Everyday Systems

I'm a writer for a national parenting magazine and was asked to write a short piece about ways parents can encourage their kids to snack less and make healthy choices when they do snack. I sent out a query through a PR service looking to get some expert advice from a dietician, and received this gem of an e-mail from an RD working with Frito-Lay:

Hi Marygrace,

I am a registered dietitian working in PR with food companies and commodities. I saw your ProfNet query and thought you may be interested in some information.

I’m not sure which specific study you are referring to but “snack†and “snacking†does not have a universal definition and is defined differently in different studies. A snack has be defined:
· By time of consumption
· As foods eaten at times other than meals
· Self-defined by study participants
· As number of eating occasions per day
· By nutrition profile
· By amount of time (e.g. eaten in 15 minutes or less)

So without a standard definition, it’s difficult to really say how prevalence of snacking has changed and what impact it has.

One of the clients I work with is Frito-Lay and we have developed a website in partnership with the American Dietetic Association, License to Snack (www.licensetosnack.com). The website has a section for consumers and for dietitians with resources to encourage healthier snacking and also has interactive games and tools. It talks about snacking responsibly, which really boils down to mindful, planned snacks versus mindless munching (which is often called snacking, but is not).



Ridiculous? Uhh, yeah. It made me so angry I actually wrote out a response that I'm debating whether or not to send. (The only thing that's stopping me is she knows my name and magazine I work for now, and I wouldn't want to end up getting in trouble). But here's what I have currently sitting in draft mode:

Hi Jaime,

Normally, I don't take the time to respond to queries I won't be using, but your response really struck a nerve. It's really disappointing to me that a registered dietician would partner up with a company like Frito-Lay, which essentially sells what is almost universally recognized as junky snack foods, and try to make people believe that said foods are not "snacks", or that "snacking" does not have a standard definition. In fact, I can give you a defintion of snacking right now: Snacking is eating food in between meals. The study to which I referred (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/0 ... more-24939 if you'd like to take a look) has found that eating in between meals (that's "snacking") has increased over the past few decades, and is a contributing factor to childhood obesity.

Certainly, potato chips aren't the only food to blame here. A child could eat too many granola bars or too much yogurt or even too much fruit (though that might be difficult) in between meals and gain weight. However, those foods are conventionally thought to have a place within the confines of a healthy meal. Potato chips do not. They are, in essence, a snack food, and one of the many snack foods that are contributing to obesity in children and adults.

It occurred to me some time ago that Big Food is as aligned with dietitians and nutritionists and Big Pharma is aligned with doctors and nurses.

My daughter was having some digestive problems recently and it was suggested that she eat Activia yogurt. It's as full as artificial ingredients as any other flavored yogurt. I told her to skip the Activia and eat plain yogurt with real fruit.

My neighbor was scheduled to have bariatric surgery but it had to be cancelled due to another medical problem. She was talking with the dietitian and she suggested all manner of snacks -- all highly refined and processed foods. I'm starting to have an impact on her -- she told them she preferred to avoid processed foods.

The dietitians are often part of the problem. I often want to strangle Joy
Bauer on the Today Show. She recommends tons of foods I wouldn't allow in my home.

For what it is worth, Frito Lay hired someone who worked for the United Nations to try to make their foods better for people. I heard a podcast interview of the person, and it does seem like a sincere attempt to improve foods. Chips are processed foods, of course, but Frito Lay chips are baked rather than what is worse (fried?).

Big Food follows the market, and people are looking for foods that are better for you.

Kathleen

Kathleen wrote:For what it is worth, Frito Lay hired someone who worked for the United Nations to try to make their foods better for people. I heard a podcast interview of the person, and it does seem like a sincere attempt to improve foods. Chips are processed foods, of course, but Frito Lay chips are baked rather than what is worse (fried?).

Big Food follows the market, and people are looking for foods that are better for you.

Kathleen

I think the baked chips are much worse than the fried. They have more artificial ingredients. I tried to avoid the baked chips at all costs and have fried chips occasionally. It's another area where I think we've been misinformed and led to believe that something "artificial" is better than the real thing.

Baked Lays: Dehydrated potatoes, modified food starch, corn oil, soy lecithin, leavening (monocalcium phosphate and sodium bicarbonate) and dextrose. 120 cal/serving

Classic Lays: Potatoes, sunflower oil and/or corn oil, and salt. 150 cal/serving

wosnes wrote:It occurred to me some time ago that Big Food is as aligned with dietitians and nutritionists and Big Pharma is aligned with doctors and nurses.

My daughter was having some digestive problems recently and it was suggested that she eat Activia yogurt. It's as full as artificial ingredients as any other flavored yogurt. I told her to skip the Activia and eat plain yogurt with real fruit.

My neighbor was scheduled to have bariatric surgery but it had to be cancelled due to another medical problem. She was talking with the dietitian and she suggested all manner of snacks -- all highly refined and processed foods. I'm starting to have an impact on her -- she told them she preferred to avoid processed foods.

The dietitians are often part of the problem. I often want to strangle Joy
Bauer on the Today Show. She recommends tons of foods I wouldn't allow in my home.

It's so true that so many health professionals buddy up with Big Food. I can't stand it (especially Joy Bauer...don't get me started). Having spent a lot of time reading about food and nutrition, I'll never buy into their nonsense--but so many people do, it amazes (and frustrates me). My dad, for instance, still thinks peanut butter is bad for him because it's "fattening". My mother-in-law buys only fat- and sugar-free packaged foods because that's what she's been taught is healthiest for maintaining her weight. It makes me nuts. The only doctor and nutritionist I think are worth listening to are Dr. Andrew Weil and Marion Nestle. For lack of better wording, they KEEP IT REAL!

I'm glad your daughter and neighbor have someone like you to provide them with food information that's truly helpful. Those Activia commercials make me crazy, I hope your daughter opted for plain yogurt instead. However, I wonder if the dietician was suggesting snacks for your neighbor because people after bariatric surgery can only eat very small amounts of food at a time? Perhaps she was suggesting vitamin-fortified snacks to prevent your neighbor from becoming malnourished. Not a very good suggestion, but I can at least sort of see where she might be coming from.