You want an airline ticket? Step on the scale.

When I go to the store and buy wild salmon, the fishmonger weighs the salmon and affixes a price tag based on how much I buy. The same per pound system goes for apples, potatoes and nuts from the bulk bins. I’m not thrilled about it but when traveling, our ginormous black wedding registry (pre bags on scales) bags get weighed as well and this often results in a surcharge. However, if I want salmon and produce and travel, the scale is a prerequisite. Samoa Airlines is taking this one step further. What’s used for Tumi and tangerines is also used for people of all sizes; they’ve started charging based on weight. Passengers weight + baggage weight = price.

There’s a silver lining if you look for one. Kids would be less. Instead of a 2 year old being charged the same as a 200-pound adult male, they would benefit from being smaller and lighter (as long as they don’t charge based on noise level or decibels). And hey, if you’re dropping weight for a beach vacation, you now have a financial incentive. Weigh less pay less? I’m not sure if this would impact initial efforts to lose weight just for the sake of airfare.

In Samoa’s defense, Samoans are large- often the largest people on earth and this airline, to date, flies small planes. Cargo weight does matter. Military planes take weight into consideration. But most people aren’t Samoan, soldiers or excited for public weighing. Not that we’re happy about whipping out the credit card because you happen to have heavy ski boots (or more likely too many shoes with you). I don’t like removing my shoes for the security like but I do it, but that’s for “security” is getting on the scale the same?

This may work for a small airline. I get their stance that planes fly based on “cargo” weight not based on seats. I get that people are getting larger. But what happens when someone gets to the airport and cannot afford their ticket based on their size? Would companies pick smaller employees to do more travel if it saves them money? Would people be willing to do this hopping on the scale pre-flight?

Lots of questions and for now mostly hypothetical but interesting. It doesn’t seem right  nor does the person seated in front of me reclining in my lap or breaching their armrest boarder. On our recent trip, a child in front of us was using an ipad. The parents hadn’t contemplated the mute button or headphones. I politely asked them to lower it. You know what happened? The kid freaked out. I’m not sure telling a person “politely” to pay triple for their ticket would have a better outcome.

What do you think? Is this, as the head of Samoan airlines said “the future”? Can you see this working? What are the advantages or disadvantages?

Overweight Folks in Ads: Helping or Selling?

Nathan Sorrel, 12 years old

Yesterday I did a segment for Today. During the taping I was asked the inevitable “so what numbers are we talking about when it comes to weight in this country”.  I mentioned that two thirds of adults were overweight or obese however I don’t focus on these figures. The statistics and obesity anxiety or weight terror- alert doesn’t help. So what does?

A study from the Rudd Center at Yale University concluded two things were helpful when it came to messaging about weight or eating. We tend to respond to messaging that’s supportive and information that encourages a specific behavior. The Let’s Move campaign is a great example of keeping it positive (and not preachy) and providing relevant resources.

How about advertisers? Yesterday’s segment focused on a front page USA Today article about the trend in casting overweight people in ads. While inclusivity is always good, I think we have to look at the motivation. Are the ads designed to sell products? To stir up controversy? Or to help foster change?  Some of these ads have caused quite a ruckus.

Take this add from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. An overweight mother and daughter are in the grocery store. The mother places unhealthy items in her cart and the daughter, with a mini cart, does the same. Let’s just say this didn’t sit well with many people including Lindy West on Jezebel (wish I had her with me for the napkin girls incident). I think Blue Cross could’ve made the same point saying “we’ve all been there and we don’t always set the best example for our kids.” Today you can change that and show a mother and child reading a label or making better market selections.

The Nike ad, that ran during the Olympics, was another example cited by USA today.

Nike shows an overweight boy jogging. The narration tells us greatness isn’t reserved for a select few, we are all capable of it. When I see it I smell a conference rooms of ad execs saying “we can’t sell shoes to a select few” it feels calculated. My kids had a different reaction. One of my boys said “it says never give up.” When the video finished the collage of other videos/ads displayed on the screen. My younger son said “the boy running in the commercial was big, none of those people are big.” He then said, “but in the world lots of people are big.” In his eight-year-old terms he could see this was unusual. However, regardless of its intensions it was supportive in its messaging and specific in its explicit message (to exercise). It also appeals to both overweight and non overweight...good for sales and health at the same time.

