On naughty list, does cheese stand alone?
But not everyone is a fan of the dairy product.
As part of a campaign by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, two billboards went up here Tuesday warning residents that cheese and other dairy products contribute to the local obesity problem — more than 60 percent of adults in Albany County are overweight or obese, according to the state Department of Health.
” Your Abs on Cheese,” says one billboard, featuring a man’s obese belly. The other shows an overweight woman with the words ” Your Thighs on Cheese.”
The PCRM may be onto something, says Beth Wasniski, a registered dietitian. Cheese is loaded with the unhealthiest kind of fat — saturated.
She uses cheddar as an example. On average, an ounce of the popular cheese contains 9.4 grams of fat, including 6 grams of saturated fat. Of 114 calories in an ounce of cheddar, 75 percent are from fat, she said.
While eating in moderation is good general dietary advice, Wasniski said cheese poses a bigger dietary problem than other foods because people have a hard time gauging portion size.
Plus, she says, cheese has long been thought of as good for you. It’s high in protein and calcium and low in carbs.
Some patients flatly tell dietitians that it’s non-negotiable. They love cheese that much. Yes, it even beats chocolate as a ” must-have.”
” People think of it as a natural food,” Wasniski says. ” It’s not highly processed. It’s not like a Twinkie, where you think of all those empty calories (when eating it).”
While educational campaigns can be useful, ” shock value” ads such as the PCRM billboards don’t always work, said Savita Hanspal, assistant professor of marketing at The College of Saint Rose here.
Some people do become more aware of their behavior and conscious of a potential negative outcome. But more often, people think of the present ( “That cheese fondue tastes really good.” ) instead of the future ( “Hey, my thighs may look like that billboard. On vacation. At the beach.” ) and take an ” it will never happen to me” attitude.
Tom MacGregor, manager of the specialty foods department at Honest Weight Food Co-Op in Albany called the campaign ” insane.”
” I think there are much bigger things to worry about than people eating cheese,” he said.
At his store, cheese sales ripen every year.
In 2011, the co-op broke $1 million in cheese sales, up roughly 4 percent from the year before. The cheese department makes up about 10 percent of the store’s annual sales with Parmesan Reggiano being the most popular.
Studies have shown obese children often become obese adults. So, in an attempt to curb the weight gain early, Dr. Neal Barnard, president of PCRM, has pleaded with schools to minimize dairy products served in schools to help students reduce the risk of childhood obesity. This week, he sent a letter to Daniel Egan, president of the Albany city school board, criticizing popular, higher-fat lunch options such as pizza, cheeseburgers and lasagna.
His letter cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics that show childhood obesity has tripled in the United States over the last 30 years.
In New York state, the obesity rate among children 6 to 11 has quadrupled over the last three decades. He expresses concern over heart disease, type 2 diabetes and various cancers — all of which are more common among the obese.
And the obesity crisis continues despite efforts like these. While the number of overweight and obese Americans hasn’t grown, it also has not improved since 2003, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reported Tuesday.
More than half the adults in this country are deemed medically overweight or obese, and a diet full of saturated fats contributes to that.
PCRM is going to try to eliminate cheese from the equation.
At least we still have bacon.
Cheese Recipes with Bill & Sheila
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