Programmed to Eat

There are many theories floating around regarding the obesity epidemic that plagues our society. Almost all have some merit and I’m thoroughly convinced that the issue is multi-factorial and thus there is no “magic bullet” for a cure. A recent article in ChambanaMoms.com left me pondering another issue that doesn’t seem to get discussed much. That is the idea that we are somehow being programmed to eat regardless of our hunger. This was spurred on by a discussion of the relative merits or lack thereof of ‘snack time’ in elementary school. You can read the entire article and comments here: http://www.chambanamoms.com/2012/01/18/sound-off-sometimes-a-snack-isnt-just-a-snack/#comments

Wikipedia defines Hunger as a sensation experienced when one is required to eat food. This differs from appetite which describes the desire to eat NOT based on physiologic need. The whole ‘snack time’ debate addresses the issue of whether kids NEED to have a mid-morning snack. Many of us grew up without such a snack and ended up just fine. Regardless of the NEED to ingest food to satisfy true HUNGER, I would bet most young children would avail themselves of a snack when presented to them, particularly if it happens to be a sugary or salty treat. When I look around our everyday lives there are many instances where people of ALL ages find themselves in similar situations. We tend to associate the gathering of people for whatever reason, social, educational, professional, spiritual etc. with food. Food is omnipresent and represents a huge temptation and often detractor from a healthy lifestyle.

The two biggest offenders in my opinion are the motion picture and sports industries. When my family and I sit down to watch a movie at home on a snowy afternoon we don’t automatically start filling up vats of junk food. We are all perfectly capable of sitting through a couple of hours of a movie or basketball game on TV without popcorn, candy, soda or other delicacies. However, the minute we set foot in the movie theater or the Assembly Hall we are bombarded with the sights and smells of food. It is just instinct to buy a treat regardless of the time of day. I’ve started instituting some restrictions at the ball games. If game time happens to coincide with meal time, for instance an 11am kickoff, then my son and I will eat lunch at the stadium. But if we go for a 2pm game and we’ve eaten lunch there’s no need for it. Yes, it’s hard to control yourself when everyone around is shoveling popcorn, pretzels and hotdogs in their faces but you cannot give in to every single temptation. I’ve gotten to the point where it kind of disgusts me to see people shoveling all kinds of crap into their mouths. Invariably, some jackass will spill his 32oz Coke all over the place and it will conveniently puddle in my space. The focus on food is so great it almost detracts from the sport. For instance, it’s hard to get the crowd on its feet after Brandon Paul knocks down a three if half the people in the hall have vats of nachos and troughs of soda sitting in their laps! College football tailgating has become a sport in itself. I know people who will spend hours eating and drinking in the parking lot, never set foot into the stadium and are completely oblivious to the outcome of the game. The message that the sporting industry sends is not a healthy one. Here, come sit and be sedentary for 2 to 3 hrs and watch other people run around…oh and while you’re at it…go ahead and take in an extra 1000 calories for the day!

Then there is the business arena. When was it decided that every single meeting needs to be accompanied by food and drink. Sure, if I show up for a 7am meeting at work it is nice to have a little breakfast available since that would normally be my breakfast time at home. But come on! Do I really need to provide a snack for a 2pm, hour long meeting? It is almost as if every time you call people together, for whatever reason, be it social, business or sports, you have to feed them.

The bottom line is that people want you to eat even when you are not hungry and most of the time they want you to eat food that probably isn’t the most nutritious. In essence, we are being PROGRAMMED to eat. There is much money to be made selling crappy food to people who are not hungry. Unfortunately, this is not going to change. There are entire industries built around this principle. I feel a sense of compassion for those who are struggling to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle because EVERY TIME they walk out the door they are confronted with attempts to derail their success. For an obese individual struggling with what amounts to a food addiction, setting foot in a movie theater is the equivalent of an alcoholic walking into a tavern. However, if that person is going to succeed, he or she needs to be able to confront those threats and overcome them.

So much of what we eat is done not to satisfy true hunger but rather to satisfy the pleasure centers in our brains that respond to that stimulus. I once heard the saying, “…if you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple then you are not hungry.” I believe in this and try to live by it as much as I can. Before you go off calling me a ‘carrot-munching killjoy’ let me tell you that I love to EAT and I eat A LOT! I love junk food as much as the next guy. I have those same pleasure centers in my brain too. I just try to be sensible about it. For my sake and for the sake of my family’s health I try to exercise some self control and encourage my family and friends to do the same. I am proud to say to that last Sunday, I was able to walk into and out of the Assembly Hall, past the yummy smelling roasted almonds with cinnamon, past the cheese pretzels, nachos and soda without dropping a single dime at the concession stand. My son never even asked for anything as we had nice bowls of soup before the game. There was no food in our laps to impair our ability to jump up and make some noise in the last minutes of the game while an inferior Wisconsin Badger team brought the ‘paign to the Illini in our own house. Now…had I had access to beer during that game…well then that would be a different story.