http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-997268.mp3
Albany, NY – In today's Academic Minute, Carly Pacanowski of Cornell University explains how the cultural expectation of food at meetings and gatherings has contributed to the obesity epidemic.
Carly Pacanowski is a Ph.D. candidate in Cornell University's Division of Nutritional Sciences and a Registered Dietitian. Pacanowski regularly conducts research with David Levitsky, professor of Nutritional Sciences and of Psychology at Cornell University.
Carly Pacanowski - Meetings, Snacking, and Obesity
Why are food and drinks served at almost every meeting or social gathering we attend? It has become an expectation, a convention, that when we are invited to attend a meeting/seminar/event - regardless of the time of day, there will be something there to tide us over' or to allure us. The omnipresence of food at events diverts attention from one of the most serious public health problems the U.S. faces today - obesity.
Researchers Duffey and Popkin estimate that between 1977 and 2006 a powerful determinant of overeating may be the increased number of occasions we have to eat. A cumulative increase of between 10 and 100 calories per day per year can explain the increase in obesity since the 1980's.
To gain 1 pound per year - the average amount gained by a U.S. adult - all that is necessary is a surplus of 10 calories per day! Eating a bagel and cream cheese or a large chocolate chip cookie during a meeting can more than account for this increase. Or, a few carrot sticks and dip, then some fruit salad, a holiday cookie -more than 10 calories per day in that week. Now multiply among an entire population over the course of decades, and it's easy to see how obesity became an epidemic.
Is it absurd to not bring food to our meetings? Thirty years ago, sorting garbage or not smoking in public places would have been thought absurd. Perhaps, we need to reconsider using food as a lure for meetings and brainstorm alternatives to this cultural practice.