I am trying to get off the topic, of fatness, that is.
But just when it seems right to move on, to something less hopeless; we hear that even doctors can be felled by obesity’s resilience.
To the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group of well-meaning doctors who are buying expensive TV ads blaming McDonalds for heart disease, I have just 5 words:
McDonalds is not the problem!
Gosh. It is maddening to think that such smart people could be that misguided. A whole committee of doctors completely devoid of any master of the obvious is hard to fathom.
Don’t misunderstand, I am not advocating McDonalds food as overly nutritional, but blaming MacDs for our obesity epidemic is like blaming guns for violence (for the record, guns scare me), brew pubs for alcoholism, or religion for war. (Sorry, that last one is a bad example.)
Is a grilled chicken sandwich that bad? Is a hamburger sans cheese and special sauce that horrible? How about orange juice, scrambled eggs or fruit yogurt? No, we are not talking about 12$ organic avocados, or kale greens, or free range chicken (given novocaine before harvest), but it is also clearly true that one is not forced to gorge on McFlurrys, Big Macs and fries.
The medical community, no, society, will have to solve the obesity epidemic without annihilating fast-food restaurants. We will have to live in harmony with temptation.
Doctors should know this.
JMM
Disclaimer: Long ago, before there were blogs, I bought ten shares of McDonalds. I still have them.
Sherri says
September 15, 2010 at 1:57 ammakes me wonder how many McChicken sandwiches you could buy if you cashed in those shares.
We all make choices everyday, you can buy a salad at McDonald's, too you know.
DrJohnM says
September 15, 2010 at 2:04 amTrue, but salads don't do much for my watt generating capacity.
JMM
Ike says
September 15, 2010 at 2:36 amI see it as an economics problem. Our legislature seems generally more responsive to lobbyists in the food industry than to the healthcare costs of an obese population when it comes to regulation.
Perhaps the burden of subsidized health care will reclaim their attention from the lobbyists.
Scott says
September 15, 2010 at 3:18 amWhat if McDonalds food was free…..and reimbursed via food stamps. The junk you can get from a grocery store across the street is probably just as bad….
Dr. Wes says
September 15, 2010 at 5:43 pmI read this story and could not help but note how pissed I'd be if my doctor proselytized to me about my diet to this extent.
Like they're so perfect and have all the answers, right?
These folks have their right to express their opinions I suppose, but using fear-based advertising as this commercial does is just as morally corrupt as anything McDonalds does (maybe more so) in my view.
Affib Rider says
September 15, 2010 at 6:32 pmSo I crawl in to my wife's the other day and the rancid smell of 2 hour old McDonald's comes wafting up into my face. I could not resist and reached into the back seat and grabbed the bag. Reaching in I found the remnants left by my son who had only grazed through to find the toy leaving a 1/4 eaten burger and a small serving of uneaten fries. As much as I hate to admit it I ate the fries. It was disgusting goodness. I only right this a part of my 12 step program to totally eliminate fast food completely from my life.
Anonymous says
September 17, 2010 at 12:38 pmAs if religion is the principal reason for war. Was WWII due to religion? WWI? Did the Japanese invade China in 1936 because it was Shinto v. Buddhist? Was the Indochina war for the French, or Vietnam for the US, about religion? How about the Spanish American War, the Boar War, the US Civil War, the Napoleonic Wars? The American Revolutionary War? The French and Indian War of the 1750s and 60s? What Ghengis Khan fundamentally religious? What about Hannibal's invasion of Rome? Religious at heart? Did Alexander conquer the known world because of religion? Did the Spartans and Athenians fight because of religion? Many people find life sweeter, more worth living, the journey more pleasant and purposeful because of religion, and countless millions have been spared suffering or lifted from crushing poverty because of the good work of religious people. Why not give the snide disdain for religion a break and show some of the good will and equanimity that is good for the heart? IMHO.
Anonymous says
September 17, 2010 at 5:49 pmDr. John you are stirring the pot this week. Good for you.
As pointed out, religion isn't responsible for all war, just a fair share.
For a short list see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_war
Not that that makes religion bad per se or wipes out the good it does.
It just is what it is.
RDB
Bill Millan says
September 20, 2010 at 4:54 amDr John, When I found out I had a Agatston score of 320 at age 73, I cut out all sugar and wheat and dropped 30 pounds. Went from a 32 BMI to a 28. I am now down to a 26.5 BMI. Taking 6000IU of Vitamin D help me reduce my Agatston to 219 in one year. As long as you push a "Low Fat" diet you will never see good results. Please read Dr Davis's Heart Scan blog, http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/
Bill Millan says
September 20, 2010 at 4:54 amDr John, When I found out I had a Agatston score of 320 at age 73, I cut out all sugar and wheat and dropped 30 pounds. Went from a 32 BMI to a 28. I am now down to a 26.5 BMI. Taking 6000IU of Vitamin D help me reduce my Agatston to 219 in one year. As long as you push a "Low Fat" diet you will never see good results. Please read Dr Davis's Heart Scan blog, http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/