After Eliminating Trans Fats, What’s Next?
During the Worlds of Healthy Flavors event hosted by the Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Nutrition, food industry leaders were given the opportunity to ask questions of leading scientists in the area of nutrition. The scientists are part of the Worlds of Healthy Flavors Scientific Advisory Committee (pictured), which is composed of Janet King, PhD, RD, Senior Scientist, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, (Oakland, CA); David Ludwig, MD, PhD, Director, Obesity Program, Children’s Hospital Boston (Boston, MA); Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, Chairman, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, MA); and Frank Sacks, MD, Professor of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, MA).
Overall, America’s incontrovertible obesity epidemic was blamed primarily on an increase in refined carbohydrates and sugars, an increase in portion sizes, a decrease in physical activity, an increase in sedentary behavior and a decrease in sleep. During a panel session featuring the Scientific Advisory Committee, a representative of McDonald’s asked which nutrition issues will be tackled after trans fats are eliminated from American diets. (Ironically, McDonald’s promised in 2002 to reduce trans fats and still has not done so.)
In response to this question, Dr. Willett noted that there are no current problems that rise to the level of the trans fat problem because nothing else so unhealthy is consumed in such high quantities. Despite this qualifier, here are the issues offered by the Committee in response to the question:
1. Reduction of Refined Starches/Sugar and Increase in Whole Grains.
Dr. Willett stated that while American consumption of refined starches and sugars is currently too high, it does not have to be reduced to zero, as with the trans fat problem. The main target in this category is soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages. Beverages make up about 25 percent of the calories in the American diet and about half of that amount comes from sweetened beverages with no nutrients. Soda consumption is directly related to obesity and the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. The most popular sweetener for soda is high fructose corn syrup, but Dr. Willett stated that for metabolism, there is no difference between sugar and high fructose corn syrup. The main difference between the two is simply that high fructose corn syrup is less expensive.
Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health stated that people are eating more refined, fiber deficient carbohydrates than our parents or grandparents. The consumption of fiber deficient carbs has been linked to a heightened rate of obesity, but Americans are consuming only one serving of whole grains per day.
2. Sodium.
Dr. Willett argued that decreasing sodium has a great potential to reduce mortality rates in the United States. He noted that three-quarters of all sodium comes from processed foods and restaurant meals. Unfortunately, this means that sodium intake is generally outside the control of the consumer. Too much sodium causes an increase in the risk for high blood pressure and heart disease.
Dr. Willett anticipated the objection of the food service industry that salt improves the flavor of food by displaying a chart listing the amount of sodium across certain brands of products. For example, Morgan’s Caesar dressing has 170 mg and Wishbone Just 2 Good has 300 mg of sodium, while Ken’s Caesar Lite has a whopping 600 mg. Similarly, Ragu’s Light spaghetti sauce has 360 mg of sodium while Ragu’s Traditional Old World sauce has 756 mg. These statistics show that some companies are finding that they can drop the amount of sodium and still retain flavor.
3. Eradicate Obesity with the Quality of Food, not the Quantity.
Dr. Willett argues that stop the obesity epidemic, Americans need to worry about the quality of the foods they consume, not the quantity. Many popular diets are low fat or low carb. These diets fail to acknowledge that some fats are good fats (unsaturated fat from vegetables oils) and some fats are bad fats (saturated fat from animal fats). They also fail to acknowledge that some carbs are good carbs (whole grains) and some carbs are bad carbs (refined starches). Based upon the failure of these types of diets in the long run (despite their short term success), the Committee argued that only a system emphasizing quality over quantity can have a long lasting effect on the American obesity epidemic. Apparently, the old adage is true: “everything in moderation.” Well, except trans fats.
Conclusions
Dr. Willett asserted that these are not issues that have to be addressed one at a time. Even if we eradicate trans fats, obesity could still be a problem due to a diet high in sugar or sodium. The dialogue itself among the nutritionists and the food industry representatives at the Worlds of Healthy Flavors Event is certainly a step in the right direction.
If you could add issues to be addressed by the food industry after trans fats, what issues would you add? I’ll let you know if they were discussed during the event in the comments.
I’d add something that you mentioned in earlier posts. The fact that Americans need to increase the fruit and vegetable intake. Educate our young people that if they want something nice and sweet, there fruits that can satiate that sweet tooth just as well if not better than candy thats full of processed sugars. One thing I would harp on is that we MUST decrease our soda consumption. I’d love to see more schools decrease the amount of soda that is available from vending machines, but not sure that will happen with the amount of money those corporations are pumping into the schools.