Food Addiction

Only in america, he says, can one go to a gym and find valet parking.

THE OTHER DAY at the nursing station, I saw the ward clerk reading "Weight Watchers" as she devoured a "Baby Ruth." I guess that keeps the scales balanced and the economy moving. It also contributes to the epidemic in America-50 to 60 percent of the population is overweight and 25 to 33 percent is obese. We consumed 15 percent more calories in 1994 than in 1970, and today we dine out twice as often. If obesity were an infectious disease, it would be a national crisis.

Of all the books that cross my desk, at least one or two each month is about dieting. The "diet industry" is flourishing. At one bookstore I counted 107 different diet books. At another there were over 200 titles.

But is there really any new information from this self-perpetuating industry? Are the books of value to the overweight Americans? Are they helpful to those with other dietary problems such as hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, or diabetes? Do they provide complete lifelong nutritional programs? Do they incorporate exercise and stress management? At least three do.

The Pritikin Diet Programs of Nathan Pritikin have been continued by his son Robert, director of the Pritikin Longevity Center. The current volume, The New Pritikin Program by Robert Pritikin (Pocket Books, $7) is friendlier and more in tune with a lifetime commitment.

More than 50,000 people have been treated at the Pritikin centers in the last 15 years. They feel that quick fixes simply don't work in the long run and may even worsen the problem. One must address all the factors of health. There is nothing magical. This is truly a proven formula for lifelong success and health.

A couple of years ago, my RN-NP introduced me to The Zone Diet by Barry Sears, PhD. Since then, he has written additional volumes, including Mastering the Zone, which I received in the current package of audio tapes (Harper Audio, $25). Dr. Sears gives a very comprehensive nutritional program that is easily put into action. After a discussion of the ill effects of hyperinsulinism, he presents a system of balanced eating.

Only in America, he says, can one go to a gym and find valet parking. He advises parking at remotest ends of a parking lot and walking. He even suggests we park about 15 minutes from work for some exercise every morning and evening. He sees no need to buy exercise equipment, join a gym or pay to exercise.

Eating Well for Optimum Health by Andrew Weil, MD, (Knopf, $25) is a very comprehensive guide to food, diet and nutrition. As a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona, and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine, he presents the basic facts about human nutrition, which allows informed decisions about weight reduction. He gives the pros and cons about a number of diets.

Eat More, Weigh Less by Dean Ornish, MD (Harper Paperbacks, $7) is the fourth book by this internist and researcher. It has been number one on The New York Times bestseller list and contains a very impressive list of researchers, physicians, angiographers, and faculty at UCSF and affiliated hospitals. He says "Most diets don't work. Evidence suggests that weight-loss regimes do more harm than good."

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution by Robert C. Atkins, MD, (Avon Books, $7.50) updates the initial diet book. It has all the diet clichés that people who've been on numerous diets like to hear. Wouldn't you rather be on a diet that sets no limit on the amount of food you eat, excludes hunger from the dieting experience, includes rich foods, gives you a metabolic edge, improves your health, and produces steady weight loss?

The Ultimate Fit or Fat by Covert Bailey (Houghton Mifflin, $11) is the eighth book by Bailey. This is the update of his first book, Fit or Fat which sold 3 million copies in the mid 1970s. He gives us a lot of ordinary facts in a different and sometimes humorous vein.

Portion Savvy, The 30-day Smart Plan for Eating Well (Pocket Books, $24) is by Carrie Latt Wiatt. Hollywood's favorite nutritionist, she feels that in 30 days she can inspire you to a healthier and happier body. She says her PS men and women don't diet-they manage food wisely.

In The False Fat Diet by Elson M. Haas, MD, and Cameron Stauth, (Ballantine Books, $24), Dr Haas, an integrative medicine expert who lives on a farm in Sonoma County, feels he has the revolutionary 21-day program for losing the weight you think is fat. It begins with a "False Fat Week" during which "your puffiness" subsides and you lose 10 pounds. The approach has a strong allergy emphasis.

Hawaii has an epidemic of obese diabetics and a diabetic researcher outlines the first step in changing your life (Hawaii Diet by Terry Shintani, MD, JD, MPH, Pocket Books, $20). During a strict three-week program, you can eat as much as you like, with an average of a 17-pound weight loss and a 14 percent drop in cholesterol. The myth that eating doesn't cause weight gain lives on.

Two books with diets based on Chinese herbs (The Way of Herbs, edition The Way of Chinese Herbs by Michael Tierra, OMD, Pocket Books, $14 each) by an herbalist and acupuncturist bring holistic remedies to the diet scene.

The Cholesterol Counter, by Annette B. Natow, PhD, RD, and Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, (Pocket Books, $7) is now in its fifth edition with 2.5 million copies in print. It focuses on coronary heart disease and other health problems with very practical advice.

Overcoming Overeating, by Jane R. Hirschmann and Carol H. Munter, psychotherapists in New York City, (Fawcett/Ballantine, $7) focuses on how to overcome the compulsive reach for food, the diet/binge cycle, and the general obsession with food.

There are books that relate diet to genetics. One has a diet for each blood type. Another, The Body Code by Jay Cooper, MS in Nutrition, and Kathryn Lance, a freelance writer of more than 40 books on fitness, health, diet, and beauty (Pocket Books, $24), describes four genetic types and how to unlock your body code.

The Dictionary of Sodium, Fats, and Cholesterol by Barbara Kraus (Perigee Books, $13) is an excellent reference, either on our desk as we try to figure out where our patients miscalculate or in our kitchens. Maybe even to carry in the shopping cart.

Reading these diet books reminds me of a classic Peanuts strip in which Charlie Brown tells Snoopy about a new diet. "You can eat all you want, but you can't swallow." Snoopy throws the dog dish at Charlie Brown's head; he awakens from his concussion observing, "It's no fun being a waiter if you can't joke with the customers!"

Obesity is not a laughing matter with the obese patients. Sometimes it's hard to even bring up the subject of weight. But it is no wonder that people get confused reading diet books: The messages indeed are confusing.

delmeyer@healthcarecom.net