Though I have had many parents and patients approach me to use hypnosis to cure obesity, I have had little success. That is because of the power of the Obesity Culture in this country.
I can teach kids relaxation breathing. I can use motivational interviewing to assess their will to be a healthy weight. I can have them imagine being thinner, and make some changes to help them achieve those goals.
And, of course, I can do what any pediatrician should be doing: Give parents advice about serving lots of fresh fruits and vegetables (at least 5 servings a day), having family meals, not letting kids “graze” between meals, having kids avoid sugary snacks and drinks, and avoiding fast foods. I can suggest parents have kids try just a little bite of a new vegetable 10-12 times —— the number of times it takes for a person to begin to enjoy a new food, like peas, or coffee. I can even suggest that parents introduce fruits to their infants after vegetables - because fruits are sweeter - and avoid fruit juice; or have their children prepare and shop for family meals.
But consider this: according to Pediatrician Suanne Kowal-Connelly, in a recent talk for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy, over sixty million dollars a year is spent by food product companies on ads for infant and toddler foods and drinks. Of eighty surveyed baby and toddler food snacks (puffs, fruit snacks, cereal bars, etc), only FOUR were deemed to be nutritious. 50% of infant foods, and 83% of toddler foods had added sugars.
New devices have come on the market to introduce solid foods earlier than when infants are developmentally ready for them, and discourage what we pediatricians recommend: that babies under six months of age should be exclusively breast fed.
It is not surprising that 1/3 of toddlers eat no vegetables, and 1/4 of them eat no fruit.
For children and teens on the whole, two billion dollars is spent annually on food marketing.
Only 1% of this is spent on advertising for fruits and vegetables. 40% of the ad dollars on spent on advertising for fast foods, and 51% is spent on commercials for sugary drinks, cereals, and snacks.
Four out of five ads teens see are for junk food. For the average adolescent, this amounts to
11-12 ads a day, over 4000 ads a years! Add to this the FREE ADVERTISING that kids give to the big food companies by following and liking and sharing their products on social media.
During the Obama era, fast foods dropped to 11% of the diet of children and teenagers. By 2018, the percentage of the diet that consists of fast food increased to 14%. Fast food companies introduced healthy side orders, but there is no evidence that kids are consuming any of them.
There is a real racial disparity when it comes to advertising of junk food to kids.
In 2017, black teenagers saw twice as many food ads on television as whites. Blacks spend about 50% more time watching TV compared to whites, but see two to three more (100-200%) ads for sugary drinks then white teens (331 ads/year versus 145)
Hispanic teens spend 40% less time watching TV compared to whites, but see 13% more Spanish language ads for sugary drinks then their white counterparts.
From 2013 to 2018, fast food companies and makers of junk food have dramatically increased their advertising to minority communities.
According to Dr. Kowal Connelly, food companies almost exclusively target latinex and black children and adolescence with food with the lowest nutritional value: fast food, candy, and sugary drinks.
And advertising works: On average, white teens consume 15% of their daily calories in the form of fast food. Hispanic teens get 18.5% of their calories from fast food, and black adolescents get 21.5 % of their daily calories from these foods.
This is especially egregious when we consider that black and latinex people are more likely to suffer from diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. And these disparities have increased in the last five years.
What about obesity?
Is it any wonder that 26% of Latinex children and 22% of Black children under 18 suffer from obesity, while only 14% of white children are obese?
And my experience and that of my colleagues shows that in the last year, many kids, and adults, stuck in our homes during the pandemic, have gained “the Covid 19”. I have seen some teens who have gained a lot more weight than that.
It is not surprising that given that diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obesity are risk factors for poor outcomes with Covid 19, so many people of color dying during this pandemic!
According to research presented in the Journal of Children and the Media in 2019, many people of color appreciate being “recognized” by food companies who target them, and develop a preference for the junk food aimed at them - a loyalty to the brand. They are manipulated into thinking that they are at last getting the recognition they deserve, that these ads represent their value in American society.
This is racism at its most insidious. It is as if people of color were somehow convinced that racial profiling by police were just a recognition of their being “special” or really “American” so that they appreciated the profiling and associated brutality.
We must resist this cynical advertising targeting some of our most vulnerable citizens - young people of color.
Black and latinex neighborhoods need far more access to healthy foods. There should be far greater limits on advertising to all children. There should be health warnings on sugary drinks, and an excise tax placed on sugar.
The NBA and other professional sports leagues should let their stars know that their endorsing soda and junk food can help to sicken and even kill people of color.
And all of us should “vote with our wallets” by buying and cooking unprocessed fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, grains, and eggs - preferably local, and organic, as much as we can.
And we should like, share and follow only those who push good foods on social media —- not the makers of sugary, salty, and fatty food products - even if they are dressed up to look “healthy”.
We must do anything we can to change the Culture of Obesity that pervades our culture, and which especially targets young people of color.