My friend Leslie Irish Evans of Peeling Mom Off the Ceiling is having me on her radio show next Monday, October 25th. You can hear it live at noon pacific time (which is, I hope, 3pm eastern, as that is when the interview is scheduled on my calendar), or play the recording any time thereafter. Leslie has a great website dedicated to helping moms stop being martyrs. As a mom and as a psychiatrist who treats a lot of moms, this issue is close to my heart! I hope you stop by her place, and listen to the interview.
A couple of links to some disturbing (but not surprising) public health stories in the news:
At WebMD: Obesity in Children Increasing Around the World
"The proportion of young children who are overweight or obese has increased about 60% in the past 20 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) says in a new report."
At USA today: "Diabetes may affect as many as 1 in 3 Americans by 2050"
"The future of diabetes in America looks bleak, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report out today, with cases projected to double, even triple, by 2050." Currently, 1 in 10 Americans are diabetic.
I detest these kinds of stories because, in general, they engender fear and offer no solutions other than the typical "exercise and eat less" kind of advice. And we all know how well that works. Fortunately, having seen how it is relatively simple to maintain my weight with a paleo/primal style diet and easy exercise regimen, I don't have to be quite so alarmed for myself or my kids. I just wish that anyone who wants to get trim (or stay trim) via lifestyle interventions has the wherewithal to critically examine the different methods out there. Maybe we can prevent this future holocaust of hyperglycemia before it is too late.
Looking forward to the interview. Regarding the curing of America, I'm cautiously pessimistic. Carbohydrates are everywhere because they're addicting and because the doctors are pushing them down our throats (which we only too happily open to gobble them up). It's kind of like the morphine-addicted patient screaming at his/her doctor for more and stronger meds. Oops, didn't mean to be so bleak so early in the morning (my time).
ReplyDeleteIt is appropriate to be pessimistic.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a parent, but it breaks my heart to drive past a school yard and see that every fourth or fifth child is overweight. I'm not talking aesthetics, but the visible signs of their lives being cut short in the future.
ReplyDeleteThanks for talking about this.