From years of counseling clients, a couple of things are clear. First, people know what to eat. They know what they “should” eat. Second, shame and guilt isn’t the answer. We all have an abundance of negativity swirling about in our heads when it comes to weight and food. To enact change, we have to go about things differently. We have to give people something they don’t already have.

What’s your reaction to more overweight people in ads? Do you think it’s inclusive or patronizing? And what about the parent’s? Should the parents let their children me the face of childhood obesity?

Thinism

“You’re so fat, you must eat a lot.” Are you cringing? You might be because nobody with a speck of sensitivity would every utter those words. On Friday I read a post on Erica Sara’s blog that got me thinking. Erica wrote about a recent experience that was rather hurtful. Someone said something to her about her eating and her size. This person didn’t know Erica personally. They didn’t know about Erica’s marathon running or her cooking. They didn’t know that she practices yoga. They probably didn’t know how much their words would sting. They might have thought the rules were different because Erica is a thin person.  Somehow, “you’re so thin, you must not eat” is acceptable. Why is this?

I see nutrition clients all week long at my NYC office. Oftentimes, in initial sessions with new clients I’ll hear “you don’t have to think about this because you’re thin.” Or “it must be nice you don’t have to workout.” Or my favorite, similar to Erica’s experience “do you eat?” I know full well these clients wouldn’t probe similarly with a doctor or therapist or other professional who was heavy. Over the years, I have grown thick-skinned to these types of questions. I used to feel embarrassed and utter some incoherent, self-deprecating reply. Now, I generally say something like “I practice what I preach” or “I work hard to stay in shape” which generally reassures them.  I am less offended by comments about my size than the insinuation that there’s no work involved. I think there’s a way to be curious about someone’s size without being critical. “What do you do for exercise?” Or, “do you watch what you eat?” are better ways of saying the same thing.

It’s unfortunate but we all size people up. We look. We look when someone’s very heavy and we look when they’re too bony and we look at people somewhere in the middle. I know full well from what I do that you can’t judge someone’s success or peace of mind by their weight and that feeling good in your skin doesn’t have a size. I also feel it’s probably harder to walk in an obese person’s shoes than in my shoes. Overweight people are the subject of more ridicule than thinner people.  I just don’t think it’s ok to be mean.

Why do you think sizist comments are more acceptable when the recipient is thin? Why do you think people make comments like the one that hurt Erica? Has anyone said anything inappropriate to you about your size? Is it ever appropriate to say anything?

P.S. Not only was Erica the author of our Pot of the Week post, she makes amazing jewelry including my “race bling” marathon necklace.

Moms Work More, Kids Weigh More?

I love a good lead.  I was sitting at my desk early one morning, preparing for clients, when I received an email with the following in the subject line “I look forward to you debunking this (because I think it’s crap).” Now if I love a good lead, I love a good debate even more. I clicked through and found a story that has caused quite a commotion in the blogosphere. A study published in the Journal of Child Development found that there’s a correlation between mothers working and higher BMI for their children. Translation working mothers have heavier kids.

Patience isn’t a virtue I naturally possess and when irritated I have difficulty disguising it but my first reaction to this wasn’t anger or even surprise. I have an unusual schedule in that some days I work early and I’m home to make dinner and do homework. Other nights, I am in the office until 7:30pm. There is a distinct difference in the 2 scenarios when it comes to my children (similar ages to the children studied by the Cornell team).  On the nights I’m home, I am there to make dinner. I have time to make sure the kids start homework early enough and get to bed on time. On my late nights, it’s all a rush. Dinner (though we’re talking Applegate or Amy’s) may include a convenience item and bedtime can easily be delayed.  My children are far from obese and I’m a nutritionist but I get it.

Much of the outrage stemming from this story had to do with finger pointing. After all, children’s weight is affected by many factors: activity level, food choices, sleep, and genetics to name a few. So why “blame” mothers when this is likely a more complicated issue? This reminded me of a conversation I had when my 8 year old was a baby. I called my mother for advice, I was upset and complained, “why is everything on my shoulders? I work but still have to grocery shop and organize Louise [babysitter] and put Myles to sleep, Marc just has to go to work.” I happen to have a very helpful husband but when it came down to childcare, things weren’t even-Stephen. My mother said “you’re lucky, Marc is hands-on but there is only one Mother.” As Oprah would say, it was a “light bulb moment”.   The reason a father’s working status isn’t mentioned is because feeding children and all that goes along with it continues to be more the mother’s “job”.

