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Nutrition society president says eat less, move more
What’s the biggest issue facing the
nutrition community today?
It’s got to be obesity. But it’s a medical issue as much as a nutritional one
because obesity can play a role in so
many diseases, from cancer and diabetes to arthritis, stroke, cardiovascular
disease — almost every chronic disease
of aging.
The public is aware of obesity’s risks
because they hear about it almost
every day on the news. Unfortunately,
that awareness has not translated into
major behavioral change for the vast
majority of the overweight population. We used to think that just getting
the word out and providing education
would be all that’s needed to change
things, but we’ve been learning that
it’s not all that’s needed. We also need
to involve communities, families,
schools — many, many actors — in
order to really catalyze effective
behavioral change.
Is this because we’re working against
our biology?
Essentially. Evolutionarily, our bodies
developed to make very efficient use
of energy. Particularly in storing
calories that we don’t need to use right
away. Now that our lifestyles are dominated by computers and television
The federal government’s most recent
dietary guidelines included a chapter
on exercise. Is that something ASN
wants to put on the dietary radar
screen as well?
Definitely.... Another one of those data
gaps is understanding what drives
the behavior to exercise — or not. And
that’s important because it’s half of the
equation that explains obesity, which
reflects a mismatch between energy in
and energy used.
