledgments

For their help and guidance in shaping this book I would like to thank Rachel Sussman, Martha Kaplan, Carl Bromley, Joanne Wyckoff, Anna Shapiro, Sandra Lapham, Jill Luoto, Paul Koegel, Toni Sciarra Poynter, Amy Goldman Koss, Melissa Veronesi, Mark Sorkin, and the YaleWomen LA Writers group, especially Laura Brennan, Monica Nordhaus, Eileen Funke, Lisanne Sartor, Colette Sartor, Hyun Mi Oh, Swati Pandey, Barbara Bogaev, Maria Burton, Ursula Burton, Rachel Resnick, Heather Nolan, Robinne Lee, and Gloria Loya. For their early support and feedback much thanks is owed to Peter Clark, Susan Evans, Lorraine Zecca, Roland Sturm, Margaret Maglione, Bob Brook, and Barry Wilson. I am also grateful for the historical insights offered by Professor Harry Levine. And thanks to my family: my husband, Avi; my sons Abe, Jeremy, Russell, and Max; and my brother and sister, Richard and Wendy, who have all been a source of strength, sustenance, and inspiration.

Parts of
Chapter 4
,
Chapter 9
, and
Chapter 10
have borrowed conceptually from academic papers with Tom Farley, Lila Rabinovich, and Rajiv Bhatia, respectively.

Notes

Introduction

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3
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.

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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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11
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12
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13
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.

PART I: HUMAN NATURE AND FOOD

Chapter 1: It’s Not Your Fault

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2
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.
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4
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5
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6
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7
. Finkelstein EA, Trogdon JG, Cohen JW, Dietz W. Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: payer- and service-specific estimates.
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8
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9
. Morgan C. Dieting: Confessions of an Emotional Eater.
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10
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11
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Chapter 2: The Limits of Self-Control

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. The Nurses’ Health Study.
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3
. Field AE, Willett WC, Lissner L, Colditz GA. Dietary fat and weight gain among women in the Nurses’ Health Study.
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4
. Jeffery RW, Kelly KM, Rothman AJ, Sherwood NE, Boutelle KN. The weight loss experience: a descriptive analysis.
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. Apr 2004;27(2):100–106.

5
. Francis LA, Susman EJ. Self-regulation and rapid weight gain in children from age 3 to 12 years.
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
. Apr 2009;163(4):297–302.

6
. Seeyave DM, Coleman S, Appugliese D, et al. Ability to delay gratification at age 4 years and risk of overweight at age 11 years.
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7
. Birch LL, Fisher JO. Development of eating behaviors among children and adolescents.
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8
. Anzman SL, Birch LL. Low inhibitory control and restrictive feeding practices predict weight outcomes.
The Journal of Pediatrics
. Nov 2009;155(5):651–656.

9
. Friedman NP, Miyake A, Robinson JL, Hewitt JK. Developmental trajectories in toddlers’ self-restraint predict individual differences in executive functions 14 years later: a behavioral genetic analysis.
Developmental Psychology
. Sep 2011;47(5):1410–1430.

10
. Mischel W, Shoda Y, Rodriguez MI. Delay of gratification in children.
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11
.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3S0xS2hdi4
.

12
. Casey BJ, Somerville LH, Gotlib IH, et al. Behavioral and neural correlates
of delay of gratification 40 years later.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. Sep 6, 2011;108(36):14998–15003.

13
. Hofmann W, Baumeister RF, Forster G, Vohs KD. Everyday temptations: an experience sampling study of desire, conflict, and self-control.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
. Jun 2012;102(6):1318–1335. See also: Hofmann W, Vohs KD, Baumeister RF. What people desire, feel conflicted about, and try to resist in everyday life.
Psychological Science
. Jun 2012;23(6):582–588.

14
. Baumeister RF, Bratslavsky E, Muraven M, Tice DM. Ego depletion: is the active self a limited resource?
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
. May 1998;74(5):1252–1265.

15
. Vohs KD, Heatherton TF. Self-regulatory failure: a resource-depletion approach.
Psychological Science
. May 2000;11(3):249–254.

16
. Pietilainen KH, Saarni SE, Kaprio J, Rissanen A. Does dieting make you fat? A twin study.
International Journal of Obesity (London)
. Mar 2012;36(3):456–464.

17
. Vohs K, Baumeister R. Making choices impairs subsequent self-control: a limited-resource account of decision-making, self-regulation, and active initiative.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
. May 2008;94(5):883–898. See also: Schwartz B.
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
. New York: HarperCollins; 2004.

18
. Gailliot MT, Baumeister RF. The physiology of willpower: linking blood glucose to self-control.
Personality and Social Psychology Review
. Nov 2007;11(4):303–327.

19
. Masicampo EJ, Baumeister R. Toward a physiology of dual-process reasoning and judgment: lemonade, willpower, and expensive rule-based analysis.
Psychological Science
. Mar 2008;19(3):255–260.

20
. Gailliot MT, Baumeister RF, DeWall CN, et al. Self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: willpower is more than a metaphor.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
. Feb 2007;92(2):325–336.