With slightly over 70 percent of mothers working, the question is what to do with this statistically significant link.  Mothers need tools for timesaving meals they can perhaps make on the weekend. Additionally, perhaps kids can sign some sort of pledge limiting TV or video games when their parents are at work. And parents, mothers and fathers, need to get home whenever possible so as not to disrupt bedtime.  In my eyes it comes down to time and not neglect or guilt or blame. Anything you’d like to “debunk” in this study?What emotions does it evoke in you? Did the bulk of “feeding” responsibility fall on your mother growing up? Is that different from your current situation? Does the 70% statistic surprise you? Let the debate begin.

Ripa/Consuelos Theory: Salads and Sex

I was watching an episode of Live with Regis and Kelly  a couple of weeks ago. On the show Bryant Gumbel was co-hosting and he and Kelly were discussing a dinner party he had thrown. Apparently, Bryant had cooked this delicious and not-so-small meal including an entrée of Cornish hen. Bryant was lamenting that he made “too much food.” Kelly smiled and shared a theory her husband, Mark, has. I’ll paraphrase but she said that when her husband sees her eating a salad for dinner, he gets a little excited thinking there’s a good chance he will get “lucky” later that night. On the other hand if he sees her chowing down, he knows “it” may not happen that night. Kelly shared with Bryant that when she devoured the hen (which she called chicken), her husband realized his odds were not good. Brilliant theory.

Saturday night, my Marc and I and 2 other couples went to Lavo for our own not-so-small dinner. It was the kind of meal where a ton of appetizers are ordered for the table. There is no need for entrees in this scenario but you order them anyway. I was full way before my branzino arrived. We passed on after dinner drinks and headed home. I got to thinking, does anyone feel sexy after a large meal? And is there a physiological component for this or is it just knowing that we just consumed too much?

You really wouldn’t believe what turned up as I googled every version of “big meal” and “sex”. I received a little too much of an education. If you’re curious or perverted see what Urban Dictionary defines a tossed salad as (blush). I did find some legitimate and interesting research. One study, though not focused on libido and eating, explained that post large meal food coma. This study mentioned , in NewScientist, explained why we often feel we need a siesta after a large meal. Researchers discovered that high blood glucose levels (after eating a meal) can switch off brain cells that keep us awake and alert. The group of brain cells are orexin neurons, found in the hypothalamus.The author added that “it makes evolutionary sense for animals to turn off their wakefulness and conserve energy once they have eaten their food, since it could be risky or wasteful to expend too much energy looking for more food.” Now I haven’t been in research for some time now but I am selectively hearing that one should conserve energy after a large meal, maybe even read a magazine and watch Project Runway? However, it also must make “evolutionary sense” to further the species, so to speak, maybe after dinner just isn’t the time for this.

I recalled another study that came out last year that I looked up to refresh my memory. In Canada, a team of researchers examined the eating habits of single, college-aged women. Their primary conclusion was that women’s caloric intake was significantly lower when their eating companions were male versus female. The explanation given was that women feel it’s more attractive or think they appear more attractive when eating less. Aside from this finding being rather depressing, in keeping with the “Mark” theory, I had a different spin. Rather than conforming to some gender eating role, perhaps women feel sexier when eating this lighter meal. After all, women like to “get lucky” too at least single, college women…

There is a rather well established connection between being overweight and sex. Female sexual functioning is significantly lower in overweight women than those who are normal weight. The British Medical Journal found obese women “29% less likely to have had a sex partner in the previous 12 months.” We also can’t isolate this connection to women. Overeating can decrease a man’s libido as well (I said decrease not eliminate) and excess weight can cause erectile dysfunction. Fat cells also produce estrogen, thereby reducing testosterone and sexual drive.

Aside from weight, eating well enables us to feel our best and that is what this is really about. When we feel good we’re more confident and this has a carryover effect. Meanwhile, I started this by saying that when Mark (Consuelos) sees his wife eating a salad things look promising. I am not sure what the male equivalent is but my husband just dropped the kids off at school. I couldn’t find anything on Medline but I’m fairly certain this increases his chances.
Do you subscribe to the salad and sex theory? Do you think it’s “women only” or do men experience this also? Do you feel sexier when eating well? Don’t be shy, we’re just talking about salad.