I knew I should trust my gut that hot dogs are gross. If you’re a hot dog connoisseur, sometimes you’re better just not knowing. Nothing to see here.
Thanks Buzzfeed!
Tag Archive for 'junk food'
Last week I wrote about a UCLA study reporting that the proximity to fast food retailers yield increased rates of obesity and diabetes regardless of income. This week the BBC breaks another study finding that the elimination of junk food in schools, yields an increase in consumption of fresh fruit, especially when combined with peer pressure.
Children who attended fruit tuck shops where fruit was the only food allowed in school ate 0.37 more portions of fruit per day than those at schools without a fruit tuck shop.
Pupils at schools which banned all types of food ate 0.14 more portions of fruit per day, the research found.
Where there were no restrictions on food being brought into school, fruit consumption was lower than at other schools, even if the school had a fruit tuck shop.
Professor Laurence Moore, from the Cardiff Institute, said: “Our results suggest that children are more willing to use fruit tuck shops and eat fruit as a snack at school if they and their friends are not allow to take in unhealthy snacks.
“This highlights the importance of friends’ behaviour and of peer modelling, and of the need for schools to put policies in place to back up health interventions.”
Of course, for every rule put in place, wily kids find ways to break them. While cupcake and other confection bans at elementary schools are valiant attempts to slow the growing wave of obesity, whatever foods get banned become highly sought after contraband on the junk food black market.
In a new trend, school districts throughout the country have worked to forcefully banish junk food. They’ve replaced soda with bottled water and candy with yogurt and nuts. In doing so, they’ve created a black market of candy sales that takes place in parking lots, locker rooms, hallways and playgrounds. Entrepreneurial students buy loads of cheap candy and snacks at Sam’s Club and Costco, mark up the price tenfold or more, and sell it for enormous profit. Vending machines that sell health food go largely ignored. Meanwhile, bands, drama clubs and other organizations that were funded by the above-board junk food sales are struggling financially while the black market thrives. Few win, many lose.
Haven’t public officials yet learned that banning anything only puts a bright shiny bow that says take me on it. Underage drinking, narcotics. . .
Last week I wrote about a new study that finds an individual’s proximity to fast food retailers increases the incidence of diabetes and obesity. NYC recently passed a law requiring retailers with 15+ locations operating under the same name to post the calorie counts of each menu item. If setting your eyes on those numbers isn’t enough, check out the video below.
As I’ve written before, Michael Pollan recommends that you “don’t eat any food that’s incapable of rotting. If the food can’t rot eventually, there’s something wrong. . .”
A new UCLA study links poor health outcomes with one’s proximity to fast and junk food retailers. The LATimes reports
Higher rates of diabetes and obesity occur in neighborhoods — regardless of the residents’ income, race or ethnicity — where fast-food restaurants and convenience stores greatly outnumber grocery stores and produce vendors, according to a statewide study released today.
It makes sense. . . when you’re hungry and have money to burn, you’re not going out of your way for a meal. You stick within walking distance at lunch or stay relatively local for dinner with friends. Thus, your options are limited by the restaurants and stores in your local vicinity. While you ultimately decide where you go, your options are limited by your geography.
Of the top 10 franchises of 2008 (per Entrepreneur.com’s 29th Annual Franchise ranking), should you be looking to invest:
#1 7-Eleven (30,642 franchises)
#2 Subway (29,929 franchises
#3 Dunkin’ Donuts (7376 franchises)
#4 Pizza Hut (9881 franchises)
#5 McDonalds (20,099 franchises)
#6 Sonic Drive In (2656 franchises)
#7 KFC (11,071 franchises)
#9 Domino’s (2073 franchises)
Eight of the top 10 recommended franchises are fast food restaurants. Think about YOUR neighborhood, can you go a block through a city and not find deep friend or foil-bagged options? It’s an incredible rarity.
In California, the researchers found that
Obesity rates were 20% higher in neighborhoods with five or more times as many fast-food outlets as produce vendors, compared with those with three or fewer, the study found.
While it is an individual’s responsibility to to decide what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; it’s a community’s responsibility to maximize the availability of healthy options when approving new business licenses and developing new strip malls and local attractions.
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