Re: This smacks right in our faces- the junk food diet comments from the professor

[Guest guest]

All- like many on the listserv, many extension agents in Kansas have been

contacting the nutrition dept. at KSU to get the scoop. Here is what the one of

the state extension specialists sent out today.

Dear agents --

|

| By now, I am sure you have seen stories about the K-State professor and his

junk food diet. You are probably wondering

| just what that is all about. We have had a few questions here from| some of

you, so we thought we would get the information for you.

| We decided we would do something few, if any,other " sources " of this | story

did -- get the WHOLE story from Dr. Haub

| himself. I have Dr. Haub's permission to share his response with the FCS

listserv. So please see attached his explanation regarding the

| reason for the experiment that he conducted as part of his class HN| 535

--Energy Balance. This class is focused on precisely the kinds of

| questions he is posing in the attached document.

|

| Dr. Haub is interested in knowing if the questions he is asking his students

are " on target " with issues that Kansas citizens face. As

| Extension educators, what do you think?

So I asked Dr. Haub for permission to pass his list on to the RDUSA you since I

felt some seemed rather outraged at the concept and publicity....

He wrote back " Of course, this is supposed to be an educational opportunity.

I certainly do not want to limit the opportunity to educate more than myself

and our students.

Outraged, by losing weight via a mostly lacto-vegetarian diet? Interesting, I

thought vegetarian diets were healthy ;-)

There are so many levels this project can reach, it has taught me a lot.

Thank you for asking questions and seeking information.

Cheers -- Mark "

This project was not a diet, nor was it research. It is a quasi-case study to

illustrate a “live†example of how changing behavior may affect health.

Questions to be raised with Mark Haub’s class project:

#1 - Assuming that decreasing weight (to not longer be overweight/obese) is

healthy, does it matter how we get there? If yes, then should we shift our

focus away from the obesity epidemic onto food metabolism (diet and exercise)

and health outcomes, regardless of weight? If no, then is it acceptable to

achieve weight reduction in whatever fashion someone chooses (smoking,

liposuction, “twinkiesâ€, etc)?

#2 - Do biomarkers play a role in that answer? In other words, if I had posted

my results (body composition and CVD biomarker changes) without posting how

those results were achieved would most consider my health to improve? I would

speculate that most would consider my health was improved, or at least my risk

for cardiovascular disease was decreased (ATP III and NCEP equations support

that speculation).

#3 - Is it better to ingest micronutrients from a supplement or not at all? In

other words, are small steps (taking a supplement) better than taking no steps

at all?

#4 - Is reducing the intake of ‘junk food’ better than keeping portion sizes

larger than one needs? Or, is it better to work towards “healthier†or

should

the focus be on “healthiest†even if that is not readily attainable.

#5 - If the means are important, how are we to know what means are acceptable.

It seems that health and health care costs are key outcome variables. If a

means (eating ‘junk food’) leads to improved accepted outcome variables

(weight,

body fat, cholesterol, etc), should that means be considered healthy even if it

contradicts current recommendations?

With the global effort to reduce obesity, the overwhelming message seems to be:

decrease weight to lower BMI values (change a state’s color from red to

orange,

for example). Given the public intensity to reverse increasing BMI values, it

might be presumed that any means to do so should be supported. If all means

(such as engaging in unhealthy behaviors) are not acceptable, then the public

health message must change to reflect that the means are as important, if not

more so, than the end.

Re: This smacks right in our faces

I find it interesting he was able to control calorie intake using foods with

calories clearly stated. Could it be that it is harder to consistently figure

out calories consumed while eating what we typically refer to as healthy food

choices i.e. fruit, veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and low fat dairy?

Sent from my iPod

> I am not very happy about this being so publized. A nutrition professor to

> boot. It smacks us right in our faces for everything we are trying to

> educate the public on for health and wellness. If I were to do this, I sure

> would NOT be bragging about this, espcially being a nutrition professor.

>

> http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/

> --

> " It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. "

> Herman Melville

>

> http://www.carolscasey.com

>

cheerio, Schoneweis MS RD/LD

K-State Research & Extension- Fort Riley